Our December meeting is an in-person dinner in Ottawa. If you are interested in attending please contact communications@capitalcrimewriters.com  before December 7, 2025.

Guest Speaker: Bernadette Cox:  Editing A Capital Mystery

Bernadette will share what events brought her to editing fiction and talk about her role co-editing A Capital Mystery, the highly acclaimed anthology of short crime stories by Ottawa writers, published by Ottawa Press and Publishing. She’ll share the early steps taken to determine if the project was feasible, highlight some common errors and bright spots in the writing and leave tips for writers to consider before submitting stories. She will also let us know what she found to be the most difficult parts of the job and what she learned from the experience. She hopes to hear from CCW members, many whose work appears in the anthology, about their views on the writer-editor relationship, particularly how to improve it. Those who contributed stories to the anthology will be encouraged to share what they found exciting, annoying and/or fun about the project.

After 10 years in community and farm journalism, Bernadette Cox moved to corporate communications, first with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and then leading the communications unit of the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency. Completing 21 years in corporate agriculture communications, she began freelancing and has written and edited for national organizations in the fields of health, municipal affairs and labour. She is among the editors of Mike Martin’s award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mysteries and edited his first poetry book, Hope and Love and Other Dreams. Together with Mike, she edited A Capital Mystery, an anthology of short stories written by Ottawa and Ottawa-area authors, and has just finished helping him with his second book of poetry, which is scheduled for release in early 2026.

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.