Bouchercon by the Bay

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rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:15:00 +0000

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The envelope, please......

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:41:00 +0000

It’s that Anthony time of year.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the process (and until this year, I wasn’t ;-) it works thusly:

Nominations open on February 28 and close April 30. Anyone who attended the most recent Bouchercon – Indianapolis - and/or is registered to attend San Francisco, is eligible to make up to five nominations in each of five categories, from books published the previous year: Best Novel; Best First Novel; Best Paperback Original; Best Short Story; Best Critical Nonfiction Work.

The by-laws were changed last year, and the Special Service Award is no longer a competitive award. It’s decided by each year’s organizing committee whether to give the award, and to whom. We'll have more on that topic a bit closer to Bouchercon.

As for this year’s nominations, we’re changing the process a bit. We’re going to do as much of this by email as possible, to make it easier for you and to increase participation. Here’s what’s going to happen:

If you attended Indy and/or are registered for San Francisco, we’ll send an email to the address we have on file sometime during the next couple of weeks, letting you know about the nominating process. (NOTE: If we don't have an email address for you, you will of course receive a paper ballot.) One of three things will happen:

The email will go through, in which case we’ll follow up around February 28 with an email ballot.

The email will bounce, in which case you’ll receive a paper ballot sometime between February 28 and about March 10 or so.

You'd prefer the pleasure of receiving snail mail from us, so you’ll respond to the email by telling us that, and we’ll be happy to send you a paper ballot.

The finalists in each category will be announced at least 60 days prior to Bouchercon. Voting will take place in San Francisco, and the Anthonys (they’re really gonna be cool) will be awarded on Sunday, October 17 at our Awards Brunch.

So, there you have it – I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

We have a winner!

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:37:00 +0000

Actually, we have two winners.

People who attended Bouchercon Indianapolis had the opportunity to send in a special registration form prior to December 31, to be eligible to win one free night at the Hyatt Regency.

The official drawing was held a couple of days ago, by me and our Fearless Treasurer Janine, with help from Chief of Staff Sam, who acted as Official Observer and Enforcer ;-)

So, without further ado, our winners are - drum roll, please.......

Martha Bowman

and

Tina Karelson

Congratulations, ladies!

We're crafty, yes we are....

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:22:00 +0000

One of the best parts of chairing Bouchercon is getting to know people I might not otherwise meet. The other day I had the pleasure of having lunch with the wonderful Camille Minichino.

We talked about how much fun the craft room was in Indianapolis - so much fun, that we're going to continue the tradition in San Francisco.

There are those who, when they think of crafts, think of Miss Marple-type lades sitting in a rocking chair with their knitting needles.....that's not quite accurate. Click below to see what I mean (from a great George Romero movie):

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index.jsp?cid=141275

I don't know about you, but when I'm reading Michael Connelly, I want to listen to some great jazz. Whenever I read a Spenser novel, I want to a) go to Boston and b) cook something yummy. Which says something about the power of Robert B. Parker's writing, because I hate cooking and have big plans to turn my kitchen into a walk-in closet.

So I think it'll be a blast for people to be able to actually make the things that their favorite characters make, with the authors who've written the books.

Camille is running the show, and talks about it today on her blog, Killer Hobbies.

If I get brave, I might actually try to make something my very own self ;-)

Vade in pacem

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:54:00 +0000

I've looked at the Bouchercon history page often enough, you'd think it would have sunk in that this year is the third, not the second Bouchercon to be held in San Francisco. I've been focused on 1985, and the fact that 2010 marks 25 years since the World Mystery Convention visited the City by the Bay.

But Bouchercon was also held in San Francisco in 1982, a fact I hadn't paid much attention to until today, when I read Janet Rudolph's blog, Mystery Fanfare, and realized that Robert B. Parker was the Guest of Honor that year. In 1982, Parker was about 10 years into his career, and had published only 9 of his 58 novels. We've been hearing all day about his achievements and the mark he made on American literature; I like to think of him enjoying himself with Janet and Don Herron and the other Bouchercon attendees that year.

I'm going to miss reading his stories as they were published - every new book was the cause for "Parker night", which always involved something yummy to drink and a naughty snack - you simply cannot read those books on an empty stomach, the food descriptions are just too fabulous. I'm grateful, though, that the books and his wonderful, spare, complicated writing are there for us to read again, whenever we want.

Here's a link to Parker's press room, where there's an audio clip of Robert and his son Dan singing Moon River.

