Mystery Panel: Davida G. Breier, Shawn Reilly Simmons, & Kristopher Zgorski
Presenting an evening with three beloved mystery writers, discussing the art of writing this page-turning genre! Join Davida G. Breier, Shawn Reilly Simmons, & Kristopher Zgorski for a conversation and Q&A highlighting Davida’s new book, SINKHOLE, and expanding outwards into the genre more broadly.
Davida G. Breier was born in Miami, FL, and spent her formative years in Florida, rural Minnesota, urban New Jersey, and suburban Pennsylvania. Davida discovered the world of zines and independent publishing in 1994 and Baltimore’s City Paper awarded her with “Best Local Zinester” in 2000 and “Best Zine” in 2003. She won the Literary Death Match, Baltimore 3.0 event in 2011. She’s spent the last two decades in various roles within the book industry and currently works for Johns Hopkins University Press. Her debut novel, Sinkhole, was published by The University of New Orleans Press. Davida lives in Maryland with her family, a pack of wee rescue dogs, a rescue tortoise, and two companion chickens.
Shawn Reilly Simmons is an Agatha and Anthony Award-winning author and editor. She’s written seven novels in her Red Carpet Catering mystery series and over twenty of her short stories have appeared in various crime fiction anthologies. Shawn hosts a podcast, Five Compelling Questions with Shawn, where she chats with authors about the writing life and creative pursuits. She’s a member of RVA City Writers, a group based in Richmond, Virginia, who host Noir at the Bar Events at different venues throughout the year. Shawn serves on the Board of Malice Domestic, is Managing Editor at Level Best Books, and is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, the Crime Writers’ Association and International Thriller Writers. She lives in historic downtown Frederick, Maryland.
Kristopher Zgorski is the founder and sole reviewer at the crime fiction book blog, BOLO Books. In 2018, he was awarded the Mystery Writers of America Raven Award for “outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing.” Kristopher writes a column on digital crime fiction resources for every issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and his blog reviews are syndicated to his column in Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine. He has previously served on the board of directors for Malice Domestic, a crime fiction convention celebrating the traditional mystery. Kristopher has been a member of Sisters in Crime since 2017 and was most recently the Fan Guest of Honor at Left Coast Crime in Albuquerque, New Mexico in early 2022.
