Mystery Fan Conventions for 2019

2019 is going to be a great year for mystery fan conventions and here is a list of some of our favorites. Planning ahead for these conventions is a great idea because the hotels where the cons are held can sell out and airfares can become challenging closer to the dates of the conventions. 

We've given you an array to choose from and a little bit about each convention. These events can be a great way to meet like minded mystery fans, authors and have a great time while talking mystery. Oh, and most conventions give attendees free books. If you want to see what it's like to meet Harlan Coben or Laurie R. King or Jeffrey Deaver or see what the cons are like, click on the links on the author's name. 

Left Coast Crime, Vancouver Canada, March 28-31
American Guest of Honor: CJ Box
Canadian Guest of Honor: Maureen Jennings
Toastmaster: Cathy Ace 

Left Coast Crime is an annual mystery convention sponsored by mystery fans, both readers and authors. LCC is held during the first quarter of the year in Western North America. 

Malice Domestic, Bethesda, MD May 3-5
Guest of Honor: Donna Andrews
Toastmaster: Chris Grabenstein
Lifetime Achievement: Parnel Hall

Established in 1989, Malice Domestic™ is an annual fan convention in the metropolitan DC area that celebrates the traditional mystery, books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. The genre is loosely identified as mysteries which contain no explicit sex, or excessive gore, or violence. 

Thrillerfest, NY, NY, July 9-13
Thrillermaster: John Sanford
Silver Bullet Award Recipient: Harlan Coben
Silver Bullet Award Recipient: James Rollins

Thrillerfest is the premier conference for thriller enthusiasts, bringing together famous authors and new ones along with industry professionals, agents, and fans.

Bouchercon, Dallas, Oct 31 - Nov 3
Lifetime Achievement: Peter Lovesey
American Guest of Honor: Hank Phillipi Ryan
Distinguished Contribution to the Genre: James Patterson

This is the granddaddy of the conventions, named after mystery critic and writer, Anthony Boucher (rhymes with coucher). This year it's over Halloween and features an interactive mystery dinner theater scripted by none other than Heather Graham. It's not to be missed. 

These conventions are all fan and volunteer led. Big thanks to all of those organizers who put in so much hard work. I worked on two Bouchercon committees and one Left Coast Crime committee and organizing these events is super fun, but is also a ton of work. When you go, be sure and thank a volunteer, or better yet sign up to volunteer yourself. 

I haven't covered all of the conventions here. If I missed one that you know of, add it in below in the comment section. 

- Deborah Lacy


You can find Mystery Playground on Twitter @mysteryplaygnd and on Facebook.

Mystery Fan Conventions

Mystery Fan conventions can be a great way to meet your favorite author, get introduced to new authors and even meet fellow mystery fans. I've outlined the big ones that I've been to here for 2018, so you can begin planning a great year. 

First off, is Left Coast Crime. This conference focuses on authors and fans from the Left Coast of the country and this year it's in Reno, NV from March 22-25. Guests of Honor are Naomi Hirahara and William Kent Krueger. The toastmaster is Todd Borg. And the Ghost of Honor is Mark Twain (played by McAvoy Layne). 


In late April we have the Malice Domestic convention focuses on traditional mysteries. Here's all the details for Malice Domestic in Maryland, April 27-29.

Thrillerfest, which as you might expect, focuses on thrillers. It runs in New York City at the Grand Hyatt from July 10-14 and this year the Thrillermaster is George RR Martin with the Silver Bullet Award going to James Rollins. 

Bouchercon 2018 will be in St Petersburg, Florida, September 6-9. They have a great slate of honorees (see below). Including Ian Rankin, Karin Slaughter and Fan Guest of Honor, Judy Bobalik. 

Dispatches from Bouchercon from Cathy Ace

Jim Napier, Officer Julie Meeks, Rick Blechta and Cathy Ace 

Author Cathy Ace has a great Bouchercon round up for us today. Bouchercon is the world's largest mystery convention and this year it was hosted in Toronto, Canada. 

This year was a very different Bouchercon for me in many ways, but exactly the same as others in one key respect…I came home from it with the second horrible head-cold I’d had in three weeks, so had to allow myself to collapse and get better for a while – hence the slight delay in writing this post. 

