Bouchercon, pronounced [bough’•chur•con] is the World Mystery Convention. It’s the premier event for readers, writers, publishers, editors, agents, book reviewers, and booksellers. Bouchercon originated in 1970 to honor Anthony Boucher, the renowned mystery fiction critic, editor, and author. This year, the convention was held in St. Petersburg, Florida. I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to check it out since the event was close to home.
Fifteen-hundred people gathered for a 4-day weekend of education and entertainment all related to crime fiction. That was the first wow factor. I asked some of my friends from Mystery Writers of America about the Bouchercon attendance numbers when I registered and found there were seven different hotels booked for attendees. Other writing conferences I’ve attended had a quarter of that number.
The second wow, was the number of famous authors. It went far beyond the ten guests of honor, (pictured) of Karin Slaughter, Ian Rankin, Lisa Unger, Tim Dorsey, Judy Bobalik, Sara Blaede, Sean Chercover, Mark Billingham, John D. MacDonald (son) and Oyo Onatade to include Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Meg Gardiner, Reed Farell Coleman, and too many others to mention.
The third wow was that the publishers give away bags of books. There were featured signings, sponsored by publishers, every day. When attending them, you’re not only given the book the author is signing,
but also a bag of books from the publisher’s other authors. There are so many giveaways, some people brought carts to haul the freebies they collected and a satellite UPS shipping room was set up so people could ship books home. I didn’t figure this out until the second day, so I missed out on some authors I would have liked to have met. Not to worry though, there were more signings at the bookstore after panels the authors were in.
Another wow was a tea to honor librarians for their help in bringing books to the world. Bouchercon has numerous award ceremonies. Some are separately ticketed dinner events like the Shamus awards and the Nero Wolf awards. I attended the Nero Wolf awards. Every table had to make up a short song and dance about Nero Wolf’s character, Archie Goodwin. So much fun! Unfortunately, my video clip of that hilarious evening won’t post. Other awards are included in the regular programming, like the Anthony Awards, where Bouchercon attendees vote for their favorite in a dozen different categories that run from best novel to best podcast.
There’s a short story component too. You can submit to have your story in the anthology that is printed for Bouchercon every year. You can also pick up free copies of Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Mystery Scene magazines to see what they are all about.
Author Speed Dating was a fascinating experience. Readers gather at tables in the ballroom and authors get two minutes to hand out swag and pitch their book. The authors then move on to the next of the thirty or so tables. The readers can make notes of which books they would like to buy after the pitches are over.
Every hour there were four or five panels to choose from. There were informational panels including everything from archeology to audiobooks. Panels to help improve the craft of writing ranged from writing strong characters and humor to sex. (A discussion that went way beyond the boundaries of what I write.)
Originally, I was a little disappointed that there were no agent or editor pitch sessions. In the long run, it wasn’t a problem at all. Over the course of the weekend, I pitched four agents and three editors while getting coffee, buying a book at the bookstore and at the bar, resulting in five requests for my manuscript. Cross your fingers that one of them calls to represent my thriller, RAGER.
I’m so glad I had the opportunity to see what this conference is all about. I recommend it for anyone who loves mystery, suspense and thriller novels. Bouchercon is in Dallas, Texas next year. I’m shooting for 2020 to go again when the conference is in Sacremento.
