International bestselling author Harlan Coben was born in Newark, New Jersey. After graduating from Amherst College a political science major, Harlan worked in the travel industry. He is the winner of the Edgar, Shamus and Anthony Awards - the first author to win all three. Harlan's critically-acclaimed Myron Bolitar series debuted in 1995, and his most recent novels including, THE WOODS, PROMISE ME, THE INNOCENT, have appeared on the top of all the major bestseller lists. In Harlan's latest novel, the stand-alone thriller HOLD TIGHT, the lives of five families intersect in unexpected, tragic and violent ways. Harlan now lives in New Jersey with his wife, Anne Armstrong-Coben MD, a pediatrician, and their four children.

www.harlancoben.com

Peter Abrahams is the author of twenty novels, including DELUSION (2008) and INTO THE DARK (2008, third in the Echo Falls series for younger readers). THE FAN (1995) was made into a movie with Robert De Niro. DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the Edgar best young adult mystery award; it won the Agatha in the same category. REALITY CHECK, Abrahams’s next novel for younger readers, comes out in spring 2009. Peter Abrahams was born in Brookline, Mass., grew up in the U.S., Canada and the Bahamas, and lives with his family on Cape Cod. His mother taught him most of what he knows about writing.

www.peterabrahams.com

Mark Ammons...

Stephen Anable was born in Boston and raised in Massachusetts. He has been employed as a journalist, actor, social worker, standup comic, and communications coordinator in a cemetery. THE FISHER BOY is his first mystery and his family has deep ties to its Cape Cod setting. Stephen has two sons and lives north of Boston.

Experienced selling high-profile fiction and nonfiction as an agent, Donna Bagdasarian joined the Maria Carvainis Agency in the fall of 2004, Donna brings not just her client list but her experience in managing a boutique agency to compliment the agency’s notable stable of best-selling authors. Donna is particularly interested in almost all fiction: literary, women’s, historical, mainstream, ethnic, with the exceptions of sci-fi and fantasy. Her interests in non-fiction range from pop-culture to sociological, scientific, political and memoir.

Linda is the author of fifteen novels, eleven of which feature popular Boston PI, Carlotta Carlyle. Linda's work has won the Anthony and American Mystery awards, and received numerous nominations for the Shamus and Edgar awards. LIE DOWN WITH THE DEVIL (Aug. 08) is the 12th novel in the Carlotta Carlyle mystery series. Born in Detroit, Linda lives in the Boston area with her husband and son.

www.lindabarnes.com

Sibylle Barrasso's debut novel DARK WATERS introduces PI Macy Adams. She received an award from Sue Grafton for her novel OBSESSION, and was twice a finalist in the St. Martins Press "Best First PI Novel Contest." She wrote the chapter about Southern California in the crime anthology BAD BOYS AND BAD GIRLS IN THE BADLANDS.

www.sibyllebarrasso.com

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Brunonia Barry studied literature and creative writing at Green Mountain College in Vermont and at the University of New Hampshire. She cofounded Smart Games, a company that creates brain teaser puzzles, and lives in Salem, Massachusetts, with her husband and their beloved golden retriever, Byzy. THE LACE READER is her first novel.

www.lacereader.com

Gary Braver is the bestselling author of seven critically acclaimed suspense novels, including Elixir, Flashback (the only thriller to win a Massachusetts Book Award), and his latest, Skin Deep. As Gary Goshgarian, he is an English professor at Northeastern University, teaching Modern Bestsellers, Science Fiction, Horror Fiction, and Fiction Writing. He also teaches workshops at the Maui Writers Conference.

www.garybraver.com

In his recent book release, THE PARADISO FILES: BOSTON'S UNKNOWN SERIAL KILLER, Burke makes his case against Lenny "The Quahog" Paradiso, a serial killer who operated undetected in the Boston area for nearly fifteen years. Burke asserts that Paradiso assaulted many young women and was responsible for the deaths of as many as seven. In his presentation Burke will describe his interaction with a serial killer, highlighting the flaws and strengths of the judicial system. He will reveal how he took a horrific story and transformed it into closure for the families of the murdered victims. Burke will also show video footage from the trial of Paradiso, allowing the reader to visualize the actual events as they occurred contrasted with how they were illustrated through his writing.

