The new serial novel No Rest for the Dead features writing contributions by 25 thriller writers, including Sandra Brown, Jeffrey Deaver, R.L. Stine, Gayle Lynds and Alexander McCall Smith. Novelist David Baldacci wrote the introduction to the charity novel.

Strand magazine managing editor Andrew Gulli and Lamia Gulli edited four-year project. Proceeds from the Simon & Schuster novel will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, honoring the memory of Andrew’s mother.

Here’s more about the serial novel: “When Christopher Thomas, a ruthless curator at San Francisco’s McFall Art Museum, is murdered and his decaying body is found in an iron maiden in a Berlin museum, his wife, Rosemary, is the primary suspect, and she is tried, convicted and executed. Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the detective who cracked the case, is convinced that the wrong person was put to death.”

International Thriller Writers named Goosebumps author R.L. Stine (pictured, via) Thrillermaster for the ThrillerFest VI. Stine recently launched the Hall of Horrors series with book one, Claws, in March.

In addition, Fall of Giants author Ken Follett will be teaching a novel writing class during the CraftFest portion of the annual conference. The conference will also feature AgentFest–a two-hour period where aspiring writers can pitch their proposals in three-minute sessions. Sixty agents have agreed to participate.

Other special guests who will be in attendance include authors Robert Crais, Diana Gabaldon, and John Lescroart. The event will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City from July 6th to July 9th.

Like a celebrity book club with a classy membership, Michael Connelly, Mary Karr, Jonathan Lethem, and Neil Gaiman all suggested summer reading at Salon.com.

Editors visited signing booths around BEA, getting some reading intelligence from writers: Gaiman recommended one of the more controversial BEA authors and Karr plugged an Australian historical novel.

Here’s an excerpt: “We tracked down some of our favorite writers to ask them what we should take to the beach this summer. Despite Neil Gaiman’s weariness after signing 170 books in a row, he couldn’t resist a chance to share several of his favorites. Jonathan Lethem opted for a classic. ‘Outlanders’ series writer Diana Gabaldon plugged her favorite crime fiction.”