by Past President Leslie Budewitz
Sisters in Crime began with the belief in the power of women’s voices. From the beginning, the goals were to identify the obstacles women faced in getting published and reaching readers, and find concrete ways—creating them, when necessary—to address those problems through action and advocacy. That remains SinC’s strength.
Unlike other organizations, SinC has been radically inclusive from the beginning: Members weren’t just published authors but unpublished writers, readers, librarians, booksellers, and publishing pros. All that drew me to join 30 years ago. And as one of the original Guppies, I quickly saw how much we could teach each other and learn together.
By tradition, the immediate past president creates a project to serve the organization. My year was our 30th anniversary, the perfect opportunity to focus on our history. I wanted to capture the experiences and reflections of early SinC leaders, before they left us. We surveyed past presidents, interviewing several, and identified three major phases: the birth of the sisterhood in the early years, the growth phase in which chapters were established and structural changes gave us security, and a new vision of inclusion, with expanded educational programming and advocacy. Together we created a beautiful report, Sisters in Crime: Raising Our Voices for Thirty Years, that members still use.
I came to believe, first as a Guppy and later on the board, that the right group of people, with the right skills and goals, assembles itself to face the needs and challenges ahead—even when we don’t know what they might be. As we wrote in Raising Our Voices, an organization that understands its past can best create its future. And I am deeply proud to be part of that.
Leslie served on the national board from 2014-17, and as president in 2015-16.
About Leslie Budewitz:
Leslie Budewitz blends her passion for food, great mysteries, and the Northwest in two cozy mystery series, the Spice Shop mysteries set in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village mysteries, set in NW Montana. She also writes historical short mysteries, set in Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, stand-alone suspense. A three-time Agatha-Award winner (for Best Nonfiction, Best First Novel, and Best Short Story), she is a past president of Sisters in Crime and former board member of Mystery Writers of America. She lives in NW Montana.
Where to find Leslie:
www.Facebook.com/LeslieBudewitzAuthor
IG: @LeslieBudewitz
For More on the History of SinC: https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/history
Leave a Reply