October 2026
Daisy Bateman – My Bouchercon panel, “Field of Dreams,” will be about everything that happens between signing a deal and publication. It’s on Wednesday, Oct. 21st, from 3-3:45 PM, so I’m looking forward to seeing some of the early arrivals. If you can’t make it to my signing time after the panel, I’ll be at the MWA table on Thursday from 2:30-3 PM.
Dale Berry – At Calgary Bouchercon I’ll be part of the panel “The Beat Goes On: Music in Crime Writing”, Saturday, October 24, 1:30-2:15 PM. My radio past returns to haunt me!
Mysti Berry – I am looking forward to a visit to Calgary (and Lake Louise in Banff) for Bouchercon 2026, where I will be on a panel about “Submitting to Anthologies and Short Story Publishers” with EA Aymar, Puja Gaha, Avram Lavinksy, and moderated by Pamela Donison.
On a related note, I have four short stories that are meant to be published in 2027, including a story in the collection, Sahara Black, edited by Gary Phillips, along with husband Dale Berry (our first time being published together!). The other three stories are in collections edited by Dawn Barclay, and are orphans that survived the demise of Down & Out Books to live again another day. Details when they are made available.
Randal Brandt – Calling all Cal alums. If you’re planning to attend Homecoming festivities at UC Berkeley this year, please join me for my lecture, “Only Murders in the Library,” on Saturday, Oct. 10, 3-4 PM, in Pauley Ballroom East. I will be speaking about the history of the Bancroft Library’s California Detective Fiction Collection. Homecoming registration is required. Go Bears!
Michael Cooper – My historical series, Seasons of Empire, which begins with The Rabbi’s Knight set in the 13th century, is now the subject of a 60-minute TV pilot screenplay. While the anticipated five-book limited TV series with pitch deck is currently being considered by various production companies, the script was submitted to the 2026 Austin Film Festival Script Competition and named a Second Rounder in the Drama Teleplay Pilot category. Here’s hoping!
Scotty Cornfield – This event isn’t specific to those of us writing mysteries (although a few MWA members are on the panels), but … the Central Coast Writers club (based in the Monterey area) is hosting a writers roundup called “The Craft of Writing Fiction” on Saturday, October 24, from 10 AM-noon. Doors open at 9:45 for table discussions led by CCW members on the following topics: Setting Description Strategies; Character Development Techniques; Plot and Structure Frameworks and Resources; and Understanding Point of View.
This event is free, open to the public, and may be too simple for experienced writers. On the other hand, if you’re looking for an excuse to come to Monterey, you may have found it.
Location: Hilltop Park Center, 871 Jessie St., Monterey.
For further info, contact me at scotty@scottycornfield.com.
James Donzella – Murder Wrapped in Mink, the 2nd novel in the James Wolf Mystery Series, will drop on October 9. For anyone who would like an advanced copy of the e-book, they can email me at jd2020productions@gmail.com or hit my webpage jamesdonzella.com.
There are a limited number of advanced copies so it’s a first come-first served offer.
Vinnie Hansen – The inaugural issue of the Short Mystery Fiction Society Magazine, released digitally on September 30, includes a reprint of my story “I Want To Be Your Boyfriend.”
Dwight Holing – It’s shaping up to be a busy October! I’ll be at Orinda Books in Orinda, CA on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 2:30 PM in conversation with John Onoda, founder of DozenBestBooks.com, discussing my newest Nick Drake Mystery, The Yellow Hair, and my journey from journalism to award-winning crime fiction.
On Saturday, Oct. 17 at 12 PM, I’ll be introducing readers to my Nick Drake series at the Carmel Valley Public Library in Carmel Valley, CA. And on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 10 AM, I’ll be conducting a free open-to-the-public workshop on “The Craft of Writing” with several other local authors at the Hilltop Park Center in Monterey, CA.
Nancy Lynn Jarvis – A Faire to Remember drops in print and ebook format on October first.
Fun at the Volunteer Firefighters Spring Faire comes to a stunning end when a vendor is electrocuted. Many vendors, volunteers, and firefighters disliked him but not enough to kill him, at least that’s what everyone thought until amateur private investigator Pat Pirard discovers his dark past. Who had the opportunity, means, and motive to kill him? Did the killer act alone or was there a murder conspiracy? How was the victim set up to die with everyone watching during the well-attended faire? Answering those questions makes this the most challenging case Pat has ever had.