Cathy Cairns has published short mysteries in the anthologies RIPTIDE and SEASMOKE, Woman's World magazine and RavenElectrick. She is a web designer and webmistress for www.crimebake.org, has written for newspapers and teaches memoir writing. She is a past president of NE Sisters in Crime. Like the heroine in her Casey O'Hara mystery series, Cathy has a passion for history and a penchant for finding trouble.

www.catherinecairns.com

Alex Carr - Jenny Siler and her alter ego, Alex Carr, are the authors of six critically acclaimed thrillers. Jenny grew up in Missoula, Montana and has lived and worked pretty much everywhere, from Key West to Alaska. A full-time writer, she currently resides in Portland, Maine with her husband and young daughter.

Ann Collette spent 15 years as a freelance writer and editor before joining the Helen Rees Literary Agency, a background that comes in handy when developing first novels. Her fiction list includes literary, horror and crime novelists, including Steven Sidor and Vicki Lane, while her non-fiction list actually includes a poet.

Susan Conant’s first dog lovers’ mystery, A NEW LEASH ON DEATH, was published in 1990; and her eighteenth, ALL SHOTS, in 2007. Susan is a six-time winner of the Dog Writers Association of America’s Maxwell Award. Her first cat mystery, SCRATCH THE SURFACE, was published in 2005. She and her daughter, Jessica Conant-Park, collaborate on a series of chick-lit culinary mysteries, the most recent of which TURN UP THE HEAT. Susan and her husband live near Boston with an Alaskan malamute and two Chartreux cats.

www.conantpark.typepad.com

Sheila Connolly tried plenty of careers before she finally settled on writing mysteries. Five years and sixteen shelved manuscripts later she sold two series in a year. ONE BAD APPLE, and THROUGH A GLASS, DEADLY and its sequel PANE OF DEATH (written as Sarah Atwell) were all published in 2008.

www.sheilaconnolly.com

Kathy Lynn Emerson also writes as Kaitlyn Dunnett. Kathy's most recent book, written as Kaitlyn Dunnett, is SCONE COLD DEAD, a Liss MacCrimmon mystery. As Kathy Lynn Emerson, she writes two historical mystery series, the Elizabethan FACE DOWN mysteries and the Diana Spaulding Quartet, set in 1888. She also wrote HOW TO WRITE KILLER HISTORICAL MYSTERIES.

www.kathylynnemerson.com

Hallie Ephron is the author of WRITING AND SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL: HOW TO KNOCK 'EM DEAD WITH STYLE (Writers Digest Books) which was nominated for a 2006 Edgar award and a 2006 Anthony award. She is also co-author of the Dr. Peter Zak five of psychological mysteries by G. H. Ephron from St. Martin's Minotaur, including GUILT. Sge writes a monthly “On Crime” book review column for the Boston Globe and won the 2005 Ellen Nehr Award for Excellence in Mystery Reviewing.

www.hallieephron.com

Sorche Fairbank started Fairbank Literary Representation in 2002, upon moving to Cambridge, MA. Since then, she has had the honor of representing and working with best-selling authors such as Robin Moore (THE FRENCH CONNECTION), Edgar-winner and Pulitzer Prize nominee John McAleer, Edgar winner and host of STARZEncore Mystery Channel series "Anatomy of a Mystery," Rex Burns; and crime fiction writer/winner of the St. Martin's Press Best First Private Eye Novel contest, Michael Siverling.

www.fairbankliterary.com

Kate Flora is the author of 10 books, nine works of crime fiction and the Edgar-nominated true crime FINDING AMY: A TRUE STORY OF MURDER IN MAINE, which was also a finalist in the Maine Literary Awards. Readers and reviewers have praised Flora for her capacity to create complex, multi-layered characters. She has published numerous short stories, profiles of other writers, and essays about writing. Flora has taught fiction writing for more than a decade. She is currently working on an MFA at Vermont College.

www.kateflora.com

Rosemary Harris is a former bookstore manager, video producer and media executive ( WNET, Crown Publishers, ABC-TV Video.) She is VP of NE/SinC and a board member of MWA/NY. PUSHING UP DAISIES is the first in the Dirty Business mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Paula Holliday. A short story that is a prequel to the book appeared in STILL WATERS, an anthology of New England Crime Writers. Book two in the series, THE BIG DIRT NAP is due next March. Rosemary and her husband split their time between New York and Connecticut where she is a certified master gardener.

www.rosemaryharris.com

Lynne Heitman is a past co-chair of the Crime Bake Committee and has served two terms as President, MWA New England. Her Alex Shanahan thriller series grew out of her fourteen-year career with American Airlines and her experiences as general manager for American Airlines at Boston's Logan Airport. THE PANDORA KEY, the fourth book in the series, is available now from Pocket Books.

