PORTLAND, Maine — Considering it has a crime rate that’s well below the national average, Maine seems to have a lot of talented crime fiction writers. Want to meet one of them? Here’s your opportunity.
On June 9 and 10, the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance is presenting the 2023 Maine Crime Wave on the University of Southern Maine campus in Portland. The conference will feature panels, book signings, book sales, and more, all in the presence of more than 20 writers from Maine and the rest of New England. Much of it is open to the public. Anyone who wants to attend must register by June 9.
Among the events that sound especially entertaining is one called Two Minutes in the Slammer, in which writers will share two minutes' worth of material from their recent writing. Another is a panel discussion entitled “What I Hate About Writing.”
Julia Spencer-Fleming, an award-winning novelist from Buxton, will attend the Maine Crime Wave. When writers get together, I asked her, "Do they like to talk about writing? Or is that the last thing they want to discuss?"
“Well, we like to complain a lot,” she said with a grin. “About our agents and our publishers and our advances. But, yes, we do talk a lot about writing. This is one of the reasons why these events are popular and draw a lot of really good writers because it’s a very solitary profession. This gives us a chance to be convivial and share notes.”