Bouchercon

Latest Additions – Special Edition! (again?!)

staceyLeave a comment

Last week a super special event was held -right here in Cleveland, OH! Bouchercon, The World Mystery Convention, went from Thursday, October 4th through Saturday, October 6th and it was *awesome*! There were so many authors, big names and new names, talking about so many topics in the different author panels, that it was almost too much to take in -but we did our best!!

Articles were published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, before and during the convention, and do a nice job of bringing the event to life! But of course, I have a few more details I’d like to share, just in case you decide you’d like to go next year!

My Top Five Boucheron Newbie Tips!

1. Be prepared to see some of your favorite authors -in the hallways, the lobby area, the Hospitality Suite, or even in the audience! It’s a little disconcerting the first few times it happens, but maybe the surprise would eventually wear off? (I think it might take more than one conference for some of us…)

2. If you want to know how to write a mystery, or how published authors write a mystery, then this is a* must have* experience for you!

3. Be prepared to discover authors new to you, and make time to read, read, read -once the conference is over!

4. The after-hours events sure sound like there were a great time! You may want to consider working those into your plans -which I will next time!!

5. Look over the program guide, and then look again, and again… And then maybe follow a new favorite author around. (That is to say, “Don’t worry! There’s always something good happening somewhere!”)

And most of all -Enjoy!!

— Stacey

 

Bouchercon

AnnLeave a comment

From October 15th through the 17th I attended Bouchercon (the World Mystery Convention) in Indianapolis, Indiana. To briefly sum it up: Michael Connelly, Michael Connelly, Michael Connelly!

Okay, there was more to it than Michael Connelly, who was the Guest of Honor. There were actually about 1700 people in attendance (authors, wanne be authors, readers, librarians) for 3 ½ days of panel discussions, programs, and general communication about the world of mysteries.

The Highlights: One of the best panel discussions I attended was called “Lost in Translation.” Moderated by Peter Rosovsky, who does a wonderful blog called Detectives Beyond Borders : a Forum for International Crime Fiction, the panel also consisted of 3 translators and an Icelandic writer. (Who can say Yrsa Sigurðardóttir?) One of the translators, Tiina Nunnally, talked about how translation is an art and that too many cooks spoil the stew. She learned this, when translating Smilla’s Sense of Snow, and the Danish author insisted on changes to the English translation that made sense in Danish but not English (can an English reader make sense of the phrase “a duck on your back”?!). Her husband, Steven T. Murray, talked about the pressures of translating the wildly popular Stieg Larsson novels.

“This Pen for Hire” was interesting, especially hearing Max Allen Collins talk about the late Mickey Spillane. My coworker Evelyn and I thought Collins looked like he’s about 40 years old, but later found out he’s 61.

I’m a huge fan of William Kent Krueger. Krueger, who sets many of his books in Tamarack County, Minnesota, was the perfect choice as moderator for a panel discussion about “Setting as Character.” Writers Deborah Atkinson, Tom Corcoran, and Jonathan King talked about how the locales they write about are actually as important as the characters in the novels they write.

The Librarian’s Tea sponsored by Sisters in Crime was fabulous. We had high tea, met and spoke with a variety of authors. The idea of SinC was to introduce librarians to authors. A panel moderated by Charlaine Harris and made up of S.J. Rozan, Nancy Pickard, Carolyn Hart, and Eve Sandstrom (aka JoAnna Carl) discussed why they love librarians. We even got to keep the tea cup and saucer!bouchercon

The interviews with S.J. Rozan, the Toastmaster of the convention and with Michael Connelly were top notch.

And then there were the books. I had been to three mystery conferences in the past so my plan was to get at least a few autographs. I came prepared by bringing along my own copies of one of Michael Connelly’s books and two of Sue Grafton’s. I was impressed by what I heard from Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and the Australian Michael Robotham. The book room was too hard to resist (row after row of mystery booksellers) so I bought some of the above two authors’ books and had a chance to chat with them and have the books signed.

A great conference … did I mention that Michael Connelly was there?

~Ann

Bouchercon 2009!

carolLeave a comment

Oh my reading lists just keep on growing and growing! This problem was not helped by my recent trip to Indianapolis while I attended Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention that celebrates the mystery genre. Bouchercon (rhymes with voucher-con) is called so in honor of Anthony Boucher (1911-1968), cofounder of Mystery Writers of America. “Boucher” plus “con” (for convention). It’s is the largest annual meeting in the world for mystery lovers. The convention included panel discussions and other presentations by mystery writers, covering all aspects of mystery fiction, thrillers, detective stories, suspense novels, and more. All sorts of people come to Bouchercon, including many many authors, aspiring authors, agents, publishing reps, and of course, fans (like me) of the genre.

