Bouchercon 2009

[jtb1951]

I have a few photos to post from Bouchercon so I will deposit them in this thread over the next few days. My first Bouchercon was a terrific experience, and I have the Friends of Laurie and, of course, Herself to thank for their help in making it so. I can only look forward to seeing more of you next year in San Francisco (start saving those pennies!)

John.

[jtb1951]

As others have posted, we had a great time at The Rathskeller, and thanks once more to Jessica for hosting!

John.

[tangential1]

I'm loving that cheese pic john! That is one awesomely ripe stilton;)

[jtb1951]

Some random shots of the folks out and about the conference.

John.

[jtb1951]

I'm loving that cheese pic john! That is one awesomely ripe stilton

And it was veeeery tasty, Erin! Yummy!!

John.

[Strawberry Curls]

Some random shots of the folks out and about the conference.

John.After that collection you may have to call me the ubiquitous Alice. :D Great shots, John.

[Pat Floyd]

John, as usual the photos are great. Thank you.

[Donna]

John, Thank you, Thank you so very much! It's almost like being there! And I agree with Erin - a serious cheese deserves a serious study! Thanks. :D

Donna

P.S. Curls - of course you deserve to be well represented... I'd say something about "big cheese" and how all really great ones were represented in John's shots... but then you do know where to find me... :D:D:D

[KarenB]

Thanks for the pix, John! I'm still wishing I was in them, but next year . . . :D

[jtb1951]

Some of the memorabilia on display at the Doyle exhibit showing at The Lilly Library, the rare book library of Indiana University, Bloomington.

John.

[Millie]

Great pics as usual, John. Especially that cheese....mmmm, cheese....

That Conan Doyle collection is amazing!

[Pat Floyd]

John, thanks for the Lilly Library photos. I enjoyed visiting a niece at IU, but didn't know about this collection.

[2bnallegory]

Thanks for the photos, it is great seeing the people and the memorabilia. I feel that one day if I make it to the convention I will be able to call out to say hello, having to gotten to know you all already.

[LaideeMarjorie]

Thanks, John. I loved the photos of the ACD books up close. Now if I could just find a few at tag sales or thrift shops!

I am very glad that you are planning on going to next year's B'con. So far, so am I.

--Marjorie

[Strawberry Curls]

Thanks for the photos, it is great seeing the people and the memorabilia. I feel that one day if I make it to the convention I will be able to call out to say hello, having to gotten to know you all already.
You know, that is exactly how it feels. Every time I meet someone face to face for the first time after getting to know them on-line, it feels as if we have been friends forever. Not one person I have met this way has been different than the person I got to know on-line. It is one of the joys of the internet, this community of friends that exist because of computer access. Thank you internet, Laurie, Russell and Holmes for bringing me so many friends that I would otherwise never have met, either virtually, or in RL.

[KarenB]

It is one of the joys of the internet, this community of friends that exist because of computer access. Thank you internet, Laurie, Russell and Holmes for bringing me so many friends that I would otherwise never have met, either virtually, or in RL. AMEN!! I couldn't agree more.

[Donna]

And I'll chime in with total agreement! Can't wait for SF 2010! :)

[Meredith47]

thank you so much for the pictures!! I hope I have some of you! I have a few pix that I will post from the WeHo book fair and Bcon, but I was so grateful that AliceSC and John were on the case. I have to say that I actually liked the Stilton (world comes to end). Laurie brought some little mildly sweet biscuits and they went together perfectly.

My job is giving us computer training on a new system AND I went to two book signings in the past week, A.S. Byatt and Kay Redfield Jamison. A lot going on. I'd say it's:eek: and :D . best to all//Meredith

[Pat Floyd]

I e-mailed the person in charge of hotel arrangements for San Francisco, and she found out that the Hyatt Regency will be ready to take reservations for B'Con 2010 in about a week.

[Elizabeth]

Thank you so much for the fantastic photos, John! I love that I can now put faces to some of the names on here. Was quite surprised to see that angel Vicki doesn't actually have wings, though ... ;)

[jtb1951]

Was quite surprised to see that angel Vicki doesn't actually have wings, though ...

She just keeps them folded up at most times, Elizabeth:), and I think the halo only comes out on special occasions;)!!!

