2023 BOARD:
Patrick Stuart (President)
Patrick Stuart arrived in Columbus in 1991 after graduation from the University of Cincinnati with an architectural degree. A former resident of Toledo, with past addresses in upstate New York, Iowa and Minnesota (and a dad from Indiana and a brother in Maryland), he now finds anyplace outside Big 10 territory mildly terrifying. He currently occupies a house with one wife, two sons, a dog and a cat, and is somewhere between the dog and cat as far as the hierarchy of things.
Patrick has been a member of BCW since 2011, including several stints as board member and chapter president. He’s published some short stories in online zines and university presses, had agent representation with one book for a few years, and is now shopping a second book while working on another. In addition to being a word nerd, he is in the habit of running, making his own Christmas cards, and writing about himself in the third person. More info can be found at pstuart3.wixsite.com/mysite or www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-stuart-4438a6b/.
Kandy Williams (Vice President) (writing as Mercedes King)
Mercedes King is an Ohio native with a degree in Criminology from Capital University. She is the author of the Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis series, a four-book collection that offers a fictional peek inside the private life of one of America’s most beloved first ladies. Harboring a love for mysteries, she also writes crime fiction. A Dream Called Marilyn (novella), Grave Secrets, and Every Little Secret are among her growing body of titles. She was also a proud short story contributor for Columbus Noir. An active member of Buckeye Crime Writers, she enjoys being part of the local writing community.
Connie Berry (Member/critique specialist)
Connie Berry writes the USA Today best-selling Kate Hamilton Mystery series, set in the UK and featuring an American antiques dealer with a gift for solving crimes. Like her protagonist, Connie was raised by antiques dealers who instilled in her a passion for history, fine art, foreign travel. She graduated from DePauw University and earned her master’s degree in English at The Ohio State University. She also studied at the University of Freiburg in Germany and St. Clare’s College in Oxford, England, where she fell under the spell of the British Isles. Her debut novel, A Dream of Death, won the IPPY Gold for Mystery and was a finalist for the Agatha Award. Her latest, The Shadow of Memory, is a finalist for the 2023 Edgar Awards. Connie is a member of SinC, MWA, and CWA. She’s on the Steering Committee for Guppies. She lives in Ohio and northern Wisconsin with her husband and adorable dog, Emmie. You can find her at www.connieberry.com; on Facebook at Connie Berry, Author; or on Twitter @conniecberry.
Eileen Curley Hammond (Social media/Website)
Eileen Curley Hammond moved to Columbus sixteen years ago to join Nationwide’s Marketing Department. Now retired, she’s turned to her passion, writing. Eileen is the author of the Merry March Mystery Series. The series centers on a successful businesswoman and mom whose history unfortunately includes being married to the man who swindled the residents of her small town. The first seven books have been published: Murder So Sinful, Murder So Festive, Murder So Heartless, Murder So Deadly, Murder So Hot, Murder So Tempting, and Murder So Fiendish. Eileen is hard at work on her eighth book.
Her writing can also be found in the Twitter VSS365 (Very Short Story) Anthology for which all proceeds go to a children’s literacy charity. She also has a story in the Autumn Nights: Night Stories to Nibble at your Nape Anthology whose profits go to the Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to providing crisis support and safe spaces for LGBTQ individuals through trained crisis counselors and advocacy.
Eileen has been a panelist at the 2019 Magna Cum Murder Writing Festival in Indianapolis and the 2021 and 2023 Cozy Mystery panels at the Ohioana Book Festival.
Her website is eileencurleyhammond.com.
Andrew Welsh-Huggins (Treasurer)
Columbus resident Andrew Welsh-Huggins is the Shamus, Derringer, and International Thriller Writers-award-nominated author of the Andy Hayes Private Eye series and editor of Columbus Noir.
His stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mystery Magazine, the 2022 anthology Paranoia Blues: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Paul Simon, and other magazines and anthologies.
His nonfiction book, No Winners Here Tonight, is the definitive history of the death penalty in Ohio. Kirkus calls his new crime novel, The End of The Road, “A crackerjack crime yarn chockablock with miscreants and a supersonic pace.”
His website is: https://www.andrewwelshhuggins.com/