Let Freedom Read

 

Banned Books Week kicks off today and runs through October 11. During the event, hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. Since the first Banned Books Week in 1982, more than 11,300 books have been challenged. Check out the website to see if there are any events listed near you, or check with your local bookstores and library for more details.

If you'd like to show your support in other ways, you can join in the Let Freedom Read Day on October 11th by taking on at least one action to help defend books from censorship and to stand up for the library staff, educators, writers, publishers, and booksellers who make them available. Or make a Virtual Read-Out Video.

Although the vast majority of banned books were due to false claims of illegal obscenity for minors; inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters or themes; and covering topics of race, racism, equity, and social justice, there have been some crime fiction titles included in the past. Some of those books include Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

National Readathon Day

On May 21, the American Library Association (ALA) and Penguin Random House will join to support the second annual National Readathon Day, which is dedicated to fostering reading at an early age and building community and participation at local libraries. Last year's effort raised $100,000 for the National Book Foundation and its efforts to deliver books to underserved communities.

The 2016 celebration is part of the ALA’s "Libraries Transform" campaign, and all funds raised will go to benefit the ALA’s "Every Child Ready to Read" initiative, a program that supports early literacy development—from birth to age five—through libraries.

You can help spread awareness of National Readathon Day by using the hashtag #Readathon2016 to spread awareness of the event and sharing how you plan to celebrate. You can also host or attend a Readathon Day party at libraries, schools and community centers, as well as make a contribution to the ALA’s literacy programs.

"There are more library locations in the US than Starbucks, Walmarts and McDonald’s combined," noted Skip Dye, Penguin Random House’s vice president of library marketing and digital sales. Dye added, "The power of the library is to reflect, honor and evolve the communities which they serve. Reading together as a community, as a family, is a power change agent."

To learn more about National Readathon Day, you can visit ReadathonDay.com, and to make a donation you can click here.

Buy a Banned Book!

This is Banned Books Week in the U.S., although the problem of censorship remains a problem throughout the world. Banned Book Week has hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country drawing attention to the problem by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. According to the American Library Association, more than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982, plus there were 311 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2014, with many more going unreported.

How can you help? For one, buy a banned book! The official BBW website has a list of the most-challenged titles of 2014. For a list of the events being held in your area, check this link, organized by state. There are also online events you can participate in, and various resources for more ways you can help in an ongoing fashion and get more information.

As the character of Stephen Hopkins, the representative from Rhode Island to the Continental Congress, declared in the movie 1776, "I've never seen, heard, nor smelled an issue that was so dangerous it couldn't be talked about. Hell yes, I'm for debating anything!"

Bringing Hope to Children

Authors and publishers are contributing to campaigns to help the Syrian refugees, with a special focus on the children. Young adult authors Patrick Ness, Suzanne Collins and Kenneth Oppel (and many more) in the UK were joined by publishers including HarperCollins, Egmont, and Hachette UK in raising funds for Save the Children. They recently passed the $1 million mark, but are still open to donations via the official fundraising website (donations are accepted in UK pounds, but credit card companies do automatic conversions).

In Canada, children's authors and illustrators, spearheaded by Robin Stevenson and Sarah Harvey, started a campaign for Doctors Without Borders to assist with the children of refugees. In less than two weeks, they reached their goal of raising $20,000, but they are still taking contributions through October 12. Although they are focusing their outreach on the Canadian children's literature community, they stress that anyone is welcome to donate. For more information, check out their site at canadahelps.org.

In the U.S., author Patrick Rothfuss operates the charity Worldbuilders and has set up a campaign for refugees there. You'll have to hurry on that one, since it's only open to donations through tomorrow. Funds will be distributed to Mercy Corps to provide food, clothing, clean water, medical care, and education for children of refugees.

