Interested in Hollywood fashion history and Edith Head? Join The Poisoned Pen staff when we host Renee Patrick, authors of Design for Dying, a new mystery set in Los Angeles in 1937, featuring Edith Head. The program is Tues., May 3 at 7 PM.

The authors will be bringing paper dolls wearing designs by Edith Head. Sounds fun! Plan to join us. https://bit.ly/1TqJ2DF

How do you roll a dead body in a rug? Find out when MAESTRA presents “How to roll a dead body up in a rug.”

https://youtu.be/38g-wfRCj3Q

L.S. Hilton, author of the New York Times bestseller and psychological thriller, Maestra, joins Camille Perri, author of The Assistants, here at The Poisoned Pen on Wed. May 4 at 7 PM. Both authors will be discussing and signing their books. Anyone who buys one of the authors’ books will have the chance to win either a $50 gift card or one of two $25 gift cards.

If you can’t make it to the program on Wednesday, you can order signed copies through the online store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Author Vicki Delany was kind enough to share photos from the recent Malice Domestic Awards banquet where Poisoned Pen Bookstore and Poisoned Pen Press owners Barbara Peters and Robert Rosenwald were honored with the Hercule Poirot Award. Of the award, Malice Domestic’s website says,

“The Poirot Award is presented to honor individuals other than writers who have made outstanding contributions to the Malice Domestic genre. The award is bestowed by the Malice Domestic Board of Directors and presented at the Malice Domestic conference. The Poirot Award is not an annual award.”

Congratulations to Barbara and Rob!

Here are the pictures Vicki sent for the blog.

Matt Coyle, author of Yesterday’s Echo, and Andrew Case, author of The Big Fear, recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen.

Patrick Millikin, the Pen’s expert on noir fiction, interviewed the authors.

From the looks of it, a good time was had by all.

You can have a good time as well by ordering one or both books.

In fact, you can order any of your books through The Poisoned Pen’s online store, https://store.poisonedpen.com/.

Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Agatha Awards, presented at the Malice Domestic conference.

Best Children’s/YA – Andi Unstoppable by Amanda Flower

Best Short Story – “A Year Without Santa Claus” by Barb Goffman, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Jan/Feb 2015

Best Non-Fiction – The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards

Best First Novel – On the Road with Del and Louise by Art Taylor

Best Historical Novel – Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King

Best Contemporary Novel – Long Upon the Land by Margaret Maron

And, for those of us who were not at the Malice Domestic dinner, Vicki Delany shared what she called a photo of “the power table at Malice”.

Today, April 30th, is observed nationwide as Independent Bookstore Day. If you’re here on the blog, we hope you consider The Poisoned Pen to be YOUR independent bookstore.

Just a little information, from the store’s “About Us” page.

“The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, founded in 1989 by Barbara G. Peters, is an independent bookstore specializing in fiction. Discover with us current and classic works of mystery, thrillers, historical and literary fiction, and literature of the American Southwest, much of it offered in autographed first editions and imports. Our book clubs bring exciting new work right to your door.

Located in Old Town Scottsdale’s Art District, The Pen is celebrated for its schedule of author and literary events and its global outreach through webcasts and worldwide shipping. In 1997 Peters and her husband Robert Rosenwald founded Poisoned Pen Press, a separate corporation dedicated to publishing excellence in mystery. The Poisoned Pen hosted the Left Coast Crime Conference in 1995. and most years hosts a themed mystery conference of its own in Scottsdale.

Please sign up for our Enews, read our Booknews, attend our events ““ generally programs of an hour or more with Q&A and book signing ““ at the bookstore or at the Arizona Biltmore Resort or other nearby locations.”

There are so many ways The Poisoned Pen Bookstore serves the needs of readers worldwide. Today, we are giving away items in the store for those shoppers close enough to stop in for Independent Bookstore Day.

But, you help us celebrate every day by buying books, attending events, watching them via Livestream.

Please think of The Poisoned Pen when you think of Independent Bookstore Day, and, if you’re so inclined, purchase a book or two for your own private celebration.

It’s not too early for a heads-up about our Thursday, May 5 evening event at The Poisoned Pen. Diana Gabaldon will host KC Dyer, author of Finding Fraser, a novel inspired by Gabaldon’s Outlander series.

Both authors will sign copies of Finding Fraser. All the details of the 7 PM event on Thursday, May 5 are linked. https://bit.ly/26txNUx

Just a note, though. No outside books will be signed at the event. Only books purchased that day or pre-ordered through the Poisoned Pen will be signed at the event. Thank you for your cooperation. Here’s where you can order your signed copy. https://bit.ly/1VVoWXX

This title’s going to be hot (in more ways than one).

Are you a fan of the mystery awards? The Edgar Awards were announced tonight at the Mystery Writers of America’s annual banquet. The 2016 winners are below. Remember, if you want any of these, we hope you consider ordering them through The Poisoned Pen’s store.

https://store.poisonedpen.com

Mary Higgins Clark Award – Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day

Best Juvenile Book – Foster Davis Probably is Crazy by Susan Vaught

Best Young Adult – A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Best Critical/Biographical – A Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards

Best Fact Crime – Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully by Allen Kurzweil

Best Short Story – “Obits” by Stephen King in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

Best Paperback Original – The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney

Best First Novel by an American Author – The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Best Mystery Novel – Let Me Die in His Footsteps by Lori Roy

And, Walter Mosley is this year’s Grand Master.

Here’s an event you’ll want to see and hear live. John Sandford, on his book tour for Extreme Prey, the latest Lucas Davenport novel, was joined by Douglas Preston at The Poisoned Pen. Store owner Barbara Peters led the discussion of the election year thriller. It was a packed house, and through Livestream, you can almost feel as if you were there.

https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/5127435

So, join the event. And, afterwards, you might want to buy your signed copy of Extreme Prey. It comes with an exclusive, specially signed campaign button, “Lucas Davenport for President”, perfect for this election year thriller.

https://bit.ly/235Lpkd

As you can see, it was a packed house when John Sandford was joined by Douglas Preston at The Poisoned Pen.

Sandford is on his book tour for Extreme Prey, the latest Lucas Davenport novel.

Sandford’s book is timely, dealing with a Presidential campaign.

 Does it surprise anyone that Peters, Preston and Sandford had a good time talking about Davenport, who has now left the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension? Of course, since he’s dealing with a political campaign, Davenport finds himself dealing with some pretty crazy people.

This audience was lucky to be able to hear and meet both authors, John Sandford and Douglas Preston. If you would like to hear the conversation, I’ll have the Livestream linked here tomorrow, and you can come back and see and hear it.

In the meantime, you can order your signed copy of Extreme Prey. https://bit.ly/235Lpkd

Our copies come with an exclusive, specially designed campaign button, “Lucas Davenport for President”, perfect for an election year Davenport thriller.