Area mystery lovers had a rare chance to meet and chat with some of their favorite authors on Saturday during an event that Suffolk’s Division of Tourism hopes bookworms and aspiring authors alike will come to anticipate each year.

The city’s first Mystery Authors Festival, held Saturday at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, was a big hit with both fans of the cozy mystery genre that was featured this year and with those who would like to break into the business and turned out to hear the established authors offer tips on how to do so.

There were 11 authors, including a husband-and-wife team, on hand for the event, and organizers said they expected 350 or more people to attend the various seminars by the end of the day. In between seminars, workshops and moderated panels, authors sold and signed books and chatted with their fans.

Suffolk tourism development specialist Katie Kelley is Facebook friends with an author who attended Saturday, Ellery Adams. She said she messaged Adams about coming to Suffolk for a book signing, and Adams planted the seed that grew into the festival.

“She said, ‘Sure, I’d love to. What if I brought a few friends with me?’” Kelley recalled on Saturday. “They said, ‘Great!’ and it just sort of grew from there.”

Congratulations to all involved for a great idea to bring an entirely different kind of positive attention to the city of Suffolk. By all accounts, it worked out swimmingly, which, come to think of it, is no mystery at all.