Sybil's Malice Domestic Recap 2026

 by Sybil Johnson

My apologies for missing my last posting date. After Malice, the husband and I did a driving trip through parts of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio. It was fun and great to get away from all the construction around our house. But that’s not what I’ll be talking about here. Today I’m focusing on my Malice Domestic experience.

This was my 10th/11th something like that Malice. It’s my favorite mystery convention because it feels like coming home. It spotlights the types of mysteries I love the best (traditional/cozy) and I get to see authors and readers I’ve met over the years. I feel welcomed. I don’t always feel that from other conferences or at least not as much.

We always fly in late Wednesday evening so I get a day or so to adjust to the three hour time change. Thursday we went to the National Zoo and said hello to the pandas. Didn’t see the new baby elephant, but did see the meerkats. Love those meerkats. The zoo has an elephant webcam so I can check out the baby there: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams/elephants

 

I headed to the elevator on Friday, the first day, and found Marla Cooper wearing the same pink color. So, of course, we had to take a photo together. 

 

Marla Cooper and me

I started off Malice by sitting in on the Malice Go-Round. Last year, I was one of the participating authors. This year I got to sit and listen to all those authors. Both are exhausting, btw, in completely different ways. I’m always interested in how other authors choose to present their books. Debbie Viguie gave out flashdrives with chapters from her mysteries. Not the entire story, just the first 50 or so pages of each. If you wanted to read more, she put how to get the book at the end. An interesting approach, one I’ve never seen before.

One of the new things I picked up this year were author trading cards. I didn’t hear about this until right before I left for Malice, so didn’t get a chance to create one of my own. Here are the fronts of the cards. The backs had “stats” or info on their books or whatever they wanted to include. A cute and clever idea.

 

I love catching up with people I haven’t seen in a while. Like Annette Dashofy, Ellen Byron, Gigi Pandian and Tina Kashian. Ellen lives only 30 miles or so from me, but we had to fly across the country to see each other! I saw lots and lots of other people as well.

 

Toastmaster Ellen Byron and me

Gigi Pandian and me

Guest of Honor Annette Dashofy and me

I went to panels and interviews, talked with the woman who sells jewelry every year (she’s a friend of a friend) and bought some cat jewelry, talked with people in the Hospitality Suite. You never know what you’re going to learn. I met a young woman who was attending the full weekend for the first time. She was very enthusiastic, which was nice to see. She also told me about the Great Lives Lecture series put on by the University of Mary Washington. She attends them in person, but they are available online: https://www.umw.edu/greatlives/

I did not make the new authors breakfast. I have attended twice (once when I was a new author and once the year after). It’s just too early in the morning for this west coaster. Maybe next time.

The Agatha Award banquet was great fun, as always. I was at DR Ransdell’s table. She was going to be on the panel I was moderating the next morning so I thought that would be a great table to be at. We all had a good time. 

 

Sunday morning at 9 a.m. I moderated a panel called MUSEUM MACGUFFINS: Art & Artifacts in Mysteries. A great topic and great panelists. They were DR Ransdell, Lynda Allen, and Jeff Tanner. Lane Stone was slated to be on the panel, but had to cancel at the last minute. It was great fun. We even had a good turnout given it was early on Sunday morning. 

 

Me, Lynda Allen, DR Ransdell, Jeff Tanner

All in all, I had a good time. Next year, Malice will be earlier, April 9-11, 2027. Just days after Left Coast Crime in Santa Fe, which is April 1-4. Not sure which one I’ll be going to, if either. I’ll decide that later.

The thing I value the most from this conference is the relationships I’ve built up over the years with people who attend. We genuinely enjoy seeing each other again. Plus it’s fun to see the new books coming out.

IF YOU ARE A VISITOR, PLEASE READ

 The Blog is going thru a refocusing as the originator takes a break and a hack mystery writer (me) takes over - at least for a while.

ARE YOU A NON-WRITER?  You are our target.  As are new writers, old and musty writers, publishers, murder mystery enthusiasts.....    Please suggest what you want to hear about. The bloggers here are working, publishing mystery writers, some with amazing resumes. What would you like to hear from us?

I'll start the refocusing soon. 

I have to get some work off my desk first.

