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Has it started yet? A report from the 1992 Bouchercon
by Vicki Cameron
I have to confess, Bouchercon passed me in a fog. Let me explain.
For the uninitiated, Bouchercon is the World Mystery Convention, held annually at a site roaming across the United states and across the Atlantic. Last year, Pasadena, this year Toronto. Then it goes to Omaha, Seattle, and Nottingham (yes, England).
Bouchercon is run by the Bouchercon organizing committees in the host cities. The wheel is reinvented every year (although there are plans to fix that). Mystery writers, editors, fans, and others converge to discuss mysteries. Attendance is in the 1,000 to 1,500 range.
The workshops are arranged on themes and writers talk about these themes, or authors tell funny stories about their work or careers, There are few writing tips, but there's a lot of interesting stuff discusses, and you can be royally entertained.
For example, Diane Mott Davidson (Dying for Chocolate) told us aobut how her Dad took her to his country club, firmly told her not to embarrass him, and introduced her to his good buddy, Colonel North.
...Usually when you walk up to an agent and state you're unpublished, they suddenly remember a previous engagement…. |
One of the most popular sessions was Tales That Dead Men Tell—and illustrated discussion by the Toronto Deputy Chief Coroner. (Lunch was not served.) I arrived after it started and the room was packed to overflowing. I had to go away.
In the panel True Detective: The Cop, several police officers talked about their forces. Commander Hugh Holton of the Chicago Police Department explained a lot about how Chicago cops operate, contrasted with the New York police department, represented by the top brass from New York at the other end of the table.
One of the highlights for me was meeting Donald Westlake, the King of the Humorous Mystery. Donald was just like my dad, only slightly shyer, but he answered my questions anyway.
As one does at these conventions, I spent a lot of time reading name tags and glancing up at faces. Lawrence Block. Max Allen Collins. Elizabeth Peters. Carole Nelson Douglas. Aaron Elkins. Mary Higgins Clark. Randall Toye, editor in chief, TOR; Carolyn Marino, senior editor, HarperPaperbacks; Michael Seidman, editor, Walker; Dominick Abel, Agent; Jed Mattes, agent.
Another goal at these things is to network, meet people who can help you in your career. I spent a few moments with Randall and Bob, and had longer discussions with Carolyn and Jed. All to the good.
Now, about the fog. As Chairman of the Canadian Chapter of Sisters in Crime, it was my responsibility to organize the Sisters in Crime programme on the day before Bouchercon actually began. We did two tracks of workshops, dinner with Sara Paretsky, and then Sunday morning breakfast and annual general meeting. It was a lot of work, and things got fairly frantic by the middle of Thursday afternoon, with a sold out house of 320, and 20 more clamouring to get dinner tickets. If I hadn't had Linda Wiken at the controls of the registration booth, and Audrey Jessup calmly taking in money hand over fist, I would have gone under and been swept away with the flotsam.
By Friday I was wiped. I will even admit to falling asleep during a panel. The weekend was half over before I got with the programme.
Nevertheless, I got a huge amount out of this conference. Usually, when you walk up to an editor/agent and state you're unpublished, she/he suddenly remembers a previous engagement. This time, I met them on neutral territory — I was an organizer and they were attendees. A boatload of authors learned my name and gave me encouragement. I was taken by the hand and introduced to People Who Count.
And now the fog has lifted, I can call in my markers. Editors know who I am. They'll actually read my work with a favourable eye. I've jumped the transom. Now, I rise or fall on the strength of my stories. I did my part. Now Woody and Steve, Imogene and Bentley, and all their friends, have to do theirs.
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