Das Syndikat
The German Crime Writers’ Association
www.Das-Syndikat.com

Das Syndikat, a network of crime fiction writers who write in German, was founded in 1986 at the initiative of author and scriptwriter Fred Breinersdorfer. The organization’s goals have always been the promotion of German-language crime fiction, public relations work, the provision of a forum for exchanges among its members, and the pursuit of contacts to crime fiction writers in other countries. From its very beginnings, Das Syndikat has been a member of A.I.E.P.

More than 400 writers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland are currently active in Das Syndikat. They include Andrea Maria Schenkel, Gisbert Haefs, Sebastian Fitzek, Ingrid Noll, Jacques Berndorf, Bernhard Schlink, Friedrich Ani and Ulrich Wickert.

Under the following link, you can find information (in German) on the goals, history, and financial structure of Das Syndikat, as well as portraits of the members and details of its crime fiction prizes.

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Mörderische SchwersternMörderische Schwestern
www.Moerderische-Schwestern.eu

Welcome to the Mörderische Schwestern (Murderous Sisters)!

Who are we? We’re authors, readers, booksellers and publishers (all with a passion for crime fiction), specialists in criminology, law, medicine, psychology and journalism who love literature and especially fiction. We regard ourselves as a German-speaking but quintessentially European network.

We work, write and read – mainly in German – in the three German-speaking countries of Europe, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Our group was formed in 1996 as the German Chapter of the American crime fiction organization Sisters in Crime, and it has grown slowly but steadily since then. At the beginning of 2007, we made a decision to go our own way, and reorganized ourselves with a European orientation under the name Mörderische Schwestern with a protected logo and our own program.

We support the authors among us through:

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PENPEN-Schweiz
www.pen-dschweiz.ch

Mission Statement
Promoting literature - defending freedom of expression
Motto International PEN

International PEN is committed to

  • building a world of writers guided by the values of the PEN Charter
  • reaffirming the importance of literature and literacy in civil society
  • supporting access to literature across linguistic borders
  • defending freedom to write and supporting writers under repression.

"The writer's first job is not to have opinions but to tell the truth... and refuse to be an accomplice of lies and misinformation. Literature is the expression of nuance and contrariness against the voices of simplification. The job of the writer is to make it harder to believe the mental despoiler. The job of the writer is to help make us see the world as it is, which is to say, full of many different claims and parts and experiences."
Susan Sontag, 2001

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IACW - International Association of Crime Writers
http://jmc.ou.edu/AIEP

WHO ARE WE?

The International Association of Crime Writers is an organization of professional writers who have formed national branches in order to encourage communication among writers of all nationalities and to promote crime writing as an influential and significant art form. We support the translation of crime writing into other languages and we speak with a strong voice to defend authors against censorship and other forms of tyranny.

Currently, we have branches in England, Italy, Spain, Russia, Scandinavia, Bulgaria, Germany, Mexico, Cuba, the Czech Republic, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and other countries. The North American branch, which covers both Canada and the United States, has about 250 members. Membership world-wide is about 1,000.

WHAT DO WE DO?

IACW sponsors a number of conferences around the world. An annual celebration of the mystery, Semana Negra, is held in Gijòn, Spain, each summer.

The North American branch publishes a quarterly newsletter (Border Patrol), sponsors occasional social events, and has created several anthologies of international crime writing.

OTHER BRANCHES

The International Association of Crime Writers (IACW), also known as the Asociacion Internacional de Escritores Policianos (AIEP), is a loose federation of approximately 1,000 members in national branches worldwide.
OFFICERS OF THE ORGANIZATION-AT-LARGE

President, IACW/AIEP Worldwide: J. Madison Davis

Regional Vice-President, Asia: Ken Matsuzaka
Regional Vice-President, Eastern Europe: Emanuel Ikonomov
Regional Vice-President, Western Europe: Thomas Przybilka
Regional Vice-President, Latin America: Rubén Andres Varona
Regional Vice-President, North America: Jenny White
Regional Vice-President, Oceana: Jurgen Bronniman

Liaison, IACW/AIEP World Headquarters: J. Madison Davis

source: International Association of Crime Writers - North American Branch

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