Bouchercon Preview, Volume 1

I once again have the good fortune to be able to go to Bouchercon, this time in Indianapolis, Indiana, the home, apparently, of Rex Stout, John Dillinger, "One Day at a Time" and the Indy 500. I'm going to take a few entries to preview what I'm thinking about doing before I get there. What actually happens, no one can tell. If you want to take a look at the program yourself, you can comment on what I'll be missing, or strongly suggest alternatives.

Thursday, October 15.

9:00-9:55
I'm going to hope that I'm up for the first session on the first day. My pick will likely be "Guidance from Writing Guides," moderated by Chris Roerden.

10:30-11:25
I'm interested in the "Lost in Translation" panel, featuring four people who take crime fiction in other languages and translate them to English. But I'm also interested in the "Inside Booklist" presentation from the Publisher and Senior Editor. This may be a gametime decision.

1:30-2:25
After lunch, there are a few interesting panels. "This Pen for Hire" is about continuing an existing series, including, among others, Max Allan Collins, who has finished some Mickey Spillane manuscripts. There is also "Twenty-First Century Private Eyes," moderated by the always-fun Austin Camacho. Then there is a presentation by the Head of Publisher Relations at Amazon on how that website connects authors with their audience. I'll play this one by ear.

3:00-3:55
This particular Bouchercon has a "One Conference, One Book" concept based around the Rex Stout-Nero Wolfe mystery SOME BURIED CAESAR. The town hall conversation on the book is in this time slot. I hope I can finish the book in time.

4:30-5:25
I'm going to clone myself for this time slot. It features "The Fixers" with Brett Battles and Lee Child, "Changing Gears" with Loren Estleman, "Adaptation" with Sean Chercover, and "O Canada" with Vicky Delany. If my day-job mentality wins out, I'll probably go to "Adaptation," but if it doesn't the field is wide open.

That night is the presentation of the Barry, Macavity, Derringer and Crime Spree Awards, followed by an interview of toastmaster SJ Rozan by Terence Faherty (a personal favorite, and an Indiana native), and concluding with an "Extravaganza" at some place called GameWorks Studio. Then off to bed. Or the bar.