www.lynneheitman.com

Clinical psychologist Roberta Isleib's series starring a Connecticut psychologist and advice columnist debuted in 2007 with DEADLY ADVICE. She says the work of the detective in a mystery has quite a bit in common with long-term psychotherapy: Start with a problem, follow the threads looking for clues, and gradually fill in the big picture. So this career move turned out to be a natural progression! Roberta is a member of MWA, the president of National Sisters in Crime, and the past president of the New England chapter. Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards.

www.robertaisleib.com

Daniel Judson’s three novels – THE POISONED ROSE, THE BONE ORCHARD, and THE DARKEST PLAC – have all garnered Shamus Award nominations and one Shamus Prize. His fourth novel, THE WATER'S EDGE, will be published by St. Martin’s Minotaur in June, 2008. Daniel Judson lives in Connecticut. His previous books have won a Shamus Award and a Barry Award nomination.

Chris Knopf writes the Sam Acquillo Hamptons Mystery series. In a starred review for HEAD WOUNDS (08), Publishers Weekly said "it's the endearing and deeply flawed Acquillo that's the heart and soul of this exceptional series." Knopf is a principal with Mintz & Hoke Communications group in Avon, CT.

www.sameddie.com

Amy MacKinnon is a former congressional aide and freelance writer whose commentaries have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Seattle Times, Boston Globe, and on National Public Radio. Amy began writing seriously at the age of eleven when she nominated her dad to the National Father of the Year Committee. He won. She's on the board at Boston's Grub Street and and a member of PEN New England. TETHERED is her debut novel. She lives outside of Boston with her husband, three children, two cats, and English bulldog, Babe

www.amymackinnon.com

Richard Marinick has worked as a bouncer, a Massachusetts state trooper, a "sand hog" on the big dig, a Teamster, and was a member of an armored car and bank robbery ring, for which he served ten years in prison. He is presently a re-entry instructor at the Norfolk County House of Correction. He lives and writes in South Boston.

Ruth M. McCarty is an editor and partner in Level Best Books. Her short mysteries have appeared in UNDERTOW, RIPTIDE, WINDCHILL, and SEASMOKE: Crime Stories by New England Writers. Ruth has received honorable mentions in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and N.E.W.N. for her flash fiction.

www.ruthmmccarty.com

Chicago native Joe Meyers writes about movies and books for the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, CT. A collection of Joe's pieces about film stars of the past - "Whatever Happened to..." ­ went through several printings. Recently, Joe has been hosting the monthly "Martini and a Movie" series at the Fairfield Theatre Company as well as "Critics' Choice" evenings at the non-profit Avon Theatre Film Center in Stamford, including a screening of "Starting Out in the Evening" which was followed by Joe's Q&A with the film's star Frank Langella.

http://forum.connpost.com/joe

An acquisitions editor by day and writer by night, Paula Munier is the Director of Product Development for Adams Media and the author of ON BEING BLONDE and YA novel EMERALD'S DESIRE. Her short stories have appeared in such anthologies as HERSTORY, ANGEL OVER MY SHOULDER, TOUR OF DUTY, HORSE CRAZY, SCRIPTURE TO LIVE BY, RAGING GRACEFULLY, and LETTERS TO MY TEACHER. She's currently at work on THE LADY LUCK DETECTIVE AGENCY, a mystery set in Las Vegas.

Vincent O’Neil is the author of the Malice Award-winning Frank Cole mystery series (MURDER IN EXILE, REDUCED CIRCUMSTANCES, and EXILE TRUST). A native of Massachusetts, he holds a Bachelor of Science from West Point and a Master of Arts in International Affairs from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

www.vincenthoneil.com

Katherine Hall Page is the only writer to date who has won an Agatha in the three categories: Best First Mystery, Best Novel, and best Short Story. Her traditional mystery series featuring amateur sleuth and caterer Faith Fairchild are set in the fictitious town of Aleford, Massachusetts with forays to the coast of Maine, France, Norway, and the Big Apple, Faith's hometown. Page had a long career in Education and holds a doctorate in the field. She has been a full-time writer since 1990.

www.katherine-hall-page.org

Randall Peffer is the author of WATERMEN, LOGS OF THE DEAD PIRATES and the Cape Islands Mystery series. He has also written over 300 features for National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, Reader's Digest, Travel Holiday, Islands, Sail, Woodenboat and the major metro-dailies. For 23 years he has been the captain of the research schooner Sarah Abbot. He teaches literature and writing at Phillips Academy/Andover.

www.randallpeffer.com

Gina Panettieri has worked in publishing as an agent, independent editor and writer since 1988, and has been President of Talcott Notch Literary in Milford, Connecticut since 2003. She specializes in mystery and suspense, as well as nonfiction of all kinds.

