No mystery: Authors, fans get chummy at annual confab

By DAVID J. MONTGOMERY
Kansas City Star
September 11, 2005

CHICAGO — Four hundred mystery and thriller writers, along with 1,100 of their biggest fans, gather in one hotel for a four-day long conference.

If this were the setup for a detective novel, one of them surely would be found dead, murdered perhaps by the jealous colleague or the obsessed fan.

But the attendees of Bouchercon, the 36th annual world mystery convention that was held over Labor Day weekend in Chicago, were as friendly, generous and well-adjusted as the group from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, whose national meeting was taking place in the same hotel.

Best-selling author Julia Spencer-Fleming says it’s not a coincidence. “Writing out the darker side of the human soul helps purge you of those impulses,” she said. “I think the writer who sits down and seriously considers evil perhaps has a richer appreciation for the stability and wholeness that comes from friendships and family.”

Considering how much competition there is in the publishing world, most of the writers in the mystery community get along very well. Even with such a limited number of promotional dollars and slots on the best-seller lists to go around, there is a real sense of friendship and mutual support.

St. Louis’ Laura Bradford published her first novel earlier this year, so she felt a little intimidated going into Bouchercon. What she found, though, was that she was embraced by the mystery community, particularly other authors who “didn’t see me as a small fish, but rather, a fellow writer. They made a point of introducing me to other people. And I respect and admire them for that.”

For authors like Barry Eisler, whose novel Rain Storm won the Barry Award for best thriller novel, the annual convention is an ideal chance to connect with readers. “You have a ready-made market that’s interested in your book,” said Eisler. “So for anyone who writes mysteries and thrillers, who’s trying to get noticed, this is the best place to start.”

Those comments were echoed by Lee Child, who is an international best-selling author who attends every year. “If I am a successful writer, it is very largely because of Bouchercon,” Child said. There is no better way, he explained, to reach the community of readers, booksellers, critics, agents and editors who come together each year to talk, do business and make merry.

Aspiring authors benefit, too. People like Kathy Hughes, who came all the way from Alaska (which will host the convention in 2007), appreciate the opportunity to learn from some of the best writers in the business. “I come to get pumped up, to draw inspiration for my own writing,” Hughes said.

For those who want to learn more about the craft, panels are scheduled throughout the conference, with topics ranging from writing good sex scenes to the procedures real cops use to investigate crimes. The business end of writing is discussed, as well — finding an agent, selling your work and getting reviews.

Above all, most of those who attend are simply fans, thankfully not of the obsessed variety. They are the readers who come for the chance to meet their favorite authors and hear them talk ,listening to the kind of behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes that the public doesn’t ordinarily hear.

“These are our movie stars,” said Richard Saylor of Buffalo Grove, Ill. Despite that star quality, though, the majority of the authors, including best sellers like Harlan Coben and Dennis Lehane, are readily available for people to meet and talk to. “They’re much more approachable and humble than you’d think,” said Nancy Prichard, a librarian from Des Plaines, Ill.

Saylor brought 50 books to be signed by his favorite writers and ended up taking home more than twice that many. He said, “It’s rare that you have a chance to get signatures from people like James Crumley or Jonathan Gash, who came all the way from England.”

The convention also strives to give something back to the local community. Each year the organizers host a charity auction, an event that draws intense interest. Participants are eager to bid on such items as signed books, lunch with a favorite writer or, the most coveted of all, the chance to have a character named after them in a popular author’s next book.

The proceeds from this year’s auction will benefit Chicago’s Centro Romero, a program that offers literacy tutoring for children from the refugee immigrant community. More than $10,000 was raised.

Another of the highly anticipated events of the weekend was the presentation of the Anthony Awards, one of the mystery world’s most coveted accolades, selected each year by the fans in attendance.

This year the big winners were William Kent Krueger’s Blood Hollow, named as best novel of 2004, and Dating Dead Men by Harley Jane Kozak, which took home the prize for best first novel.

The 37th Bouchercon convention will be held in Madison, Wis., next year. If there’s a whodunit the next time around, the weapon just might be a very large, very hard cheese.