Upcoming Events

NOIR AT THE BAR NYC

Sunday, July 30, 2023, 6pm-9pm

Come to the best live-reading series in crime fiction! Noir at the Bar NYC takes place at Shade (241 Sullivan Street, NYC, 10002; 212-982-6275). Hilary will read with a great group of writers including Alison Gaylin, Lee Matthew Goldberg, Dennis Tafoya, Jen Conley and Scott Adlerberg. Free event, open to all!

Past Events

CENTER FOR FICTION: “THE HORRORS THAT HAUNT US WITH HILARY DAVIDSON”

Via Zoom 1/12/23, 2/9/23, 3/9/23, 4/6/23 

Gothic novels often deal with the supernatural, but a powerful tradition of female writers have long employed the genre to explore the terrors and anxieties of the real world. Early examples—such as Ann Radcliffe, Mary Shelley, and Charlotte Brontë—dealt with dark themes including trauma and domestic abuse, tyrannical family and madness. This subgenre of Gothic fiction holds up a mirror that reflects the darkness of the world and the fragility of our bonds with each other.

    The authors we read in this course continue that tradition, using tropes of Gothic horror to explore contemporary fears and anxieties. The Gothic tradition exposes the rot beneath grand surfaces—revealing there’s as much terror to be found in a gentrifying neighborhood as in a decaying mansion—and probes the toxic power of family secrets. This diverse group of authors asks who we can trust—and if we can even trust ourselves.   

REGISTER HERE     

SISTERS IN CRIME PANEL: “WHEN DONE IS DONE”

Tuesday, June 21, 7pm Eastern Time (virtual event)

We’ve all heard that the secret to great writing is in rewriting, but what’s the secret behind great rewriting? For an author, diving back into your own work for draft after draft is both a necessary process and a risk. How do you know if you’re actually strengthening your story, or if you’re stuck in a loop of endless revisions? What do you do if you and your editor have different visions for the book? This panel featuring bestselling and award-winning authors Hilary Davidson, Brianna Labuskes, Alma Katsu, and Alex Segura and Mulholland Books editor Helen O’Hare will discuss what goes into rewriting (and editing) to make your fiction shine.

CENTER FOR FICTION: “AGATHA CHRISTIE’S HEIRS: MODERN MYSTERIES INSPIRED BY THE QUEEN OF CRIME FICTION WITH HILARY DAVIDSON”  

Via Zoom 3/10/22, 3/31/22, 4/21/22, 5/26/22, 6/23/22 

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of Agatha Christie in the world of mystery fiction. Between 1920 and 1976, Christie published some 75 novels, 165 short stories, and 16 plays—a body of work that continues to fascinate and delight readers around the world. Christie’s fiction—and her perennially popular detectives Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot—endure in part because her impeccably crafted mysteries are logical puzzles that are almost unsolvable, and yet can be worked out by the most attentive readers. (Christie always provides the necessary clues, albeit in a mass of red herrings.)         

    Christie’s work has inspired many modern crime writers, who have created their own captivating locked-room mysteries and unforgettable detectives. The contemporary writers this course focuses on bring varied perspectives to their books, exploring themes of class, race, and gender, broadening and deepening the appeal of their work. Some are set in international settings far from Christie’s English villages, but all will intrigue fans of her classic mysteries.