It's the Red Circle's 75th anniversary, and we're planning a celebration! Mark your calendars NOW for the late afternoon and evening of

Saturday, November 15

for a very special event. We can't divulge the details yet, but we expect to do so by mid-September, so watch this space!

 All times US prevailing Eastern  

2025

• September 3 - 7  Bouchercon  New Orleans will host this year's confab of all things bookish and mysterious, with the theme Blood on the Bayou: Case Closed. Information is here.
• September 12 - November 2  Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery at the Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre in Frederick, MD. Ken Ludwig's take on the big dog returns to the (general) area where it premiered back in 2015. Those who missed that initial run at Arena Stage will want to journey to Frederick to catch up with our own Ken Ludwig's fun frolic across Dartmoor. Information is here.
• September 20  Red Circle Luncheon Meeting
• November 15  Red Circle 75th Anniversary Event  Details to come.

2026

• January 7 - 11  Sherlock Holmes Birthday Weekend  The longest celebration of the Sherlockian year will invade New York City for another wintertime frolic. Information about the individual events and other doings will be available in due course.
• January 25  The Hound of the Baskervilles  George Mason University, Hylton Performing Arts Center, 4:00pm. One performance only by the Aquila Theatre Company of New York. SPECIAL NOTE: The producers have invited us all to a talk-back with the cast one hour before the performance at 3:00pm. Information and Tickets here.
• April 23 - May 17  Miss Holmes Returns  to the Fells Point Corner Theatre in Baltimore. Holmes and Watson return for an encore as Victorian women in Christopher Walsh's gender-bending take on our heroes. Information and tickets here.
• October 23 - 24  It's Always 1895: An Exploration of the Life and Work of Vincent Starrett  The Torists International of Chicago will host what promises to be an important conference centered around one of history's most illustrious Sherlockians. Plan ahead to make your way to the Windy City and get on their mailing list here.

For a much more comprehensive list of Sherlockian meetings and events around the United States and beyond, see Ron Fish's

Sherlockian Calendar.

The Slavering Hound by Frederick Dorr Steele is an unpublished drawing for the 1939 Basil Rathbone Hound of the Baskervilles film. It was shown in the program for the film and featured in the 1951 Festival of Britain exhibition 

The Red Circle Announces its Autumn Luncheon Meeting  A splendid time in in store on Saturday, September 20 as the Red Circle convenes once again at Alfio's. Our guest will be Cattleya Concepcion, the Associate Director for Research and User Services at the Georgetown University Law Library. Her presentation, entitled "Adventures of a Lucky Librarian, with Sherlock Holmes, Rex Stout and Others," will highlight a convivial afternoon of fun, food and Sherlockian fellowship. Cattleya has contributed maps, bibliographies and diversions to the 2015 and 2016 Green Bag Almanac and Reader (on "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" and "The Reigate Puzzle"); the 2019 Baker Street Almanac (on The Hound of the Baskervilles); and A Masterpiece of Villainy (BSI Manuscript Series, 2021). We'll meet at our usual location, Alfio's Trattoria, 4515 Willard Avenue in Bethesda. Drinks will begin at noon, lunch at 1:00. Lunch will cost $55.00 including tax and tip (Cash or check for lunch please. Credit cards are welcome at the bar). There's free valet parking and the nearest Metro stop is Friendship Heights. Reserve your place by emailing Peter Blau here.   

  The Red Circle's March 8 meeting featured an excellent talk by writer, critic and podcaster Ollivia Rutigliano, BSI, who drew interesting parallels between Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle. You're invited to read the meeting notes here. A longer transcript of Olivia's talk has been published in CrimeReads, which you can read here, and the complete video is available here.

  The Red Circle met twice in September, both times at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. We had an opportunity to look back at the manuscript of The Valley of Fear, and forward to Nicholas Meyer's new novel, Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell. Peter Blau tells us about both events here.

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