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Bouchercon
Cheryl wrote: "If any of you are planning on going to Bouchercon in Indianapolis, you might was to pay attention to the NFL schedule when it is released tonight. If the Indianapolis Colts have a home game that w..."Thanks for the heads up, Cheryl! I haven't sent in my reservation yet for B'con, but I did just go over and make a room reservation at the Westin for Thursday, Friday & Saturday.
Melodie
For those going or planning on going to Bouchercon, the list of nominees for the Anthony Awards was released today.2009 Anthony Award Nominations
Best Novel
Trigger City by Sean Chercover [William Morrow:]
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly [Little, Brown and Company:]
Red Knife by William Kent Krueger [Atria:]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson [Knopf:]
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny [Minotaur:]
Best First Novel
Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris [Minotaur:]
Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer [Doubleday:]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson [Knopf:]
Death of a Cozy Writer by G. M. Malliet [Midnight Ink:]
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith [Grand Central:]
Best Paperback Original
The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins [Hard Case Crime:]
Money Shot by Christa Faust [Hard Case Crime:]
State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy [Berkley:]
In a Dark Season by Vicki Lane [Dell:]
South of Hell by P. J. Parrish [Pocket Star:]
Best Short Story
“The Night Things Changed” by Dana Cameron from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe [Ace:]
“A Sleep Not Unlike Death” by Sean Chercover from Hardcore Hardboiled [Kensington:]
“Killing Time” by Jane K. Cleland from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (November)
“Skull and Cross Examination” by Toni L. P. Kelner from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (February)
“Scratch a Woman” by Laura Lippman from Hardly Knew Her [William Morrow:]
“The Secret Lives of Cats” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (July)
Best Critical Nonfiction Work
African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey [McFarland:]
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson [Perseverance Press:]
Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography by Jeffrey Marks [McFarland:]
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale [Walker & Company:]
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein [Random House:]
Paper Towns by John Green [Dutton Juvenile:]
Kiss Me, Kill Me by Lauren Henderson [Delacorte:]
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart [Little, Brown:]
Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash by Wendelin Van Draanen [Knopf:]
Best Cover Art
Death Was the Other Woman designed by David Rotstein and written by Linda L. Richards [Minotaur:]
Death Will Get You Sober designed by David Rotstein and written by Elizabeth Zelvin [Minotaur:]
The Fault Tree designed by David Rotstein and written by Louise Ure [Minotaur:]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo designed by Peter Mendelsund and written by Stieg Larsson [Knopf:]
Money Shot designed by Steve Cooley and written by Christa Faust [Hard Case Crime:]
Special Service Award
Jon and Ruth Jordan
Ali Karim
David Montgomery
Gary Warren Niebuhr
Sarah Weinman
I hope some more of you decide to show up. There are some great authors registered. The surprise for me was Sue Grafton. She has not been to any of the cons that I have gone to.
Cheryl wrote: "For those going or planning on going to Bouchercon, the list of nominees for the Anthony Awards was released today.2009 Anthony Award Nominations
Best Novel
Trigger City by Sean Chercover [Wi..."
I have only read 2 of the books nominated:
[book:Pushing Up Daisies A Dirt-y Business Mystery|1593015], which didn't do a thing for me and State of the Onion, which was an okay read. The 2nd one was better. Also read Dana Cameron's short story. It was okay, but definitely not one of the better stories in the anthology. I keep forgetting to get my registration done. I made my hotel reservations when you made the post about the main hotel already being booked up.
Cheryl wrote: "For those going or planning on going to Bouchercon, the list of nominees for the Anthony Awards was released today.2009 Anthony Award Nominations
Best Novel
Trigger City by Sean Chercover [Wi..."
Doesn't Sue Grafton still live in Louisville? That's probably why she decided to go this time. It's nice and close to home.
Cheryl wrote: "The main hotel is already full. The Embassy Suites still has rooms available. The Westin only has rooms at the convention rate for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. ..."I haven't made my hotel reservations yet, and will look at the materials over the next couple of days. What is the difference between the Embassy Suites and the Westin with respect to the main hotel?
Carol/Bonadie wrote What is the difference between the Embassy Suites and the Westin with respect to the main hotel?They are both very close. The Embassy Suites is across the street, and the Westin is connected by a skywalk.
