• The Associated Press is reporting that Patricia Cornwell is donating $1 million to start the Crime Scene Academy at New York's Jay College of Criminal Justice. Cornwell, the author of the bestselling mysteries featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, blames television and movies for misleading the public on how crimes are investigated.
• Jamie Portman of the Canwest News Service reports that the strike by the Writers Guild of America 20 years ago caused at least one writer to turn to a life of crime ... crime fiction, that is. April Smith is the author of the Ana Grey mysteries, the latest of which, Judas Horse, is being published this month. It wasn't just the strike itself which toppled her world. It was also the aftermath. "What you don't realize is that when you get back from a strike, the landscape will have changed," Smith says. "I was so disgusted with Hollywood that I just wanted to write novels."
• The Mystery Writers of America has elected Harlan Coben to be the national president of the organization. (Press release)
• The BBC (among others) is reporting that Julia McKenzie has landed the role of Miss Marple in the ITV television crime series based on the novels by Agatha Christie. McKenzie will be the seventh actress to portray the character in the series, and replaces Geraldine McEwan who announced she was leaving last month.
• Murder in the Grove, Idaho's annual mystery conference, goes "thriller" for 2008. Over twenty authors, agents, and forensics specialists will explore mysteries, thrillers, the writer’s life, and the publishing industry in panel discussions, workshops, and manuscript evaluations for readers and writers of crime fiction. (Press release)
• Big Fish Games announces the worldwide release of Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate, the 4th episode in this franchise. Mystery Case Files has sold more than 1.5 million units to date. "In this latest chapter of Mystery Case Files, we transport players to Madame Fate's carnival to solve a brand new mystery. Players experience a new cast of characters, beautiful scenes and challenging new puzzles," said Patrick Wylie, vice president of Big Fish Games Studios. (Press release) [MBN note: Find more mystery games at our partner site, Games of Mystery.]
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