Partnerships
Join us in recognizing local and national organizations, businesses, and associations that consistently support authors, readers, literacy, and the mystery-writing community.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs amplifies the voices of writers and the academic programs and organizations that serve them while championing diversity and excellence in creative writing. As a national association of creative writers and writing programs, AWP brings together independent writers, academic writing programs, journals, presses, and arts organizations. In addition to hosting the largest annual gathering of writers in North America, we build supportive communities united by a love for the literary arts through our extensive website, thriving mentorship program, and magazine dedicated to the craft of writing.
The annual Creatures, Crimes & Creativity Con gathers readers and writers of genre fiction–mystery, suspense, thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal–in an informal atmosphere where everyone can have fun connecting and learning about writing. Meet the authors and their books. The conference offers panels on the craft and business of writing, as well as panels to engage and entertain fans. Organizers: Denise Camacho, Austin Camacho.
CrimeReads is a culture website for people who believe suspense is the essence of storytelling, questions are as important as answers, and nothing beats the thrill of a good book. It’s a single, trusted source where readers can find the best writing from the worlds of crime, mystery, and thrillers—a literary culture that’s more robust than ever, but diffuse. Like its founding website, Literary Hub, CrimeReads is an organizing principle, curating and cultivating a daily slate of high-quality writing, a digital space where readers and writers can gather and engage. With the help of its editorial partners, CrimeReads is a site readers can rely on for smart, entertaining writing about the culture they love.
Founded in 2018 by Walter Mosley, Gigi Pandian, and Kellye Garrett, Crime Writers of Color (CWoC) is a community of over 450 current and emerging crime fiction and non-fiction authors. We provide a supportive space for writers from underrepresented backgrounds to navigate the unique challenges of publishing through extensive learning and networking opportunities. CWoC is dedicated to reshaping the genre by championing industry-wide diversity—a mission honored by the 2023 MWA Raven Award and the 2024 Bouchercon David Thompson Award. Meet our members at CrimeWritersofColor.com and through our podcast and YouTube channel.
Destination DC serves as the lead organization to successfully manage and market Washington, DC as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination, with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historical communities. Destination DC is a private, non-profit corporation with a membership of 1,000+ businesses and organizations that support the DC travel and tourism sector. Formerly known as the Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation, the organization was renamed in 2008 to reflect the organization’s increased emphasis on the city’s unique assets. Destination DC drives economic development for the District through travel and tourism, from leisure activities to meetings and conventions. Explore the latest visitor statistics and dive into our annual report.
George Mason Creative Writing is a community of literary artists, faculty, arts administrators, and publishing professionals based on the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University. Our programs include both a BFA and an MFA in Creative Writing, a Minor in Dynamic Publishing, and a Graduate Certificate in Publishing Practice. (www.creativewriting.gmu.edu). Watershed Lit: Center for Literary Engagement and Publishing Practice is a collective of organizations whose missions create and promote transformative experiences in the literary arts at Mason and beyond. It includes Fall for the Book literary festival, Stillhouse Press, Poetry Daily, the Alan Cheuse International Writers Center, and the Northern Virginia Writing Project (www.watershedlit.gmu.edu).
The International Thriller Writers (ITW) is a not-for-profit, honorary society benefiting over 6,600 thriller authors, with 3.6B books in print, from all over the world, who write books broadly classified as “thrillers.” These books include murder mystery, detective, suspense, horror, supernatural, action, espionage, true crime, war, adventure, and myriad similar subject areas. ITW’s mission is to bestow recognition and promote the thriller genre. ITW convenes the annual ThrillerFest conference, and presents the ITW Thriller Awards for excellence in the thriller genre.
Left Coast Crime is an annual mystery convention sponsored by mystery fans, both readers and authors. LCC is held during the first third of the year in Western North America. Conventions have been held from Anchorage to El Paso, from Denver to Hawaii, and various locations in between. Our purpose is to host an event where readers, authors, critics, librarians, publishers, and other fans can gather in convivial surroundings to pursue their mutual interests. LCC has been awarded the MWA Raven Award, and organizers, Lucinda Surber and Stan Ulrich are recipients of the Bouchercon Board's 2025 David Thompson Special Service Award. The next LCC will be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico. April 1-4, 2027
Malice Domestic is an annual fan convention celebrating the Traditional Mystery, books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. Malice takes place in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., and is unique in the mystery conference world, as a convention of both fans and authors. In addition to the usual array of high quality panels, and other activities focused on mysteries and mystery writing, attending authors have multiple opportunities to interact with their readers. Each year, Malice confers the prestigious Agatha Award in six categories: Best Novel, Best First Mystery, Best Historical Novel, Best Short Story, Best Non-Fiction, and Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery. In some years, the Poirot Award is presented to honor individuals other than writers who have made outstanding contributions to the mystery genre.
