DONATIONS UPDATE!
LAST CHANCE to donate for 2024! The deadline for tax deductible donations to Crime Writers of Canada as a National Arts Service Organisation has been extended by the Canada Revenue Agency to February 28th. You can still reduce your taxes in April by up to 50%!
Donations to Crime Writers of Canada may now be directed specifically to Writer Development Programs, Author Events and Conferences, or to General Administration and Operations. Any donation is a vote of confidence in our efforts to develop, support, and promote Canadian crime writing.
The world needs more Canada, to hear our voice and share our stories. Any donation is appreciated and every donation provides a jolt of energy and enthusiasm for us to do more for Canadian crime writing worth reading.
GO TEAM CANADA!
Find out when the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence Shortlist is announced on April 25th, 2025.
Stay Tuned!
Upcoming Webinar
How (and why) to Discuss Social Issues in Your Novel?
Tuesday, February 25, 2024, 7:00 pm ET
This talk aims to persuade you to fore-front the connection between public issues and personal troubles in your own crime novels. In the webinar, Lorne will consider why you should do that, and how you can do that without slowing down the story. He will also briefly discuss how he did that in his recent novel, DEADLY DONATION.
Presenter
Lorne Tepperman, a retired Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, ventures into the realm of fiction with his debut crime novel. As an academic, Tepperman authored, co-authored, edited, and co-edited 88 academic books, delving into topics ranging from social inequality to families to gambling addiction, deviance, and crime.
Lorne is a CWC director for Ontario Southwest/North/Greater Toronto Region.
All CWC members in good standing will receive an email invitation to this event.
donalee offers workshops (online and in person) on topics such as editing your work for clarity, crafting a successful synopsis, writing a strong query letter, and getting published.
Upcoming Workshops
Crafting a Successful Synopsis
If you’re looking for an agent or a publisher, you’ll need a synopsis. This online workshop will explore:
• what should go in a synopsis and why
• why and how to break the rules with care (and flair)
Optional feedback on your synopsis is available, including an overview of strengths, style, and structure as well as areas for improvement.
DATES: Tuesdays, Feb 11 & 18, 2025
TIME: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (EST)
COST: $115 workshop. Optional feedback: $50
What’s Your Point Of View (POV)
Choosing the right point of view can elevate your storytelling to new heights. This online workshop will explore:
• the types of POV and the nuances, advantages, challenges, and storytelling power of each
• techniques for using POV to craft engaging narratives
Optional feedback on 3-5 pages of your work is available. This would include flow, engagement, organization, and use of POV.
DATES: Thursdays, Feb 13 & 20, 2025
TIME: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (EST)
COST: $115 workshop. Optional feedback: $50
More details at: Workshops for Authors
CWC Members receive a 15% discount.
We are holding the new year’s first CWC Pub Night, on Thursday, January 23, 2025, at Union Social Eatery from 6:30pm – 9pm. The meeting place is at 4899 Yonge Street (Toronto), two blocks north of the Yonge-Sheppard subway station.
Please confirm via email --- lorne.tepperman@gmail.com– that you will be able to attend our pub night celebration on January 23.
Our goal, as always, is to meet one another, or re-meet if you’ve already met everyone. Also, and most auspiciously, we are going to celebrate all the new books published by members of our group since October 1, 2024.
Please feel free to bring along a few copies of your most recent book(s) to show off or trade with other attendees, if you want to. This would be a good opportunity to get your name out there and, also, see how other CWC members are plying their craft. However, this is not a book fair and there will not be book displays for public view. Just a pub night for friends! And this time, we’re going to make it easier for people to move around and change tables, if they want to.
If you absolutely can’t make it, please send a greeting to those who will be present. (But then, do try to attend the next pub night, in April 2025). In your email, please let us know if you have released (or will have released) a new book between October 1 and December 31. And if you have, let us know if it was your first book being published.
If you have any questions, please send us, Lorne or Jass, a line and we will try to answer them. I look forward to meeting you at the Pub Night.
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, has made 88 new appointments to the Order of Canada, including Maureen Jennings.
The Order of Canada is the cornerstone of the Canadian Honours System. Thanks to nominators across the country, it has celebrated the outstanding achievements and wide-ranging contributions of over 8 000 individuals since its creation in 1967.
Maureen Jennings is an author known for her historical crime novels, particularly the Detective Murdoch series, which inspired the long-running TV show Murdoch Mysteries. Her works explore important aspects of Canadian history, especially women's roles during the Second World War. A mentor to fellow writers, she received the Grandmaster Award from Crime Writers of Canada.
