Participating Writers and Planning Committee 2026
Top row, left to right: Jessica Berg, Bruce Robert Coffin, Ron Currie, Melissa Current Gerety, Tess Gerritsen
2nd row, L-R: KJ Grow, Edwin Hill, Zakariah Johnson, Allison Keeton, Travis Kennedy
3rd row, L-R: Edith Maxwell, Joanna Schaffhausen, Carolyn Marie Wilkins, James Ziskin and The Maine Crime Wave Planning Committee: Brenda Buchanan
4th Row L-R: Richard Cass, Matt Cost, Barbara Kelly, Robert Kelley, Gayle Lynds
5th Row L-R: Jules O’Brien, Barbara Ross, Jule Selbo, and Gabriela Stiteler
PARTICIPATING AUTHOR BIOS
Jessica Berg is the founder and agency director of Rosecliff Literary, a boutique agency built on the belief that ambitious writers deserve transparency, strategy, and a seat at the table. She earned her MFA from Spalding University and brings more than a decade of experience to her work with clients. In addition to her agency role, Jessica serves as a contributing editor for Writer’s Digest, where she writes and consults on topics related to querying, craft, comp titles, and the business of authorship. She teaches globally on query letters, positioning, and sustainable author careers. Jessica serves on the board of the Historical Novel Society and is a chair for the National Women’s Book Association.
Bruce Robert Coffin is an international bestselling novelist. A retired detective sergeant, Bruce is the author of the award winning Detective Byron mysteries, the Detective Justice mysteries, and coauthor of The Turner and Mosley Files. His Anthony Award nominated short fiction has been published in more than fifteen anthologies.
Ron Currie is the author of four novels and one collection of short stories. He has won the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Award, the Addison M. Metcalf Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Library Association’s Alex Award, and the Pushcart Prize. His books have been translated into fifteen languages, and his short fiction and nonfiction have received recognition in Best American anthologies. As a screenwriter he worked most recently on the Apple TV+ series Extrapolations and has developed projects with AMC Studios, Amblin Television, and ITV America. He lives in Portland, Maine and teaches in the University of Southern Maine Stonecoast MFA program.
Melissa Current Gerety is the president and founder of MCG Creates, a marketing and public relations firm helping creative professionals and businesses share their stories with the world. She works closely with each client to identify and connect with their audiences, build their platforms, and bring their product to a wider audience. Melissa thrives on finding unique approaches to traditional marketing and public relations ideas, often creating events and opportunities that help her clients stand out. She strongly believes that an effective strategy requires coordinated efforts aimed at achieving--and surpassing--goals. A graduate of Detroit's Wayne State University, Melissa has more than 30 years of marketing and communications experience in entertainment, retail, real estate, hospitality, government and the non-profit sector.
Tess Gerritsen’s first medical thriller, Harvest, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Her novels have hit bestseller lists ever since. Among her titles are Gravity, The Surgeon, Vanish, The Bone Garden, and The Spy Coast. Her books have been translated into 40 languages, and more than 40 million copies have been sold around the world. She has won both the Nero Wolfe Award and the Rita Award. Publishers Weekly has dubbed her the “medical suspense queen” and Time Magazine named her novel The Surgeon one of the best mystery/thriller novels ever written. Her series of novels featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the hit TNT television series "Rizzoli & Isles.”
Originally from Montana, KJ Grow is "from away" but here to stay, joining Islandport Press as Publisher in 2025. Her publishing career has included stints at Graywolf Press, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Shambhala Publications, and Forbes Books. KJ now happily calls Raymond Cape on Sebago Lake her home, and enjoys the daily sunrise, yoga practice, boating, lake swimming, and of course, all things books & reading.
Edwin Hill is the Edgar and Agatha Award–nominated author of the standalone thrillers What Happened Next (coming in 2026) Who to Believe, and The Secrets We Share, and Little Comfort, The Missing Ones, and Watch Her in the Hester Thursby series. He has been featured in Us Weekly magazine, received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and Library Journal, and was recognized as one of Six Crime Writers to Watch in Mystery Scene magazine. Edwin lives in Roslindale, Massachusetts, with his partner, Michael, and his favorite reviewer, their Lab Edith Ann, who likes Edwin’s first drafts enough to eat them.
