ShortCon

The Premier Conference for
Writers of Short Crime Fiction

Alexandria, Virginia
Saturday, June 5, 2027

Join acclaimed crime fiction professionals for an immersive, one-day event and learn how to write short crime fiction, get your stories published, and develop and sustain a long-term career writing short.

Edith Maxwell, aka Maddie Day, is an Agatha Award-winning author of forty gentle contemporary and historical mystery novels under both names, as well as somewhat darker Agatha-nominated short crime fiction. Her more than three dozen short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and Best New England Crime Fiction anthologies, along with other juried collections and magazines. A proud lifetime member of Sisters in Crime and a longtime member of MWA and the Short Mystery Fiction Society, she lives north of Boston with her beau and their cat Martin, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook. Find her at edithmaxwell.com, mysteryloverskitchen.com, and on Facebook and Instagram.

Linda Landrigan has been editor-in-chief of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (alfredhitchcockmysterymagazine.com) since 2002, and before that she was the associate editor of the magazine under Cathleen Jordan for five years. She also edited the commemorative anthology Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine Presents Fifty Years of Crime and Suspense (2006), and the e-anthology Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine Presents Thirteen Tales of New American Gothic (2012).

Libby Cudmore (libbycudmore.com) is the author of the award-winning Wade & Jack series (Ruadán 2026, Datura 2024) as well as The Big Rewind (William Morrow 2016). Her work has been published in Bowery Gothic, Brown Hound Press, The Dark, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and Eleventh Hour Literary, among others. She co-edited the Anthony Award-nominated Lawyers Guns & Money: Crime Fiction Inspired By The Songs of Warren Zevon (with Art Taylor) and the forthcoming anthology The Black Tapes: Stories Inspired By Lost & Dead Media (with Nick Mamatas). Libby is an alumnus of the Barrelhouse Writer Camp, the recipient of the Eleventh Hour Inaugural Literary Prize, the Shamus Award, and the Black Orchid Novella Prize, along with other honors.

Tom Milani’s (tommilani.com) short fiction has appeared in several anthologies and online. His stories have been shortlisted twice for a Derringer, and “Barstow,” which originally appeared in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir vol. 5, was an honorable mention for The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2025. “Mill Mountain,” which originally appeared in Black Cat Weekly, was selected for The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2026. “A Sign of the Times,” which initially appeared in Sleuths Just Wanna Have Fun, was selected for The Best Private Eye Stories of the Year 2026.

Stacy Woodson (stacywoodson.com) is co-editor of three anthologies, including the Anthony Award-nominated Scattered, Smothered, Covered, and Chunked. A Macavity Award-nominated, Thriller Award-nominated, and three-time Derringer Award-winning author of more than 40 short stories. Her work has appeared in The Best Mystery Stories of the Year and other publications. She made her debut in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine’s Department of First Stories and won the 2018 Readers Award—the second time in the award’s history a debut has taken first place. Her work has also been adapted for animation.

Michael Bracken (crimefictionwriter.com), host of ShortCon 2027, in an Edgar Award-nominated, Shamus Award-nominated, four-time Derringer Award-winning author of more than 1,300 short stories—including crime fiction published in The Best American Mystery Stories and The Best Mystery Stories of the Year. He is also the editor or co-editor of three-dozen anthologies, including a Derringer Award winner and three Anthony Award finalists.

In addition to presentations, ShortCon provides short-fiction writers with networking opportunities essential to establishing long-term writing careers.

Elaine’s Restaurant will provide breakfast, lunch, and coffee service for attendees, and these meals are included with the registration fee. Dinner is not included.

We have reserved a room block at the nearby Westin Alexandria Old Town
The hotel block will open in 2027
400 Courthouse Square Alexandria, Virginia, USA, 22314-5700
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ShortCon Venue:
Elaine’s Restaurant
208 Queen Street
Alexandria, VA 22314