THOUSAND OAKS : Panel on Mysteries to Focus on Gender

Here’s a mystery that’s almost criminal: Why aren’t women as well-represented as men in the ranks of mystery authors?

A panel of women mystery authors will weigh the evidence Thursday at the Preus-Brandt Forum on the campus of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

The authors belong to Sisters in Crime, a national organization founded in 1986 by Sara Paretsky, the creator of fictional private eye V. I. Warshawski. Paretsky’s goal was to “combat discrimination against women in the mystery field, educate publishers and the general public as to inequalities in the treatment of female authors, and raise the level of awareness of their contribution to the field.”

Panelists include Carolyn G. Hart, current Sisters in Crime president and author of the “Death on Demand” series featuring mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance Darling; Jean Hager, whose new series features Molly Bearpaw, an investigator for the Oklahoma Cherokee Nation; Marilyn Wallace, author and editor of a Sisters in Crime anthology; and, as moderator, senior Thousand Oaks librarian Kathleen Sullivan.

Advance reservations are $7.50 for members of the American Assn. of University Women and Cal Lutheran students and $10 for non-members. Space is limited and tickets may not be available at the door. The program begins at 7:30 p.m.

Reservations are due today. For more information, call Barb Wilson, 493-2179 or Arlene Coffman, 497-3495.