Prose in the Park 2017 takes place on Saturday June 10th in the Parkdale park. CCW members will be interested in the Emerging Crime panel which is moderated by Melissa Yuan-Innes (Yi) CCW member and author of the Hope Sze series. She will be joined by authors and CCW members Jim Napier who just launched his debit novel and Patricia Filteau author of the Kate Roarty P.I. series. They will be joined by Crime writers Catherine Astolpho and Michael Blair. Come and discover the wide variety of local authors. Please go towww.proseinthepark.com for directions, program and information. The festival runs 1100-1800. The Emerging Crime Panel begins at 1600. All Crime writers can be found at Tent 7 where Mike Martin, author of the Sgt Windflower series will also join this gang in crime writing. All participating authors in the Emerging Crime panel and Tent 7 have just released new novels.
CCW MEETING WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017
Pizza will be served. If you are coming, please email m.murphy345@hotmail.com so I know how much pizza is needed. The mystery book exchange is also taking place. Bring a mystery you have finished reading & exchange it for something else. After the
PLEASE MARK YOU CALENDARS AND COME TO THE MAY MEETING IF POSSIBLE. A STRONG INTEREST IN THE ELECTIONS IS NEEDED, OTHERWISE CCW IS AT RISK OF FOLDING.
The CCW Executive is composed of the following positions:
PRESIDENT: oversees the Executive; builds consensus at Executive meetings; oversees the implementation of Association plans & programs; ensures Association operates in accordance with its By- Laws; calls Executive meetings; organizes agenda & chairs Executive meetings.
VICE-PRESIDENT: carries out duties & responsibilities of the President when the President is unavailable; runs the Audrey Jessup short story contest.
PAST-PRESIDENT: serves in advisory capacity to Executive to facilitate the continuity of information from one Executive to the next
PROGRAM DIRECTOR: responsible for the content of the regular monthly meetings(speakers & workshops) & the December dinner. Reserves the meeting rooms for the monthly meetings.
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: responsible for implementing & maintaining communications, including an Internet presence.
SECRETARY/MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR: maintains membership records; solicits membership renewals; drafts summary minutes of Executive meetings.
TREASURER: maintains a bank account in the name of ‘Capital Crime Writers’; receives fees & reimburses expenses; prepares an annual financial summary
For the past year the SECRETARY-MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR & TREASURER positions have been filled by one person
The Program Director is normally assisted by two members from the Association. The Communications Director is normally assisted by one member from the Association.
Members who have served on the Executive have generally served for a number of terms. This has given the Executive a degree of continuity. However, few new members have joined in recent years. The Organization’s strength lies in its members. An executive needs and benefits greatly from an infusion of new Executive members. New members build on past strengths, bring new ideas and help the Association face new challenges. In short, the Executive remains relevant to its members and carries the organization forward.
Any member of CCW can put their name forward for any position on the Executive. A number of current Executive members have agreed to stay on the Executive. CURRENTLY THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND ONE OF HIS ASSISTANTS POSITIONS WILL BECOME VACANT. THE PERSON WHO HAS OVERSEEN UPDATING THE WEBSITE WILL ALSO STEP DOWN. OTHER EXECUTIVE POSITIONS MAY BECOME VACANT.
The Executive meets about four times a year. The meetings usually take place in a library or a pub. Having vacant Executive positions places more work on fewer members. Our Executive needs new blood.
If you are interested in putting your name forward for any of the Executive positions outlined above, or if you have any questions, please contact the President Michael Murphy (m.murphy345@hotmail.com).
I look forward to a good turnout for this important meeting. It’s your CCW, please participate.
Michael Murphy
CAPITAL CRIME WRITERS MEMBERS ON 2017 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS SHORTLISTS
The shortlists for the 2017 Arthur Ellis Awards were announced on April 20, 2017. Three CCW members are nominated:
Brenda Chapman. No Trace, Grass Roots Press (Best Novella: The Lou Allin Memorial Award.)
Elizabeth Hosang, Where There’s a Will, The Whole She-Bang 3, Toronto Sisters in Crime (Best Short Story.)
Mary Fernando, An Absence of Empathy, (Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel sponsored by Dundurn Press.)
CONGRATULATIONS.
(Posted by Elizabeth because I have the password; someone else told me what to say 🙂 )
April Meeting Announcement
When: 7 pm, Wednesday April 12, 2017
Where: Honeywell Room, second floor, Ottawa City Hall
Speaker: Ray Tallim, Provincial Crown Prosecutor
Ray Tallim is a Provincial Crown Prosecutor who has worked for the department for 17 years. He will share stories of his job and answer questions.
March CCW Meeting
When: 7:00 pm, Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Where: Honeywell Room, second floor, Ottawa City Hall.
Speaker: Staff Sergeant Stephanie Burns of the Organized Fraud Section of the Ottawa Police Service.
Fraud is all around. The Ottawa Police Organized Fraud Section focuses on investigating fraud matters and trends that can be linked, tracked and documented such as:
- Fraud Against Seniors
- Counterfeit Fraud (currency and other documents)
- Credit Cards and Debit Card Fraud,
- Cheque Fraud
- Social Assistance (welfare) Fraud
- Computer Fraud
- Identity Theft
- Corporate Fraud
Some common scams include: email scams, advance fee scams, cheque overpayment scams, charitable organization scams, lottery scams, computer virus scams (haven’t we all heard “This is Windows Technical Department and we are receiving bad signals from your computer,” romance scams, loans/scholarship scams, tax and Revenue Canada scams (It seems the frausters don’t know it has long been called Canada Revenue Agency), seniors being targeted, blessing scams, and door to door scams.