Also in the UK, Benedict Cumberbatch (of the BBC's Sherlock) recorded the intro for a charity single to raise funds for refugees fleeing Syria and other war zones. The single is available for download now from iTunes, and a 7-inch vinyl version will be released September 28 in the United Kingdom, with a previously unreleased B-side. To contribute, you can purchase and download the single, which is a re-release of the Crowded House tune "Help is Coming."

#TwitterFiction Festival

Last year, the Association of American Publishers and Penguin Random House partnered to sponsor the second industry-wide #TwitterFiction Festival. What exactly is a Twitter Fiction Festival, you may ask? Pretty much like it sounds, as it turns out. Over the course of five days for twenty-four hours a day, authors like Megan Abbott, Alexander McCall Smith, Brad Meltzer, and Ben H. Winters all created experimental fiction as Tweets (140-character snippets).

The event was so successful, it's back again this year from May 11-15, where authors will share their text, photos, and/or videos during a scheduled daily time slot to live-stream their work. Invited participants this year include Margaret Atwood, Matthew Dunn, Lemony Snicket, and Chuck Wendig. But anyone can join in, either by entering the competition for aspiring writers (an open call for submissions begins March 2), or joining in at any time and telling your own stories using the #TwitterFiction hashtag.

If you'd like to see the kinds of offerings that might be in store for you this year, check out some of last year's creative works in the mystery category archived via this link. Maybe I'll Tweet you there.

Celebrate National Readathon Day!

Mark your calendar for the first-ever National Readathon Day. On Saturday, January 24, you can join readers across the country who will be reading in solidarity for literacy from noon to 4 p.m. (in your own time zone). National Readathon Day is partnered with FirstGiving.com, with all money raised going to the National Book Foundation's projects to improve literacy and reading proficiency for millions of Americans who lack basic skills. At the most basic level of participation, all you need to do to is pick a book and read it on January 24. But there are also local readalong events, and you can also make a donation, create a fund-raising team on FirstGiving.com, or host your own "reading party."

Many Americans fortunate enough to have benefited from a good education may be unaware of how much of a problem illiteracy remains. According to a study conducted in 2013 by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults in the U.S. can't read, or 14 percent of the population. In addition, twenty-one percent of adults in the U.S. read below a 5th grade level. Even worse, the current literacy rate isn't any better than it was 10 years ago. 

So, on January 24, read a book and consider making a donation to FirstGiving or other literacy organizations in your area.

Wanna Buy a Bookstore?

Here's your chance, and it's a perfect opportunity to help a great bookstore tradition continue. Reblogging from Shelf Awareness:

Mystery Lovers Bookshop Would Love New Owners

Laurie Stephens, owner of Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, Pa., near Pittsburgh (one of the largest specialty mystery book stores in the country), for the past two and a half years, is putting the store up for sale. "Now in 2015, it is time for me to begin a new chapter in my life," she wrote in an e-mail to store customers.

"The key ingredients that will contribute to the success of a new owner are all in place: a loyal customer base, a dedicated, hard-working staff, the technology tools to remain current and relevant, and an environment that appeals to customers of all ages," she continued. "All it will take is someone who is passionate about books, who genuinely loves people, and who has enough good judgment and business sense to lead a team of top-notch booksellers. I know how much you care about Mystery Lovers Bookshop, and hope you can help find the right person who would enjoy being the store's new owner."

Founders Richard Goldman and Mary Alice Gorman, who owned the store for 22 years, sold it to Stephens in April 2012. At that point, in her 35-year career, Stephens had been a bookseller, librarian and director of a lecture series and had long wanted to own a bookstore. In 2013, Stephens remodeled the store, dismantling the café, moving the kids' section and cash register, and creating more event space.

For more information, contact laurie@mysterylovers.com or 412-828-4877.

Christmas is Murder

Well, maybe Christmas isn't murder per se, but sometimes shopping can certainly feel like it. So, here are some ideas to help you find something unusual for the mystery reader on your shopping list:

This crime scene pot trivet is perfect for holiday gatherings! Nothing says cheery and cozy like a murdered-body chalk outline. The silicone trivet will hold all your hot pots with ease, and add "fun and drama to the dinner table."