I'm judging in two mystery writing award contests (100 short stories!), and I've decided to reactivate my Private Eye activities to assist two ladies in their 60's - millionaires, a nasty divorce, a Bastard soon-to-be-ex who breaks into her house and takes her stuff to sell? or to give to his soon-to-be fourth wife, a 50's millionaire herself. Do you see his pattern? And the case should offer tons of background data for the mystery writer in me.

Suggestions, anyone?

Malice Domestic 38

By Catherine Dilts

Malice Domestic is a fan-focused fiction conference appealing to cozy, amateur sleuth, and traditional mystery readers. The perfect fit for my writing. The perfect conference for my new-author daughter, Merida Bass, to meet the fans for whom she’s writing.

We signed up months in advance, booked flights, and reserved a hotel room. Yikes! The conference is so popular, all we could get was a room with one king-sized bed. Ugh!

The day arrived sooner than expected. I scrambled to pack. My husband drove us to the airport, and we were off! After half a day of travel (as opposed to two solid days if driving), we rode the subway to the hotel. A scary proposition for a small-town girl like myself, made scarier by being late at night.

The Metro subway

The hotel desk clerk switched our room to two double beds (big sigh of relief). We crashed for a few hours. I’m a morning person, rising with the sun. Well, the sun rose two hours earlier in Maryland than it does back home in Colorado. I got up at 4 am (mountain time) instead of my usual 6 am.

Didn’t matter. We were both wired up and ready to go. Friday morning, we had breakfast in the hotel dining room and met a lovely woman who clued us in on MD38. Then we went to Malice 101. I had only been to one Malice, twelve years ago. It was helpful getting an update. Nearly five hundred mystery fans and authors would attend this weekend.

“Malice Go Round: It’s Like Speed Dating, but with Authors,” was right after orientation. I participated in the Left Coast Crime Denver speed dating-style event in 2025. I was glad to be an observer this time.

Merida moderated a panel in the first slot of the conference titled “It’s Ms. Marple, Thank You.” Authors with senior sleuths answered questions, chatted about their love of Agatha Christie, and introduced their own novels. For the rest of the conference, people approached to tell her what a good job she did moderating. Proud Mom Moment.

Merida Bass, Michelle Cullen, Eileen McIntire, Nan McCann, Barbara Barrett

I attended panels all day Friday. My brain was full of inspiration, new ideas, and more new books to read. We’d been informed the Live Charity Auction was a blast. So we went that evening. And it was a blast. My goodness, the friendly competition pushed bids higher than I imagined possible.

Saturday, bright and early, Merida participated in the “Meet the New Authors of Malice” breakfast. Ellen Byron conducted brief interviews with each author. Brave folks made their debuts in front of a roomful of people.

Malice Domestic new author breakfast - the debut authors

I was lax about attending panels on Saturday, not even trying to hit every session. Instead, we met with another mother-daughter writing team, Renee and Charlie. Multi-published author Jennifer J. Chow joined the conversation. They encouraged Merida to join Mystery Writers of Color.

Renee, Charlie, Catherine, Merida, Jennifer

The Short Mystery Fiction Society arranged a lunch at the hotel. The good news - dozens of writers showed up. The bad news - the group ran out of seats. Oh well, I did get to meet several well-known short fiction authors. 

Right before the Agatha Awards Banquet, I met Molly MacRae, author of numerous cozy series. Then we enjoyed a nice meal and cheered for the winners of the coveted Agatha Awards. I turned in early, leaving the partying to younger, hardier folks.

Catherine and Molly

My panel was on Sunday morning. The authors made our potentially dry “Cozies: Realism vs. Entertainment” into a lively discussion. Sometimes, what you want is a happy ending, the mystery to be solved, and the bad guys or gals to be punished, even if the story stretches credibility.

Then we had a plane to catch. We had to miss the Agatha Tea. All too soon, we were riding the subway back to the airport.

Was it worth the travel and expense to attend this conference? Yes. For authors of cozy and amateur sleuth mysteries, this is the place to be. Will we return? My daughter wisely suggested we put Malice Domestic in a two-year rotation.

This fall, we hope to participate in a Colorado conference, the Mesa Verde Literary Festival. In the spring of 2027, Left Coast Crime is in Santa Fe, New Mexico. No airplane tickets to buy! If we talk our husbands into driving the RVs to each, there's no hotel expense, either. Very fiscally sensible.

Despite the distance and cost, Malice Domestic is definitely in my plans for 2028.