Tuesday Potpourri

Goodness gracious there are a lot of things going on in crime fiction around the web. It is a good time to stop and point some of them out.

First is a short story collection that was coordinated and edited by Timothy Hallinan for the victims of Japan's recent natural disasters. The collection is called SHAKEN and is available on Kindle for $3.99, with all the royalties going directly to the 2011 Japan Relief Fund. Some of the participating authors are well known to Jen's Book Thoughts: of course Tim, Kelli Stanley, Rosemary Harris, Hank Phillippi Ryan and Cara Black, among others. The cover art was designed by the multi-talented Gar Anthony Haywood.

My friend and fellow blogger Pop Culture Nerd posted a very nice interview with several of the contributing authors and you can check that out here.

Next, the folks at Spinetingler have launched Snubnose Press, an e-publisher of crime fiction. According to their press release:

"Spinetingler Magazine has been publishing new and emerging writers since 2005. Building from that foundation Snubnose Press will seek to publish only the best in short crime fiction. With the traditional publishing market contracting, Snubnose Press will fill this gap by publishing original anthologies, novellas and short novels."

The debut title of Snubnose Press will be SPEEDLOADER, an anthology of six original short stories.

Visit the Snubnose Press website for more information.

Have you been voting in the daily Duffer Awards at Alafair Burke's website? Yesterday Kaye Scarpetta squared off against Moe Prager for the best wine taster award. Be sure to visit each day for a different competition.

Speaking of awards...or rather prizes, I have winners to announce from the SIXTH MAN audiobook giveaway. The three lucky winners are:

• Sheila D from Minnesota
• Deborah C from Ohio
• Pam K from Pennsylvania

I'll get those audiobooks in the mail this week. Keep your eyes peeled; there are more fun giveaways to be had during Audiobook Month!

Huge congrats go out to Craig Johnson. HELL IS EMPTY earned its way to #24 on the New York Times Bestseller List. Yay Walt!

Don't forget to register for Bouchercon 2011 if you have not already. The list of attendees is something to see. It's going to be one heck of a crime party in St. Louis this September.

And finally for this post, I would like to encourage you to sign up for the Shelf Awareness for Readers. The debut issue will be this week. I will occasionally be reviewing for them, as well Pop Culture Nerd. You can sign up here.

Hope your reading week is off to a great start!