THE LADIES KILLING CIRCLE

 

This mild and mannered bunch of dangerous dames -- (from left) Vicki Cameron, Linda Wiken, Sue Pike, Barbara Fradkin, Joan Boswell, and Mary Jane Maffini -- have been together for too many years to count, or admit to. We're actively engaged in the art of killing people off and then solving the crimes -- on paper.

 

We're produced seven anthologies -- THE LADIES KILLING CIRCLE, COTTAGE COUNTRY KILLERS, MENOPAUSE IS MURDER, FIT TO DIE, BONE DANCE, WHEN BOOMERS GO BAD, and GOING OUT WITH A BANG -- with the help of some dynamite female mystery authors from across Canada. Each anthology has garnered at least one shortlist nomination, very often a Best Short Story winner, from Crime Writers of Canada (the Arthur Ellis Award).

 

The stories run the gamut of mystery from darkly brooding to ones you'll die laughing at. Each anthology also has themed poems from an award-winning writer.

 

In addition, The Ladies have all had short stories published in other offerings, and at the moment, four of our authors (Joan Boswell, Barbara Fradkin, Mary Jane Maffini and Linda Wiken) are writing series novels.

 

Besides slaving away at writing, we've also been known to go on shopping sprees, travel to warmer climes, hit the conferences, and eat a lot of lunches.

 

In 2003 we were saddened to lose Audrey Jessup, one of our founding members. Her warmth and grammatical edits remain with us. 

 

We were so pleased that The Ladies' Killing Circle  received the Grant Allen Award in 2012 from the Scene of the Crime Festival on Wolfe Island, ON.  The Grant Allen is awarded for contributions to Canadian mystery and crime writing.