Laurie R. King – I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that I will be the Lifetime Achievement Award Guest of Honor at the 2028 Bouchercon in Indianapolis! Their web site will go up soon, but put Aug. 30-Sept. 3 onto your calendar. But, more immediately…
October 1, 6:30 PM, Sunnyvale: a panel on cold case mysteries, at Leigh’s Favorite Books, with Michelle Chouinard, Kelli Stanley, and Cara Black.
October 10, 2 PM, I’m going to try a LIVE Q&A on my Substack channel, talking about Those Who Are Gone.
October 24 at the Calgary Bouchercon, at 1:30 I get to moderate Through the Speculative Lens, with Candas Jane Dorsey, Lee Matthew Goldberg, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Sandra (SG) Wong.
And, my talk on mystery writing with our own amazing Lisa Towles is streaming now on YouTube and on all podcast channels at her Story Impact site.
James L’Etoile – October 3, I will attend Wordstock209 at the San Joaquin Delta College, in Stockton. I will be participating on The Mystery and Thriller panel: Death and Dismay in the 209 along with authors Robin Burcell and June Gilliam at 1 PM.
October 17 – I will appear virtually with the Sisters in Crime – Iowa Chapter to present “What Authors Really Need to Know About What Happens in Prison.” Attendees can learn about life on the inside without that pesky felony conviction.
October 18 – join me at Old Haunts Bookshop in Granite Bay for a Darkness Falls release party. “Darkness” themed treats, crime trivia, and fun in a great independent bookstore. The bookstore would appreciate RSVPs to this free event.
October 20-25 – Attending Bouchercon in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I will participate in Speed Dating with Author Partner Laurie Dove, and a pair of panels on Friday, one of which is the Anthony Award nominee panel for paperback original (River of Lies).
October 29 – I will participate with Claire Booth and Elena Taylor in a deadly event with Wild Sisters Book Co. in their Old Sacramento location in the Paperworks Building at 1115 Front Street. It will be a ticketed event held in the Death by Natural Causes exhibit where all three authors will share how they do away with their fictional victims.
Jennifer Morita – I will be in conversation with Tamiko Nimura, author of the memoir, A Place for What We Lose, about telling new Nikkei stories on Thursday, Oct. 13 from 6 to 8 PM at the Buddhist Church of Sacramento, 2401 Riverside Blvd. There will be a Q&A and book signing following the talk. Refreshments will be served. Please register here.
Stephen Murphy – My fourth Dutch Francis legal thriller, Justice Bent, will be released in November by Indies United.
A brief summary: In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the chaos of the pandemic, a white man is shot during a Black Lives Matter protest—an explosive crime that ignites national tension. The accused shooter, Leon Rucker, a respected Black community leader and family man, is arrested and charged with murder and a hate crime. Attorney Dutch Francis, a seasoned defense lawyer known for tackling highstakes cases, steps in to represent him.
Adam Plantinga – My third novel in the Kurt Argento series, Dark Country, comes out October 27.
Domenic Stansberry – My most recent novel, The Lizard (Molotov Editions), was named finalist for the 2026 Hammett Prize in August. No Exit Press (London) will be releasing The Lizard Internationally on October, 8, 2026—with an audio edition releasing simultaneously from Howes. I will be in London in October to celebrate the international launch.
James Tipton – My story, “The Elephant in the Gingerbread Shop, or The Pig on the Ring” is coming out in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine at the end of October; it is the 12th “Dr. Watson mystery” that the magazine has published – in the time period of Doyle’s Watson.
Also, three short stories of mine, “Journeys Home, Ancestor Stories,” were published in the literary magazine Nostos this September.
Laura Jensen Walker – I will be celebrating the launch of my new book, The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch (releasing 10/20), with a book signing and talk at Old Haunts Bookstore in Granite Bay on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 PM. Join me as I discuss my women’s fiction debut (not a mystery) featuring a curmudgeonly senior with sensory issues who prefers books to people and sets off on a literary pilgrimage to the UK, where things don’t go as planned.
There will be treats! RSVP here.