Small Subjects

• With the presentation of this year’s Edgar Awards coming tomorrow night, CrimeReads invited more than 20 nominees to a roundtable discussion of the state of mystery and crime fiction. UPDATE: Part II of this skull session can now be enjoyed here.

• In his blog, ‘Do You Write Under Your Own Name?,’ Martin Edwards reflects back on his two-year stint as the head of Britain’s Crime Writers’ Association. “As it turns out,” he writes, “I’m the only person who has served as CWA Chair and Detection Club President at the same time, and I also became the longest-serving Chair of the CWA since our founder, John Creasey, back in the 1950s. So it’s definitely time to step aside and get some more writing done. But I’m going to continue to be involved with the CWA, not least as anthologist and archivist. And I’m very glad to belong to such a thriving and forward-looking organisation.” Author Linda Stratmann has taken over as CWA chair.

• We’re very sorry to hear that Detroit-area writer Patricia “Patti” Abbott has finally lost her husband of 52 years, Dr. Philip Abbott, to colon cancer. She wrote this brief note last evening in her blog: “Died today at 4:00. He reached for my hand, I gave it to him, he died.” Our heartfelt best wishes go out to Patti and her family (including author Megan Abbott) at this difficult time. UPDATE: Patti has more thoughts to offer about Phil and their family here and here.

• Finally, the pseudonymous Nathan Blackwell, author of The Sound of Her Voice (Orion), is Crime Watch blogger Craig Sisterson’s 210th interviewee in his “9mm” series. Read the Q&A here.