Pathways to Publication with Sisters in Crime

In this in-person panel, authors, Edith Maxwell and Janet Raye Stevens, will discuss their different journeys to publication, which include getting an agent and going with a large press to deciding to go with a small press or to self-publish.

Agatha Award winning Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and the Local Foods Mysteries. As Maddie Day she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Her short crime fiction has appeared in many juried anthologies. She was honored to serve as President of Sisters in Crime New England and is a Lifetime member of Sisters in Crime National, as well as a professional member of Mystery Writers of America. A fourth-generation Californian and former tech writer, farmer, and doula, Maxwell now writes, cooks, gardens, and wastes time as a Facebook addict north of Boston.

Janet Raye Stevens writes short stories and novel-length mystery, YA, and romance. Winner of RWA's 2018 Golden Heart Award, Janet lives in Massachusetts where she indulges her hobbies of drinking copious amounts of tea (Earl Gray, hot) plotting revenge (best served cold), and creating fictional worlds populated with cool chicks and hot guys. Janet describes her path to publication as a long, circuitous one, which gives her plenty of stories to tell. These include looking for a traditional publisher, entering many writing contests (and winning some awards) with agents/editors as the final judge, getting and switching agents, and other twists and turns until finally she went indie and published four books as well as a number of short stories. She grew up in Worcester and also worked at the WPL film library back in the 1980s.