Jeff and I went over to the hotels this afternoon to scope them out. The Westin is probably the furthest away but as Cheryl said it is connected by a skywalk (you walk through the convention center to get to the Hyatt). Both overflow hotels are much closer than the ones in Chicago and Toronto (which were a bit of a haul). The Embassy Suites is right across the street from the Hyatt and is also connected by a a skywalk if you walk through the Arts Garden and Circle Centre Mall, but that would be the long way around. A Weber Grill restaurant is located in the Embassy Suites and you can smell the charcoal when you first walk in the side door nearest its entrance. There is also an Off Track Betting facility in the Embassy Suites but I was pleasantly surprised that cigarette smoke did not permeate the hallway where it was located.Hope to see a number of you at the convention.
Sandi wrote: "Jeff and I went over to the hotels this afternoon to scope them out. The Westin is probably the furthest away but as Cheryl said it is connected by a skywalk (you walk through the convention cente..."Hey Sandi there is now a new hotel on the web site -- the Omni Severin. Any thoughts on the Omni in terms of proximity to the Hyatt?
Not Sandi, she will probably know better than I, but I have a map and it looks like the Omni Severin is about 2 blocks away from the Hyatt.When I talked to Sean Chercover at Thrillerfest, he said this Bouchercon was about 20% ahead of last year as far as registration goes, and last year's was pretty big. I've seen some great names on the list.
>>Hey Sandi there is now a new hotel on the web site -- the Omni Severin. Any thoughts on the Omni in terms of proximity to the Hyatt? <<
Cheryl is right, it is about two blocks away but is connected by a walkway to the Circle Centre Mall which is connected to the Hyatt so you would not have to go outside if you did not want to.
ach, before making my hotel reservation I checked my calendar again and it looks like my annual Board retreat is scheduled for the Thursday. So unless by some miracle it is reschedled, I probably won't be able to go to B-con. Boo-hoo.So far registration is still open for B-con. Don't know when it has reached capacity in the past...July or August, right Cheryl? I'm surprised it's running ahead, would have thought with the economy more people would be staying home.
>>ach, before making my hotel reservation I checked my calendar again and it looks like my annual Board retreat is scheduled for the Thursday. So unless by some miracle it is reschedled, I probably won't be able to go to B-con. Boo-hoo.<<Oh no, your scheduling conflict is a bummer. Hope something works out and you can still go to Bouchercon.
I also kind of thought this year would have lower attendance because of the economy. Unfortunatley for out of towners the city council is probably going to raise the innkeepers tax in September (which will make it one of the highest in the country). to help pay for the new football stadium and basketball arena operating shortfalls.
Got an e-mail the other day - Don Bruns is trying to organize an authors' talent show. I can't imagine what some of them would come up with. I did hear ray benson play the piano and sing at Love is Murder last year. I was amazed at how good he was.
Cheryl wrote: "Got an e-mail the other day - Don Bruns is trying to organize an authors' talent show. I can't imagine what some of them would come up with. I did hear ray benson play the piano and sing at Love..."
Don Bruns isn't a bad guitar player himself. If Bill Moody was there they could get him to play drums. He's a very good jazz drummer.
Bouchercon passed 1300 registered people today.The website is also up for Bcon 2011 which is in St. Louis. A little early I know - I haven't even registered for 2010 in SF yet. However, the special guest list is pretty impressive: Robert Crais, Charlaine Harris, Val McDermid, Colin Cotterill, Sara Paretsky and Ridley Pearson.
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Cheryl:Thanks for the update. It is exciting to see that so many people have registered!
Cheryl wrote: "Bouchercon passed 1300 registered people today.
The website is also up for Bcon 2011 which is in St. Louis. A little early I know - I haven't even registered for 2010 in SF yet. However, the s..."
I'm going to Bouchercon in October! My husband and I decided on separate vacations and Bouchercon was my choice. He's going to central Florida to see his family. Fairly certain I got the better end of this deal. This will be my first time attending any sort of book convention. Is it as much fun as I'm hoping it will be? Who is attending? Is anyone in the group planning a meet & greet for our group?
I was planning to go, but is now looking like I won't. They want to send a bunch of us for some special training and my turn will be the week of B'con unless something changes pretty quickly. There are several from this group who are going and we always do get together. You'll enjoy it, Mary. Loads of fun!
Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "I'm going to Bouchercon in October! My husband and I decided on separate vacations and Bouchercon was my choice. He's going to central Florida to see his family. Fairly certain I got the better end..."Lucky you, Mary! Yes, there are a few going from here, including Cheryl (who goes to everything), Melodie, JanG and Sandi (its in her home town)). Not me, unfortunately, but I'm sure there will be several opportunities to meet for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner! It's one of the high points of the conference, IMO.
Melodie...fingers crossed your schedule changes. I would love to meet you. Mary
We will definitely get together during Bcon. Once everyone knows when they are arriving, we will plan a breakfast. lunch or dinner. A lot of time is spent in the bar later, and if the hospitality room is half as good as it was in Baltimore, that will be a good place to meet as well.I don't go to everything - just almost everything, and I do know a lot of people (including authors).
Cheryl:LOL, I love it, "just almost everything", and we love your in-person reporting!
Cheryl wrote: "I don't go to everything - just almost everything, and I do know a lot of people (including authors). "
Cheryl wrote: "Bouchercon passed 1300 registered people today.The website is also up for Bcon 2011 which is in St. Louis. A little early I know - I haven't even registered for 2010 in SF yet. However, the s..."
2010 Bouchercon is in SF! Tragic! I'll probably be too swamped with Fall 2010 semester in library school to be there. Timing is everything.
Shomeret
>>I was planning to go, but is now looking like I won't. They want to send a bunch of us for some special training and my turn will be the week of B'con unless something changes pretty quickly. There are several from this group who are going and we always do get together. You'll enjoy it, Mary. Loads of fun!<<Too bad about the work conflict Melodie. I will miss seeing you if you are not able to come.
>>I'm going to Bouchercon in October!<<
Good News, Mary!!! Obviously I enjoy Bouchercon since this will be my fifth time. If you have any questions about the Indy area, I will be happy to help you out.
Have you made a hotel reservation yet?
Have you made a hotel reservation yet? Sandi...I'm staying at the Embassy. I decided to do this and thought I would be going it alone. No problem, we readers are an independent lot, but I'm thrilled that I'll have a chance to meet some of the group.
Cheryl...sounds like you and Sandi will know all the ropes. I'm looking for a good volunteer oportunity, maybe the hospitality room is the place to do it? Thanks for being so welcoming...first round on me!
Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "I'm going to Bouchercon in October! My husband and I decided on separate vacations and Bouchercon was my choice. He's going to central Florida to see his family. Fairly certain I got the better end..."Mary, I think you made a wise choice. I will be there and this is my 4th BCon. I love going. They are a lot of fun. And yes, many of us get together and see what sessions we like, etc. And of course we eat dinner together sometimes!
Anyone attending Bouchercon, check the website to see the full program that was published this week.Does anyone like to volunteer? I signed up as a book room "helper" and to escort an Anthony Award nominee to the facility for the award dinner.
Note: there is one session dedicated to the Kindle with an Amazon rep attending.
>>Anyone attending Bouchercon, check the website to see the full program that was published this week. <<Thanks for the heads up Mary. Interesting schedule, I wonder how the continuous conversations will work out. The sessions off site look like fun too. Plus, plenty of time for lunch between sessions this year.
If anyone is coming early there will be a panel of authors at the Glendale branch of the library on Tuesday
http://www.imcpl.org/readersconnectio.... If interested let me know and I can provide transportation up there since I plan to attend.
I am started to get excited about Bcon as the program goes online, and they start sending out e-mails about all the extras. I am particularly interested in the Thursday night party ("extravaganza") and the Book Bazaar on Sunday.When is everyone arriving? We need to come up with a time to get together. And Sandi, I know you are already there!!:D
Cheryl wrote: "I am started to get excited about Bcon as the program goes online, and they start sending out e-mails about all the extras. I am particularly interested in the Thursday night party ("extravaganza"..."Hey Cheryl, Sandi and Mary,
I will be arriving on Wednesday afternoon. My flight arrives (hopefully) from Denver at 2:39. Sandi, that is a change from my original booking. I was originally coming from CHI, but it was changed. I don't leave until Sunday at 5:30 pm.
Really looking forward to this BCon. It
sounds great!
Jan
>>I will be arriving on Wednesday afternoon. My flight arrives (hopefully) from Denver at 2:39. Sandi, that is a change from my original booking. I was originally coming from CHI, but it was changed. I don't leave until Sunday at 5:30 pm.<<Hi Jan,
I will make a note of your earlier arrival. Will it still be the same flight number?
