2019 Faculty (Mystery Writers Conference)

2019 Faculty


	Cara Black Conference Co-Chair Bestselling author, who writes the Aimée Leduc mysteries set in Paris. "If the cobblestones could speak they might tell a tale as haunting as the one Black spins," notes the New York Times. Her newest book is Murder on the Left Bank. She is a member of the Marais Societe Historique, received the Medaille de la Ville de Paris, bestowed on those supporting French culture. Black is a San Francisco Library Laureate, and her books have been Washington Post Notable Picks, IndieNext Picks and shortlisted for the Northern California Independent Bookseller Best Novel award. Mystery Confrence Alum.
	Tony Broadbent Writer and award-winning author of mystery novels and short stories, including The One After 9:09: A Mystery with a Backbeat. His newest title -- a work of non-fiction -- is The Beatles in Liverpool, Hamburg, London: People \| Venues \| Events \| That Shaped Their Music.
	Karen Catalona A Deputy District Attorney for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, Karen Catalona prosecutes sex crimes and domestic violence. Her past assignments included the gang unit, felony trial team and prosecuting elder abuse. She teaches at the Police Academy and recently wrote short plays as a 2017-2018 member of the PlayGround Writers Company. She is currently revising her first novel.
	Kimberley Cameron Literary agent and President of Kimberley Cameron and Associates. She has been successful with many different genres, and especially loves the thrill of securing representation for debut authors. Cameron represents both fiction and nonfiction manuscripts
	Steve Cavanagh The author of the Eddie Flynn series, which includes The Defense, The Plea, and Thirteen, as well as the forthcoming standalone Twisted. He currently practices civil rights law and has been involved in several high profile cases.
	Elvis Chan A Supervisor Special Agent (SSA) who manages a squad responsible for investigating national security cyber matters. With over 12 years in the Bureau, he is a decorated agent who is recognized within the Intelligence Community as a cyberterrorism expert. SSA Chan was the lead agent on significant cyber investigations and managed joint counterterrorism operations with domestic and foreign law enforcement agencies.
	Joe Clifford Joe Clifford is the author of several books, including The One That Got Away, Junkie Love, and the Jay Porter Thriller Series, as well as editor of the anthology Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Bruce Springsteen. Joe’s writing can be found at www.joeclifford.com.
	Amy Cloughley Came to Kimberley Cameron & Associates in 2012 with a background in editing, writing, and marketing. She seeks authors with unique, clear voices who put forth smart, tightly-written prose.
	David Corbett Conference Co-Chair A skilled private investigator, having worked 15 years for the famed private investigation firm of Palladino & Sutherland, Corbett is also an award-winning writer of crime fiction and a superb teacher. His novels include Do They Know I’m Running?, Blood of Paradise, Done for a Dime (A New York Times Notable Book), The Devil’s Redhead, The Mercy of the Night, and his latest, The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday. His writing text, The Art of Character, has been called "a writer's bible."
	Colin Cotterill A teacher, a humanitarian, a cartoonist, and an author of a famed mystery series set in Laos featuring Dr. Siri Paiboun. The latest in the series is Don’t Eat Me, followed by The Second Biggest Nothing which will be published in August, 2019. He also has the funniest website we’ve ever seen: www.colincotterill.com
	Samantha Downing The author of the USA Today and #1 International Best Seller, My Lovely Wife, She was born and raised in Marin County and now lives in New Orleans, where she is furiously typing away on her next thrilling standalone.
	Hallie Ephron The bestselling author of Never Tell a Lie; Come and Find Me; There Was an Old Woman; and most recently, You’ll Never Know, Dear. Her latest novel, Careful What You Wish For, will be published in August, 2019. She is an award-winning crime fiction book reviewer, she wrote the “On Crime” column for the Boston Globe for ten years, and she teaches writing at a variety of workshops around the country.
	George Fong Spent twenty-seven years as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigating all facets of violent crimes, including kidnapping, extortion, serial killings, crimes against children, bank robbery, drug trafficking, fugitives, and Asian gangs. He was a member of the FBI's Evidence Response Team and a certified undercover agent. Fong is now the Director of Security for the world-wide sports television network, ESPN, and author of the new thriller, Fragmented.
	Elizabeth George Her suspense novels have achieved international acclaim. When you think of British crime fiction, the characters of Inspector Thomas Lynley and Sergeant Barbara Havers come instantly to mind. Her latest is The Punishment She Deserves.
	Rachel Howzell Hall Writes the acclaimed Lou Norton series, including Land of Shadows, Skies of Ash, Trail of Echoes, and City of Saviors, and is also the co-author of The Good Sister with James Patterson, which was included in the New York Times bestseller The Family Lawyer. Her latest novel is They All Fall Down, a standalone thriller. She is on the board of directors for Mystery Writers of America, and lives in Los Angeles.