Zakariah Johnson plucks banjos and pens horror, thrillers, and crime fiction on the banks of the Piscataqua. He's the author of the short-story collection Egg on Her Face (2022) and the '90s ecoterrorism mystery Mink: Skinning Time in Wisconsin (2023), described as "The Monkey Wrench Gang meets Psycho." Throughout 2024, Johnson is writing a monthly crime-author interview for Mystery Tribune.
Allison Keeton's passion for writing started in poetry and picture books when she was seven years old and branched into writing mysteries and suspense --for adults, middle grade and young adults--and non-fiction works. Her first novel is Blaze Orange, Book One in the Midcoast Maine Mystery series. Book Two, Arctic Green, comes out in February 2026. Allison holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She's been twice accepted into Rutgers University’s invitation-only writers’ conference and is a member of the national and New England chapters of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and locally, the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.
Travis Kennedy lives in Scarborough with his wife, Liv, and their two children, Ella and Cole. He has a long career in public service and policymaking, having worked for the Maine State Legislature for more than nine years, the United States Senate for five years, and for Cumberland County Government in Southern Maine for eight years. He now writes full-time. His work has been featured in the Best New England Crime Stories and Best American Mystery Stories anthologies, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. He is the grand prize winner of Screencraft’s 2021 Cinematic Book Contest for “Sharks in the Valley,” to be published as Welcome to Redemption.
Agatha-winning and Macavity-nominated author Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and the Local Foods Mysteries, as well as award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she authors the Country Store Mysteries, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, and the Cece Barton Mysteries. She also wrote two Lauren Rousseau Mysteries. Maxwell lives north of Boston with her beau, their sweet cat Martin, and her organic garden; she blogs with the other Wicked Authors and at Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen.
Joanna Schaffhausen wields a mean scalpel, skills she developed in her years studying neuroscience. She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain―how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked as a scientific editor in the field of drug development. Prior to that, she was an editorial producer for ABC News, writing for programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband, daughter, and an obstreperous basset hound named Winston.
Carolyn Marie Wilkins is a Reiki master, a psychic medium and a Professor at Berklee College of Music Online. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and the Eastman School of Music, Carolyn has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony and represented her country as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department. Carolyn's latest book, Murder At The Wham Bam Club is the first in her new Psychics and Soul Food Mystery Series. Carolyn's other novels Death at a Séance, Melody for Murder and Mojo for Murder, are available from Pen-L Publications. Carolyn is also the author of Tips for Singing (Hal Leonard Press) and two memoirs: Damn Near White: An African American Family’s Journey from Slavery to Bittersweet Success, and They Raised Me Up: A Black Single Mother and the Women Who Inspired Her, available from the University of Missouri Press.
James W. Ziskin is an American author known for his award-winning crime fiction, particularly the Ellie Stone mystery series. The fourth book, Heart of Stone, won the 2017 Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original and the Macavity Award for Best Historical Mystery. His novel Turn to Stone received the 2021 Barry Award for Best Paperback Original and the Macavity Award for Best Historical Mystery. Additionally, his novels and short stories have been finalists for the Edgar, Agatha, Lefty, and Sue Grafton Memorial Awards. His ninth book, The Prank (Level Best Books), will be released in July of 2026.
The Maine Crime Wave Planning Committee Bios:
Brenda Buchanan is a Portland lawyer and former journalist who sets her novels in and around Portland. Her three book Joe Gale series features a contemporary newspaper reporter with old-school style who covers the courts and crime beat at the fictional Portland Daily Chronicle. Brenda's short story, “Means, Motive, and Opportunity,” was published in the anthology Bloodroot: Best New England Crime Stories 2021 and received an honorable mention in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022. Her story “Assumptions Can Get You Killed” was included in Wolfsbane: Best New England Crime Stories 2023. A new short story, “Cape Jewell,” will be published in Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025, to be released in November.
