Crime Pays Through Social Media

Normally, planning an event can take months, sometimes as many as 12, but the Writer’s Federation and the Shabeen Club have teamed up to create an amazingly fun event in just two weeks.

That meant all of the traditional promotional methods were completely out of the question. So, instead, organizer Lorraine Murphy turned to Twitter to arrange everything. Crime Pays takes place Monday, March 16th at the Vancouver Police Museum.

“We had to do it on twitter because it all literally happened over two weeks, from getting the idea to holding the event.” said Lorraine.  “Papers need more notice than that; we didn’t even get in the event listings at the Straight! So [traditional] press releases were of limited use.”

Lorraine managed to find a free venue, “guys and dolls” to auction off and promoted the event through Twitter and Facebook. In addition, several bloggers have written about the event to assist in promotion, and arranged to have the Executive Director of the Writer’s Federation send the event out to his 2,000 strong newsletter.

Come help the Fed celebrate 32 years of getting away with murder. Whether infiltrating schools, divvying up swag, or distributing subversive publications, the Federation of BC Writers has been operating unchecked in our province for decades.

Do you enjoy the vicarious thrill of rubbing shoulder pads with the Lost Literati of the Wild West, surrounded by instruments of murder and mayhem in the cozy confines of the police museum? Do you have what it takes to make your bones as a Fed member? There’s only one way to find out! Come out to the party and make us an offer we can’t refuse. [source]

When: Monday, March 16th, 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Where: The Vancouver Police Museum, 240 East Cordova Street, Vancouver
Info: Tickets are $20, there will be refreshments, and prizes galore. Register here.

And for a little gratuitous eye candy, here are some of the guys and dolls being auctioned off.

Irwin

Terra aka Zoey Jane

Kris Krug & Raul (aka Hummingbird604)

Caroline

All these fine folk and more are being auctioned off – including a real live fictional character! (How perfect could that be? A date with a fictional character, for a writer?!)

It’s very cool to know that social media made this entire event possible. Without the ability to connect immediately, this never would have come together.

[all images provided by Lorraine Murphy]