by Paula Gail Benson

Authors are amazingly kind in sharing their time and knowledge. When I asked Michael Bracken about collaborating on a virtual short story conference (Mystery in the Midlands: Writing the Short Story, sponsored by the Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime and the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America), he immediately helped to recruit a panel of “New Voices” (Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier, James Andrew Hearn, Stacy Woodson) whose stories already have garnered awards, and suggested Art Taylor to present a segment on craft. The program took place Saturday, October 19, 2024, with 154 registered. I’m delighted to say the presenters received rave reviews from those listening and calls for the recording from those who could not attend.

To say “thank you” to these fabulous authors for participating in the program, please let me briefly recognize them and provide links where you can find their work.

Michael Bracken is well-known as a writer of almost 1,300 short stories, a renowned editor, and an excellent speaker at conferences and other events. A complete list of his books and short stories is available on his website at https://www.crimefictionwriter.com/. He has been nominated for an Anthony, an Edgar, and a Shamus, and has received multiple awards for copywriting, three Derringer Awards for short fiction, and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer Award for lifetime achievement in short mystery fiction. In 2024 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for his contributions to Texas literature.

He edited the Anthony Award-nominated The Eyes of Texas: Private Eyes from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods and his most recent anthologies include Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House (co-edited with Stacy Woodson and released October 14, 2024) and Janie’s Got a Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Aerosmith (to be released November 8, 2024). He initiated an in-person short story conference, ShortCon, that took place in Alexandria, Virginia, in May 2024 and will occur again on June 7, 2025. For more information see: https://www.eastcoastcrime.com/#/.

Not only is Art Taylor a first-rate teacher and thoughtful friend, but he is an exceptional author, who has been called by Jon L. Breen in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine “One of the finest short-story writers to come to prominence in the twenty-first century.”

A complete list of his works may be found at https://arttaylorwriter.com/books/. Ashley-Ruth Bernier and I recommend On the Road with Del and Louise: A Novel in Stories (Henery Press, 2015): winner, Agatha Award, Best First Novel, 2015; finalist, Anthony Award, Best First Novel, 2016; finalist, Macavity Award, Best First Novel, 2016. When I began reading this collection, I questioned whether I would ever really like the flawed main characters. By the time I reached the last story, I put off reading it for a while because I didn’t want to finish my connection with them. I remember Margaret Maron praising the book and saying she intended to give up writing novels and concentrate on linked short stories. Art’s other collections include The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions. The Anthony award winning anthology he edited is Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015.

Somehow Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier finds time to write while working as a first-grade teacher as well as being a wife and a mother of four. On her website, she says: “My stories reflect my most treasured identity—that of a daughter of the Virgin Islands. My stories all feature St. Thomas in some way, and hopefully show the joy of a life spent in a dynamic community.” Her short story “Ripen” appears in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023. She has been a Derringer nominee and a Killer Nashville Claymore finalist. “Sweeten: A Naomi Sinclair Short Story” (a Christmas story) is published in Festive Mayhem 4: Thirteen Cozy and Cold Winter Holiday Mystery and Crime Fiction Stories (released October 1, 2024). Her website lists a complete list of her stories at https://ashleyruthbernier.com/.

Drawing on his background with degrees English, mechanical engineering, and law, James A. Hearn writes mystery, crime, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. His story “Home Is the Hunter,” originally published in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 3, also appeared in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023. “Blindsided” (in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, September/October 2021), which he wrote with Michael Bracken, was a 2022 Edgar nominee for best short story. A complete list of his work is found at https://jamesahearn.com/.

In addition to her own writing and editing anthologies with Michael Bracken, Stacy Woodson has been a US Army veteran, an instructor at Outliers Writing University, and a member of the Screen Actors Guild, who has appeared in Amazon’s Jack Ryan and Wonder Woman 1984. She is a two-time Derringer Award-winning author and her debut story that appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine’s Department of First Stories won the 2018 Readers Award (only the second time in the award’s history that a debut took first place). On her website (https://stacywoodson.com/), a complete list of her stories is available as well as five stories coming soon including: “A Rose of a Rose” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir Vol 5, Down and Out Books, 2024; and “Confessions of a Background Artist” in Hollywood Kills: Crime Fiction Inspired by Hollywood, Level Best Books.

Please help to thank all these extraordinary authors for their generosity.