#title 18

On this episode, Mary Wilson reads "The Bottom Line" by James Grady.

James Grady is the author of the classic thriller Six Days of the Condor, which was made into a movie starring Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway called Three Days of the Condor. He’s written more than a dozen other novels, including Last Days of the Condor, Nature of the Game, and Mad Dogs.

On top of all that, I can report first hand that James Grady is also a heck of a nice guy.

"The Bottom Line" by James Grady was originally published in the anthology D.C. Noir, edited by George Pelecanos and published by Akashic Books.

http://www.wordcrimespodcast.com/

On this episode, Mary Wilson reads "Autumn at the Automat" by Lawrence Block.

Lawrence Block is one of my literary heroes. He's published more than 100 books, including novels about Keller, a hitman who collects stamps; Matthews Scudder, a cop turned private investigator; and Bernie Rhodenbarr, a gentleman burglar; among many others. His non-fiction books about writing are outstanding.

Lawrence Block is a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America. He's won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, and the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards. Among his many other recognitions is the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story.

And he rides the train whenever possible. The man is cool, and his writing is amazing.

"Autumn at the Automat" was originally published in the anthology In Sunlight or in Shadow, a collection of short stories inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper.

http://www.wordcrimespodcast.com/

Nick Kolakowski is a writer and editor. He’s the author of How to Become an Intellectual: 100 Mandatory Maxims to Metamorphose into the Most Learned of Thinkers, and his writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Washington City Paper, WebMD, McSweeney’s, North American Review, Crime Syndicate, and many others. He’s also an editor at the great flash fiction website Shotgun Honey.

This story, "A Nice Pair of Guns," was originally published by Thuglit.

http://www.wordcrimespodcast.com/

Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker living in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife Lana and cat Busey. His short films FOODIE and LIYANA, ON COMMAND have won several awards at film festivals across the United States. His short fiction has appeared in The Avalon Literary Review, Pulp Modern, Thuglit, and Zymbol, to name a few. His novels DIRTBAGS and HASHTAG are available in ebook and paperback.

Eryk’s the host of the radio show “The Crime Scene with Eryk Pruitt” and the Noir at the Bar series in Durham, and his next novel will be published by Polis Books in October 2017.

This story, “Knockout,” was originally published by Shotgun Honey and was a Derringer Award finalist in 2015.

April Kelly is an Emmy-nominated television writer and producer. Her debut novel WINGED won first place in Kindle’s 2013 International Book Competition in the General Fiction category. Her novel MURDER: TAKE THREE, the third book in the detective series she co-writes with former federal prosecutor Marsha Lyons, was a finalist for a 2014 Shamus Award.

April’s short fiction has appeared in DASH Literary Journal, the Mark Twain House online magazine, Seven Hills Review, DECASP, Floyd County Moonshine and Hunger Mountain Literary Journal. The story featured on this episode, “Thoroughly Murdered Millie,” was originally published by Shotgun Honey.

This episode features two stories from the anthology WAITING TO BE FORGOTTEN: STORIES OF CRIME AND HEARTBREAK INSPIRED BY THE REPLACEMENTS. S.W. Lauden reads his story "Customer" and Erik Arneson reads his story "Election Day."

Published by Gutter Books and edited by Jay Stringer, WAITING TO BE FORGOTTEN is available now.

"Three Cases Only a Desperate, Below-Average Private Investigator Would Take" is included in my new short story collection THE THROES OF CRIME, which features 26 short stories and six brief true crime essays.

All proceeds from THE THROES OF CRIME go to the James and Jeanne Arneson Memorial Scholarship Fund, created in memory of my parents, which benefits graduates of Wilmot High School in Wilmot, South Dakota, who display an aptitude in creative writing by authoring a short story.

THE THROES OF CRIME includes stories published by Thuglit, Needle, Otto Penzler's Kwik Krimes, Shotgun Honey, Out of the Gutter Online, and more. It also includes six stories that have never been published anywhere, including the one featured on this episode.