Crime novels account for about twenty-five percent of the fiction sold around the world, but what is it about stories of murder and mayhem that fascinates us so much? Why do we love mysteries? Is it the storytelling, the characters, or something more? Mystery author Austin S. Camacho will give you ten good reasons why we love mysteries along with a little history of the genre while sharing some of his favorite authors and offering a little insight into the sources and inspirations for his own work.

Austin S. Camacho is the author of four detective novels in the Hannibal Jones series - Blood and Bone, Collateral Damage, The Troubleshooter, and Damaged Goods, plus two action thrillers, The Payback Assignment and The Orion Assignment. Active in several writers organizations, Camacho is a past president of the Maryland Writers Association, current president of the Northern Virginia chapter of the Virginia Writers Club, and teaches writing at Anne Arundel Community College. After a career as a military news reporter on the American Forces Network, Camacho is now a public affairs specialist for the Defense Department. Camacho lives in Springfield, Virginia, with his lovely wife, Denise, and Princess the Wonder Cat.

Place and time:Pen Arts Building (1300 Seventeenth Street N.W., Washington, D.C.) April 12th at 1 p.m.

Saturday, May 24th, the Washington D.C. Branch will host book promoter Francine Silverman at 1:30 at the Pen Arts Building, our NLAPW headquarters. The event is free. RSVP (patricia@lipe.name) appreciated.

Francine Silverman is a lifelong New Yorker who honed her writing skills as a newspaper reporter and freelance writer. She authored two travel guidebooks, Catskills Alive (2000 and 2003) and Long Island Alive (2003), both published by Hunter Publishing.

Francine will speak about the value of radio interviews in promoting yourself and your books or service. I wrote my radio books because I found most radio websites sorely lacking in information and will focus on how radio shortchanges not only guests but listeners as well. She will also talk about how radio hosts are desperate for guests and give examples of how she knows that. The talk will be interactive.

Linda Durkee, a longtime member and past president of the Southern Vermont Branch, is having a solo exhibition of her collages and paintings from February 28 to April 17, 2008, at the Diane and Norman Bernstein Gallery at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C.

Linda, a NLAPW member for more than thirty-five years, worked in Washington as a journalist and speechwriter before being sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the U.N. Environment Program in Geneva, Switzerland, to serve as a communications advisor in support of a global treaty on persistent organic pollutants – now known as the Stockholm Treaty. She returned to her native state of Vermont in 2001 to pursue the creative arts full time. A member in both arts and letters, Linda served as Branch president from 2004-2006. Visit Linda's website.

The opening reception with the artist is Feb. 28, from 7-9 p.m., and all are invited. The Atlas (www.atlasarts.org) is located at 1333 H Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002.

Endorsed by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration, the NLAPW is scheduling a number of multi-faceted projects designed to celebrate the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. While the pre-celebration Lincoln Salon was an "invitation-only" event intended to set the stage for the League's membership and the surrounding DuPont Circle neighborhood, additional art, music, and literary events are scheduled.

On January 19, 2008, at 7 p.m., NLAPW is hosting a "Lincoln Salon," a pre-Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration event. Dramatist Mary Margaret Buss will kick off the event with her in-character performance of Mary Todd Lincoln. As she descends the steps of the historic Pen Arts Building, Buss's characterization will bring Lincoln's era to life. Although Buss found plenty of examples of character assassination in researching the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, she chose her as one to portray because of her somewhat unheralded contributions.

NOTE: One of the highlights of NLAPW's participation in the Lincoln Bicentennial will be the creation of an anthology which will include artistic, dramatic, literary, and musical works that speak to Lincoln's style of leadership, his contemplative character, and his persuasive use of language. The NLAPW National Board is excited to be able to provide this opportunity for all active members to contribute. This call is for new or reprints of existing works. Click here for more information on contributing to the Lincoln Anthology.

The PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship of $5,000 is offered annually to an author of children's or young-adult fiction. The Fellowship has been developed to help writers whose work is of high literary caliber but who have not yet attracted a broad readership. As a result, an author's books may not have achieved the sales that would allow the writer to support him or herself solely from writing. The Fellowship is designed to assist a writer at a crucial moment in his or her career, when monetary support is particularly needed to complete a book-length work-in-progress.

The Fellowship is made possible by a substantial contribution from PEN Member Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, the prolific author of more than 125 works of fiction, including the novels Alice in the Know, the 21st and most recent in the acclaimed "Alice" series, as well as Sang Spell and Shiloh, the first novel in a trilogy, which won the 1992 Newbery Medal.

A candidate is a writer of children or young-adult fiction in financial need; candidates have published at least two books (and no more than five) during the past 10 years that have been warmly received by literary critics but have not generated sufficient income to support the author.

