SISTERS IN CRIME, INC.
Puget Sound Chapter Bylaws
Effective December 30, 2025
ARTICLE I
Name and Seal
The name of this chapter shall be Puget Sound Chapter (hereafter “the Chapter” or “PS-SinC”). Its seal shall be a design adopted by its Board, as approved by Sisters in Crime, Inc., (hereafter “SinC, Inc.,” or “Parent organization”). Its principal location shall be Northwestern Washington State.
ARTICLE II
Section 1: Purpose
The goal of the Puget Sound Chapter is to create a safe and friendly environment in which members can share information, knowledge, opinions, motivation and inspiration, and to provide social opportunities linking writers to writers especially in northwestern Washington State. The Chapter also supports the mission of the Parent organization of Sisters in Crime, Inc., as in Section 2 below.
Section 2: Vision, Mission and Core Values
Vision: Sisters in Crime (SinC) sets standards for itself, its members, and the crime writing community. Through advocacy, programming, and leadership, SinC empowers and supports all crime writers regardless of genre or position on their career trajectory.
Mission: Sisters in Crime was founded in 1986 to promote the ongoing advancement, recognition and professional development of women crime writers.
Core Values: SinC’s core values are intrinsic to our organization’s identity and are reflected in every decision, action, program, and communication we undertake.
SinC’s core values are:
Advocacy: Championing our mission, vision, and members.
Equity: Ensuring fair and just practices and policies that enable all community members to thrive, participate, and succeed.
Inclusion: Actively, intentionally, and continually creating an environment where every member of our community is valued, respected, and has a sense of belonging.
Community: Fostering a community where differences are valued, everyone feels accepted and free to express their authentic selves, and individual needs are acknowledged and respected. Our community embraces everyone, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, age, religion, disability, neurodiversity, national origin, citizenship, socioeconomic status, educational background, publishing path, or chosen genre.
ARTICLE III
Membership
Membership is open to all persons worldwide who have an interest in crime and mystery writing and in furthering the purposes of Sisters in Crime, Inc., as defined in Article II. In order to be recognized as a Chapter member, an individual must be a member in good standing of the Parent organization.
A member may be designated HONORARY membership through election by two-thirds majority vote of the Chapter membership. No dues at the chapter level are required; however, the individual must be a continuing member in good standing of the parent organization, Sisters in Crime, Inc. Specifically, this honorary membership does not extend to membership in the Parent organization. Sisters in Crime, Inc., dues must still be paid.
Puget Sound Chapter does not distinguish between member categories, with the exception of Honorary membership as described above. Chapter members are viewed equally regardless of their membership category, as designated in Sections 1-3 below, in the Parent organization. Should additional membership categories be added at the Parent organization, the Chapter will review and amend the bylaws as necessary.
Sisters in Crime, Inc., membership categories:
PROFESSIONAL Membership. A PROFESSIONAL member is a paid-up member of both Sisters in Crime, Inc., and Puget Sound Chapter who is one of the following: an author pursuing a career in crime and mystery writing, a bookseller, a publisher, a librarian, an editor, or an individual who has a business interest in promoting the purposes of Sisters in Crime, Inc., as defined in Article II.
ACTIVE Membership. An ACTIVE member is a paid-up member of both Sisters in Crime, Inc., and Puget Sound Chapter who does not have a business interest in promoting the purposes of Sisters in Crime, Inc., This includes, but is not limited to, fans and readers.
YOUTH Membership. A YOUTH member is aged 18-25. After a YOUTH member turns 25, said member will be renewed into a PROFESSIONAL membership. YOUTH members have all of the rights and responsibilities of PROFESSIONAL members.
ARTICLE IV
General Management
Section 1. The general management, control, and direction of the affairs, funds, membership rolls, and property of Puget Sound Chapter shall be vested in the Chapter’s Officers as defined in Article V.
Section 2. No part of the net earnings of Puget Sound Chapter shall inure to the benefit of any member, director, or officer of the organization, or to any private individual. Reasonable compensation may be paid for services rendered to, or for, the Chapter (subject to the provisions of Article V).
Section 3. If there is a cash surplus at the end of the fiscal year, it shall be retained in the treasury of the Puget Sound Chapter to be used to further the purposes of the organization.
Section 4. No part of the activities of the Puget Sound Chapter shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation. The Chapter shall not participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office (including the publishing or distribution of statements) except as authorized under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended.
Section 5. The Puget Sound Chapter will obtain approval for logos, anthologies, chapter name changes, and by-law changes from the Parent organization, Sisters in Crime, Inc., before moving forward with such logos, anthologies, name changes, and by-law changes.