Bouchercon is the biggest, truly international crime reader and writer convention held each year; with it being held in Toronto, Canada this year I, as the current Board Chair of Crime Writers of Canada (CWC), have been working with the volunteer committee since 2015 to try to ensure the best possible experience for every attendee. Helen Nelson and Janet Costello were the co-chairs of this year’s Bouchercon, and more than 1700 conventioneers benefitted from their efforts, and those of the 30+ people who planned and worked hard to make it all happen.

Lisa de Nikolits with just some of the book bags! 

The Opening Ceremonies were extremely well-attended, and allowed me the chance to welcome around 1000 people to Canada on behalf of CWC, and to introduce Peter Robinson to speak. 

On Friday evening I hosted the International Reception, where a veritable “Mount Rushmore” of past CWC presidents welcomed authors from the UK, Iceland, Thailand, Guatemala, Finland, France, Australia and Singapore, to name but a few of the countries represented. 

CWC Past Presidents -  L to R: Cathy Ace (Chair), Mike Martin (Vice Chair), Rick Blechta, Barbara Fradkin, RJ (Robin) Harlick, Mary Jane Maffini, Peter Robinson, Howard Engel, Maureen Jennings, Cathy Astolfo.

That evening a pub-style trivia quiz I’d organized on behalf of CWC was attended by over 150 people, who were led in teams by CWC members like Maureen Jennings, David Morrell and Linwood Barclay. 

Linwood Barclay

The winning team received a super bag of goodies, including books, and even Three Pines pins and mugs donated by another of CWC’s members, Louise Penny, who was Canadian Guest of Honour at the convention. 

CWC's pub quiz winners

Canadian Guest of Honor, Louise Penny

Panels and interviews were well attended – though the perennial problem of “I wish I could be in three places at once” persisted this year. 

Cathy Ace is the Bony Blithe Award-winning author of The Cait Morgan Mysteries and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries.  She has an anthology of short stories – MURDER KEEPS NO CALENDAR – featuring those where Cait Morgan and the WISE Women first appeared, in December 2017. You can find out more about Cathy, her work and her characters at her website, where you can also sign up for her newsletter with news, updates and special offers: http://cathyace.com/ 

PHOTOS: Cathy Ace books

Dispatches from Bloody Scotland with Catriona McPherson

Bloody Scotland, a mystery fan convention in Stirling, Scotland, took place this past weekend & scottish writer, Catriona McPherson has sent us a great report despite her utter exhaustion from all of the fun. 

Stay tune to the end of the post for a link to our review of Catriona's latest book: House. Tree. Person. 

 It’s Sunday night, I’m sobbing with exhaustion, but I’ve held it together just long enough to send a wee pictorial round-up of this weekend’s Bloody Scotland Festival, as promised, to Mystery Playground.

What a weekend it was! Thirty years of Rebus with Ian Rankin, thirty years of Val McDermid’s crime-writing too, the first Bloody Scotland anthology launched (title: Bloody Scotland, which paves the way for Bloodier Scotland and Bloodiest Scotland, right?), and Denise Mina winning the MacIlvanney award.

Stirling did the festival proud. The opening gala was in the castle (and the women’s loos were in an actual vaulted dungeon with gargoyles – worth a visit whether you needed to go or not) and to get back down off the castle hill afterwards we had a torchlit procession.

The two women on the left here – Dorothy and Barbara – seemed like lovely, gentle, book fans when I met them at a signing, but they’ve got the look of murderous intent down too, haven’t they? At the head of the procession was a bagpipe band. When they started playing Scotland the Brave, a few Scots burst into song. “Sorry,” I said, to Rudy Martinez from Soho Press, “but this tune is pretty special.” 

“This tune?” he said. “Wait, you mean they’ve been playing different tunes? Okay.” Ha!

The Golden Lion hotel put on quite a show too – going blood-red all three nights of the festival:

Not to mention the fact that the night manager ran up and down stairs with sandwiches well into the small hours after a long hungry evening. He wasn’t Tom Hiddleston, but he was generous with the chutney and you can’t have everything.

