Every year I eagerly await May and Booklist's annual celebration of all things crime. I have appreciated it even more this year and last as the head of the ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study.

So today, I am going to let Booklist tell you what they have in store with this reposting from Booklist Reader. Read about what is going on, follow them all month and promote crime at your library.

Mystery Month Starts Today!

If you subscribe to Booklist, you’ll be receiving your copy of the May 1 issue, our Mystery Showcase, any day now—if you haven’t already. Or just log on to Booklist Online, where you’ll find nearly 200 new reviews of mysteries, thrillers, and espionage novels, plus many more that we couldn’t fit into the magazine. You’ll also find free links to all the feature articles, including our ever-popular “Year’s Best Crime Novels,” “Top 10 Crime Fiction for Youth,” and much more. This year, Bill Ott’s “Hard-Boiled Gazetteer” covers bold, new territory, mapping the porous borders between crime, sf, and fantasy. And don’t miss “The Dollus Syndrome,” Sara Paretsky’s Booklist-exclusive essay on diversity in crime fiction.

Our Mystery Month lists offer ready-made
blueprints for library displays.

Booklist May 1, 2015 cover - Mystery Showcase

And that’s just for starters. For Booklist‘s sixth annualMystery Month, we’ll be publishing another amazing array of online exclusives right here on The Booklist Reader. Highlights will include Edgar Award winners Megan Abbott and Laura Lippman’s argument about truth in fiction; a discussion of craft between best-selling thriller authors Gregg Hurwitz and Lisa Unger; and a takeover of our popular Publishing U series by popular mystery authors William Kent Krueger, Simon Brett, and Brad Parks. We’ll also be profiling nearly two dozen independent crime-fiction publishers in our “Small-Press Lineup,” introducing BooklistReader Guides with inaugural subject C. J. Box, and, of course, offering our trademark lists, from “Classic Cozies” to “Gone Girls.” Blog departments Book Group Buzz,Bookends, Audiobooker, and Shelf Renewal, will all put their unique spin on the genre.

Follow @BooklistReader and #mysterymonth on Twitter, and like The Booklist ReaderFacebook page, and you won’t miss a thing.

We hope you’ll take part, too. Our Mystery Month lists offer ready-made blueprints for library displays. Below you’ll find links to PDFs of all the Mystery Showcase features, which you can download, share, print, and post. Our friends at the Brantford Public Library love Mystery Month, and this year, they’re once again going all-out with an amazing lineup of programming. If you’re hosting any mystery events, from author visits to book-group discussions, let us know! We’ll be happy to retweet and share them on the Booklist Facebook page. 2015_mystery-hashtag

You’re also welcome to incorporate our Mystery Month button and hashtag badges, and other artwork into your own materials.

Not a librarian? “Just” a reader? You may be the most important piece of the puzzle. Please join the online discussion by sharing or commenting on the great stuff we’ve been working hard to bring you. We’d love to hear from you!