website: www.talcottnotch.net

Janet Reid, Imprint Agency, began agenting with one client and a rolodex of publicity contacts after a 15 year career in book publicity. Five years later her client list numbers more than 20 and includes an Edgar winner, a special effects costume designer for the movies, and a host of other captivating writers. Recent books include THE ELECTRIC CHURCH by Jeff Somers (Orbit); MASTER DETECTIVE by John Reisinger (Kensington); DREAMING OF GWEN STEFANI by Evan Mandery (ig); GRAVE IMPORTS by Eric Stone (Bleak House).

website: www.fineprintlit.com

Winner of the 2007 Al Blanchard Award, Pat Remick has stories in the DEADFALL and STILL WATERS anthologies, and is working on a novel. The veteran journalist and freelance writer also co-authored two non-fiction books with husband Frank Cook. They live in New Hampshire with their two sons.

www.patremick.com

Over five hundred of Stephen's stories and poems have been selected to appear in more than two hundred publications. He's also the president of the non-profit Literature Is For Everybody, Inc and vice president of the New England chapter, Mystery Writers of America.

www.stephendrogers.com

Award-winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is currently on the air at Boston's NBC affiliate, where she's broken big stories for the past 22 years. Along with her 26 EMMYs, Hank's won also won dozens of other journalism honors. She's been a radio reporter, a proofreader, a legislative aide in the US Senate and on staff at Rolling Stone Magazine. Her first mysteries, PRIME TIME (winner Agatha Award for Best First Novel of 2007, double RITA nominee and DAPHNE nominee and FACE TIME (Book Sense Notable Book), were best sellers. The next in the series, AIR TIME and DRIVE TIME, are also coming soon from MIRA Books.

www.hankphillippiryan.com

Susan Schwartzman

www.susanschwartzman.com

Steven Torres was born and raised in New York City, but lived a year and a half of his youth in Puerto Rico. His books include THE CONCRETE MAZE (2007) and PRECINCT PUERTO RICO (2002). The fifth book in the Precinct Puerto Rico series is expected out in late 2009. Steven lives in central Connecticut and teaches English at Manchester Community College.

www.steventorres.com

Eugenia Lovett West was born in Boston, and moved to New Haven when her father, Rev. Sidney Lovett, was appointed Chaplain of Yale. She attended Sarah Lawrence College and worked for HARPER'S BAZAAR and American Red Cross. Her historical/suspense novel THE ANCESTORS CRY OUT was published by Doubleday and Ballantine. Married, now a widow, Jeannie has four children and four grandchildren and lives in Essex, CT and Holderness, NH.

www.eugenialwest.com

An award-winning author, Leslie writes the "living history" mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Miranda Lewis. Titles include MURDER AT PLIMOTH PLANATION and MURDER AT GETTYSBURG. Leslie is currently at work on the third book in her series, MURDER AT MYSTIC (Seaport). Her crime stories have appeared in WINDCHILL and SEASMOKE, anthologies by Level Best Books. A former VP of NE Sisters in Crime, she now serves as Speakers Bureau coordinator for the chapter. She is also a member of MWA and the Crime Bake Committee.

www.lesliewheeler.com

Raffi Yessayan is the former chief of the Gang Unit in the Suffolk County DA's Office in Boston. He is currently in private practice as a criminal defense attorney. During his career in the DA's office he prosecuted many violent offenders and lectured nationally on the issues of gangs, guns and crime prevention strategies. Through his work, he learned that the grand jury's subpoena power is one of the most effective tools in investigating and solving shootings and other violent crimes. Unless you have been prosecutor or have sat on a grand jury, you probably have no idea what goes on during this secret proceeding. His presentation includes powerful film footage of former gang members who learned first hand the tragic consequences associated with gang life. He also reveals the mysterious nuts and bolts of grand jury procedure and the more advanced techniques used specifically in the prosecution of violent crime. Yessayan will provide practical tips for translating such real-life experience into fiction.

Christine Witthohn opened her own agency, Book Cents Literary Agency LLC, in September 2006. She represents both published and unpublished authors and is actively seeking great stories with unforgettable characters in these areas of fiction: Mysteries (all types), Edgy Suspense and Thrillers (her favorite genres), in addition to Women's Fiction and a really good Romantic Comedy. She loves a great story, but more importantly wants to be the one to sell it! If you see her… don't be shy and introduce yourself.

website: Book Cents Literary Agency

One of man's earliest discoveries was the trinity of plants: beauty, utility and death. Come explore the range of effects from healing to agonized death found in the garden. Bring your plants, cuttings, dried blooms and seed packets for show and tell.