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 w ...

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 criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...

. 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 dr ...

; 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. Categori ...

, which have been issued at the convention since 1986. This article details Bouchercon XX and the 4th Anthony Awards ceremony.

Bouchercon

The convention was held in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, on October 6, 1989; running until the 8th. The event was chaired by Deen Kogan and Jay Kogan, founders of the Society Hill playhouse.

Special guests

*Lifetime Achievement award — Dorothy Salisbury Davis *Guest of Honor —

Simon Brett Simon Anthony Lee Brett Order of the British Empire, OBE Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (born 28 October 1945 in Worcester Park, Surrey, England) is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for ...

*Fan Guests of Honor — William F. Deeck and Linda Toole *Toastmaster — Bruce Taylor *Distinguished Contribution award — Joan Kahn

Anthony Awards

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

Novel award

Winner: *

Thomas Harris William Thomas Harris III (born September 22, 1940) is an American writer. He is the author of a series of suspense novels about Hannibal Lecter. The majority of his works have been adapted into films and television, including '' The Silence o ...

, '' The Silence of the Lambs'' Shortlist: *

Dorothy Cannell Dorothy Cannell (born 1943) is an English-American mystery writer. Biography Dorothy Cannell was born in London, England. She moved to the United States in 1963 at the age of 20. She married Julian Cannell in 1964 and they lived in Peoria, Illin ...

, ''The Widows Club'' *

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 ...

, '' "E" Is for Evidence'' *

Tony Hillerman Anthony Grove Hillerman (May 27, 1925 – October 26, 2008) was an American author of detective novels and nonfiction works, best known for his mystery novels featuring Navajo Nation Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Several of his w ...

, '' A Thief of Time'' *

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 ...

, '' Blood Shot'' *Nancy Picard, ''Dead Crazy'' * Bill Pronzini, ''Shackles'' * Les Roberts, ''Pepper Pike''

First novel award

Winner: *

Elizabeth George Susan Elizabeth George (born February 26, 1949) is an American writer of mystery novels. She is best known for a series of novels featuring Inspector Thomas Lynley. The 21st book in the series was published in January 2022. The first 11 were ...

, ''

A Great Deliverance ''A Great Deliverance'' () is a book written by Elizabeth George and published by Bantam Books (now owned by Random House) on 1 May 1988. It is George's first novel, and the first in her detective series featuring Inspector Lynley and Detectiv ...

'' Shortlist: *Mary Lou Bennett, ''Murder Once Done'' *

Caroline Graham Caroline Graham may refer to: * Caroline Graham, Duchess of Montrose (1770–1847), British duchess * Caroline Graham (writer) (b. 1931), English writer * Caroline Graham Hansen (b. 1995), Norwegian footballer See also * Carolyn Graham, Americ ...

, ''

The Killings at Badger's Drift ''The Killings at Badger's Drift'' is a mystery novel by English writer Caroline Graham and published by Century in 1987. The story follows Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby investigating the murder of an elderly spinster in a rural village. It is ...

'' *Linda Grant, ''Random Access Murder'' *Gar Anthony Haywood, ''Fear of the Dark'' *

David Stout David Stout (May 13, 1942 – February 11, 2020) was a journalist and author of mystery novels, two of which have been turned into TV movies, and of non-fiction about violent crime. For his first novel, ''Carolina Skeletons'', he won the Edgar ...

, '' Carolina Skeletons''

Paperback original award

Winner: *

Carolyn G. Hart Carolyn Hart (also known as Carolyn G. Hart) is an American mystery and suspense writer. She is the author of 63 books, including the Death on Demand, Henrie O and Bailey Ruth series. In 2014, she was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers o ...

, '' Something Wicked'' Shortlist: *

Michael Avallone Michael Angelo Avallone (October 27, 1924 – February 26, 1999) was an American author of mystery, secret agent fiction, and novelizations of television and films. His lifetime output was over 223 works (although he boasted over 1,000), publis ...

, ''High Noon at Midnight'' *P.M. Carlson, ''Murder Unrenovated'' * David Handler, ''The Man Who Died Laughing'' * Lia Matera, ''A Radical Departure'' *

Sharyn McCrumb Sharyn McCrumb (born February 26, 1948) is an American writer best known for books that celebrate the history and folklore of Appalachia. McCrumb is the winner of numerous literary awards, and is the author of the best selling "Ballad" novels, se ...

, ''Paying the Piper'' * D.R. Meredith, ''Murder by Impulse'' *Marilyn Wallace, ''Primary Target''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchercon 20 Anthony Awards 20 1989 in Pennsylvania