What were the highlights, panel-wise? Well, Ann Cleeves and Douglas Henshall, chaired by the festival director Jenny Brown, was pretty special:

And anyone who remembers Prof. Sue Black’s double-header with Val McDermid at that Bouchercon won’t be surprised to hear that her panel with James Oswald was fascinating and sickening in equal measure.

And now it’s all over for another year. I stopped off on the way back to my mum’s house to take a picture of me and the new book “in front of something iconically Scottish”, as Deb suggested. There’s no proper explanation for what happened next, but I’m going with this: the sequel is called 

HOUSE.TREE.PERSON.BRIDGE.MANIAC.

Catriona in front of the Forth Bridge outside Edinburgh

Here's the link we promised to Kerry Hammond's review of House. Tree. Person. 

Dispatches from #Thrillerfest

We're here at the Thrillerfest convention in NYC this weekend at the Grand Hyatt. Guests here include Lee Child, Lisa Gardiner, Karin Slaughter, Brad Parks, Steve Berry, Charlaine Harris, Sandra Brown and Peter James. We took a few moments to get in some quick shots. 

Here's Kathy Reichs, author of the Bones series of books, and the show runner for Bones, Hart Hanson. Hart also has a book out called The Driver. We'll have more on that later.

This book looks like fun. It's psychological suspense about a woman going so far off the deep end she may not be able to get back.

Peter James told me that we have another Roy Grace novel to look forward to in 2018 as well as a standalone novel that I can't wait to read - more details soon.

Peter James 

The fabulous Val McDermid signing books.

We'll have more on Thrillerfest in the coming days.

Dispatches from Crime Fest UK with Cathy Ace

Cathy Ace & Ann Cleeves

Cathy Ace, author of the Cait Morgan and WISE Enquiries Agency mysteries, joins us today from Bristol, UK where she's been at Crimefest. She's published eleven mysteries between the two series. Cathy was a finalist for not one, but two prestigious awards this year. Her novel, The Corpse with the Garnet Face (Cait Morgan Mystery #7) was a finalist for the 2017 Bony Blithe Award for Best Canadian Light Mystery. And her short story, Steve’s Story, which appears in The Whole She Bang 3, published by Sisters in Crime Toronto, has been shortlisted for Best Short Story in the 2017 Arthur Ellis Awards for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Cathy is one of our favorites here at Mystery Playground, check out her Drinks with Reads posts. 

CrimeFest UK is a fan and author convention which celebrates crime writing. Fiction and non-fiction authors abound, and it’s a relatively small convention where the informal rubbing of shoulders is encouraged. Friendly authors and keen readers huddle in the rightly-famous bar until the wee hours, sharing their love of all things criminal (in a good way, you understand). 2017 is the ninth year the convention’s been held; it grew out of an association with Left Coast Crime and has taken on a vigorous life of its own.

Pub Quiz Teams in Action

This was my second year to attend CrimeFest UK, and I enjoyed it even more than last year. This might have been because I better understood what to expect, or maybe because I just felt more “at home” with the people who are, it turns out, habitual attendees. The Pub Quiz was great fun again – this time held in the magnificent Palm Court at the convention hotel (The Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel) and, once again, I was lucky enough to be on the winning team (it must be admitted that any team with Martin Edwards on it is likely to win!).

 Panel discussing sub-genres – L to R – Parker Bilal, Felix Francis, Cathy Ace, Christopher Fowler, Barbara Nadel.

I also sat on a fun panel about what “cozy” means (it seems most conventions have such a panel, probably because it’s such a knotty topic) and was honored to be chosen to moderate a panel this year too. A first for me at CrimeFest UK, it meant I discovered two new-to-me authors, and had an excuse to read books by two other authors whose work I enjoy. We all write across various sub-genres, and we had a terrific conversation about what constitutes a “sub-genre”. We all agreed that, whilst we might not care for being labelled, we see the market necessity for such shorthand terms. (NB: no blood was spilled during either panel.)