Letters of nomination must be received by January 14, 2008. For more information on the PEN Literary Awards, call: (212) 334-1660 ext. 108 or visit the PEN website and select Publications, Grants & Awards from the top menu.

Highlights for Children will accept submissions to the publication's 29th annual fiction contest during the month of January 2008. The contest is open to anyone interested in writing for children and three winners will receive $1,000 each.

For this year's contest, Highlights seeks stories set in the future. For guidelines or additional information, visit the Highlights website. Highlights also accepts the submission of articles, stories, and fillers throughout the year.

The Washington D.C. Branch is sponsoring its second annual September Sale on September 30, 2007, from noon to 7 p.m. at the Washington Club, 15 DuPont Circle. Admission is free. Participate in an event that features books, paintings, photographic art, quilts, and jewelry – all this plus French cuisine and a tour of the historic Patterson House.

All our writers, artists, and musicians are invited. This is an opportunity for the art community to showcase its creativity to the public. For those interested in participating, contact Patricia Daly-Lipe at president@nlapw-dc.org or 7030-753-8529. For additional details, see our website www.nlapw-dc.org. A percentage of all sales will go to the Pen Arts Building Fund to help restore the historical headquarters of the League. (NLAPW is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt-designated organization.)

The Asheville Branch (North Carolina) will celebrate its 70th anniversary on June 30, 2007. The members will have an information display at the common area of the Biltmore Square Mall just off I26. At about 3 p.m. a cake will be cut and awards will be given to those winning the Branch's writer/artist contest. Over 120 entrants participated. Come by and meet the Asheville members. The public is invited to attend.

For additional information, email Carol Cotter, membership chairman, or call 828) 684-6187. The Biltmore Square Mall is just off I26 a couple of miles after you leave I40 heading south on I26.

Pen Women head to Mexico in 2007! Coming in July are two Pen Women workshops in San Miguel de Allende, a beautiful viejo colonial town in the mountains of Mexico, well-known as a haven for artists and writers. Our mission will be to see, with new insights, the centuries-old architecture, revisit some ancient Mexican images, and enter new space with our own creative talents, all in one week.  Click here for complete information on the workshops.

Please note: To request quidelines for grants, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to our National Scholarship Chair, Mary B. Barrer at 255 Saratoga Street, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270-2843. Please include your phone number and supply correct postage on SASE.

Beware of these literary agencies. While the 20 agencies listed here account for the bulk of the complaints Writer Beware receives, they're just the tip of the iceberg. Writer Beware has files on nearly 400 questionable agencies and learns about a new one every few weeks. Please visit Writer Beware for additional information.

Good links for checking out scams relevant to writers:
Writer Beware
Absolute Write's Water Cooler
Preditors & Editors
Caveat Scrivener

Beware of Poetry.com. Hopefully, this will serve as ample warning before any of you gets caught up in the Poetry.com publishing scam, please read the following. This Maryland "publishing company" has been accused repeatedly of scamming writers for years with flattery and lies. Unfortunately, flattered writers are willing to give them money and pay for books with their poetry in them or even end up paying for expensive "winning writers" conventions and the silver cup temptation. One thing is guaranteed. If you submit to this company, you will be asked for money after you get mail that tells you how wonderful your writing is. (They are now also doing the same with photography.) Besides Poetry.com, this organization is also seen as Noble House Publishers, International Library of Poetry, National Library of Poetry, International Society of Poets, International Poetry Hall of Fame, Watermark Press, Birthwrites, International Lib, Pegasus Press, International Society of Photography, picture.com, and Arts and Kids. Be safe rather than sorry.

Also beware of Airleaf Publishing, Petersen Publishing Group, PublishAmerica, Sterling House Publishers, and BookSurge (also known as/previously known as TheGreatUnpublished.com, Digitz.net, and imprintbooks.com.

If you need more proof and/or information, just search on "poetry.com scam" or "poetry.com hoax" or "poetry.com complaints" on Google.

Notice: Just click on the GoodSearch icon above or go to GoodSearch and be sure to enter The National League of American Pen Women as the organization you wish to support. Just 500 of us using GoodSearch four times a day will raise about $7300 in a year without anyone spending a dime! And, be sure to spread the word!

Please note: Click here for a permission form for submitting works to the "Pen Woman Magazine" for consideration.

Correction: Please note that the obituary notice in the Pen Woman magazine of September, 2006, should have been for Anne Nolan of the Chicago Branch of NLAPW.

For matters related to the website, please email Jean Hull Herman or snail mail her at PO Box 7544, Wilmington, DE 19803-0544.