In late spring 2014, the Tourism division contacted a favorite mystery author, Ellery Adams, via Facebook to see if she would be interested in coming to Suffolk for a book signing, since she was just up the road in Richmond. She was! And better still...she suggested she might be able to round up a few of her author friends to come with her. Would Suffolk be interested? You bet! The idea of a festival was born. We went from one author to 11 in the space of three short months, as word spread among the close-knit author community, and the Suffolk Public Library and Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts came on board with great ideas and volunteers. ​The first festival was held on Saturday, November 8, 2014, at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts.

At the inaugural event, approximately 150 attendees enjoyed meeting their favorite authors and getting the latest "cozy mysteries" signed, along with fantastic door prizes, an entertaining moderated author panel, fresh and exciting workshops, and a delightful closing reception.

In 2014, we had 11 authors. In 2015, we doubled to 24 authors. Currently, we showcase 50+ national and best-selling authors. As we continue to grow...who knows how many? Due to the COVID pandemic, the 2020 festival was postponed to an all-virtual format in March 2021. While we had hoped to return to the in-person format in 2022, we elected for a virtual format again, for the continued safety of our attendees. We were delighted to finally hold an in-person format in 2024, and we are currently in the planning process for the 2025 festival! ​We hope you can join us!