by Stephanie Gayle

Mystery writers spend a lot of time contemplating injustices and inequities. They don’t sit right with us, nor should they. Sisters in Crime was born as an organization to redress inequity. Inspired by its advocacy roots and conscious of its growing global reach, I decided to build on that legacy. For my Immediate Past President project, I joined with SinC siblings to create programming around and to raise money for Innocence Project, an organization that, to date, has helped free or exonerate over 250 people who’ve collectively spent over 3,800 years wrongly incarcerated. The capstone events were a webinar with Innocence Project exoneree, Mr. Huwe Burton and an auction that aimed to raise $35,000 for the organization. Spoiler alert: we raised $46,833. Many people donated amazing items and services, and worked behind the scenes to build the auction, promote it, and follow up after the event to ensure bidders got their one-of-a-kind items. This project made a difference in the lives of people who needed help, and reinforced that Sisters in Crime is an organization that promotes justice beyond the pages of stories, in the very real world we live in.

About Stephanie Gayle:

Past SinC President Stephanie Gayle is the Pushcart Prize nominated author of Idyll Threats, Idyll Fears, Idyll Threats, and My Summer of Southern Discomfort. She is an accounting officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She graduated from the Novel Incubator program at Boston’s Grub Street.

Website: https://www.stephaniegayle.com/

For More on the History of SinC: https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/history