the Mystery in Ashland this Fall
Join cozy mystery author Ellie Alexander and her mystery writing friends for a weekend of full bookish fun with plenty of of twists and turns. From panels and workshops to an interactive mystery with clues located all around town, this festival is designed to put you in the hot seat. You'll have your chance to put your detective skills to the test and interact with the authors who brought these stories to life. You won't just be a spectator - you'll be right in the center of the action.
Newly expanded panels and events have just launched. Click on Events tab for full schedule and tickets.
All registration options have launched. To register, click here or on the Register Tab. Mystery Fest Event Registration is required to register for panels. Check-in and name badge/swag bag pick up will be in person. Location and time to be announced.
Festival Details
October 17-20, 2024
Ashland, Oregon
A veracious storyteller and a lover of all things bookish. I believe that stories have the ability to transport and transform us. With over twenty five published novels and counting, my goal is to tell stories that provide points of connection, escape and understanding.
Angela M. Sanders is the author of the Witch Way Librarian cozy mysteries and the Joanna Hayworth vintage clothing mysteries. As Clover Tate, she wrote the Kite Shop cozy mysteries. She also writes about food and perfume for magazines and is a former congressional investigator. When Angela isn’t at her laptop, she’s often rummaging in thrift shops or lounging with a vintage crime novel and her rescue cats Squeaky and Bitsy.
Gigi Pandian is a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning mystery author, accidental almost-vegan, and locked-room mystery enthusiast. She lives in northern California with her husband and a gargoyle who watches over the backyard garden. She writes the Accidental Alchemist Mysteries (humorous mysteries set in Portland, Oregon), the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries (lighthearted adventures set around the world), and the Secret Staircase Mysteries (locked-room mysteries called “wildly entertaining” by the New York Times Book Review).
Jennifer J. Chow writes cozies filled with hope and heritage. Her newest series is the L.A. Night Market Mysteries. The first book, Death By Bubble Tea, was nominated for both an Agatha Award (Best Contemporary Novel) and a Lefty Award (Best Humorous Mystery). It hit the SoCal Indie Bestseller List multiple times and was one Aunt Agatha’s Best of Cozies 2022, Kings River Life Staff Favorites of 2022, and a 2022 Bestseller at Bel Canto Books.
Like her Ground Rules Mystery series, Emmeline Duncan is based in Portland, Oregon. Her series includes 2021's Fresh Brewed Murder, Double Shot Death, and Flat White Fatality, plus more to come. Emmeline also writes for teens as Kelly Garrett. Her debut YA novel, The Last To Die, was an Oregon Book Awards finalist. She was also a 2020 Oregon Literary Fellow. When not writing, she spends her time seeking out new coffee shops and hiking trails to explore, frequently accompanied by her Great Pyrenees sidekick.
Kyra Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sophie Katz mystery series, the Just One Night series and the Pure Sin series. Born and raised in Northern California, Davis currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and what might be the best dog on the planet.
Tara Lush is a RWA Rita finalist, an Amtrak writing fellow and the winner of the George C. Polk award for environmental journalism.
She also writes contemporary romance set in tropical locations under the name Tamara Lush. For many years, she was a journalist with The Associated Press.
Tamara Berry is an Edgar-nominated author of two cozy mystery series. Also a freelance writer and editor, she has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a serious penchant for Nancy Drew novels. She lives in Bigfoot country (a.k.a. Eastern Washington) with her family and their menagerie.
Lee Hollis is the pen name for Rick Copp, a veteran Hollywood screenwriter who has written for numerous television series, including The Golden Girls, Wings, Scooby Doo, Teen Titans, and Barbershop. He is he co-writer of The Brady Bunch Movie and has written a number of novels under his own name. He also produced, wrote and starred in the hit web series Where the Bears Are that has over 60 million views on YouTube. With his sister Holly Simason, he co-authors the Hayley Powell Food & Cocktails Mysteries book series using the Lee Hollis name. On his own, he has two other series, the Poppy Harmon Desert Flowers series and the Maya & Sandra series. The first book in his newest series, The Chowder House Murder, will be out in 2026. Rick lives in Palm Springs, California.
Ellen is a bestselling author, Anthony nominee, and recipient of multiple Agatha and Lefty awards for her Cajun Country Mysteries, Vintage Cookbook Mysteries, and Catering Hall Mysteries (as Maria DiRico). Her new series, the Golden Motel Mysteries, debuts in July. She is also an award-winning playwright and non-award-winning writer of TV hits like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly OddParents, but considers her most impressive achievement working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. A native New Yorker, Ellen is a graduate of Tulane University and lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, daughter, and a rotating crew of rescue pups.
Frank Anthony Polito is an award-winning author and playwright. He holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon and a BFA in Theatre from Wayne State. Published novels include BAND FAGS! ("Best Fiction" - InsightOut Book Club), DRAMA QUEERS! ("Best Gay Romance" - Lambda Literary Award), LOST IN THE '90s, THE SPIRIT OF DETROIT, and the "Domestic Partners in Crime" cozy mystery series, including RENOVATED TO DEATH, REHEARSED TO DEATH, and HAUNTED TO DEATH. Frank grew up in the Detroit suburb of Hazel Park and currently resides in Pleasant Ridge with his partner, Craig Bentley, and their two dogs, Clyde and Jack.
Esme Addison is the bestselling author of the Enchanted Bay mysteries, the first of which was nominated for an Agatha Award, and the brand-new Secret Society mysteries. Esme lives in Raleigh, NC with her family and is a member of Sisters In Crime, International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America and Crime Writers of Color. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading, traveling, and indulging her love of history at museums and historical sites
Hello mystery readers! I’m London Lovett, author of small-town cozy mysteries. I’m a retired teacher. I lived most of my life in sunny California, but four years ago my husband and I decided we needed a little adventure, so we packed up the dogs and our three goats and moved to the beautiful state of Colorado. As I write this there are three elk curled up for naps in my front yard, so I think we made the right choice. My children live in Colorado, too, so I’m never far from family. (My daughter and business partner lives next door, which is awesome.) My cozy mystery series are set in small towns with a mix of quirky characters, delicious treats, steaming cups of coffee and, of course, murder.
Wall Street Journal bestselling author Abby Collette loves a good mystery. She was born and raised in Cleveland, and it's a mystery even to her why she hasn't yet moved to a warmer place. As Abby Collette, she is the author of the Ice Cream Parlor Mystery series, about a millennial MBA-holding granddaughter running a family-owned ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and the Books & Biscuits Mystery series, starring a set of fraternal twins who reunite and open a bookstore and soul food café. Writing as Abby L. Vandiver, she is the author of the Logan Dickerson Mysteries, featuring a second-generation archaeologist and a nonagenarian, as well as the Romaine Wilder Mysteries, pairing an East Texas medical examiner and her feisty, funeral-home-owning auntie as sleuths. Abby spends her time writing, facilitating writing workshops at local libraries, and hanging out with her grandchildren, each of whom are her favorite.
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