Sandi wrote: ">>I will be arriving on Wednesday afternoon. My flight arrives (hopefully) from Denver at 2:39. Sandi, that is a change from my original booking. I was originally coming from CHI, but it was change..."Sandi,
The flight number is United 7522 from Denver. Thanks!
Jan, Cheryl, Sandi,I am so excited!!!!! I feel like a kid waiting for Santa.
My flight is Delta 1138 arriving Wednesday, 10:30am from Atlanta. I'm staying at the Embassy, but just noticed there is some availability at the main hotel. Maybe I'll try to switch? Where are you all staying?
I'm staying at the main hotel - the Hyatt. They are all quite close together and connected by SkyWalks, I believe.We are all arriving on Wednesday. I am driving, but I hope to arrive early afternoon.
Maybe we can get together Wednesday night for dinner or later in the bar for a drink. Sandi, do you know of any good restaurants close by? Either in the hotel or within walking distance.
>>Maybe we can get together Wednesday night for dinner or later in the bar for a drink. Sandi, do you know of any good restaurants close by? Either in the hotel or within walking distance. <<There are plenty of good restaurants within walking distance and I will have my car around so if we want to go further afield it would not be a problem. Here is a link to a pretty updated PDF listing of downtown eateries http://goc.iweb.bsu.edu/IndyDTRestMap...
On Wednesday evening S. J. Rozan will be giving a talk at the Central Library http://www.imcpl.org/readersconnectio... and I wondered if anyone would want to attend it?
Sandi, Cheryl, Jan:Either dinner or drinks will work for me. I'm easy to please as far as where to go, I just like to cab it rather than walking.
Can't wait to meet you guys,
-mqc
Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "Sandi, Cheryl, Jan:Either dinner or drinks will work for me. I'm easy to please as far as where to go, I just like to cab it rather than walking.
Can't wait to meet you guys,
-mqc"
I'm game for anything! I'm at the host hotel. See you all in a little while!!
Jan
Sandi, Cheryl, JanG, and Mary QC: the four BCon musketeers. Did anyone else enter the Hot Ticket thing? I got in on the Sue Grafton session. (She and I are going to have a little chat about how much time elapses between releases!)Did anyone sign up for any of the special events? I didn't, except the Ghost Tour, which is sold out...but I'm on the waiting list.
I am having a terrible time choosing between the concurrent sessions. There are so many things happening at the same time, I feel like I'm going to miss alot. I'm also feeling very disorganized...trying to write up the sessions in a way that makes more sense to me.
I'm doing some volunteer stuff. Going to work in an author room as a helper. Also, I'm "escorting" an Anthony Award nominee to the dinner\ceremony. Hope whoever I get doesn't expect me to put out. Escort means different things to different people. Well, unless it's Connelly, for him I might make an exception...but he's still not signing my Kindle with a sharpie. I have some standards. They are low, but they are standards.
I'll start an phone chain by email so we all have each others digits. We can add hotel info when we get there.
Dinner...are we doing dinner on Wednesday? I have a friend in town and thought I might get together with her for lunch. That's the only time I don't have something already planned.
Question for you who have attended before. The awards dinner\ceremony on Saturday evening. Is that a dress up event? I was planning on jeans and t-shirts (the work-from-homer's uniform) but didn't know if I should bring a dress or something dressier for Sat night. Any thoughts?
Note to those not attending. Waaah. I would love to meet my other GoodReads friends. Ann, Marcy, Melodie, Mary, Carol, Gail, Shelley, Susan B...wishing you could be there. I would like to pay you guys back for all the books I have purchased because of your reviews\recommendations.Any chance of a last minute change of plans? It would be so much fun.
Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "Note to those not attending. Waaah. I would love to meet my other GoodReads friends. Ann, Marcy, Melodie, Mary, Carol, Gail, Shelley, Susan B...wishing you could be there. I would like to pay y..."I DO wish! I'll be getting "advanced" traing on 2 new programs my company's invested in. In Albuquerque..........I'm so excited. NOT! Haven't even gone to the site to check out the panels because I know it would just depress me even more. Next year is in San Francisco and I WILL be there, one way or another. DH is even looking forward to it so he can run around town while I'm B'con-ing!