Staff Sergeant Burns has been a police officer for 25 years. She is a full-time officer, a part-time photographer and a lover of horses at all times. When there is a jewelry box, other people may see a beautiful item, she will see a great surface for fingerprints. Staff Sergeant Burns is on Twitter and often tweets advice such as: banks don’t communicate security concerns via text message. She will talk to CCW about fraud and provide advice on how to avoid it.
February Meeting of CCW
There is no meeting of CCW in February. The next meeting will be on Wednesday March 8, 2017 in the Honeywell Room (second floor) of Ottawa City Hall.
Meet our 2017 Audrey short story contest judges!
It’s time to tap into your inner sleuth, and start crafting your short story crime fiction masterpiece for this year’s CCW Audrey short story contest. This is your chance to put your story in front of our panel of award-winning professional writers. Meet our judges:
Ottawa crime writer Brenda Chapman began her writing career with the Jennifer Bannon mysteries for young adults with Running Scared, the first in the series, released in 2004. During this period, Brenda wrote short stories that were published in various magazines, including Canadian Living, Storyteller and the 2005 anthology When Boomers Go Bad. In 2010, her first standalone mystery for adults entitled In Winter’s Grip was released. She currently has two adult series in the works: the Anna Sweet mysteries for adult literacy (Grass Roots Press) and the Stonechild and Rouleau mysteries — Shallow End, the fourth in this police procedural series will be on the shelves in March 2017 (Dundurn).
Melissa Yi is an emergency physician who writes Derringer Award-nominated mysteries. CBC Radio’s The Next Chapter selected STOCKHOLM SYNDROME, the Hope Sze medical thriller about a Montreal hostage-taking, as one of the best crime novels of the season. Melissa’s work has been hailed as “impressive” and “moving” by Publishers Weekly. Her short fiction has graced Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Jewish Noir, Indian Country Noir, Sleuth Magazine, and will appear the upcoming Montreal Noir. In her spare time, Melissa chases after two small children and one large Rottweiler. She hangs out at Facebook, Twitter (@dr_sassy) and melissayuaninnes.com.
Madona Skaff-Koren was a past president of both Capital Crime Writers and the Ottawa Chapter of Sisters in Crime. With a degree in biology, she worked in mining research for many years. In 2015 she published her mystery novel, “JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND STEPS” (Renaissance Press), about a marathon runner disabled by MS who turns sleuth to find her missing friend. She has also published several short stories, including the Arthur Ellis finalist “FIRST IMPRESSIONS”, which appeared in The Whole She-Bang 2 (2014). Find her on Facebook, at madonaskaff.com and renaissancebookpress.com.
Festive dinner Dec. 14
When and where
When: Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 6 p.m.
Where: Tony Capones Italian Grill, 2369 Carling Avenue, Ottawa
The festive dinner takes place at Capone’s Italian Grill. Come for dinner, starting at 6 p.m. Our after dinner speaker is R.J. Harlick, author of the Meg Harris mystery series.
Space is limited. Please email president@capitalcrimewriters.com to reserve your place. Please include the number of people in your party.
A Quick Killing: Writing the Mystery Short Story
When and where
When: Monday November 7, 2016 at 6:15-8:15 p.m.
Where: Alta Vista Branch, Ottawa Public Library, 2516 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa
Join us as Melanie Fogel, editor of Triptych Tales, presents an overview of the fundamentals of mystery short story writing. Register on the Ottawa Public Library website under the Programs and events tab.
Melanie Fogel has spent over thirty years in & around publishing. She was a fiction editor for Storyteller, Canada’s Short Story Magazine for fifteen years. Her work has been published in a variety of magazines and anthologies.
Melanie was nominated for an Arthur Ellis Award in 2006. She is the author of two books, The Storyteller Fiction Writer’s Companion and The Storyteller Fiction Writers Workbook.
Forensic Identification – Crime Scene Analysis
Topic: Forensic Identification – Crime Scene Analysis
Date: Wednesday, October 12
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Colonel By Room, second floor, Ottawa City Hall
Kelly Menna of the Ottawa Police Service will be discussing the role of the Forensic Section of the police service in investigations.
Kelly joined the Ottawa Police Service in 2008 and was assigned to general patrol/911 response in the West End. In 2011, Kelly received training as a Scenes of Crime Officer (SOCO), authorized to forensically process scenes, such as break and enters, mischief to properties, assaults etc on top of general calls for service.
In January 2016, Kelly transferred to the Forensic Identification Section (FIS) and so returned to the Ontario Police College for approximately three months for further training, graduating at the top of the class for fingerprint submissions and second overall.
The Forensic Identification Section (FIS) provides 24/7 service for Ottawa. It is responsible for crime scene documentation, including the identification, collection, preservation, examination and continuity of crime scene exhibits.
A Forensic Identification Officer has a demanding and complex set of duties that is supported through diverse education and training as well as practical experience. They attend crime scenes ranging from break and enters to deaths and near death (including suicides and attempted suicides, homicides, fatal and near fatal motor vehicle accidents). Popular television shows like “CSI” have brought attention to the science of forensic analysis and although these shows are very entertaining, crimes are not always solved that quickly.