February 12, 2007 Best-Selling Mystery Writer Sara Paretsky To Speak on Feb. 27

What do basketball, a discount superstore, two runaway teenagers and an explosion that screams of foul play have in common? They are just a sampling of the twists and turns found in the latest mystery thriller by Sara Paretsky.

She will discuss and sign her most recent book, “Fire Sale,” at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27, in the Montpelier Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C.

The program, which marks the 25th anniversary of the debut of Paretsky’s fictional private detective V.I. Warshawski and the 20th anniversary of the Sisters in Crime organization, is part of the Books & Beyond author series sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Free and open to the public, the program requires no reservations or tickets.

The event is cosponsored by Mystery Writers of America and presented in cooperation with “Clues: A Journal of Detection,” which features Paretsky in its winter 2007 issue.

Paretsky revolutionized the mystery world when she introduced the V.I. Warshawski character in her 1982 novel “Indemnity Only.” By creating a strong female investigator who uses her wits as well as her fists, Paretsky challenged the conventions of a genre in which women traditionally were either vamps or victims. Eleven other Warshawski novels followed, all national bestsellers, including “Fire Sale” (Penguin, 2006).

In addition the Warshawski novels, Paretsky has written a nonseries novel, “Ghost Country,” which blends comedy, magic and gritty realism in the streets of Chicago. She has also edited three collections of short stories, and her books are published in 24 languages. She is currently at work on a collection of essays that will be published in 2007.

Sisters in Crime, www.sistersincrime.org, which Paretsky helped found in 1986, combats discrimination against women in the mystery field and promotes the professional advancement of female mystery novelists.

Mystery Writers of America, www.mysterywriters.org, a reading promotion partner of the Center for the Book, is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime-writing field, aspiring crime writers and devotees to the genre.

Established in 1977 as a public-private partnership, the Center for the Book uses the resources of the Library of Congress to stimulate public interest in books, reading, literacy and libraries. For information about its events, projects, publications, state center affiliates and national reading promotion partners, visit www.loc.gov/cfbook.