Happy Holidays

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:16:00 +0000

Season's Greetings!

Whatever you celebrate at this time of year, whether it’s Hanukkah

Christmas

Kwanzaa, the Solstice, or Seasonal Shopping (my personal favorite)

– I hope you’re having a fabulous time.

Here at Bcon Central – well, actually I’m not at Bcon Central, I’m on vacation. But I do want to remind you that, as of January 1 our registration fee will change from $175 to $195.

And, if you picked up one of our super special registration forms in Indianapolis, be sure to send it in, either with a check or after you've pushed the button on PayPal, before December 31 to be eligible for one free night at the Hyatt Regency during Bouchercon 2010. (The drawing will be in mid-January.)

We’re working on some website updates, including the attendees page, and they’ll be up very soon.

In the meantime, I hope you’re all well and happy.

Cheers,
Rae

More San Francisco music...

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:25:00 +0000

Just for fun on a Saturday morning -

A TV tune....

...some blues....

...the San Francisco Symphony makes some new friends....

...and a tip of the hat to our pals in SoCal (remember Left Coast Crime is in LA in just a few months - I can't wait)

;-)

Now open!

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:09:00 +0000

Not this hotel.....

... or this one....

But this hotel...

Is now officially taking reservations for Bouchercon 2010. The link and phone number are on our Travel & Hotel page.

Plus, check out the Program page for some additions - and if you haven't been following our TwitterFace posts (Twitter and Facebook, which still really scare me ;-) I'm very pleased to tell you that David Baldacci will be attending Bouchercon for the very first time in San Francisco.

I just keep getting more excited about next October....

Happy, happy.....

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:51:00 +0000

What a great time we all had at Bouchercon this weekend. It was wonderful to connect with old friends and meet new ones, to hang out in the bar and talk about books and everything else under the sun, and just flat have fun.

I overheard someone saying that the vibe of the weekend was a happy one, and it's so true. But that kind of atmosphere doesn't happen by accident - it takes a lot of planning and hard work and perseverance. Congratulations to the Indy team for putting on a great event.

For details about the weekend, I love Ruth Jordan's rundown at Crimespree Magazine.

The only downside is that we have to wait a whole year to do it all again.....

Less than a week away......

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:12:00 +0000

Oh, boy......

It's the weekend before Bouchercon! That means it's time to start packing....

I don't travel light.

The lovely folks from Bcon 2011 (St. Louis) and I will be hanging out together - check out Jon's blog at http://bouchercon2011.blogspot.com/ for our schedule o'fun.

Hope to see you in Indy!

Music, music, music....

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:31:00 +0000

I've been playing around for a while now with music for San Francisco. I love music. I grew up with music in the background, and there are almost always tunes playing in my house.

The right music can really set the mood - think about the soundtrack to some of your favorite movies. The Big Chill and Forrest Gump come immediately to mind, and there are so many other films where the soundtrack was an important part of moving the story forward. And so many of our favorite fictional protagonists love music. Harry Bosch is into jazz, Jack Reacher is a blues lover, and Elvis Cole is all about the rock and roll; knowing what kind of music they listen to makes these characters more real to us, and helps us get to know them better.

So, Bouchercon 2010 is going to have a dance party. At the moment I'm calling it Bouchercon a Go Go, but Club Bouchercon sounds pretty good, too. Not sure yet whether it'll be Friday or Saturday night, but there'll be live music interspersed with a DJ, and we will definitely have some sort of disco ball. Because I like disco balls.

Just for fun, here are two of my very favorite songs about San Francisco. See if you can guess which one makes me think about Bouchercon Opening Ceremonies ;-)

'Tis the Season

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:03:00 +0000

In the US, it’s Labor Day weekend. On my calendar, that means Bouchercon Season is upon us, and I can’t wait to get to Indianapolis and see everyone again. Jim and Mike and the Gang have been working their fannies off, and I know we’re all gonna have a blast.

In the meantime, we’ve been busy here at Bcon2010 Central. I’ve staffed up: my new Chief of Staff is Sam, and my Executive Assistant is Missy. They are adorable, have long fluffy tails, and purr when I give them positive feedback. They also like to sit on the keyboard because it’s warm. So if you receive email from “me” that makes no sense, it’s their fault. Really.

(For more information on some of the Bcon2010 volunteers with two legs and no whiskers, take a look at the Contact page on the website.)

