Bouchercon Bouchercon, the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher, and pronounced the way ...

is an annual

convention Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...

of creators and devotees of mystery and

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the convention since 1986. This page details Bouchercon XXXI and the 15th Anthony Awards ceremony.

Bouchercon

The convention was held September 7–10, 2000, in Denver. The event was chaired by mystery author Rebecca Bates and Tom Schantz, owner of

Rue Morgue Press ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of ''Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluis ...

, publishers of mystery fiction.

Special Guests

*Lifetime Achievement award — Jane Langton *Guest of Honor —

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thri ...

*Fan Guest of Honor — Steve Stilwell *Toastmaster — Val McDermid

Anthony Awards

The following list details the awards distributed at the fifteenth annual Anthony Awards ceremony. The awards this year included celebrating those works which had had the biggest impact during the 20th century as a whole.

Novel award

Winner: *

Peter Robinson Peter Robinson may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Robinson (sideshow artist) (1873–1947), American actor and sideshow performer, known for his appearance in film ''Freaks'' (1932) * J. Peter Robinson (born 1945), British musician and film score ...

, ''

In a Dry Season '' In a Dry Season '' is the tenth novel by Canadian detective fiction writer Peter Robinson (novelist), Peter Robinson in the Inspector Alan Banks, Inspector Banks series of novels. The novel was first printed in 1999, but has been reprinted a ...

'' Shortlist: * Rennie Airth, ''River of Darkness'' * Jan Burke, ''Bones'' *

Robert Crais Robert Crais (pronounced ) (born June 20, 1953) is an American author of detective fiction. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as ''Hill Street Blues'', ''Cagney & Lacey'', '' Quincy'', ''Miami Vice'' and ''L.A. Law ...

, ''

L.A. Requiem ''L.A. Requiem'' is a 1999 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the eighth in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole. Plot Elvis Cole is contacted by business partner and friend Joe Pike to accept the req ...

'' *

Janet Evanovich Janet Evanovich (née Schneider; April 22, 1943) is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall, but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Steph ...

, ''

High Five High five is a friendly gesture in which one individual slaps another's hand. High five (and variants such as Hi5, Hi-5, and Hi-Five) may also refer to: Music * Hi-5 (Australian group), an Australian children's musical group * Hi-5 (Greek band), ...

First novel award

Winner: * Donna Andrews, ''

Murder with Peacocks Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

'' Shortlist: * Cara Black, ''Murder in the Marais'' *

April Henry April Henry (born April 14, 1959) is an American ''New York Times'' bestselling author of mysteries, thrillers, and young adult novels. Early life Born in Portland, Oregon, April 14, 1959, Henry grew up in the small southern Oregon city of ...

, ''Circles of Confusion'' *Kris Neri, ''Revenge of the Gypsy Queen'' *Paula Woods, ''Inner City Blues''

Paperback original award

Winner: * Laura Lippman, '' In Big Trouble'' Shortlist: *Robin Burcell, ''Every Move She Makes'' *Tony Dunbar, ''Lucky Man'' * Jose Latour, ''The Outcast'' * Caroline Roe, ''An Antidote for Avarice''

Short story award

Winner: * Meg Chittenden, "Noir Lite", from '' Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' January 1999 Shortlist: *

Barry Baldwin Barry Baldwin (born in England in 1937) is a classicist, journalist and author of mystery fiction. He gained a doctorate at the University of Nottingham and worked in Australia and Canada. For two years he contributed a regular column to the Briti ...

, "A Bit of a Treat", from ''

Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine ''Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine'' (AHMM) is a bi-monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime and detective fiction. ''AHMM'' is named for Alfred Hitchcock, the famed director of suspense films and television. History ''AHMM'' ...

'' September 1999 *Judy & Bill Crider, "At the Hop", from ''Till Death Do us Part: ...stories of love, marriage, and murder'' *

Jeffery Deaver Jeffery Deaver (born May 6, 1950) is an American mystery and crime writer. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. degree from Fordham University and originally started working as a journalist. He later ...

, "Triangle", from ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' March 1999 *

Laurie R. King Laurie R. King (born September 19, 1952) is an American author best known for her detective fiction. Life and career Born in Oakland, California, King earned a degree in comparative religion from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1977 ...

, "Paleta Man", from ''Irreconciable Differences''

Critical / Non-fiction award

Winner: * Willetta L. Heising, '' Detecting Women'' (3rd edition) Shortlist: *Barbara Davey, ''The Mystery Review'' *George Easter, ''Deadly Pleasures'' *Tom Nolan, ''Ross MacDonald: a Biography'' * Daniel Stashower, ''Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle''

Novel of the century award

Winner: * Daphne du Maurier, ''

Rebecca Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

'' Shortlist: *

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

, '' The Big Sleep'' * Dorothy L. Sayers, '' Gaudy Night'' * Dashiell Hammett, '' The Maltese Falcon'' *

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

, ''

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in June 1926 in the United Kingdom by William Collins, Sons and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company. It is the third no ...

Series of the century award

Winner: *

, Hercule Poirot series Shortlist: * Ed McBain, '' 87th Precinct'' * Marcia Muller, Sharon McCone series * Dorothy L. Sayers, Lord Peter Wimsey series * Rex Stout, Nero Wolfe series

Writer of the century award

Winner: *

Shortlist: *

* Dashiell Hammett * Dorothy L. Sayers * Rex Stout

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchercon 31 Anthony Awards 31 2000 in Colorado