 

According to a study reported in the Daily Mail a few years ago, the average 30-year-old woman owns 21 handbags and buys a new one every three months. But I'll bet your favorite feminine mystery lover doesn't own a bag fashioned from a recycled Sherlock Holmes book. Plus, you have your choice of fabric and handle.

 

You can never start them too early – book lovers, that is. This onesie will hopefully encourage your child or grandchild to make reading a lifelong habit. Or else, the pictures you take of them in the onesie will make them so embarrassed, they'll never want to touch a book again.

This can probably be construed as double entendre apparel, but this crime scene scarf will still help keep you warm. The knit scarf is acrylic with a touch of spandex for extra strength and is almost as long as the real thing – five feet.

 

 These hand-made earrings feature a miniature replica Nancy Drew book, The Secret of Red Gate Farm, and vintage typewriter keys. Plus, the surgical steel ear wires should keep you from getting "green ear."

 

Since I don't want to leave the guys out in the cold, jewelry-wise, here are some fingerprint cufflinks for your favorite CSI-wannabe. He can be elegant and mysterious at the same time.

 

For both he-spies and she-spies, young and old, check out this camera spy pen with a name longer that the product, namely, "Mini HD Hidden & Secret Spy Cam Pen Video Recorder USB DVR Wireless Surveillance Spy Camera." The spy pen holds a charge up to 1.5 hours of video recording sessions that can vary anywhere from 6 to 45 minutes of continuous recording time. (Note: of course, you know that most jurisdictions have laws against recording someone without their knowledge, right? Of course you do.)

Wounded Warriors

Today is Veteran's Day, and the traditional parades and ceremonies are a great way to celebrate the veterans of our armed forces. However, many veterans who have returned from tours of duty are still suffering from physical and psychological wounds that can take a lot of time and money to treat. The Wounded Warrior Project takes as part of its mission:

• To raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members.
• To help injured service members aid and assist each other.
• To provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members.

The physical support is important, but as a 2012 New York Times article reported, the emotional and psychological support is every bit as crucial, since for every soldier killed in war, about 25 veterans take their own lives.

The organization not only provides a support system and helps provide for physical needs, it also helps veterans with job training and in securing jobs. You can help by giving financial donations, by participating in one of their 8K runs and hundreds of other sports events throughout the country, or by shopping with affiliate companies.

For more information about the program and how to help, check out their website, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

This charity meets all of the qualifications for the Wise Giving Alliance Seal from the Better Business Bureau.

A Halloween Blog Hop With Prizes!

I recently joined in the collaborative book Bake, Love, Write: 105 Authors Share Dessert Recipes and Advice on Love and Writing. In this cookbook, all 105 romantic suspense and mystery authors not only share their favorite recipes for decadent cakes, candy, cookies, pies, and more, they also share the best words of wisdom they've received on relationships and writing. From today through October 23, several of my fellow contributors and I are part of a Halloween Scavenger Hunt.

Here’s how it works:

Participants visit the website or blog listed for each featured author to find a Halloween graphic hidden on one of the site's pages. The more sites you visit, the more chances to win. There are over 60 prizes (including a signed hardcover copy of my new novel Played to Death), with multiple winners each day. Hop on over to coordinator Sloan McBride's blog where you'll find all the details, including links to the authors' pages and a sheet to type the answers. You can also download the page of authors and websites/blogs for typing your answers via this link, or just follow the links at the bottom of this post.

Once you've filled in your answers, you must email the document to Sloan at sloanmcbride@gmail.com.  She'll check the answers and enter your name into the Rafflecopter drawing with one entry for each site/correct answer.

