Sisters in Crime

Florida Gulf Coast Chapter

Joining the Chapter

2026 Membership

Come join other like-minded crime and mystery lovers! Sisters in Crime Worldwide welcomes writers, readers, librarians, publishers, and both women and men—anyone interested in supporting the crime/mystery writing community.

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HOW TO JOIN OR RENEW

In order to join our local Florida Gulf Coast (FLGC) chapter, you must first be a member of Sisters in Crime Worldwide. To make it easier for new and rejoining members, we have merged our dues collection with the Sisters in Crime Worldwide payment system. You can now pay the annual FLGC chapter dues of $25 and your annual Worldwide dues at the same time, on the same website. We promise it’s very easy!

During the membership period of Oct. 1 – Dec. 31 (grace period to Jan. 30), follow these steps to RENEW your membership:

  1. Go to the worldwide Sisters in Crime website at www.sistersincrime.org . If you are logged in, please LOG OUT. (this is an important step, so when you log back in, you’ll have the latest website version)
  2. Log into your account on SinC. You will be taken to your member profile.
  3. Once in your profile, click on this link: *** Renew your membership now *** Your payment page will be opened when you click on the link.
    NOTE: ‘Confirm your humanity’ on the Captcha page that pops up.
  4. The ‘Step 5 – Payment Information’ page. If you belong to one of the dues program chapters, your SINC national/worldwide dues and chapter dues will already be entered. You don’t need to click on anything, just scroll down the page to ‘Billing Information’, then scroll down to the ‘Payment Information.’
  5. Enter your credit card information and complete the process. (Click on a series of boxes to
    accept the terms, authorize the payment, then submit.)
  6. Your Membership is now renewed until 12/31/2026. You’ll see a Thank You page where you
    may print your invoice.

If you are on Auto Renew, or if you’re not sure, please go to www.sistersincrime.org and review the information/instructions under the ‘Join/Renew’ tab.

For NEW members, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Sisters in Crime Worldwide website at sistersincrime.org . At the top of the page, click on JOIN/RENEW then select JOIN NOW from the pull-down list of options.
  2. Select the type of membership that suits you (Professional, Youth, etc.), create an account, then look for the list of chapters and select “Florida Gulf Coast.”
  3. Your total amount due will include the Worldwide and chapter dues. Follow the payment prompts. You are finished!
  4. After the membership period ends on January 30, 2026, our Membership Chair will send out welcome packets from flgcsincmembershiptreasurer@gmail.com. Complete the membership form in the e-mail and include your areas of interest as an active member.

TO JOIN OUR FLGC CHAPTER LATER: If you already paid your Worldwide dues and would like to join our chapter outside of the membership period of Oct. 1 – Jan. 30, you may join FLGCSinC via this link to the “Chapter Store” on the SINC Worldwide website. (note: this is based on info we have now, but it may change.)

We look forward to having you as a member of Florida Gulf Coast Sisters in Crime!

Email us at flgcsincmembershiptreasurer@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Note: Online payments are preferred and appreciated. If your situation requires you to pay via check, please contact the FLGC chapter treasurer at flgcsincmembershiptreasurer@gmail.com for instructions on paying the Worldwide and local dues at the same time.

Learn more about the fabulous National benefits you can enjoy by visiting www.sistersincrime.org, and more about their Core Values and Code of Conduct at https://www.sistersincrime.org/general/custom.asp?page=code-of-conduct.

Locally, the FLGCSinC chapter offers great benefits to members at a price you can’t get with any other writer’s group:

  • Meetings with fantastic speakers who both inform and entertain. 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, 1st Saturday of every month—both virtual (Zoom) and in-person locations across the greater Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice/St. Pete metro area.
  • Online and in-person workshops on write-craft, publishing, and more.
  • Publicity and book selling opportunities:
  • Website and social media pages
  • Community events, e.g., book festivals, luncheons, workshops
  • Critique partners or groups that, because they know crime genres, can better help you reach your writing and publishing goals. Even published authors can learn from helping others.
  • READERS: this is a great opportunity for you to become Beta Readers and Book Reviewers—read books FREE before they hit the bookstores.
  • Travel Buddy Program—share travel expenses (e,g., hotels, car rides, Ubers) to Sleuthfest, Bouchercon, and other writer and reader conferences and book festivals.
  • Participate in private meetups with best-selling authors when they are in town for a book launch.
  • Mystery-themed social events (e.g., Murder Mystery Dinner parties, escape room excursions, game nights).
  • And most importantly, the chance to make good friends with women and men who share our passion for mysteries, thrillers, and suspense books you can’t put down.