Sunday, October 12, 2008

News from Bouchercon

by Felicia Donovan

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I've just returned from Bouchercon 2008, held this year in Baltimore, MD.

For me, it was a very special trip because I went with my sisters and it's been many years since we traveled together.

Among the many highlights was getting to visit with many fellow authors including Donna Andrews. Here we are at the Sisters in Crime Luncheon where DonnaAwe chatted about technology and writing. Donna posed with her upcoming Donna2

holiday book, SIX GEESE A-SLAYING. Love the title!

One of the nicest parts of Bouchercon for me was getting to meet new/old friends, many of whom I've known only "virtually," including former Midnight Ink author Tim Maleeny Jill-Timwho was nominated for the Macavity Award for "Best First Novel," seen here with our agent, Jill Grosjean. In case you're wondering, indeed, that's a black widow spider emblazoned on my shirt. THE BLACK WIDOW AGENCY did not win the Barry Award, nor did Tim win the Macavity, though Tim was well-prepared to celebrate.


I did take a break from the conference to enjoy the beautiful sights of Baltimore's Inner Harbor.DSC01484 Here's a photo of the famous Dragon Peddle Boats.

Overall, it was a great conference with many bestselling authors in attendance. The "Belle of Baltimore," Laura Lippman, was this year's honoree and delivered a compelling address about her hometown and how some areas are very safe, while others have some of the highest homicide rates. She pleaded for understanding of the hotel workers' plight, some of whom were picketing outside and begged the crowd to be thankful and generous of their hard work.

Bouchercon 2008 will be set in Indianapolis. If there's anywhere near the turnout that this conference had, place your reservation early!

9 comments:

Keith Raffel said...

Thanks, Felicia, for the recap. Tell us more. Any great panels? Which writers couldn't hold their liquor?

Felicia Donovan said...

Keith, I didn't get to too many panels as there was so much to do. I can tell you that Mark Billingham, who served as Toastmaster, kept everyone well-entertained at the Opening Ceremonies. There was a very strong UK presence all throughout between publishers and authors. So nice to see such a great turnout.

Terri Thayer said...

Great job, Felicia. So nice to hear, and see, what the conference was like.

Sue Ann Jaffarian said...

I'm planning on being at Bouchercon 2009. See you all in the bar!

G.M. Malliet said...

Great job, Felicia. I will be blogging about the conference, too, tomorrow, but my photos are nowhere near as good.

It will give you some idea of the size of this conference to learn that I never set eyes on Felicia the whole time I was there. Just too big a crush of people. It is a fabulous conference.

Sue Ann - I'm also going to Indianapolis, can't wait.

G.M. Malliet said...

Oh, and Keith - the panels were great. Val McDermid kept everyone in stitches. Whatever panel you went to, you could hear the crowd roaring next door because Val was on the panel.

Gotta run, more tomorrow.

Jess Lourey said...

I know what makes a crappy panel, but what makes a good panel? And I want to hear stories of bad panels because I'm all about the schadenfreude.

Who won the Anthonys? And Felicia, I'm sorry to hear you didn't get the Barry award, but how wonderful was it that you got nominated? Well-deserved nod to your great writing, I say!

Felicia Donovan said...

Gin, that explains all the laughter coming from next door. Some panels were quite colorful. Indeed, one moderator (who shall not be named) claimed to be drinking gin throughout the panel, though I think it was clearly a put on.

Jess, thank you. I am very honored to have received the nomination no matter what.

Felicia Donovan said...

2008 Anthony Award Winners:

Best novel:
Laura Lippman - What the Dead Know

Best first novel:
Tana French - In the Woods

Best paperback original:
P.J. Parrish - A Thousand Bones

Short story:
Laura Lippman - Hardly Knew Her

Laura Lippman, was, indeed, the "Belle of Baltimore."