Here are the author website/blog links:

http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=243047

A New Giveaway! An Edna Buchanan Ebook Bundle

Dubbed "the queen of crime" by the Los Angeles Times, Edna Buchanan was one of the first female crime journalists in Miami, reporting for the Miami Beach Daily Sun and The Miami Herald, winning the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting "for her versatile and consistently excellent police beat reporting." In 1990, she turned her hand to writing mystery novels, with her debut standalone title, Nobody Lives Forever.

She followed that up with two different series, one featuring Sergeant Craig Burch of the Miami Police Department's Cold Case Squad (three books) and another featuring crime reporter Britt Montero, with Miami, It's Murder, nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1995. Her tenth book in the Montero series will be published in 2015, but Diversion Books is making the first five of the Montero books available in ebook form.

In honor of the occasion, Diversion is offering a giveaway of all five of the ebooks to one lucky In Reference to Murder reader, including Contents Under Pressure; Miami, It's Murder; Margin of Error; Act of Betrayal; and Suitable for Framing. All you have to do is send along an email to bv@bvlawson.com with "Edna Buchanan Giveaway" in the subject line, and you'll be entered into the random drawing. The winner will receive a redemption code to claim from the publisher to claim their prize.

But hurry – the deadline for entries closes at the end of Monday, October 6.

Ban Intolerance, Not Books

A coalition of book and literacy organizations, including the American Library Association and The Freedom to Read Foundation, are the forces behind Banned Books Week, which begins today.

From the BBW website:

"Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982 according to the American Library Association. There were 307 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2013, and many more go unreported."

For more information about how you can support their efforts and find out events in your area, check out the Calendar of Events and other resources on the BBW site.

Another Week, Another Great Giveaway!

Author Peter May is one of Scotland's most prolific television dramatists, with over 1,000 credits in 15 years as scriptwriter and script editor on prime-time British television dramas. But he left all that behind and moved to France to concentrate on his first love, writing novels. Since then, May has been the recipient of multiple awards for his internationally best-selling Lewis Trilogy set in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, as well as two other series and several standalone books.

May is on tour in the U.S. promoting the Quercus reprint edition of the second installment in his Lewis Trilogy—arguably among the author's most popular works—titled The Lewis Man. The first book in the trilogy, set in the Outer Hebrides, followed Edinburgh Detective Inspector Fin Macleod sent to the Isle of Lewis, the land of his birth, to investigate a brutal killing in the close-knit community.

In the The Lewis Man sequel, Fin has left his wife and career in Edinburgh to live on the Isle, where a mummified body is discovered in a peat bog. Perforated by several stab wounds, the male corpse is initially believed to be more than two thousand years old, until the police spot the Elvis tattoo on his right arm.

The Guardian noted that "this is not only a good mystery, but also a moving and evocative portrayal of a place where the unforgiving weather is matched only by the church's harsh patronage." Indeed, May's landscapes and setting are one of the big draws to this series, and have even spawned a coffee table photo book and an online travel guide.

The Blackhouse was shortlisted for a Macavity Award and a Barry Award, and The Lewis Man made the shortlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Just recently, it was announced that the BBC had snapped up the rights to The Lewis Trilogy to adapt into a television series.

The publisher is providing a copy of The Lewis Man for one reader of this blog, to be drawn at random, limited to U.S. addresses this time. If you'd like to be entered in the random drawing, just drop me an e-mail at bv@bvlawson.com with "Peter May Giveaway" in the subject line.

Giveaway Time! Murder on the Ile Sordou

M.L. LONGWORTH has lived in Aix-en-Provence since 1997. She has written about the region for The Washington Post, The Times (U.K.), The Independent (U.K.), and Bon Appetit Magazine. She is the author of a bilingual collection of essays, Une Américaine en Provence published by La Martinière in 2004. She divides her time between Aix and Paris, where she teaches writing at NYU's Paris campus. NPR included her in its summer "Crime in the City" features, about her mysteries set in the southern French town of Aix-en-Provence.