ARTICLE V
Officers and The Board:
Section 1. The Board of the Puget Sound Chapter of Sisters in Crime, Inc., shall consist of Officers as designated in Article V Section 2 below, along with at least one member-at-large and a total number of members-at-large no greater than representation of five percent (5%) of the total number of Chapter members in good standing, as defined in Article III (e.g. if there are sixty (60) members there shall be a maximum of three (3) members-at-large). All officers and members-at-large must be members in good standing of the Puget Sound Chapter and Sisters in Crime, Inc., as defined in Article III above. All officers, including members-at-large, are elected on an annual basis.
Section 2. Officers and members-at-large shall perform duties as listed in subsection 2a below.
Membership Rolls shall be maintained by a designated officer or a member-at-large, as determined each year by the President and based on the particular skills of the members of the Board whether officers or members-at-large. The treasurer, in collecting dues, shall communicate with this person as payments are received.
Section 2a. The Officers of the Puget Sound Chapter shall be a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. They shall be members in good standing of both Sisters in Crime, Inc., and the Puget Sound Chapter.
The President and Vice President shall be elected according to Article VIII below. The Secretary and Treasurer may be elected or appointed as meets the needs of the Chapter in any given year.
The Chapter shall make every effort to limit the terms of the President and Vice President positions to no more than two continuous years; however, if an electronic polling of the membership reveals no new candidates for these roles, the Chapter may exceed the two-year rule. The chapter must seek approval from the Board of the Parent organization in order for the chapter’s President and/or Vice President to serve for more than four years.
2a1 – The President shall preside at (or delegate a representative to) all membership meetings and call and preside at all meetings of the Board and all Chapter business meetings. The President sets goals and responsibilities, serves as an ad hoc member of any standing committees, polls members on major decisions, keeps members informed, serves as group spokesperson, acts as liaison with other Sisters in Crime, Inc., chapters or related organizations, plans special events, and performs such other duties as the Board may determine.
2a2 – The Vice President shall substitute for the responsibilities detailed in Section 2 if the President is unable to fulfill said responsibilities, attend Board meetings, and may act as chairperson for a special event.
2a3 – The Secretary shall take minutes at all Board and business meetings, handle correspondence in coordination with the President, keep a file of publications and publicity materials, and perform other duties as directed by the Board.
2a4 – The Treasurer shall be responsible for all financial matters of The Puget Sound Chapter, including the collection of dues and other income and payment of expenses, maintaining bank account(s), keeping accurate financial accounts, handling IRS filings, and preparing and submitting a financial statement whenever requested by the Board or general membership. The Treasurer, or any person designated by the Board, may make disbursements from the treasury as authorized by a majority vote of the Board and/or general membership.
2a5 – Members-at-large perform duties at the request of the Officers. Members-at-large are voting members of the Board.
Section 2b. Should there be a vacancy in the Presidency at any time, the Vice President shall succeed to the Presidency and shall serve until the next annual election. Any other vacancy of an office shall be filled by a vote of the Board. The successor shall hold office until the next annual election.
Section 2c. None of the officers of the Puget Sound Chapter or any other members of the Board will receive a salary or compensation for services rendered except for reasonable reimbursement of expenses incurred with their service on behalf of the chapter.
Section 2d. EXPULSION OF OFFICERS. Officers can be impeached locally for dereliction of duty or malfeasance by a majority vote of the general membership.
If it is alleged that the officer is in violation of the SinC Code of Conduct, please use the Sisters in Crime, Inc., procedures for reporting beginning with filling out the form at https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/CoCComplaints. In respect to an alleged violation of the SinC Code of Conduct, the process shall follow the Parent organization guidelines. The investigation and all communications related to the investigation, including all communications with witnesses related to same, shall remain in strict confidence and shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the Parent organization’s Disciplinary Committee members and/or legal representatives involved in the investigation, except where disclosure is required under appropriate legal process. The Disciplinary Committee members and all witnesses associated with the investigation shall execute a Confidentiality Agreement related to the investigation in a form similar to the one attached hereto.
For local dereliction of duty or malfeasance, a general membership vote can be taken in person or by proxy at a regularly scheduled or special meeting, provided that at least 10 days’ notice of the matter under consideration has been sent to the membership. The expulsion process includes the following steps:
- Notification: The officer will be notified in writing of the local dereliction of duty or malfeasance charge(s) and by whom the charges were made. A copy of the charge(s) will also be filed with the Board.
- Investigation: A committee of members, none of whom are on the Board, chaired, if possible, by a former president or other officer of the Puget Sound Chapter, will investigate the charges. This committee will be selected by a majority vote of the Board.
- Hearing: If the investigation committee finds merit in the charge by a majority vote, a hearing will be held. The hearing will be conducted in a manner that allows the accused officer(s) ample opportunity to present a defense.
- Recommendation: If the investigating committee recommends expulsion by a two-thirds vote, notification of the call for expulsion will be sent to all members, along with a statement summarizing the investigating committee’s recommendations.
