November Meeting

All the Feels – Crafting Your Reader’s Emotional Journey by Pam Barnsley, Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 7:00 pm (EST)

Of all the skills we writers bring to our short stories and novels, the ability to evoke an emotional response in our readers is arguably our most vital. When our reader feels their own fear, anger, sympathy, desire for revenge, nostalgia for a time gone by, laughter, heartache—that is what engages them.

Great hooks, strong voice, tight plotting, interesting characters, and smooth prose are all important, but the greatest satisfaction for the reader comes from having gone on their own emotional journey. There are tips and tricks we can use in our writing to evoke those emotions.

Pam Barnsley is a writer living on Vancouver Island, whose short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, Cold Canadian Crime Anthology, Midnight Schemers and Daydream Believers Anthology, and Dangerous Games Anthology. Her novel, The River Cage, was shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada Best Unpublished Novel in 2020. Her short literary story, The Troll Artist, was longlisted for the CBC Short Story Prize in 2025. Pam is a member of Crime Writers of Canada, and Sisters in Crime. She is also a former snowboard instructor, award-winning poet, and from her father she learned the ancient art of training a cat to jump over a stick. Find her at www.pambarnsley.com.

Short story finalists announced

The finalists for the 2016 Audrey Jessup Capital Crime Writers Short Story contest are:

  • Morgan Duchesney for Wrong Side of the River
  • Joe Italiano for On the Job
  • Andrew Kohut for Trouble with Numbers
  • James Portman for The Legacy
  • Wynn Quon for Haslau

The winners  will be announced on June 8th, 2016 at the Capital Crime Writers Pub Night. Nominees will read from their entries.

Congratulations to all of the nominees and best of luck.

When and where

When: Wedesnday, June 8, 2016 at 6:15 p.m.
Where: Peter Devine’s Pub located at 67 Clarence St. in the Byward Market

Ready, set, write!

crime_scene_tapeTime to get cracking on that crime fiction short story you’ve been thinking about.

You have fewer than 12 weeks to craft your submission for a shot at the 2016 Audrey Jessup prize for short stories of the criminal sort.

The contest is hosted by the Capital Crime Writers and entries must be postmarked no later than April 1, 2016.

That deadline is not a joke. See contest rules here.