The Oakland Public Library will host "Bay Area Women of Mystery" this Saturday, May 15. Seven women mystery writers will discuss their craft at the main library's West Auditorium, 125 14th St., Oakland, from 2-4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

This innovative program is in keeping with others at the Oakland Public Library. Oakland Word, for example, is a series of free creative writing classes that heavily emphasize voice and the rich varieties of personal experiences. Literary education, inspiration and encouragement seem to spill down the dramatic glass front of the building.

All seven mystery authors are based in the Bay Area, though the group brings an international perspective to their work and to their discussions about mystery writing. Books by Rhys Bowen, Diana Chambers, Lucha Corpi, Susan Dunlap, Priscilla Royal, Susan Sherrell, and Kelli Stanley will also be available for purchase at the event.

Here's some background on each:

• Rhys Bowen, a native of Bath, England, is the award-winning author of the Molly Murphy Mysteries, set in turn-of-the-century New York City and featuring a feisty Irish immigrant woman. Her latest book is Last Illusion (2010).
• Diana Chambers’ work has been praised for its riveting plots, unusual characters, and deep sense of place. Her most recent novel, Stinger (2006), is about a “rogue” CIA officer, a daring journalist and an elusive Afghan chief who become entangled in an unusual triangle. Her next book, Lovely White Lies, is due out this year.
• Lucha Corpi is a native of Mexico and longtime East Bay resident whose fiction interweaves Hispanic culture, contemporary social issues and recent local history. She is best known for her Gloria Damasco series, featuring the first Chicana detective in the mystery genre. Her most recent work is Death at Solstice.
• Susan Dunlap is the author of more than 20 mystery novels. Her current Darcy Lott series includes three titles, with a fourth on the way: Power Slide is due out in August.
• Priscilla Royal is the author of six medieval mysteries involving Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal. Her latest is Chambers of Death.
• Susan Sherrell is the Oakland-based author of Grace. She drew upon her personal experience as a volunteer with the Black Panther Party’s George Jackson clinic. Her novel weaves a web of suspicion and suspense around the murder of a Berkeley racetrack worker.
• Kelli Stanley’s latest, City of Dragons, is set in San Francisco during the build-up to World War II. Her heroine, Miranda Corbi, is an escort turned private investigator.

For more information, call the library at 510-238-3138, or see the Oakland Public Library’s website.