I attended many panels over the course of the 3 day event but am only including my impressions on my favorites. 😉 

Crankin’ ‘Em Out: The Edward Stratemeyer Story was fascinating. Did you know that the ‘author’ of Nancy Drew, Carolyn Keene, wasn’t a real person? Sorry to break the news if it is news to you but ‘she’ was actually several ghost-writers writing under that psuedonym. The very funny author Don Bruns (South Beach Shakedown, 2006) led an informative session on Edward Stratemeyer, the man who marketed books to teens and adolescents, and created and held all the rights and royalties of the famous Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series. Bruns compared Stratemeyer’s kingdom to that of James Patterson’s already bursting-with-bestsellers empire. I already knew about the Stratemeyer Syndicate, but as a big Nancy Drew fan, still I found this discussion interesting.

The writers at the This Pen for Hire panel talked about the difficulties in taking over writing a series while staying true to the characters and original writers. Writers including Max Allan Collins (a mystery writer who was handpicked by Mickey Spillane to finish the last Mike Hammer tales), Donald Bain, Jon Guenther and Robert Goldsborough (who picked up the Nero Wolfe series). Most interesting was Donald Bain’s insight on his penning the beloved Jessica Fletcher/Murder She Wrote mystery series. Not only must Bain deal w/ rabid fans, but even more terrifying is that television executives get to edit his books first! 

I also attended the two big author interviews held at Bouchercon: 

The S.J. Rozan interview was great. I’ve never read her books but now I have to! She was so smart. There are only 9 titles so far in the Lydia Chin and Bill Smith series. That’s not too many. I can catch up, right? I’m starting with China Trade, the first. Have I mentioned how my reading lists have grown?

Michael Connelly was interviewed by Michael Koryta (who has visited RRPL twice)! Gosh, they are both so very cute! Oh, they write books too? Joking aside, this was a big deal. Connelly was the guest of honor at Bouchercon and was promoting his new book 9 Dragons. Also, I got a promo copy of Koryta’s new standalone. (The perfect birthday gift for my lucky brother).

Librarian’s Tea – This totally fabulous event was a tea honoring librarians sponsored by the Sisters in Crime , an organization whose members are bound by affection for the mystery genre and support of women who write mysteries. Perks of this event included authors sitting w/ us at the tables (!) and delicious tea and pastries. Oh, the carbs! I was too full for dinner that night. While we enjoyed the tea, there was also a panel of SiC member authors (including JoAnna Carl and Charlaine Harris) who expressed much love for their hometown and childhood librarians. Hooray!

On Thursday night, the Gameworks store in Indianapolis’ Circle Center mall was open to Bouchercon registrants. This was a fun evening event that included tons of free food and videogame playing & an author talent show. I learn what “filk” is. (Interested? check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filk_music)  The talent show including some singing, some dancing, some joke-telling. Fun, but these most of these authors really just should stick to writing. 😉

I attended two excellent panels Crime Fiction (my favorite of the mystery sub-genres):

At “More Noir than You Are” Some of the best crime fiction/noir authors around talked (at times vulgarly) about the difference between noir fiction (the protagonist is doomed) vs. crime fiction vs. other types of mysteries. They discussed their writing processes, did a bit of reading from their books and talked film noir. This was an entertaining panel. Charlie Newton was there and, inspired, I just devoured his novel Calumet City. Wow–talk about dark. I loved it! 

In The Dark Side of the Fair Sex, I got to hear one of my favorite authors, Megan Abbott (Queenpin, Die a Little, etc) talk to other women writers of crime fiction about their crafts. Oh yes, they had a token male writer on the panel (sorry, Derek Nikitas), but I was really there to see Chelsea Cain (of Sweetheart fame) and Sophie Littlefield (whose new novel A Bad Day for Sorry rocks). Believe me, you don’t want to mess with these fictionalized ladies!

All of the panels I went to were great and overall, the conference was just fabulous and fabulously planned! I would highly recommend attending a Bouchercon (or any other book related conference) if you get a chance, because for me, at least, authors are like movie stars. Did I mention that there were authors everywhere! I saw them eating tapas at a wine bar & hanging in the hotel lobby. I spied them on the escalator at the hotel, walking around Indianapolis (in the frigid Cleveland-like weather). and walking around the mall, with their parents! How cool?

My only complaint (and it’s a selfish one): I didn’t come home with boxes of freebies! The one event I attended that promised free books was a mob scene. I feared for my life. Luckily, I did get out alive and with a signed Charles Todd mystery (Incidentally, Todd is a mother/son writing team but they both signed it “Charles Todd.”) There was a very cool book dealer room where folks could buy books and wait in lines for author signing. I walked around a bit, but me, I like my books free from the library!

~Carol