Weekly special

With a holiday coming up--what holiday you ask? Beggorah, it's St. Patrick's Day on March 17. Anyway, with that in mind we've picked a delightful Weekly Special that features a small-town sleuth caught up in a variety of Irish-themed activities including a production of Finnian's Rainbow. Find your own pot o' gold, at 20% off with This Week's Special.

While we're on the St. Patrick's Day subject...

we should mention that Irish author John Banville will be joining us on Saturday, March 15 for a Coffee & Crime Breakfast. Banville, writing as Benjamin Black, will be here with the second in his Edgar-nominated series, The Silver Swan.

Calling all forensic fanatics and legal eagles

Have you ever wondered just how much of what you read in mystery novels and true crime books is real? We know that many customers have so we thought you'd be interested in this upcoming symposium at Duquesne University.

From crime scene details to courtroom theatrics, do you find yourself asking whether the author did his or her homework? And assuming they did, do you ever wonder how? Come to the 8th Annual Conference of The Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law and discover the answers to these questions and many more.

Where Fact Meets Fiction: A National Symposium on the Intersection of Forensic Science and Pop Culture will be held at Duquesne University April 3-5. For more information on the program, including appearances by authors Linda Fairstein, Jan Burke, Robert Tanenbaum and others, please visit Where Fact Meets Fiction (www.duq.edu/factmeetsfiction). Early registration discounts end March 17!

Agatha Award nominees announced

Malice Domestic has announced the Agatha Award nominees for 2008 in the category of Best Novel and Best First Novel.

We're pleased to say that five of the nominees will be coming to MLB in April.

Hank Phillippi Ryan, author of Best First Novel nominee Prime Time will join us on April 17 during our Little Night of Romance (Mystery and Suspense, too).

Three of the five Best Novel nominees will be here on April 28 for the Festival of Mystery. Donna Andrews for Penguin Who Knew Too Much, Rhys Bowen for Her Royal Spyness and Elaine Viets for Murder With Reservations.

Congratulations are also in order for Donna Andrews, Rhys Bowen and Elizabeth Zelvin who all received nominations for Best Short Story. Elizabeth will be making her first appearance at the Festival with her debut mystery Death Will Get You Sober.

Take a look at our Agatha 2008 Nominations page for the full list.

Sen. Arlen Specter, March 27

We're very excited to announce a special appearance by Sen. Arlen Specter on Thursday, March 27 from 2 to 3 pm at MLB.

Sen. Specter will be signing copies of his memoir Never Give In: Battling Cancer in the Senate. Please give us a call at 412-828-4877 or use our Contact Form to let us know if you can join us.

If you can't make it to the signing, we'll be happy to get you a signed copy, personalized if you wish. Simply call or order Never Give In on the website. You can use the Special Instructions on checkout to give us any signing requests.

New arrivals

A slew of new releases this week, headlined by our very own Nancy Martin who has a new hardcover: Murder Melts in Your Mouth plus the paperback of last year's A Crazy Little Thing Called Death. You can get either or both plus meet the author while indulging your taste for chocolate at Nancy's Publication Party this Sunday, March 9 at 1 pm.

Other new arrivals include the trade paperback edition of Ian Rankin's Exit Music, new titles from Rhys Bowen, Ken Bruen, Marnie Davis Kellogg, Laura Childs, Robert B. Parker and many others.

You'll find the complete list at New Arrivals.

Laura Lippman - correction

Laura Lippman is coming to MLB on Friday, April 4. The talk and signing will be at the bookstore and it is free. We do ask that you call or email us if you're coming.

The recent MLB News had an incorrect location for the event and suggested that there was a charge. There is not. Our apologies for the confusion.

Winter Coffee & Crime Series

Our Winter Coffee & Crime Series is halfway through. Perhaps that means that winter is more than half way over. Here's what's coming up:

Mar. 15 - John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black, will be here with his second Dublin-set mystery, The Silver Swan
Mar. 29 - Joanne Fluke, author of the popular series with bakery owner Hannah Swensen will wrap up the series. Note, this event will be held at the Oakmont Carnegie Library.

Upcoming Events

Mar. 9 - Nancy Martin
Mar. 15 - John Banville
Mar. 27 - Arlen Specter
Mar. 29 - Joanne Fluke
April 17 - A Little Night of Romance (Mystery & Suspense, too)
April 28 - 13th Annual Festival of Mystery

Keep on reading,
Richard, Mary Alice and the MLB Staff

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