- Final Vote: The membership will vote on the impeachment of the officer(s) at the next membership meeting, after a full and open hearing of both sides.
ARTICLE VI
Committees
Section 1. Standing Committees shall be established by the Board as needed to manage regular needs of the Chapter. Chairs of the Standing Committees shall be appointed by the President, in consultation with other Officers, from the members-at-large. If no members-at-large suit the particular committee, a chair may be appointed from the general membership. Chairs must be members in good standing of both the Parent organization and the Chapter.
Standing committees and their chairs may include:
- A Membership Committee responsible for managing member rolls using either a computerized spreadsheet or a member management system.
- Duties may include ensuring the payment of annual chapter dues, updating current contact information, and confirming membership in SinC Parent organization. A Membership Committee member or an Officer designated by the chapter shall maintain the chapter’s group listing on the SinC website.
- If the chapter elects to participate in a SinC parent organization dues collection program, the chapter will receive real time updates as members renew and their membership will be immediately updated on the SinC Parent organization member directory. Accordingly, the chapter will still need to maintain its own updated chapter list using the information provided by the Parent organization.
- A Program Committee that works in conjunction with the Chapter’s President and/or Board to plan the chapter’s program meetings, workshops, and speaker or author-support at book signing events.
- A Publicity/Media Committee that submits chapter news to the SinC Parent organization newsletter, writes a chapter newsletter on an ad hoc basis if desired, conducts media outreach and/or responds to media inquiries, keeps a record of member authors’ published work, updates information on the chapter website, maintains chapter information on social media websites, assists with advertising chapter meetings, and maintains the chapter website.
Section 2. Ad Hoc and Pro Tem Committees shall be appointed by the President and/or Board as needed.
ARTICLE VII
Meetings
Section 1. Programs and Events: The Puget Sound Chapter shall hold regular programming, either on-line or in person. In-person programs shall include designated social time, and may include speakers, book readings, workshops, and other author engagement, and shall occur in a location within the Greater Puget Sound region. The Chapter shall make every effort to hold at least one event per month. Special in-person social events may include a summer picnic and a winter holiday party.
Section 2. Business meetings: A Puget Sound Chapter business meeting of the full membership shallbe held at least once per quarter. They shall be conducted in a virtual video meeting to allow the greatest possible participation of the geographically widespread membership of the Chapter. They shall be conducted as designated in Article XIII below.
Section 3. Board meetings: Puget Sound Chapter Board meetings may be held when and where the Board determines, either in person, by proxy, or by conference call or other media access. A quorum of at least three-fifths of the Board members must be present.
ARTICLE VIII
Elections and Nominations:
Section 1. Board elections will take place at a specifically designated time each year. Although the Parent organization holds elections in August for a board turnover of October 1, the Puget Sound Chapter will conduct its election in November and change chapter governance by installing new officers in January, which is within 60 days of the vote. The vote can be conducted by secret ballot, by a show of hands, or by electronic voting. The votes will be tabulated by someone who is not up for election. All members who are in good standing as defined in Article III above may vote. Approval of the slate, or of individual officers and members-at-large, is by a simple majority of the members who participate in the vote; in the event of a tie, a run-off election will be held.
Section 2. Nominations will be solicited in October and may be made by general members. There are two ways to gather candidates, which will be determined each year by the Board:
- Candidates can be suggested to the Board, which will prepare a slate of nominees.
- A nominating committee, which includes board members and chapter members, can be formed to recruit nominees. It is suggested that if there is a President-Elect, that individual chair the committee. Otherwise, the chapter should designate a chairperson.
The deadline for submitting nominees is the final day of October, with the election being held on the second Thursday of November.
ARTICLE IX
Dues
Section 1. Every member shall pay chapter dues annually. The amount of chapter dues is determined by the Executive Committee. If a member joins in the tenth calendar month or later, dues will also cover the following year. Lifetime members of the Parent organization need to pay Chapter dues.
Section 2. The Executive Committee may propose an increase in chapter dues. This proposal shall be voted on by a simple majority of the members present, voting at a regularly scheduled or special meeting. At least 10 days’ notice of the proposed increase must be sent to all members before the meeting. Preferably such a vote should take place between March 1 and September 30 to avoid the main membership season that begins in the tenth calendar month, as per Section 1.
Section 3. Members of the Puget Sound Chapter are also required to be members of the Parent organization, which organizational dues are collected directly by Sisters in Crime, Inc. Collection of Parent organization dues is not the responsibility of the chapter, but the chapter is responsible for confirming that Parent organization dues have been paid before an individual can be deemed a member in good standing of the Puget Sound Chapter.