Out of almost 700 submissions, Judy's e-book, Finding YOUR Path to Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide, was awarded First Place in the Prescriptive/Informative Nonfiction category of the 12th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-book Awards. This self-published competition spotlights today’s self-published works and honors self-published authors.
Blurb from Crime Fiction Lover:
The corpse always has something made of a precious substance in this series from Cathy Ace, which features Welsh-Canadian criminal psychologist Cait Morgan and her retired cop husband, Bud. In their latest outing, a champion pearl diver is found floating in the lagoon at the new Tahitian resort where Cait and Bud are staying. It’s just opened and its reputation is on the line, and Cait is sure the death was no accident. A prodigious swimmer wouldn’t drown like that, would they? Whether Cait and Bud are at home or abroad in some luxury location, you can always be sure that a cosy mystery will follow them. Perfect escapism from Cathy Ace. See our review here and/or order your copy here.
See all the winners at The Crime Fiction Lover Awards 2024: The Winners | Crime Fiction Lover
The front cover of Dianne Scott's novel, SABOTAGE, Won the 2024 Kobo Writing Life Indie Cover Contest for mystery. Kudos to the design artist Lance Buckley. Click on the button below for more information.
We recently sent you an Email regarding a discounted rate for 2-year membership renewals; an issue was identified with the some of the instructions in that Email and we wanted to send a follow-up with corrected instructions, as well as clarify some details of the renewal process with the new website, based on questions and feedback we've received.
In the previous Email, we mentioned that members currently on 1-year membership terms could take advantage of the December discount for 2-year renewals by changing their membership level -- however, the membership management system will not allow for a level change if renewal is pending for their existing membership level (which is the case for members with a renewal date of December 31st).
If you attempted to follow the previous instructions but were unable to find the option to change your membership level, please follow these steps:
Since the launch of the new website earlier this year, we've been using a new membership management system & that has introduced some changes to the renewal process. At 30 days before your renewal date, the system will generate and send a renewal invoice -- this is done so that members have sufficient time to renew their membership before the due date; the renewal invoice is not due until the actual renewal date, and is not a receipt/payment notice.
If membership hasn't been renewed by 30 days past the renewal date, then that membership will be considered "Lapsed" and the renewal invoice will be automatically voided. And there are several additional renewal reminder notice sent before that point (15 days before the renewal date, on the day-of, and 15 days after the renewal date) to ensure that memberships don't expire unintentionally.
The membership management system that's part of the new website includes support for automated, recurring renewal payments -- due to technical factors and policies of the payment processing system we use, this is currently available only for the 1-year membership terms, and not for 2-year terms. If your membership is currently 1-year and you renewed your membership 2024 via the new website, then automated recurring payments are most likely already enabled for your membership.
When paying online for a 1-year membership renewal (or new membership), the system will automatically enable recurring payments -- though this can easily be turned off if you would rather send payment manually (see below for the steps to check if automatic recurring payment is enabled, and how to disable it if desired). On the renewal due date, the system will automatically process membership renewal & payment; a copy of the invoice & the normal renewal reminders will still be sent before that point, however you don't need to take any action related to them if you have enabled automatic payments, as your membership will be renewed automatically.
HOW TO CHECK IF AUTOMATIC RECURRING PAYMENTS ARE ENABLED
The easiest way to determine if automatic recurring payments are enabled for your account is to go to the "Invoices and payments" portion of your account profile: https://members.crimewriterscanada.com/Sys/Profile/Finances
From there, if recurring payments are enabled you should see a button labeled "STOP RECURRING PAYMENTS"; if that button isn't present, then recurring payments aren't enabled for your membership.
HOW TO DISABLE RECURRING PAYMENTS, IF ENABLED
If you currently have recurring payments enabled and wish to turn them off (E.g. if you prefer to send payment manually or offline), simply go to the go to the "Invoices and payments" portion of your account profile: https://members.crimewriterscanada.com/Sys/Profile/Finances
From there, click on the "STOP RECURRING PAYMENTS" button. After doing that, your next membership renewal will not be processed automatically & you will need to re-enter your payment information (or send payment offline) instead.
If you have questions, or need assistance related to membership renewal, please don't hesitate to ask. The quickest way to get assistance is to Email us at membership@crimewriterscanada.com, and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.