Our program is beginning to take shape. On the theory that any good idea should be ripped off, er, implemented with alacrity, we’re following Baltimore’s example: Thursday evening will kick off with Opening Ceremonies, including the presentation of the Barry and Macavity Awards; we’ll conclude the evening with a festive reception (by “festive”, I mean that food and liquor will be served ;-)

Again, following Baltimore’s fabulous example, we’ll present the Anthony Awards at brunch on Sunday. The brunch will include bacon - I’m told this is Very Important to Certain People. We’ll have more information about reservations after the first of the year.

Finally, I’m very, very pleased to announce that we’ve confirmed the spotlight presentations with our Guests of Honor. The line-up is - drum roll, please:

Ace Atkins in Conversation with Toastmaster Eddie Muller
Dana Stabenow in Conversation with US Guest of Honor Laurie R. King
Val McDermid in Conversation with International Guest of Honor Denise Mina
Robert Crais in Conversation with Distinguished Contributor to the Genre Lee Child

Oh, and one last note: we’ve updated several of the pages on the site – take a look, and as always, please let me know if you have questions or comments.

Cheers,

Rae

Happy New Year!

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:24:00 +0000

Hi there,

2008 ended quietly here at Bcon2010 Central. Website's up (obviously ;-) and we've received our first registrations, which is fabulous and makes it all seem more real.

I've received great planning and programming suggestions already from some of you - many thanks.

And, Toastmaster Extraordinaire Eddie Muller and I met recently with our Convention Services coordinator at the Hyatt Regency. The conversation went something like this:

Us: Can we have (cocktail receptions, live auctions, dancing ponies)?

Charming Hotel Representative: Yes, I'm sure we can make that work for you.

The Hyatt people are thrilled that we're coming, both to Indianapolis this year and to San Francisco in 2010, and are all ready to help us have worlds of fun. One of the great things about San Francisco is that we pretty much have the whole hotel at our disposal - which means those dancing ponies may not be entirely out of the question.

Finally, if you have free time in 2009 and want to hang out with cool people at fun events, take a look to the right - we've added links to some of this year's mystery festivals.

Cheers,

Rae

P.S. If you know about a mystery event that should be part of our link-list, please shoot me an email, we'd be delighted to add it.

Hello!

rae@bcon2010.com (Rae Helmsworth) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:30:00 +0000

So, here we are - the Bouchercon 2010 website is up and running, and we have a blog. And can I just tell you – of all the things I thought I would never do, writing a blog was right near the top of the list. Of course, chairing a Bouchercon was right up there, too, and look what happened ;-)

First things first – welcome! I’m delighted that you’re visiting, and that you’re interested in what’s happening for Bouchercon by the Bay.

Second, I want to say a big THANK YOU to a number of people: Ruth and Jon Jordan, bless their sneaky little hearts. Maggie Griffin and Cornelia Read, who listened, and continue to listen. Janine Wilson and Kim Krabill, who, when they heard about Bcon 2010 said immediately, “We want to help”. Andi Shechter, who knows more about conventions than just about anyone. Madeira James, who has designed a beautiful site. You guys rock.

And, thanks to the Northern California crime fiction community: Mark Alan Miller, Louise Ure, Janet Rudolph, Bill and Toby Gottfried, Robin Burcell, all of whom have most kindly offered their support – I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.

If you’re wondering why we have a blog, there are two reasons, really. One is, we want to keep you informed as the plans for Bouchercon 2010 take shape and are finalized. If you subscribe to receive new posts (the sign up place is just over to the right), you’ll be notified whenever updates are added and you’ll have the most current information about registration, hotels, programming, and special events.

The other, equally important, reason we have a blog is to ask you to contribute ideas for your convention – because Bouchercon is for you. And we want you to have a fun, memorable experience in San Francisco.

One of the comments I’ve heard most often since the decision was made for Bouchercon to come to The City by the Bay is, “can we do something new?” So OK, I’m ready to try some new kinds of programming, and I’ve already heard some interesting ideas. The challenge, I think (and feel free to tell me if you disagree), is to maintain the wonderful Bouchercon traditions, while taking a shot at a few innovations. Some of these new and different ideas will be fabulous, and some will fall into the "what were they thinking?” category. But we’re at least going to try.

So, what do you think? Do you have a suggestion or a question? Feel free to email me at rae@bcon2010.com, or post it in the comments section here. Let’s get this party started!