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 of creators and devotees of

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''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 William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio d ...

; also the inspiration for the

Anthony Awards The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Among the m ...

, which have been issued at the convention since 1986. This page details Bouchercon XVII and the inaugural Anthony Awards ceremony.

Bouchercon

The convention was held in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

on October 10, 1986; running for two days until the 12th. The event was chaired by Gail M. Larson, owner of the bookshop "The Butler Did It".

Special Guests

*Guest of Honor —

Donald E. Westlake Donald Edwin Westlake (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer, with more than a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into ...

*Fan Guest of Honor — Chris Steinbrunner *Toastmaster —

Mary Higgins Clark Mary Higgins Clark (born Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins (December 24, 1927 – January 31, 2020) was an American author of suspense novels. Each of her 51 books was a bestseller in the United States and various European countries, and all of he ...

Anthony Awards

The following list details the awards distributed at the first annual Anthony Awards ceremony.

Novel award

Winner: *

Sue Grafton Sue Taylor Grafton (April 24, 1940 – December 28, 2017) was an American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the "alphabet series" (''"A" Is for Alibi'', etc.) featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fic ...

, '' "B" Is for Burglar'' Shortlist: *

Sarah Caudwell Sarah Caudwell was the pseudonym of Sarah Cockburn (/ˈkoʊbərn/ KOH-bərn; 27 May 1939 – 28 January 2000), a British barrister and writer of detective stories. She is best known for a series of four murder stories written between 1980 and ...

, ''The Shortest Way to Hades'' * John D. MacDonald, '' The Lonely Silver Rain'' *

Charlotte MacLeod Charlotte MacLeod (November 12, 1922 – January 14, 2005) was a Canadian-American mystery fiction writer. Life and work Charlotte Matilda MacLeod was born in 1922 in Bath, New Brunswick, Canada, but emigrated to the United States in 1923 and b ...

, ''The Plain Old Man'' *

Sara Paretsky Sara Paretsky (born June 8, 1947) is an American author of detective fiction, best known for her novels focused on the protagonist V. I. Warshawski. Life and career Paretsky was born in Ames, Iowa. Her father was a microbiologist and moved the ...

, ''Killing Orders''

First novel award

Winner: *

Jonathan Kellerman Jonathan Seth Kellerman (born August 9, 1949) is an American novelist, psychologist, and Edgar- and Anthony Award–winning author best known for his popular mystery novels featuring the character Alex Delaware, a child psychologist who consult ...

, '' When the Bough Breaks'' Shortlist: *Susan Kelly, ''The Gemini Man'' *Dick Lochte, ''Sleeping Dog'' *Robert Reeves, ''Doubting Thomas'' *

Andrew Vachss Andrew Henry Vachss ( ; October 19, 1942 – November 23, 2021) was an American crime fiction author, child protection consultant, and attorney exclusively representing children and youths. Early life and career Vachss grew up in Manhattan on ...

, ''Flood''

Paperback original award

Winner: *

Nancy Pickard Nancy Pickard (born September 19, 1945 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American crime novelist. She has won five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, and a Shamus Award. She is the only author to win all four awards. She also se ...

, ''

Say No to Murder Say No to Murder () is a book written by Nancy Pickard and published by Pocket Books (now owned by Simon & Schuster), which later went on to win the Anthony Award The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bou ...

'' Shortlist: *P.M. Carlson, ''Murder is Academic'' *

Earl Emerson Earl Emerson (born 1948 in Tacoma, Washington, United States) is an American mystery novelist and author. Emerson is the author of two series of mystery novels, the Mac Fontana series and the Thomas Black detective series, as well as several thri ...

, ''Poverty Bay'' *Kate Green, ''Shattered Moon'' *Patrick A. Kelley, ''Sleightly Murder''

Short story award

Winner: * Linda Barnes, "Lucky Penny", from ''The New Black Mask, No. 3'' Shortlist: *

Loren Estleman Loren D. Estleman (born September 15, 1952, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He is known for a series of crime novels featuring the investigator Amos Walker. Life and work Estleman graduated from ...

, "Eight Mile and Dequindre", 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'' ...

'' May 1986 *

Peter Lovesey Peter (Harmer) Lovesey (born 1936), also known by his pen name Peter Lear, is a British writer of historical and contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known series characters are Sergeant Cribb, a Victorian-era police detec ...

, "Vandals", from ''

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fict ...

'' December 1985 *

John Lutz John Michael Lutz (born April 23, 1973) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing J. D. Lutz on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'', and for his work as a writer on the NBC series ''Saturday Night Live'' for seven s ...

, "Ride the Lightning", from ''Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine'' January 1985 *

Ruth Rendell Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...

, "The Convolvulus Clock", from ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' August 1985

Movie award

Winner: *''

Witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

'' Shortlist: *''

Blood Simple ''Blood Simple'' is a 1984 American independent neo-noir crime film written, edited, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, and M. Emmet Walsh. Its plot follows a Texas bartender who ...

'' *'' Fletch'' *'' Jagged Edge'' *''

Young Sherlock Holmes ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (also known with the title card name of "''Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear''") is a 1985 American mystery adventure film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, based on the characters ...

TV Series award

Winner: *''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'' Shortlist: *''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'' *''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...

'' *''

Mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

'' *''

Spenser For Hire ''Spenser: For Hire'' is an American crime drama series based on Robert B. Parker's '' Spenser'' novels. The series, developed for TV by John Wilder and starring Robert Urich, was broadcast on ABC from September 20, 1985, until May 7, 1988. P ...

Grand Master

Barbara Mertz Barbara Louise Mertz (September 29, 1927 – August 8, 2013) was an American author who wrote under her own name as well as under the pseudonyms Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels. In 1952, she received a PhD in Egyptology from the Univers ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchercon 17 Anthony Awards 17 1986 in Maryland