	Naomi Hirahara The Edgar-winning author of the Mas Arai mystery series, including Blood Hina, Strawberry Yellow, Sayonara Slam, and the seventh and final in the series, Hiroshima Boy. She is also the author of the L.A.-based Ellie Rush mystery series, published by Penguin. Her Mas Arai books have earned such honors as the Chicago Tribune's Ten Best Mysteries and Thrillers and Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.
	Keith Kahla is a long-time executive editor at St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, where he publishes primarily fiction and mostly thrillers, crime fiction, and suspense. He's worked with a number of writers in his decades in publishing including winners of such mystery awards as the Edgar Award, Anthony, the ITW Thriller Award, the Shamus, the Macavity, and the Barry Award. Those writers include Robert Ludlum, Nevada Barr, Gregg Hurwitz, Jennifer Hillier, Steven Saylor, Joseph Finder, Keigo Higashino, Phillip Margolin, Qiu Xiaolong, Archer Mayor, and many many others.
	Laurie R. King The bestselling author of twenty-seven novels, including the Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes stories. That series began with The Beekeeper’s Apprentice and continues now with her most recent Island of the Mad, which is set in Mussolini’s Italy.
	Elizabeth Kracht Joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates in the fall of 2010. She represents both literary and commercial fiction as well as nonfiction, and brings to the agency experience as a former acquisitions editor, freelance publicist and writer.
	James L’Etoile James L’Etoile uses his 29 years behind bars as an influence in his novels, short stories and screenplays. He is a former associate warden in a maximum security prison, a hostage negotiator, and director of California’s parole system. His published novels include AT WHAT COST, BURY THE PAST, and LITTLE RIVER: The Other Side of Paradise. BURY THE PAST was a Silver Falchion award finalist as best procedural mystery of the year.
	Tim Maleeny Author of the award-winning Cape Weathers mysteries including Stealing The Dragon, Beating The Babushka, Greasing The Piñata and the bestselling comedic thriller Jump, which Publishers Weekly called "a perfectly blended cocktail of escapism." Tim's short fiction has won the prestigious Macavity Award and appears in several leading anthologies. His latest novel, Boxing The Octopus, will be released this October.
	Vilaska Nguyen Felony trial attorney at San Francisco Public Defender's Office. For over a decade, he has tried cases ranging from drug sales to homicide. He guest lectures at USF School of Law and facilitates the mock-trial workshop at 826 Valencia, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced youth in San Francisco. His short stories have been published in NANO Fiction, Blue Fifth Review: Blue Five Notebook Series, Squawk Back and As It Ought to Be. His story "Wardship" was nominated for Best Small Fiction of 2016 in the Queen's Ferry Press.
	Otto Penzler The famed proprietor of the Mysterious Bookshop in New York, and founder of the Mysterious Press. He has probably edited more mysteries than anyone in the business. He has also hosted a series on mystery films for Turner Classic Movies.
	Bill Petrocelli Attorney, author, and co-owner of Book Passage. He is the author of the literary thrillers The Circle of Thirteen and the new Through the Bookstore Window. Foreword Review calls it “an unusual, rewarding take on the nature of memory: how it haunts and heals.”
	Adam Plantinga A veteran police officer and the acclaimed author of both 400 Things Cops Know as well as Police Craft: What Cops Know About Crime, Community, and Violence.
	Zoe Quinton An independent publicist and literary agent with over a decade of experience. During that time, she has collaborated on nine New York TImes-bestselling novels, as well as multiple digital publications. She received a Master's degree in international history from the London School of Economics and a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Santa Cruz.
	Susan C. Shea Author of Dressed for Death in Burgundy as well as Love & Death in Burgundy and the Dani O’Rourke mystery series. She is past-president of the northern California chapter of Sisters in Crime and secretary of the national SinC board, a member of MWA, and blogs on CriminalMinds.
	Kelli Stanley Critically-acclaimed, multiple award-winning author of crime fiction (novels and short stories). She is best known for the Miranda Corbie series of historical noir novels and short stories set in 1940 San Francisco. Her latest book is City of Sharks.
	Robin C. Stuart Veteran cyber crime investigator and contributing author to the newly released Fault Lines: Stories by Northern California Crime Writers and Handbook for Information Security. She consults on all things cyber security for Fortune 100 companies, television shows, and media outlets, including BBC and NowThis News. She was a significant contributor to the Tech Museum of Innovation's acclaimed Cyber Detectives interactive installation, one of the museum's most popular permanent exhibits, which earned praise from the Obama Administration.
	Jacqueline Winspear Author of the New York Times bestsellers A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, An Incomplete Revenge, Leaving Everything Most Loved, Journey to Munich, In This Grave Hour, To Die But Once and her latest in the Maisie Dobbs series, The American Agent and What Would Maisie Do? - a non-fiction book based upon the series. Winspear has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex, and Macavity awards for Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel and was a New York Times Notable Book.

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2019 Faculty (Mystery Writers Conference)