The second runner up to be reviewed by ​Dr. Linda Ledford-Miller is Stacy Gillis and Gunnthórunn Gudmundsdóttir's edited collection, Noir in the North: Gender, Politics, and Place​ (2020). 

​Once again, we would like to congratulate all of the authors and editors of these outstanding volumes of crime fiction scholarship. 

As promised at our online event in November, we will be reviewing both of the runners up of the 2020 ICFA Book Prize on our association blog. 

​First up, ​Susannah B. Mintz's The Disabled Detective: Sleuthing Disability in Contemporary Crime Fiction (2020) reviewed by ​Dr. Linda Ledford-Miller. 

​Please find below a CFP for a seminar of the American Comparative Literature Association Annual Meeting, which will take place at National Taiwan Normal University.

Deadline: October 31, 2021
Conference:  15-18 June 2022

She gave us intricate plots, red herrings, and iconic detectives in the form of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple—born on this day in 1890, Agatha Christie is credited with revolutionising the mystery genre. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) which celebrated its hundred and first birthday this year, was written after a bet with her sister Madge and inspired by the Belgium refugees in the wake of the first world war. Four years and six rejections later, the novel was published—earning her the meagre price of twenty-five pounds for her pains.

Though the plot revolves around a murder at a hunting weekend set in the British countryside, the aspect of the crime itself seems to move into the periphery of the narrative, allowing space for the actual central theme of the film: the many characters and their interclass relations. ​American director, Robert Altman, boldly claimed: “I don’t call it a whodunit so much as I call it a who cares whodunit” (Altman and Fellowes) when describing his film, Gosford Park (2001), which combines the genre of British heritage films with the classic whodunit narrative (Dalrymple 2). Indeed,  as viewers, we might sympathize with this quote when considering the critical social undercurrent of the narrative. 

The University of East Anglia, UK, is proud to announce an international symposium dedicated to the writing of Lee Child, a key figure in contemporary crime fiction, and creator of the world-renowned Jack Reacher series. Childs will be at the conference himself to celebrate the unveiling of his archive and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Killing Floor. 
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Deadline for submissions: 1st September 2021
Conference: 1st April 2022 

To celebrate the 128th Birthday of Dorothy L. Sayers, we've asked Dr. Eric Sandberg to give us a glimpse into the life and legacy of this prolific writer and critic, and her wider impact on one of the most fruitful periods in the history of crime fiction.

The next volume in the prestigious McFarland Companions to Mystery Fiction series is now available for preorder. Dorothy L. Sayers: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Eric Sandberg (no. 11 in the series) looks at the life and work of the creator of sleuths Lord Peter Wimsey and Montague Egg.