I would encourage screenwriters who like to write thrillers to take a look at www.thrillerwriters.org -- the website of the International Thriller Writers. The organization represents authors of fiction and non-fiction books of the thriller genre and its subs -- murder mystery, detective, suspense, horror, supernatural, action, espionage, crime, war, adventure, romantic suspense, etc. ITW provides ways for best-selling thriller writers to help novice and mid-list writers to learn, improve and advance their careers. While its focus is on authors, I can't help but believe screenwriters could benefit from its offerings. ITW's annual conference is Thrillerfest, which brings together hundreds of writers, readers, agents, editors, publishers for a series of programs. Going along with TF are CraftFest and AgentFest. The "craft" event features days and days of expert panels and best-selling novelists sharing their techniques, secrets, theories and skill sets. I've never attended the events, but I certainly drooled over the topics this year. I believe tapes or CDs of the programs are available for purchase, if anyone is interested. Oh, and Early Bird registration for the Fests is now open for the summer, 2013, events in NYC. If interested, go to www.thrillerfest.com. You also can subscribe to "The Big Thill," a free monthly webzine that features written roundtable discussions by successful thriller writers. This week's topic is "Antagonists: Why we love to hate them." If interested, go to www.thebigthrill.org. In my mind, a screenwriter of the thriller variety could pick up loads of pointers from this group and also, potentially, meet an author or two whose thriller novel s/he may want to adapt. I also found the slightly dated "Top 25 Thrillers of All Time" list at IGN interesting because it ranks some quite old classics very high. It is located at www.ign.com/articles/2005/10/15/top-25-thrillers-of-all-time

Oops. Obviously I meant "The Big Thrill."

Judy, these are some fantastic recommendations. I hope our thriller writers take them to heart. Thank you very much!