The fourth installment in that series is Murder on the Ile Sordou, once again featuring Antoine Verlaque, the "handsome and seductive" chief magistrate of Aix. Judge Verlaque and his girlfriend, law professor Marine Bonnet, are hoping to enjoy a relaxing holiday at the Locanda Sordou, an opulent hotel reopening after being closed for several decades, but someone has other plans.

Ex-financier Maxime Le Bon and his wife, Catherine, have spent years and their life savings restoring the hotel, which lies in an archipelago of glittering islands just off the coast of Marseille. A motley crew of guests arrive by boat for the grand opening. In addition to Antoine and Marine, there’s Marine’s best friend Sylvie; a fading film star, his much-younger wife and her disgruntled teenage son; an aspiring poet; an American couple; and a French couple trying to save their marriage. The murder of one of the guests casts a shadow over everyone’s vacation, but things go from bad to worse when a a violent storm cuts off all communication with the mainland. Will the killer strike again?

The publisher is offering a copy of this book to one lucky reader of this blog, so if you'd like to be entered in the random drawing, just drop me a note at bv@bvlawson.com with "Book Giveaway" in the subject.

Learn more about the author, her books, and her time in France via her website and blog.

World Book Night

World Book Night U.S released an interactive map of participating book donors, official stores, and libraries taking part in the festivities later this month. According to Executive Director Carl Lennertz, the site is a great tool for all book lovers who can look up the resources contributing to the event in their own areas, which are broken down by zip code on the map. This year, there are a record 2,330 WBN host stores and libraries, many offering giveaway events, as well as over 25,000 individual book givers, all of which are easily discovered via the new map.

Lennertz added that "Along with the hundreds of store and library receptions, where media can interview givers, we feel these two new tools, along with very cool news for the givers still to come, will greatly magnify the sense of local pride in WBN and boost our social media traffic to new highs." The official WBN site also has a map of Kickoff Author events around the country, leading up to the April 23rd book donation main event.

Read an Ebook Week

This is National Read an eBook Week across the U.S. There are many options for finding eBooks these days, including Amazon, Nook, Kobo, iBookstore, Smashwords, and many more. Several of these are having sales in honor this week's celebrations, such as Untreed Reads, a publisher that has been supportive of crime fiction, both long and short forms. (For Smashwords' discounts, go here.)

Untreed Reads is offering all titles in their store for 30% through March 8, including Mystery, Suspense and Thriller titles. Jack Bates, Nigel Bird, Paul D. Brazill, Michael Bracken, Jan Christensen, Barb Goffman, and Stephen D. Rogers have short stories and collections available at discount during this sale, and there are also novel-length works by Kaye George, Neil Plakcy, Gillian Roberts, and many more. The bargain offerings also include Grimm Tales, an anthology edited by John Kenyon, in which I was honored to have a story, as well as one of my standalone shorts, "Ill-Gotten Games."

Print still rules, but according to a Pew Research report, one in three Americans said they read at least one eBook in 2013. More people are reading eBooks via their smartphones and on laptops and tablets, with 50% of Americans now owning a dedicated handheld device, i.e., a tablet computer like an iPad, or an e-reader such as a Kindle or Nook, with many more reading books on their smartphones. I see a lot of folks reading ebooks on the D.C. Metro these days, although there are plenty of print books on display, too. More options = more readers.

Happy New Year

 

Happy New Year to all of you, and thanks for being loyal readers of "In Reference to Murder" in 2013. May you have a happy, healthy and prosperous new year filled with many hours of reading and enjoying your favorite books.

Gifts for Book Lovers

You can tell it's the HallowThanksMas holiday season when the Christmas displays go up before Halloween (yes, they did that this year), and Starbucks starts serving up its pumpkin and gingerbread lattes. If you missed the Black Friday weekend shopping and find that you're stumped for gift ideas, here are some fun ideas for book lovers (other than books, but that goes without saying, doesn't it?).

The Demeter Fragrance Library created a perfume based on "A trip to your favorite library or used bookstore. Sweet and lovely with just a touch of the musty smell of aged paper, Demeter's Paperback harnesses that scent with a sprinkling of violets and a dash of tasteful potpourri."

