Sisters in Crime Australia is thrilled that Sara Paretsky, the founder of Sisters in Crime in the US and the creator of V. I. Warshawski series is our guest for this this week’s Murder Mondays interview with national co-convenor, Karina Kilmore.
(Click on the image below to go to the YouTube recording.)
Sara helped transform the lives of so many of us. With her first V. I. Warshawski novel, Double Indemnity in 1982 (1984 here in Australia), she opened up a whole new world of crime writing – a bold, adventurous hero with feminist, radical politics. Such a revelation after the hide-bound world of Agatha Christie’s England.
And then in 1986 Sara founded Sisters in Crime at the Bouchercon crime writing convention because women crime writers weren’t getting a fair go when it came to getting published, getting promoted or getting reviewed. This inspired the setting up of Sisters in Crime Australia in 1991. An interview with Sara was in our very first newsletter.
Sara paid us the honour of speaking at our dinner on International Women’s Day in 1994. Some 600 people squeezed into Prahran Town Hall – still our biggest event!
The 20th V I Washawski novel, Dead Land, is just out. Sara has also published collections of short stories, other novels and won a stack of awards, including two Anthonys, a Cartier Diamond Dagger, and a Gold Dagger. In 2011 she was made a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America.
Sara lives in Chicago and Sisters in Crime is happy to be her sponsors if she decides to migrate to Australia.
Murders Mondays are available on Sisters in Crime YouTube channel at 6pm on Mondays. Previous guests include Judith Rossell , Sulari Gentill, Sarah Epstein, Mirandi Riwoe, Kerry McGinnis, Kathy Reichs, Ellie Marney, Katherine Kovacic, Candice Fox, Anne Buist, Dervla McTiernan and Val McDermid.