Desert Sleuths Chapter
of Sisters in Crime
An Organization for Writers, Readers, and Fans of Crime Fiction and Mystery
Welcome!
Our Desert Sleuths chapter is a proud member of Sisters in Crime, an international organization that promotes the ongoing advancement, recognition, and professional development of women crime writers. Sisters in Crime helps women achieve equality in the industry by raising professionalism, serving as the voice for excellence, and achieving diversity in crime writing.
The Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter is located in the Phoenix Metropolitan area and serves members throughout the State of Arizona and beyond! Our members include bestselling, award-winning authors as well as emerging writers, fans of mysteries and crime stories, and other genres. We are an inclusive organization – whatever your gender, level of experience, or genre, you are welcome to join us.
Nov 17 Meeting: Kurt Hammer
Kurt Hammer is a retired Colonel and Inspector General in the United States Air Force. He has 23 years of investigative and managerial experience in law enforcement serving as a Federal Agent in the United States Postal Inspection Service. Kurt’s a nationally recognized Subject Matter Expert (SME) in internal mail theft, financial embezzlement and workers compensation investigations. He’s got all kind of fascinating stories to share about covering financial crimes, credit card fraud, identity theft, mail theft/fraud, revenue fraud, capital property theft, as well as facility security and homeland security issues.
Monthly Meetings
On the third Wednesday of the month, we meet to hone our skills, learn how to get published, promote our work, and network with other crime fiction writers. Our guest speakers include professionals in the writing and law enforcement industries, including publishers, editors, and other authors.
6:30p-7:00 pm AZ Time – Business meeting and chapter check-in
7:00-8:00 pm AZ Time – Speaker
Meetings are held via Zoom. All members receive an email with the details in the monthly newsletter and a day or two before the meeting.
Covid-19 Guidelines from SinC National and AZ DHS
SinC National has published their meeting guidelines for this stage of the Covid-19 pandemic:
2021 In-Person Meetings Guidelines
The AZ DHS has as well:
Arizona Department of Health Services recommendations
Because the recommendations are still for unvaccinated people to mask up and continue social distancing, we currently do not have any in-person events planned. Your DS Board is discussing how and when to restart in-person events. The current plan is to include some support for remote attendance once we return to in-person meetings.