Paddywax has a line of "library" candles and fragrances, from Jane Austen to Oscar Wilde. The Edgar Allan Poe Library Travel Tin Candle is made from their signature soy wax, "paired with cardamom, absinthe and sandalwood fragrance notes, and hand-poured in a 3.5 oz two-wick travel tin." Or you can opt for the fragrance-duster-oil version.

 Anthologie touts one line of wall coverings as being perfect for people who are out of bookcase space (or maybe just those who have switched to eBooks but still miss that bookish look to a room). Tracey Kendall's paperback wallpaper will fill nooks of your home with towers of titles. 

For all those little book lovers on your list, there's the Little Librarian kit. "Kids can practice the important skills of organizing, sharing, borrowing, and returning. Book pockets, check out cards, library cards, and bookmarks are just like the ones from the real library. Little Librarians will issue overdue notices and awards. Favorite books can be stored in the reading journal and shared with friends." 

How about a purse made from a book? Each one is hand-made and starts with a gently-used book from garage sales, flea markets or estate sales. as long as it has an eye-catching cover, like the Sherlock Holmes item here. The fabric, handles and the button enclosure are matched to the cover. 

 How about a book lamp made from a book? These lamps are made from drilling into old hardbacks, such as this one made from Secrets and Spies- Behind the Scene Stories of World War II (from the Reader's Digest Collection 1964). It's one of the Typewriter Boneyard's most popular sellers and even includes a 30W Quad Loop Edison Bulb.

These unique bookends can also be used as a vase. Fashioned out of terracotta with glazed finishes, the tops are left open, so you can put a plant or flowers in them. For both the book lover AND gardener on your list – a twofer!

American Discount Tableware touts these dishes as "Just as smart and original as any good read" (well, maybe, depending upon the book). They'd certainly liven up a book club's refreshments, and they're stackable. 

This bookshelf needlepoint pillow will help cushion your back while you're staying up all night turning the pages on your latest thriller purchase. It's hand needlepointed from 100% wool thread and has a cotton back fabric, with color coordinated cording. For cleaning, the inner pillow is removeable. 

Although I'm not sure these are available for purchase yet (maybe coming soon to a store near you?), Flora Chan designed a line of teas for what she called the Prologue Tea Co. Each tin is based on classic literature (including Sherlock Holmes) with flavors inspired by each story, and designs "include motifs from the narratives and other elements that are a part of the reading experience." 

Ebooks for “Movember”

 

A few years ago, a small group of folks in Australia created what they called "Movember" (November + moustache). During November each year, men register with the charity and pledge to grow moustaches to raise vital awareness and funds for prostate and testicular cancer initiatives. It has since become a global event, and in 2011, over 854,000 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas around the world raised $126.3 million for the program. This is a topic that is near and dear to me personally, as someone who has a close relative battling stage 4 prostate cancer.

Editor-in-Chief Jay A. Hartman of the digital publisher Untreed Reads (disclaimer: I have two stories published by them), is participating this year, both facially and financially. In addition to growing his own example of fine moustachery, for every donation you make through the Untreed Reads Movember portal, he will provide you with a coupon good for an ebook of your choice from the UR catalog. Be sure to send an email to charity@untreedreads.com and let them know when you donated so they can hook you up with your free ebook. There is more info about that on the Untred Reads website. The Movember site also has information on prostate and testicular cancer, including stats, symptoms, tests, treatment and more.

Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read kicks off this Sunday, September 30, and runs through October 6. During the event, hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country will draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. Since the first Banned Books Week in 1982, more than 11,300 books have been challenged, with 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011. Readers from around the world are also participating in the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out by creating videos proclaiming the virtues of the freedom to read that are featured on a dedicated YouTube channel (last year's videos can be found here). Check out the website to see if there are any events listed near you, or check with your local bookstores and library for more details.