I was delighted to meet Peter Lovesey, whose work I have always admired and enjoyed. I was able to meet him and chat, as well as take the chance to get him to sign a copy of a book I’ve had since it was published in 1990. Why present him with such a relic? Well, it was an anthology for which he wrote the introduction and within which he had two short stories, and it was also the book in which the first short story I ever wrote was re-anthologized (it having been published a year earlier for the first time). The slim volume entitled “Thrillers” was published specifically for the UK’s GCSE English language syllabus (the exams all 16 year-olds take in the UK) and I was utterly thrilled (yes, sorry, pun intended) when my work was selected to sit alongside stories by Ruth Rendell, Dick Francis, Elizabeth Ferrars and Peter, amongst others. It was a special moment for me to meet Peter, and one I shall always cherish, because that was the short story that got me started: it was found on a bookshelf by BBC producers and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007…and that’s what made me want to write more, and believe I could give it a try!

I also enjoyed the company of Ann Cleeves, whose wonderful Vera Stanhope and Shetland books both inspire me, and sometimes make me wonder why I ever bother to write another sentence, they are so stunningly well- written.

All in all, it was a fun convention for me – and I thoroughly enjoyed the banquet for which we all got gussied up. One of my panel members, Felix Francis (yes, son of the aforementioned Dick – both excellent writers – if you liked his father’s work you’ll also like his) escorted me along the red carpet.

Until next year (yes, I have already booked!).

You can find Cathy on Facebook and Twitter: @AceCathy

She also has great book club guides for her series. 

Dispatches from Left Coast Crime III

We have one more dispatch from the Hawaiian exploits of David and Mary Putnam in Hawaii at Left Coast Crime in beautiful Hawaii. Here's Mary with the report...

I especially loved the very last comment of the panel called: "How Coauthors Cope: Lovey-dovey or strictly business?" with R. Franklin James (aka Rae James) (M)

Waverly Fitzgerald (aka Waverly Curtis)

Patricia Gussin

Rosemary Mild

D.V. Whytes

Honolulu author (and the brave co-chair volunteer to coordinate all the panels) Rosemary Mild ended the panel with one final comment describing her husband/co-author/co-chair Larry: "like the Energizer Bunny, only cuter!" Too cute!!

During Laurie King’s interview of Colin Cotterill, he talked about life in his “fishing village with Internet,” and how “when you interview people they tell you all kinds of things they won’t normally tell you.” Colin learned the nice couple who ran the store down the road weren’t actually married, in fact, he was a hit man she’d hired to kill her husband. Something had gone wrong so they’d fled to the tiny fishing village many years before. Colin made sure to never complain about less-than-fresh fruit or anything else at their store, ever again.

Rochelle Straub and Nancy Cole Silverman had the most colorful table at the banquet, and possibly the biggest smiles.

During the final panel, Lee Goldberg kept making fun of the nearly naked Parnell Hall (among others). Parnell said he’d come in from a swim to see it so the panel better be good! (It was.)

If you haven't read their other Left Coast Crime dispatches, you can check them out here and here. Don't forget to check out the excerpt from David's latest book, The Vanquished. It's gotten excellent reviews. 

Check out details of next year's Left Coast Crime Convention in Reno, NV. Guests of honor are William Kent Krueger and Naomi Hirohara. The Toastmaster is Todd Borg. 

Dispatches from Left Coast Crime

Mary and David Putnam are whooping it up in Hawaii at the Left Coast Crime Convention. Yes, we're all jealous, but between Mai Tais, Mary's been sending us digital postcards of all the haps. Let's check in with our team in Honolulu...

David blending into the scenery

Mary Putnam & Catriona McPherson taking a selfie

Stuffin' Book Bags - you knew you get free books at these conventions, right?

One of the hotel bars has a Hawaii Five-O theme

Speed Dating with Janet Finsilver & Ann Parker

Mary says...

After I spent a good chunk of happy hour last night telling people about the awesome penguins just around the corner here at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, I learned today that they’ve been “relocated to Baltimore.”

At first I thought this was backwards from what you’re supposed to do when you retire (move to someplace warm, like Hawaii, not TO somewhere that has …. actual weather).  Then I wondered if something more ominous had happened to the poor penguins. (Have I spent too much time around mystery writers?) Of course, unlike peguins, not everything is so black-and-white. 