Mystery Readers International is the largest mystery fan/reader organization in the world, is open to all readers, fans, critics, editors, publishers, and writers. Started by Janet A. Rudolph in Berkeley, California, it now has members in all 50 of the United States and 18 foreign countries. Members vote each year to nominate and select the winners of the Macavity Award. The Mystery Readers Journal, the group’s publication, is a quarterly mystery review Journal. Each issue contains articles, reviews, and author essays on a specific theme, as well as special columns and other mystery related material. Mystery Readers Journal goes out to over 2,000 international mystery readers.
Mystery Writers of America is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime-writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre. MWA is dedicated to promoting higher regard for crime writing and recognition and respect for those who write within the genre. We provide scholarships for writers, sponsor MWA Literacy programs, sponsor symposia and conferences, present the Edgar® Awards, and conduct other activities to further a better appreciation and higher regard for crime writing.
Founded in January 2011, One More Page Books, a woman-owned independent bookstore in North Arlington, is a place of welcome and discovery where a love of reading is cultivated alongside friendship, acceptance, and connection. We strive to be a gathering place for the community and nurturing environment for diverse authors and readers. One More Page curates a wide selection of books, puzzles, chocolate, wine, and more, to make our store a place of exploration and delight.
The PEN/Faulkner Foundation champions the breadth and power of fiction in America. The organization is dedicated to the idea that fiction creates empathy within and among communities and advances civil discourse. American culture thrives when stories from diverse perspectives enrich our lives. To further these ideals, we cultivate a vibrant landscape for writers and readers of fiction both locally and nationally. We achieve this mission by administering three national fiction awards in addition to naming an annual PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion; hosting public literary events; and empowering the next generation of readers and writers through a variety of education programs.
Politics and Prose is a large, independent bookstore situated in the nation’s capital and serving a broad array of Washington readers, writers, thinkers, teachers, and policy-makers. Founded 41 years ago by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade, the bookstore has been owned since 2011 by Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine.
Founded in 2019, Queer Crime Writers exists to promote community and collaboration among crime fiction authors who identify as LGBTQIA+, and to honor the genre's long and distinguished queer literary history. We advocate for the recognition of queer crime fiction as equal in status and commercial viability to that of straight, cisgender authors—by the reading public, by writers and publishers, and across the broader bookselling and professional community. To that end, we strengthen the bonds within our own writing community, serve as a liaison to established crime fiction organizations, including publishers, conferences, and professional associations, and work to educate the broader community about the rich history and enduring legacy of LGBTQIA+ crime fiction.
ShortCon, the Premiere Conference for Writers of Short Crime Fiction, is presented by East Coast Crime each June in Alexandria, Virginia. Join acclaimed crime fiction professionals for this immersive, one-day event and learn how to write short crime fiction, get your stories published, and develop and sustain a long-term career writing short crime fiction.
Sisters in Crime is the premier crime writing association focused on equity and inclusion in our community and in publishing. Founded in 1986 to represent and advocate for women crime writers, we celebrate and honor this history with our name while we continue to work for all who share our commitment to and love for a vibrant, inclusive community. Our 4,500+ members enjoy access to tools to help them learn, grow, improve, thrive, reinvent if necessary. They also gain a community of supportive fellow writers and readers, both peers to share the peaks and valleys of writing, and mentors to model the way forward.
The International Spy Museum (SPY) is an independent nonprofit museum which documents the tradecraft, history, and contemporary role of espionage. It holds the largest collection of international espionage artifacts on public display. The Museum lifts the veil of secrecy on the hidden world of intelligence, exploring its successes and failures, challenges, and controversies, by creating compelling exhibits and interactive learning resources that challenge each of us to engage critically with the complex world around us. Student and educator resources include teacher lesson plans, case studies, and a template on how to write your own spy novel. The SPY museums digital repository holds bibliographies, documents, and source materials relevant to crime fiction, thriller and mystery writers, and readers.
Since 2011, the Washington Independent Review of Books has delivered a free, daily, online publication with new, high-quality content seven days a week. Our mission is to share a love of books and reading, to support full access to books of all kinds, to offer thoughtful commentary on a wide range of books, and to introduce readers to authors and books they might not otherwise meet. Especially with the disappearance of so many book review sites—most recently, The Washington Post dropped all book coverage—we strive to remain a strong, passionate voice in the regional and national conversation about books, authors, and ideas. We also present the annual Washington Writers Conference, now in its 13th year, with a focus on helping writers to move their work toward publication, offering practical guidance on the business side of writing and the opportunity to pitch literary agents.
The Writer’s Center is a nonprofit that supports writers and everyone who wants to write! Every year we offer hundreds of creative writing classes, dozens of free events for writers, and countless opportunities to connect with the Washington DC and national literary communities.