I e-mailed the person in charge of hotel arrangements for San Francisco, and she found out that the Hyatt Regency will be ready to take reservations for B'Con 2010 in about a week.

Thank you, Pat; when I inquired at Bouchercon they didn't know yet.

John.

[jtb1951]

The second panel Laurie participated in was called "Changing Gears", held Thursday afternoon. The panel was moderated by Chris Grabenstein, with panelists C.J. Box, Loren Estleman, Kate White, and Laurie R. King. The discussion topic was how writers transition brtween subgenres , or from the series mystery to the stand-alone. Vicki's re-cap is here: http://www.laurierking.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=613&page=7, post #69. Photos attached.

John.

[jtb1951]

One of the features of this conference was a continuing conversation, over three days, involving 73 authors. The continuing conversation comprised three authors at a time, with a new author rotating in, and one out, every 15 minutes. As a consequence, each author would be in the conversation for 45 minutes, sharing time with 4 other authors. Laurie spent her time in conversation with Beverle Graves Myers, Alan Gordon, Megan Abbott, and Reggie Nadelson. Some photos attached.

John.

[jtb1951]

The registered attendees at Bouchercon have the opportunity to vote on a ballot of nominees in a variety of categories. The awards are called the Anthony awards, appropriately named for Anthony Boucher, and were awarded on Saturday evening at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown Indianapolis. The mistress of ceremonies was the very entertaining S.J. Rozan, who did a wonderful job of introducing the nominees and presenting the awards. Among the winners: Best Children's/Young Adult Novel to Chris Grabenstein for The Crossroads; Best Critical Nonfiction Work to Jeffrey Marks for Anthony Boucher: A Bibliography; Best Paperback Original to Julie Hyzy for State of the Onion; Best Short Story to Sean Chercover for A Sleep Not Unlike Death; and Best Novel to Michael Connelly for The Brass Verdict. Some photos follow.

John.

[Pat Floyd]

Thank you, again, John, for the truly great photos. Did you find the rotating conversation an interesting and satisfying format?

[jtb1951]

The first panel which Laurie participated in was entitled "BSI Panel: A Canonical and Conanical Confluence" on Thursday morning. The moderator was Michael F. Whelan, with distinguished panelists Laurie R. King, Leslie S. Klinger, Steven T. Doyle, and Roy E. Pilot. The panel was in honor of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the 75th anniversary of the Baker Street Irregulars (BSI). Vicki did her magic transcribing this panel in post #60 here http://www.laurierking.com/vbulletin...p?t=613&page=6. Photos attached.

John.

P.S. This is a copy of the post originally inadvertently posted in the VBC Get-Togethers forum, so, no, I'm not going senile (or am I...mmmm, I forget!)

[jtb1951]

Did you find the rotating conversation an interesting and satisfying format?

Sorry for not responding any quicker, Pat! I did find it to be both interesting and satisfying. I think the informality and lack of agenda gave a stream-of-consciousness air to the conversations which was an enjoyable break from the more regimented, moderated, format of the panels. I couldn't detect any rhyme or reason (not that I would notice one if there was, necessarily) for the rotating order of the participants, but the ones whom I watched interacted apparently comfortably with each other and the audience. The more intimate setting certainly fostered a natural give-and-take between the authors and the audience members. I enjoyed it!

John.

[Strawberry Curls]

I have been meaning to relate what happened when Laurie was talking about book covers during her stint in the continuing conversations, and it sort of turned into a show and tell. Laurie was asked, by another author, if she had much input into her covers and she started talking about the US cover for LANG and how they decided to change it. I was wearing my LANG Tee shirt and held out the front so people could see what she was talking about. Then when all eyes were on my chest Laurie was pointing out how they decided to outline the pseudo bee cell structures because the publisher had like the stain-glass idea that had been used on the recently issued trade copies of the first books. Well, then Meredith held up her Russell tote that has those covers on it and so, we had a real dog and pony show with props. It wouldn't have happened in a large room, but in that small space with a circle of chairs and the authors in the middle it seemed perfectly in keeping with the venue.

I greatly enjoyed the continuing conversations and found it was like eavesdropping on a good cocktail party conversation between well spoken and interesting people. :D:D

[Pat Floyd]

Thank you John and Alice. What fun to add a show and tell segment!