I am having a terrible time choosing between the concurrent sessions. There are so many things happening at the same time, I feel like I'm going to miss alot. I'm also feeling very disorganized...trying to write up the sessions in a way that makes more sense to meIt's always hard to choose, and you will probably end up changing your mind several times. Sometimes I just totally "poop" out and go to the hospitality room for a cup of coffee.
Dinner...are we doing dinner on Wednesday? I have a friend in town and thought I might get together with her for lunch. That's the only time I don't have something already planned.
I would like to get together Wednesday night, if possible. Is anyone else going to hear S J Rozan with Sandi? We could meet before or after at the bar/lounge in the Hyatt. They have sandwiches and salads.
Question for you who have attended before. The awards dinner\ceremony on Saturday evening. Is that a dress up event? I was planning on jeans and t-shirts (the work-from-homer's uniform) but didn't know if I should bring a dress or something dressier for Sat night. Any thoughts?
It's not a formal banquet this year so the dress will be very eclectic. I wouldn't wear jeans but just about anything beyond that. If you escorting someone, I might consider dressing up a "little" more.
>>I would like to get together Wednesday night, if possible. Is anyone else going to hear S J Rozan with Sandi? We could meet before or after at the bar/lounge in the Hyatt. They have sandwiches and salads. <<Wednesday dinner would be fine with me. We can meet up around 6 or so. If no one else want to go see S. J. Rozan then we can just grab something to eat.
Just a note, the weather has been very damp, dark, and cold the last week and the forecast for next week does not look much better though the sun is shining today and the wind seems to have finally died down a bit.
Sandi wrote: ">>I would like to get together Wednesday night, if possible. Is anyone else going to hear S J Rozan with Sandi? We could meet before or after at the bar/lounge in the Hyatt. They have sandwiches an..."Wednesday night dinner would be great but then I will probably turn in. I will have gotten up at 4:00 to catch my 6:00 a.m. flight. I just invited Janet (from Chicago) to come down if she wanted to visit. She said she might since she has relatives in Indy. I met her at the Chicago BCon and she, Carol, my dh and I went to dinner. I'm really looking forward to this.
Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "Note to those not attending. Waaah. I would love to meet my other GoodReads friends. Ann, Marcy, Melodie, Mary, Carol, Gail, Shelley, Susan B...wishing you could be there. I would like to pay y..."No last chance opportunity for me, but San Francisco will work next year. I'm looking forward to hearing all about this year's fun.
Aren't you the sweetest! Up until this week I was hoping for disaster to befall my Board meeting but, alas, all is well and it is going ahead as planned. I am missing you guys already. You are going to have such a blast!There will be another time, I promise....
Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "Note to those not attending. Waaah. I would love to meet my other GoodReads friends. Ann, Marcy, Melodie, Mary, Carol, Gail, Shelley, Susan B...wishing you could be there. I would like to pay you guys back for all the books I have purchased because of your reviews\recommendations.
Any chance of a last minute change of plans? It would be so much fun. ..."
JanG wrote: "I just invited Janet (from Chicago) to come down if she wanted to visit. She said she might since she has relatives in Indy. I met her at the Chicago BCon and she, Carol, my dh and I went to dinner. I'm really looking forward to this...."
Waahhhhhhhh!!!
Mary:I wish we could all be there too! You all have a great time, and please provide plenty of reports. We'll have to enjoy the fun vicariously.
Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "Note to those not attending. Waaah. I would love to meet my other GoodReads friends. Ann, Marcy, Melodie, Mary, Carol, Gail, Shelley, Susan B...wishing you could be there. ..."
Thanks for your thoughts Mary. As Ann stated we will enjoy B-Con through your posts about your experiences, who you meet, what you hear and what you see. Always look forward to these reports.
Melodie wrote: "Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "Note to those not attending. Waaah. I would love to meet my other GoodReads friends. Ann, Marcy, Melodie, Mary, Carol, Gail, Shelley, Susan B...wishing you could be t..."Next year in San Francisco! Sigh! Why does it have to be while I'm still in library school? I know I can't spare the time from schoolwork for an entire con, but if you're coming to San Francisco, Melodie, I'd love to meet you. Maybe M/T folks who are going to the SF B-Con can all get together for a meet Shomeret dinner?
Shomeret
The main hotel is already full. The Embassy Suites still has rooms available. The Westin only has rooms at the convention rate for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
If you are thinking of going, I would suggest making a reservation. You can always cancel later. Either that or we all descend on Sandi.
http://bouchercon2009.com/hotel/html