Guest Post: Sisters in Crime

A Non-Profit for Women Crime Writers

Sisters in Crime is a national non-profit that advocates for the advancement and development of women crime writers. As a professional organization, we keep an ear to the ground of the publishing industry, passing along news, best practices, and educational opportunities. But perhaps what we’re best known for is our sense of community.

As one past president likes to say, you might write alone, but you’re never truly alone with sisters.

Sisters in Crime, also known as SinC, was born thirty years ago when a small group of female mystery writers saw inequities between how men and women crime writers were treated in the mystery writing community and wanted to do something about it.

In the ensuing three decades, membership has risen to over 3600, not the least of which is due to our authors learning from each other in our culture of sharing. Just like the need to monitor parity in the early days, new programs aimed to challenge the status quo and increase professionalism have started. We have an active Speaker’s Bureau, support Libraries with monthly $1000 lotteries, bookstores with $500 lotteries, and extend discounts to our members on industry publications and educational opportunities. Our recently launched listserv dedicated to the needs of our self-published authors has prompted some of the best discussions of what it means to be a professional indie author that I’ve seen.

We encourage all crime writers to find a community that supports your goals.

Once you find your group, ask questions. Observe. Listen. Absorb. Knowledge is power and helps inform decisions regarding your career.

Every good organization needs to recognize change and react accordingly, and Sisters in Crime is no different. Our mission will continue to be to advocate for the advancement and development of women crime writers. Now more than ever, opportunities for our members abound, and how we pursue our mission continues to evolve just like the publishing industry!

Sisters in Crime is a worldwide organization offering networking, advice, and support to mystery authors. We are authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers and librarians bound by our affection for the mystery genre and our support of women who write mysteries. Sisters in Crime was founded by Sara Paretsky and a group of women at the 1986 Bouchercon in Baltimore. Our vision is to serve as the voice for excellence & diversity in crime writing.

To find out more about Sisters in Crime membership, visit our website.

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