Mystery writer Paula L. Woods will be reading passages from her works and answering questions at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, in room 225 of the Student Activities Center, Indiana University South Bend.

A book signing will follow. The event is free and open to the public.

Woods is the author of the Charlotte Justice mystery series, including the latest “Dirty Laundry.” The other two books in the series “Inner City Blues” and “Stormy Weather” were Los Angeles Times bestsellers and named to the Time’s Best Mystery lists.

“Inner City Blues” received the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery and named Best First Novel by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. The three novels all focus on an African American female detective in the Los Angeles Police Department.

Woods edited the acclaimed anthology “Spooks, Spies and Private Eyes: Black Mystery, Crime and Suspense Fiction of the 20th Century.”

She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Association of Crime Writers and Sisters in Crime. She speaks and lectures on African American crime fiction and literature across the country and abroad.

The event is sponsored by the IU South Bend Department of English, Department of Women’s Studies, Office for Academic Affairs, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Student Government Association and Black Student Union. Additional sponsorship has been given by the Minority Coalition of Cass County, Mich., and the Education Talent Search at Southwestern Michigan College, Dowagiac.