Perhaps, for the sake of the kids they used this a some kind of euphemism like “went to live on a farm.” As in, “if my husband misbehaves (again), I’ll ‘send him to the Maryland Zoo.’” Then again, given the number of this Mary’s family members and friends still here on the island, perhaps he’s already in the “Mary-land” Zoo…

In any case, the promise and lack of penguins anywhere nearby may have mystery fans and friends thinking this Hilton Hawaiian Village as finally FOUND its missing idiot. However, while I may still be crazy, I do have proof that they were once here. (See image below unless, idiot-style, I forget to attach it.)

Don’t miss the part about the turtles, sanitized for the kids around, explaining how: “Males have long…. foreclaws… wiggled in front of the female during courtship behaviors.” And I’m off to spy on some mystery folks and their various “courtship behaviors”!

Aloha from Hawaii

Mary Putnam

p.s.

I’m also bummed about the missed photo op with Putnam-Penguin. Har! Publisher joke!

p.p.s.

Did I mention penguins mate for life? How cute is that! Meanwhile, as my wise-acre husband likes to point out when folks ask how long we’ve been together: “If I’d gone to jail for murder instead, I would’ve been out by now.”

Thank you for a great report - Mary & David! 

You can read an excerpt of David's latest novel, The Vanquished here. It's gotten great reviews. 

2017 Mystery Fan Conventions

Carol and Mary Higgins Clark at Bouchercon (and me)

One of the best ways to get involved in the mystery community is to go to a fan convention. It's actually how I met most of the bloggers and authors that write for Mystery Playground, including Kerry Hammond. I've been to many of these conferences multiple times and I can tell you that mystery lovers are a friendly and fun crowd. 

All of these conferences offer book signing opportunities and unlike other fan conventions, there isn't a separate charge to get something signed - book, t-shirt, bag - whatever. they also have wonderful book rooms, full of new and old book delights for sale and free books in your registration bag. Many of the conferences also have sessions oriented towards authors rather than fans, but that's part of the fun. 

Here's the schedule for 2017, with a few details on what you can expect. There's a little something for everyone.

Sleuthfest, Feb 23-26 
Boca Raton, Florida

Sleuthfest is oriented towards mystery writers instead of fans, but everyone is welcome. It's a smaller conference and the interaction is high. I've met so many long-time friends at this conference, it's a favorite. 

Keynote:  David Baldacci

Guest Authors: Jeff Lindsey, SJ Rozan, Jane Cleland, Jess Lourey, Reed Farrel Coleman

Left Coast Crime, March 16-19
Honolulu, Hawaii
Left Coast is a medium sized convention with 400-500 attendees. It's big enough to draw big name authors, but small enough so you can actually meet them. There are tours available so you can see sights outside of the convention with other mystery-loving fans. 

Lifetime Achievement Guests of Honor: Faye and Jonathan Kellerman

Guests of Honor: Dana Stabenow, Colin Cotterill

Toastmaster: Laurie R. King

Malice Domestic, April 28-30
Focused on traditional mysteries in the style of Agatha Christie, "Malice" as it's affectionately called, draws between 300-500 people each year. Despite it's name, you couldn't find a friendlier bunch of friends and fans. 

Lifetime Achievement Award: Charlaine Harris

Guest of Honor: Elaine Viets

Fan Guest of Honor: Lucy Zahray

Toastmaster: Marcia Talley

Poirot Award: Martin Edwards

New England Crime Bake, November 10-12
Held in New England each year, Crime Bake hosts a many authors from that region but also around the country. This conference is for both readers and writers. I love the intimacy of this conference. 

Guest of Honor: Lisa Gardiner 

Bouchercon, October 12-15, Toronto 
This is the granddaddy of all the mystery conventions, which also makes it the biggest with between 1000-1700 attendees. Because this convention is bigger, it draws more authors both new and established for you to get to know. The best place to meet your favorite authors here is in the book signing line or at the bar. 

Canadian Guest of Honor: Louise Penny

American Guest of Honor: Megan Abbot

International Guest of Honor: Christopher Brookmyre

Bcon 4Kids Guest of Honor: Chris Grabenstein

Distinguished Contribution to the Genre: Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

These are just the conventions that I've attended. If you have a mystery event that I missed, please feel free to add it below and I'll include it on our list.