The Melting Pot
By Kelli Stanley
I’m a lot of things, but I’ve never considered
myself a thriller writer. Oh, I hope I can generate thrills when
needed—a description of a damp, dank underground religious temple,
especially with a corpse on the altar, can coax a few goose bumps. But
here I was, already madly crossing genres with historical
mystery-cum-hardboiled noir. I never considered joining ITW.
Until ...
Until I heard about the Debut Author’s program.
Until I realized that, like my own writing, ITW crosses genres, crosses
labels, and crosses expectations. I soon found that mystery writers,
romantic suspense writers, true crime writers—all were comfortably
ensconced, all working toward a shared vision of exciting writing, all
with a place around the table. ITW was a bubbling, creative melting
pot.
Enthused by the potential, energized by the
camaraderie, I dashed off an email to David Morrell, who personally
echoed the welcome. I was particularly happy to see
The Debut program is a huge part of that welcome. I thank ITW for offering it, for having the vision to know that it’s needed, and the heart to carry it out.
Under the coordination of Lee Child, the Board of
Directors, and our own CJ Lyons—and the support and enthusiasm of many
of the Killer Year alumni—the program has emerged as an extraordinarily
valuable place for a new writer to be. I’ve met fascinating colleagues,
life-long friends, and wonderful, wonderful writers. Through this page,
we expect to meet even more—the members of the thousands-strong ITW
community.
Thanks for having us, ITW. It’s good to be home.
