The Lineup

THE LINEUP

Shelley Costa’s historical mystery series with Kensington, set in London in 1925 in the British Tea Trade, debuts in 2027. She holds a PhD in English from Case Western Reserve University, where she wrote her dissertation on suspense, and has taught fiction writing for many years. 

Black Orchid Novella Award winner Brad Crowther is the author of the novels The Ninth Man (Ingalls), and Murder Takes the Cake (Epicenter/Camel), both set in Charleston, South Carolina. 

Catherine Dilts writes the Rose Creek Mystery series set in Oklahoma, and co-authors the humorous Ninja Grandparent Placement Mysteries with her daughter Merida Bass.

Former police-beat reporter Loren D. Estleman is the recipient of many national and international writing honors. In 2002, he was presented with an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Eastern Michigan University. He lives in Michigan with his wife, author Deborah Morgan. 

Stories by Max Gersh, a psuedonym, have been shortlisted for Edgar, Derringer, Shamus, and International Thriller Writer Awards.

Jade Jiao is a British horror writer and podcaster based in Japan. She is currently working on a novel. 

Bret Jones is a filmmaker and audio fiction producer based in Kansas. He has five published plays and two mystery novel series with Cozy Cat Press.  

Mark Joslyn lives and works in Chicago. His work has also appeared in Dark Matter Magazine and the Cast of Wonders podcast. 

Christopher Latragna is a motion graphics artist in Chicago. This is his 9th story for AHMM featuring Henry, a riverboat gambler in the 1950s. 

Randy Nelson’s first collection, The Imaginary Lives of Mechanical Men, won the FlanneryO’Connor Award; other stories of his have been recognized in Pushcart PrizeStories and Best American Short Stories.

Paul Ryan O’Connor’s first story, “Teddy’s Favorite Thing” in EQMM, earned a 2023 Readers Award and a Derringer nomination from the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Paul has also written for video games, and most recently served as Game Director for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO. 

Sue Parman is an anthropologist who writes in a number of genres, from poetry and memoir to horror and mysteries. 

Savio Pham is currently working on a novel.  He has stories forthcoming in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and North American Review.

Robin Hazard Ray is the author of the historical novels set in Civil War–era Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Strangers’ Tomb and The Soldiers’ Rest. 

Gilbert M. Stack’s stories have appeared in over a dozen issues of AHMM. His online publications include the mystery, Ransom, the two military fantasy series, Legionnaire and Musket Men, and urban fantasy adventures Preternatural. 

Elysia Whisler is the 2025 winner of The Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense.

Boston-area native Dave Zeltserman has won a Shamus, Derringer, and two Ellery Queen Readers Awards for his short fiction. His novel The Caretaker of Lorne Field is currently in film development. His latest novel is Trust Nothing.