Board of Directors

Dave Wickenden, Board Chair

David Wickenden spent time in the Canadian Armed Forces before the Fire Service, so is as comfortable with a rocket launcher as a fire hose. He has brought six people back from the dead using CPR and a defibrillator, and has helped rescue people in crisis. David has learned to lead men and women in extreme environments. He loves to cook, read and draw and write. He ran his own home-based custom art business, creating highly detailed wood and paper burnings called pyrography. One of his pictures of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien graces the walls of Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

After 31 years in the Fire Service and attaining the rank of Deputy Fire Chief, David took early retirement to write full time. He is a member of the Writer’s Union of Canada, The Crime Writers of Canada, the International Thriller Association, and the International Screenwriter Association. He has published five thrillers and one YA Fantasy. His short stories have appeared in several anthologies and literary magazines. He has adapted some of his manuscripts into feature screenplays and is working on creating a TV Pilot for his vigilante series. Currently, David offers Professional Beta Reading Services for authors and is working on his eighth novel, a firefighting thriller.

https://www.amazon.com/author/davewickenden

VACANT, Vice Chair

Jass Aujla, Director at Large

Jass Aujla is a Canadian South-Asian author of suspense-thriller fiction. Jass studied creative writing as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto and later earned a Certificate in Creative Writing from the School of Continuing Studies @ UofT. When she isn’t working on one of her twisty novels, she can be found writing poetry & prose on social media.

http://jassaujla.com/

Francisca Bullock, Quebec Regional Rep.

Francisca Bullock is an aspiring Canadian author with a keen interest in murder and mystery. Though she once strayed into the bubbly waters of Rom-Coms, her long murder-mystery-loving bloodline pulled her back into the shadows of the whodunit world. An accounting graduate and an international finance professional, she lives in Sherbrooke, Quebec, with her three grown sons, three furtive felines, and her most trusted accomplice: her husband.

Joanna Vander Vlugt, BC/Yukon Regional Rep

Joanna Vander Vlugt is an author and illustrator. As a teenager, she drew charcoal portraits and wrote mysteries. Now, she uses Copic markers to illustrate motorcycles and graphic novels. Joanna’s numerous short mysteries have been published in Canadian and American anthologies, and her motorcycle illustrations have been purchased worldwide.

For inspiration for her three romantic thriller novels, Joanna draws upon her 13 years’ experience working in the prosecutor’s office and 10 years working in the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner. She has served on the board, and is a member of Sisters in Crime-CW and the Crime Writers of Canada. As well, she is a regular judge for the international short story competition Writing Battle. Joanna is currently working on her fourth thriller novel. Her art and novels can be found at www.joannavandervlugt.com 

Gary Stickles, ON: Southwest/North/GTA Regional Rep

Gary Stickles was born and raised in Ontario’s Niagara Region. A graduate of the University of Guelph’s Hons. Bachelor of Commerce programme, he built a wide-ranging career in the hospitality and tourism industry, working in management, accounting, and ownership. He later contributed as a writer and copy editor for Niagara Today Magazine, where his recurring column, “In Your Own Backyard,” showcased the hidden gems of Niagara.

Now an empty-nester with two grown children living in Vancouver, Gary shares his Niagara home with his wife and their loyal—if occasionally diabolical—cat. With Purging of Paradise, he turns his creative energy toward fiction, launching both his debut thriller and the beginning of the Eric Wakefield thriller series.

Gary is a proud member of Crime Writers of Canada, International Thriller Writers, and Crime Writer’s Association.

Lorne Tepperman, ON: Southwest/North/GTA Regional Rep

Lorne Tepperman is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. He has written several successful sociology texts, including Social Problems (in its 6th edition), Close Relations (in its 7th edition) and Making Sense in Social Science (in its 8th edition). He has also written books on gambling addiction, social inequality, deviance, and social control. Dr. Tepperman has received multiple awards for teaching, and received a Distinguished Contribution to Sociology award from the Canadian Sociological Association, which he also served as President. He has also consulted with clients in both the private and public sectors on issues related to delinquency and poverty. He has also written reports about the marital consequences of brain injury as expert testimony in court cases.

Born in Toronto and educated in Canada and the US, Dr. Tepperman has only recently started writing fiction. His first novel, Deadly Donation, will be published in September 2024 by Rock’s Mills Press (Oakville, Ontario).

You can find slightly more information on https://www.lornetepperman.com/

John Hill, ON: Central/East/Ottawa Regional Rep

John L. Hill is a retired criminal and prison law lawyer. He taught correctional law at the Queen's and University of Windsor Law Schools. But in private practice, he dealt with some of Canada's most notorious criminals as well as with some of Canada's best prosecutors and defence lawyers. In retirement, he has become a nonfiction writer. He is a columnist for Law 360 Canada (formerly The Lawyer's Daily), an online newspaper for the legal community. He has also had two books published: Pine Box Parole: Terry Fitzsimmons and the Quest to End Solitary Confinement and The Rest of the [True Crime] Story. He has also published a story dealing with slavery in southeastern Ontario in a Florida-based magazine. He is currently working on his third book, The Evil That Men Do.

Andrew Barbero, AB: Alberta/NWT Regional Rep

Andrew Barbero lives and works in Calgary, Alberta, where he practices law and writes fiction on the side. A graduate of the University of Calgary’s creative writing and English literature program, his short stories and journalism have appeared across Western Canada. He is currently completing his first crime novel and co-authoring a young adult project with novelist Marc Herman Lynch. When he’s not working, Andrew is happiest browsing bookshops or reading by the lake at his family cabin.

Follow him on Instagram: @barberowrites

donalee Moulton, Atlantic Provinces Regional Rep

donalee Moulton’s first mystery book Hung out to Die was published in 2023. A historical mystery, Conflagration!, was published in 2024. It won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction). donalee has two new books out in 2025, Bind and Melt, the first in a new series, the Lotus Detective Agency.

A short story “Swan Song” was one of 21 selected for publication in Cold Canadian Crime. It was shortlisted for an Award of Excellence. Other short stories have been published in numerous anthologies and magazines. donalee’s short story “Troubled Water” was shortlisted for a 2024 Derringer Award and a 2024 Award of Excellence from the Crime Writers of Canada.

donalee is an award-winning freelance journalist. She has written articles for print and online publications across North America including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business.

donalee has co-authored two new non-fiction books Better Policy | Better Performance: The Who, Why, and What of Organizational Policy and Newsworthy: Media Relations Without the Spin. As well, donalee is the author of The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say and co-authored the book, Celebrity Court Cases: Trials of the Rich and Famous.

donalee has published numerous poems, short stories and essays in journals and other publications across Canada and beyond. She lives in Halifax happily surrounded by family, friends, pets, and words of all shapes, sizes, and syllables. 

VACANT, Secretary

VACANT, SK: Saskatchewan Regional Rep

VACANT, Manitoba/NU Regional Rep.

VACANT, International Regional Rep.

VACANT, Vice-Chair