If the Chapter elects to participate in the Parent organization chapter-dues collection program, the chapter will receive real time updates as members renew and their membership will be immediately updated on the Parent organization member directory. The chapter will still need to maintain its own updated chapter list using the information provided by the Parent organization.
ARTICLE X
Discipline
Section 1. NON-PAYMENT OF DUES. Chapter membership may be terminated if dues have not been paid as required to the Parent organization, or if Chapter dues have not been paid within 90 days after the chapter payment is due.
Section 2. MISCONDUCT. “Misconduct” is defined as conduct inimical or harmful to the purposes and/or good repute of Sisters in Crime, Inc. If a person is believed to be in violation of the Sisters in Crime, Inc., Code of Conduct, please use the Parent organization procedures for reporting beginning with filling out the form at https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/CoCComplaints. In respect to an alleged violation of the SinC Code of Conduct, the process shall follow the guidelines of the Parent organization. The investigation and all communications related to the investigation, including all communications with witnesses related to same, shall remain in strict confidence and shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the members of the Disciplinary Committee of the Parent organization and/or legal representatives involved in the investigation, except where disclosure is required under appropriate legal process. The Disciplinary Committee members and all witnesses associated with the investigation shall execute a Confidentiality Agreement related to the investigation in a form similar to the one attached hereto.
If it is believed that the misconduct does not rise to the level of a Code of Conduct violation, the Chapter should reach out to the Community Support Group through the Parent organization’s Chapter Liaisons and/or the Executive Director of the Parent organization for support and guidance in line with the procedures of the Parent organization.
ARTICLE XI
Bylaws and Amendments
Section 1. These bylaws shall constitute the bylaws pro tem of the Puget Sound Chapter upon approval by the Chapter Board and shall continue as bylaws pro tem until amended and/or approved by a majority of the members in good standing at a regular meeting or by electronic voting. Bylaws shall be distributed to the members of the Puget Sound Chapter thirty (30) days prior to a chapter meeting, accompanied by an announcement that a vote on the bylaws will take place at that meeting. Approval of the bylaws require an affirmative vote of a majority of members in good standing participating in the vote.
Section 2. Proposals to amend the bylaws must be authorized by the Board or be presented to the Secretary over the signature of 20 percent of the membership. To be effective, an amendment to the bylaws must be distributed to all members and follow the voting approval process outlined above. The amended bylaws must be sent to the Parent organization for approval.
ARTICLE XII
Dissolution
Section 1. The Puget Sound Chapter will be dissolved only after such a proposal has been accepted by two-thirds of the Executive Committee and notice has been distributed to the membership and to the Parent organization. Voting on the proposal shall take place at a monthly meeting or at a special meeting called by the Board. Such voting shall be done by the members in person, electronically, or by proxy. Approval to dissolve the Puget Sound Chapter requires a two-thirds affirmative vote by the members in good standing who participate in the voting.
Section 2. Upon dissolution of the Puget Sound Chapter, its property and assets shall be distributed as follows:
- All liabilities and obligations of the Chapter shall be paid, satisfied, and discharged, or adequate provision made hereafter.
- Assets held by the Chapter requiring return, transfer, or conveyance, which condition occurs by reason of the dissolution, shall be returned, transferred, or conveyed in accordance with such requirements.
- Any remaining assets shall:
- be returned to national Sisters in Crime, Inc. The assets will be held for two years to support another chapter in the same region if one is formed, OR
- be sent to an organization with a similar purpose as approved by national Sisters in Crime, Inc. and voted upon by the chapter membership
Section 3. Information about the dissolution of the Chapter will be posted to the Chapter’s website and will include the redirection of interested parties to the contact information available on the website of the Parent organization and/or to nearby chapters.
Section 4. If the Chapter is not in compliance with Sisters in Crime, Inc., regulations (e.g., having not filled out the annual chapter survey, maintained communication with the Parent organization through email or other direct communications, nor met the minimum standards of being a chapter in good standing as per the Sisters in Crime Chapter Handbook), the Parent organization may revoke their chapter charter. If that happens, the Chapter, through its members and/or Board, has thirty days to appeal the decision.
ARTICLE XIII
Rules of Procedure and Parliamentary Authority
Section 1. Any policies or procedures not contrary to law or to these bylaws may be approved or amended by a majority vote of the Board. A record of such policies and procedures will be kept by the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee. Notification of policy or procedural changes will be sent to members in the next regular mailing, announced at the next regular meeting, or published in the chapter’s newsletter.
Section 2. All meetings of the Puget Sound Chapter and its Board will be conducted in accordance with the parliamentary procedures described in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, or by another generally accepted procedure agreed upon by the Board and announced to the members.
ARTICLE XIV
Repeal of Prior Bylaws
These Bylaws constitute the entire Bylaws of the Puget Sound Chapter. All previous Bylaws or constitutional provisions adopted by the chapter are hereby repealed.