One Ball State administrator shares something in common with former president Bill Clinton, Angela Lansbury and Vincent Price -- the Raven Mystery Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America.
Kathryn Kennison, director of the E.B and Bertha C. Ball Center, was awarded for her work as the director of Magna cum Murder, a conference for writers and readers of mystery in America.
Kennison said she loves reading. She believes, “at the core of every book is mystery.”
Planning for the first Magna cum Murder event began in the summer of 1993, when Joanna Wallace, the dean of continuing education at the time, working with alumni affairs wanted to plan a weekend event to bring alumni back to Muncie. Wallace wanted to have a mystery dinner with a big author.
That idea quickly failed as they realized they did not have the money to bring in a big author.
After talking to owners of the now-defunct independent bookstore, Murder and Mayhem, in Broad Ripple, Kennison was convinced to hold a mystery murder fan weekend for both writers and readers, instead.
Kennison did not think the event would be successful. “I didn’t believe that any of these writers and readers would pay to come,” she said. The first year, more than 40 people attended. In 2014, 158 took part. In 2015, Magna cum Murder will turn 21.
Jean Molony, a native of Cincinnati, has been attending the conference with her sister since 1994. “We have come back every year because of the atmosphere.” She also said she loves the opportunity to talk to her favorite authors on a personal level.
Vendors, registration fees and sponsorships fund the three-day weekend. “When we first started to do this we didn’t have any money, Warren Vander Hill the provost at the time said, ‘I will give you $3,000 but don’t you ever ask me for another dime ‘and I never have,” Kennison said.
”Everything that is made from the event goes right back into the event.“
In 2013, the event moved from Muncie to the Columbia Club in Indianapolis after the Roberts hotel closed.
Preparations usually begin the year before, by the end of each conference Kennison likes to announce whom the guest speaker will be the next year.
Magna cum Murder is run by a small steering committee that includes Kennison, Diane Watters, who also works at the E.B and Bertha C. Ball Center, two student interns, a representative from the Columbia Club and a bookseller.
The Raven Award is given to someone who makes notable contribution to the mystery genre outside of writing. Molony, a regular attendee of Magna cum Murder, said “I am very thankful for Kathryn, I think she is the heart and soul of Magna, it is well deserved.”
Other winners in 2015 include Jon and Ruth Jordan, the founders of Crimespree magazine.
Kennison said she is grateful to have been recognized. “To have been selected as having had an impact on a field of endeavor so many people love is very humbling.”
The 2015 Magna cum Murder will take place the weekend of October 30.
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