We’ve also added links to a few more recent interviews on the More Interviews page on this site, so check those out for some fun reading.

The article, by Cheryl Solimini, entitled: Lisa Lutz: The Last of the Spellmans? Everyone’s favorite family of private eyes returns—for now, is definitely worth checking out. You can find copies at your local mystery bookstore, or order or subscribe online directly through the Mystery Scene website.

Speaking of mystery bookstores, here’s a photo of Lisa with a small army of Free Schmidt! supporters during her annual visit to the Seattle Mystery Bookshop back on April 1st. It’s always a fun celebration with cake! Check out Lisa’s guest blog post from her visit there as well!

As she writes:

Recently someone asked me why I became interested in the subject of wrongful convictions. I found that I didn’t really have an answer. The subject has always been on my radar, as far as I recall. It’s the kind of question that should be answered with a question: How can you not be? Read post at the Innocence Blog.

Interested in being part of the grassroots movement? If so, be sure to check out the Free Schmidt! website for t-shirts and more info. Also, visit the Innocence Project website for more about the cases, and what you can do to help.

“The fourth . . . installment of the Spellman Quartet finds the Spellmans spying on each other more than they are for their clients. Mom is keeping tabs on Isabel’s dates in the hopes that she’ll get married. The kids want to know why parts of the house are disappearing. Could someone really be stealing doorknobs and light fixtures? Lutz has written a quirky and sometimes bizarre tale that’s definitely good for a laugh.”

Also, if you’re in the Bay Area, we hope to see you at one of the book readings this week. You have the choice between tonight at M is for Mystery in San Mateo (but you better hurry, as she’s talking at 7pm)! Tomorrow night she’ll be at A Great Good Place for Books in Oakland (this will be a fun one for sure!), Thursday night at Barnes & Noble in El Cerrito, and (whew!) Friday back in San Francisco at Book Passage at the Ferry Building. Come to one or all….

For those not in the Bay Area, you can check out all her tour dates here.

• Anthony Award for Best First Novel. Named for Anthony Boucher (1911-1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America.
• Barry Award for Best First Novel. Named for Barry Gardner, an ardent mystery fan reviewer, sponsored by Mystery News and Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine.
• Macavity Award for Best First Mystery. Named for the "mystery cat" of T.S. Eliot (Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats). Each year the members of Mystery Readers International nominate and vote for their favorite mysteries in four categories.

Lisa will be in attendance at Bouchercon in Baltimore in October where all three awards will be presented. The Bouchercon is named for late mystery author, editor and mystery fan Anthony Boucher. It is the largest and and oldest annual convention of mystery fans, authors, book dealers, and publishers.

Listen to Interview (mp3, 55 minutes)

The Dilys Award has been given annually since 1993 by the IMBA to the mystery titles of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling.  The Dilys Award is named in honor of Dilys Winn, the founder of the first specialty bookseller of mystery books in the United States. Murder Ink, the store founded by Ms. Winn, closed in 2006. This unfortunate landmark is hopefully not a reflection on independent bookselling everywhere, but in a tough climate, we encourage everyone to shop independent!  Previous winners of the Dilys Award include Louise Penny, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Carl Hiassen, Dennis Lehane,  Julia Spencer-Fleming, Jasper Fforde and Colin Cotterill.

Lisa Lutz, a screenwriter, has written her first novel, The Spellman Files, about a fiercely funny family of private detectives.

Where did you get the idea for The Spellman Files?

I worked at a family-run PI firm in San Francisco in the mid ’90s for about two years. There was this lovely office—extreme family-like atmosphere. There was nothing corporate about it. But every time the phone rang and you got off the phone, the bosses would harass you about who were you talking to, what did they say, all these rules. There were four phone lines, and you had to answer some of them differently, and some papers had to be shredded. It was a mix of warmth and total paranoia.

 

 Read full interview.

Paramount Pictures has optioned Lisa Lutz novel "The Spellman Files" for Laura Ziskin to produce.

San Francisco-set comedy concerns a family of private investigators who use their gumshoe skills not only to crack cases but to pry into one another’s personal lives. Generated by Gersh’s Gotham office, book caught the fancy of New York execs, including Par’s Patricia Burke, earlier this month.

Read more: Par books ‘Spellman’, Studio opens ‘Files’ for Ziskin