Bouchercon, the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, is an annual
convention 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 sp ...
. 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 ...
, and pronounced the way he pronounced his name, rhyming with "voucher".
It is held annually in Autumn, each year being hosted in a different city by a different group of volunteers.
The convention typically starts on Thursday and finishes on Sunday.
Each year, Bouchercon nominates and votes 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
Mystery W ...
for excellence in crime fiction, including: Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Short Story, Best Critical Non-Fiction, and Best Paperback Original.
People who attend are fans, authors, agents, booksellers, publishers and other people who read and enjoy mystery and crime fiction. The first one was held in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
in 1970. The guest of honor was
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...
of ''Psycho'' fame.
Registered attendees of each Bouchercon are designated as 'members', and vote at the annual business meeting (held during the convention) on necessary business items. Bouchercon's governing body is its standing committee, which changes year to year, being made up of people who have hosted and will host the convention, and three at large members who are elected by the membership.
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.
List of Bouchercons
References
{{Authority control
Mystery fiction
Fan conventions
Recurring events established in 1970
Anthony Boucher