"Date With Mayhem"

The ninth annual “Mayhem in the Midlands” literature conference, sponsored by the Omaha Public Library, will be held from Thursday, May 22nd through Sunday, May 25th. It’s a tough weekend for such a “murder mystery” conference as Sunday is the first day of the Memorial Day holiday. But, if you aren’t planning on visiting distant relatives or graves thereof, a weekend at the Embassy Suites Hotel, surrounded by mystery writers and their “groupie” readers, might be a chilling experience you won’t soon forget.

While I’ve never been a murder mystery aficionado, I think it would be great fun to listen to lectures by published authors on writing mysteries. I would be particularly interested in knowing how they are inspired and how they have done their research to develop the plots.

There will be around 40 authors coming and going over this three-day affair. The names I recognize include Donna Andrews, Suzanne Arruda, Jan Burke, Sean Doolittle, Charlaine Harris, Alex Kava, J.A. Konrath, Twist Phelan, Erica Spindler, and David J. Walker. Many of the authors as well as their publishers will have booths with books, t-shirts and other memorabilia for their fans. Writers’ associations also present will include the “Mystery Writers of America,” “Sisters in Crime,” “Historical Mystery Fiction,” and the “Independent Booksellers Association.” Website developers for the mystery reader will also be represented, and include: “The Mystery Reader,” “Overbooked,” and “Stop, You’re Killing Me.”

A “get-acquainted” cocktail party is slated for Thursday, May 22nd at 7:00 PM. Panel discussions and conversations with the authors will occur on Friday and Saturday. A “Sisters in Crime” buffet will be held on Friday night and the “Mystery Dinner Buffet” will be on Saturday night.

Registration forms for the conference will be available at the Columbus Public Library as well as online at http://www.omahapubliclibrary.org/mayhem/. Registration will close on May 15th. I hope to see some of my favorite Columbus Public Library patrons mingling with the crowd. As mentioned above, this is the ninth conference sponsored by the Omaha Public Library. Each year it has grown with more authors attending and the audience coming from greater distances. The Omaha Public Library is to be commended for initiating and supporting this unique writers and readers conclave.

Recent donations to the Columbus Library Foundation in memory of Ruby Behlen were from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gangel, Vlasta Jelinek, Dorothy McChristy De Marco, Frances Brakel, and Deborah Brakel. Memorials in honor of Pat Gregorius were received from Elaine Morgan and John Ellefson and Lucille and Burns Ellison. The family of Loretta F. Thayer presented a memorial in her honor and Mr. and Mrs. Arden Saalfeld presented a donation in memory of Ivan J. Schaecher.