Crimes in the Archives
Maine Historical Society (MHS) and Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (MWPA) are partnering for a special pre-conference tour & discussion
Friday, May 29 from 1:00 pm - 2:30 PM
Join the Maine Historical Society (MHS) and the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (MWPA) for a special pre-conference Crime Wave session with author, historian, and professor Elizabeth DeWolfe at the Brown Research Library (489 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101). This engaging program explores how writers can use historical and archival sources to enrich their work by uncovering context, detail, and a sense of time and place. Drawing on materials from THE MURDER OF MARY BEAN and her latest research on Maine’s first female undercover detective, DeWolfe will demonstrate how writers can pull archival research to support their fiction and nonfiction writing. The session also includes a guided tour of the Brown Research Library and an overview of how to conduct research at MHS with a professional librarian.
$8 entrance fee (to be paid on May 29)
Elizabeth Dewolfe is a professor of history at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine where she has taught undergraduate courses in women’s history, American culture, and on historical research and writing for 30 years. Her books have been recognized with awards from the New England Historical Association, Northeast Popular Culture Association, the Communal Studies Association, ForeWord Magazine, and the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Her book Alias Agnes: The Notorious Tale of a Gilded Age Spy publishes on April 29, 2026.