Richard Cass is the author of the Elder Darrow Jazz Mystery series. The first book, Solo Act, was a finalist for the 2017 Maine Literary Awards in Crime Fiction and its prequel, In Solo Time, won the 2018 Maine Literary Award in Crime Fiction. He has also published a book of short stories entitled Gleam of Bone. Cass serves on the board of Mystery Writers of America’s New England Chapter and blogs with the Maine Crime Writers at mainecrimewriters.com. His fiction and nonfiction have also appeared in Playboy, Gray’s Sporting Journal, ZZYZVA, and Best Short Stories of the American West. Cass lives in Cape Elizabeth and continues to enjoy participating in conference panels on crime writing and giving readings and talks at Maine's libraries and bookstores.
Matt Cost has owned a video store, a mystery bookstore, and a gym. He has also taught history and coached just about every sport imaginable. During those years, since age eight actually, the true passion has been writing. I Am Cuba: Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution (Encircle Publications, March, 2020) was his first traditionally published novel. Cost has now written six books in the Goff Langdon Mainely Mystery series, five books in the Clay Wolfe Trap/Port Essex Mystery series, and two books in the Brooklyn 8 Ballo Mystery series. A few historical fiction pieces fill out the shelves. The Not So Merry Adventures of Max Creed is Book One in the Max Creed Chronicles. Cost now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper. There are four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. There are four dogs to help with editing. He now spends his days at the computer, writing.
Barbara Kelly - or just Kelly as she prefers - has been a bookseller for over 40 years . She has worked at Bookland and was Tradebook Manager at USM before starting Kelly’s Books To Go. She specializes is bringing books to support authors and speakers at events throughout the state. She of course loves reading and especially the thriller/mystery genre. Based in South Portland when not selling books she is a costumer for local theatres.
Robert T. Kelley is the author of Raven (High Frequency Press, 2025). Rob was formerly the publisher of the quarterly literary journal, The Maine Review, and he regularly blogs for Maine Crime Writers. He received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla and his PhD in English from Indiana University. Rob lives in Midcoast Maine and Boston with his wife, writer Margot Anne Kelley. His next novel, Critical State (Olivia Wolfe, Book 1), is forthcoming fall 2026 from High Frequency Press.
Gayle Lynds is the New York Times bestselling author of 10 novels, including The Book of Spies and The Last Spymaster. Library Journal calls her “the reigning queen of espionage fiction.” Her books are published in 30 languages and have been People magazine Beach Reads. The Military Writers Society of America awarded The Assassins Best Novel. She’s appeared on CBS Sunday Morning. With Robert Ludlum, she created the Covert-One series, and The Hades Factor was a CBS miniseries. She cofounded International Thriller Writers and ThrillerFest, with David Morrell. Visit her at www.GayleLynds.com.
Juliana ("Jules") O'Brien once argued cases in the courtroom and now wrangles tech contracts by day, while plotting dark, twisty fiction by night. A lawyer with a scholar’s brain and a storyteller’s heart, she’s published academic work grounded in law and science, and is currently finishing a novel about the lies we tell - online and to each other - set against the shadowy world of financial scams. She writes with a sharp eye, a touch of unease, and a love of stories that linger.
Barbara Ross is the author of twelve mystery novels and six novellas in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. Her books have been nominated for multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and have won the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. Her website is www.maineclambakemysteries.com. Barbara has also written the Jane Darrowfield Mysteries. Her first novel was The Death of an Ambitious Woman. Barbara is a member of the board of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and is president of the Friends of the Key West Library. She and her husband live in Portland, Maine and Key West, Florida.
Jule Selbo moved to Portland Maine after twenty years in Hollywood as a produced screenwriter working for the major studios to focus on writing The Dee Rommel Mystery series; 10 DAYS, 9 DAYS, 8 DAYS, 7 DAYS (it will continue to 1 DAY, cross my fingers). The series has garnered two starred Kirkus Reviews, a Silver Falchion, been nominated for the Clue, the CIBA, Foreward Review Award, Maine Literary Award and more. She’s taught screenwriting at universities. She loves to “talk story” and mysteries and cooking.
Gabriela Stiteler is a writer based in Portland, Maine where she lives with her husband, children, and rescue lab. Her debut short story, published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine in 2023, was shortlisted for a Fish Award by the Mystery Writers of America and the Best American Mystery and Suspense (2024). Her work has since appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, The Best New England Crime Writing, Shotgun Honey, Dark Waters, and A Rock and a Hard Place. She is active in and appreciative of the amazing Maine crime writing community.