Bouchercon

Last updated
Bouchercon
Bouchercon Logo New.png
GenreMystery
Location(s)Various. Most recently held in Nashville,TN August 28-September 1, 2024. Upcoming Conventions in New Orleans,LA (2025), Calgary, Canada (2026) Washington, DC (2027), Indianapolis, IN (2028)
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated1970
Attendance1,500
Website www.bouchercon.com

Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, is an annual fan convention of creators and devotees of mystery and crime fiction. [1] It is named in honor of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher, [2] and pronounced the way he pronounced his name, rhyming with "voucher". [3]

Contents

The multi-day convention is held annually (August-October), and hosted in a different city by a different group of volunteers called the Local Organizing Committee. [4]

Each year, attending Bouchercon members nominate and vote for the Anthony Awards for excellence in crime fiction, including: Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Short Story, Best Critical Non-Fiction, and Best Paperback Original.

People who attend are fans, authors, agents, booksellers, publishers and other people who read and enjoy mystery and crime fiction. The first Bouchercon was held in Santa Monica, California in 1970. The guest of honor was Robert Bloch of Psycho fame.

Registered attendees of each Bouchercon are designated as 'members', and vote at the annual business meeting (held during the convention) on necessary business items. Bouchercon's governing body is a volunteer National Board, which changes year to year, consisting of elected Board members, and Local Organizing Committee (LOC) members who have hosted, or will host the convention.

Awards

The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America.

List of Bouchercons

NumberYearLocationLifetime Achievement AwardGuest(s) of Honor
I1970 Santa Monica, California no award issued
II1971 Los Angeles, California no award issued
III1972 Los Angeles, California no award issued
IV1973 Boston, Massachusetts no award issued
V1974 Oakland, California no award issued
VI1975 Chicago, Illinois no award issued
VII1976 Culver City, California no award issued
VIII1977 New York, New York no award issued
IX1978 Chicago, Illinois no award issued
X1979 Los Angeles, California no award issued
XI1980 Washington, D.C. no award issued
XII1981 Milwaukee, Wisconsin no award issued
XIII1982 San Francisco, California no award issued
XIV1983 New York, New York no award issued
XV1984 Chicago, Illinois no award issued
XVI1985 San Francisco, California no award issued
XVII 1986 Baltimore, Maryland no award issued
XVIII 1987 Minneapolis, Minnesota no award issued
XIX 1988 San Diego, California no award issued
XX 1989 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Dorothy Salisbury Davis
XXI 1990 London, England Michael Gilbert
XXII 1991 Pasadena, California William Campbell Gault
XXIII 1992 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Charlotte MacLeod
XXIV 1993 Omaha, Nebraska Hammond Innes and Ralph McInerny
XXV 1994 Seattle, Washington Tony Hillerman
XXVI 1995 Nottingham, Englandno award issued
XXVII 1996 St. Paul, Minnesota no award issued
XXVIII 1997 Monterey, California Donald E. Westlake
XXIX 1998 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania no award issued
XXX 1999 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Len Moffatt and June Moffatt
XXXI 2000 Denver, Colorado Jane Langton
XXXII 2001 Washington, D.C. Edward D. Hoch
XXXIII 2002 Austin, Texas no award issued
XXXIV 2003 Las Vegas, Nevada no award issued
XXXV 2004 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Bernard Cornwell
XXXVI 2005 Chicago, Illinois Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller
XXXVII 2006 Madison, Wisconsin Robert B. Parker
XXXVIII 2007 Anchorage, Alaska James Sallis
XXXIX 2008 Baltimore, Maryland Lawrence Block
XL 2009 Indianapolis, Indiana Allen J. Hubin
XLI 2010 San Francisco, California Lee Child
XLII 2011 St. Louis, Missouri Sara Paretsky
XLIII 2012 Cleveland, Ohio Mary Higgins Clark
XLIV 2013 Albany, New York Sue Grafton
XLV 2014 Long Beach, California Jeffery Deaver
XLVI 2015 Raleigh, North Carolina Margaret Maron
XLVII 2016 New Orleans, Louisiana David Morrell
XLVIII 2017 Toronto, Ontario, Canada no award issued
XLIX 2018 St. Petersburg, Florida Ian Rankin
L 2019 Dallas, Texas Peter Lovesey Hank Phillippi Ryan
James Patterson
Deborah Crombie
Felix Francis
Harry Hunsicker
McKenna Jordan
LI 2020 Sacramento, California Walter Mosley Scott Turow
Anne Perry
Cara_Black_(author)
Janet A Rudolph
Catriona McPherson
LII 2021 New Orleans Cancelled due to Covid
LIII 2022 Minneapolis, Minnesota Ellen Hart
Lou Berney
SA Cosby
Attica Locke
Jo Nesbo
Alexander McCall Smith
Jess Lourey
Lori Rader-Day
LIV 2023 San Diego, California David Baldacci Ann Cleeves
Jacqueline Winspear
Dru Ann Love
Kate Carlisle
C.J. Box
Naomi Hirahara
LV 2024 Nashville, Tennessee Anthony Horowitz
LVI 2025 New Orleans Craig Johnson Lisa Jewell
Michael Connelly
Brad Thor
Jonathan Maberry
Steph Cha
Ali Karim
Alex Segura
LVII 2026 Calgary, Alberta, Canada Louise Penny
Kathy Reichs
Abir Mukherjee
Mark Greaney (novelist)
Jennifer Hillier
Vicki Delany
Kevin Sands
PJ Vernon
Steele Curry (Posthumously)
LVIII 2027 Washington, DC Laura Lippman S.A. Cosby
Martin Edwards
Laura Joh Rowland
George Pelecanos
TBD
TBD
TBD

References

  1. "Bouchercon World Mystery Convention : Home". Bouchercon.info. Archived from the original on 2013-01-12. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
  2. "Bouchercon 2010 by the Bay: The World Series of Mystery". Libraryjournal.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
  3. Marvin Lachman, The Heirs of Anthony Boucher Poisoned Pen Press (2005), p. 83.
  4. "Happy Birthday, Mr. Holmes - The New York Sun". Nysun.com. 2005-01-05. Retrieved 2012-01-30.