To confer or not confer, that is the question...by Cathy Ace

At Bouchercon 2017 as many of we Criminal Minds as could gather at once: L to R - Catriona McPherson, Alan Orloff, Terry Shames, Susan Shea, me, Rachel Greenaway, Robin Harlick, Jim Ziskin

This week we get to write about whatever we want. I'm fresh off the plane from Malice Domestic 2018, and I’ve got conferences on the brain…

With a group of fellow members of Crime Writers of Canada and fans/readers at Left Coast Crime 2017, in Honolulu

It’s conference (and awards) season in the crime writing world. Maybe you’ve noticed? Let’s be honest, it’s hard to miss. And you know what, that’s a good thing. If we – within our small, albeit imperfect community – cannot celebrate our own endeavors, connections and achievements, what’s it all about?

With (L to R) Eleanor Cawood Jones (short story author), Dru Ann Love (of Dru's Musings who won the Raven from the MWA in 2017), KSue Anderson (reader) LCC Honolulu

My first book was published in March 2012, and I attended my first convention (Bouchercon in Albany) in September 2013, by which time my second book was also on the shelves. I’d spoken to folks before booking about whether they thought I should go…it was quite an investment…and got a variety of responses. My then-publisher said it was up to me; no one else at the publishing house had ever been to a crime writing convention, so they couldn’t offer an opinion; one fellow author thought it wasn’t a good idea because most things happened in the bar; another said it was a boring and expensive way to spend a weekend. I gave it some thought and decided I would give it a go, and I am so glad I did. 

With the late, great Sue Grafton, Bouchercon Albany 2013

You see, conferences can be life-changing as well as career-changing. If you go, if you keep going, and if you’re prepared to throw yourself into the community and the experience, that is. So I did. 

With Louise Penny at Left Coast Crime in Portland, 2016

Since 2013 I have attended every conference I have been able to (which isn’t all of them by any means, because there are quite a few). I’ve attended Bouchercon, Malice Domestic, Left Coast Crime and CrimeFest (UK) regularly, and they have changed my life, and my career. 

Interviewing Poirot Award winning author Martin Edwards, tea being served by Verena May Rose at Malice Domestic 2017

 

I have made friends with authors who, like me, usually labor alone in a room with a computer and a looming deadline or two. I have learned that, even when I feel I am, I’m not alone…not truly…because I am just one of a huge number of likeminded storytellers who want nothing more than to tap a tattoo that tantalizes and entertains. On my keyboard. 

With Felix Francis at CrimeFest 2017

Like them. I am one of them. We are us. I am no longer a lonely I. That helps, especially when it’s two in the morning and I’m trying to catch up, Billy Joel-like, and running on ice. Thank you to them, and conferences, for that.

With Ann Cleeves who created Vera Stanhope, and Brenda Blethyn who brings her to life on the screen, my tablemates at Malice Domestic 2018

 

I’ve also met readers. People who have actually read my books. And I find it hard to explain how thrilling that is. I know that – conceptually – I hope everyone will read my books and like them, but when you meet someone face to face who really does that, it’s like cocaine for the soul, and I find myself energized, promising them and myself I will write more, write better, and keep telling tales about the characters they - like me – have come to know and love. Thank you to them, and conferences, for that.

With Vicki Delany at Malice Domestic 2018 pitching our books to 160 eager readers, eight at a time!

I’ve met bloggers, reviewers, agents, publishers, publicists, broadcasters and film-makers, all of whom have helped me understand this business of which I have become a part, and some of whom have become my partners in that business world, helping me reach more people, create new characters and tell new stories. And some have become friends. Thank you to them, and conferences, for that.

Malice Domestic 2018, with (R to L) Kristopher Zsgorski (of BOLO Books, who won the Raven from MWA in 2018), Lori Rader-Day (author), Micheal Mueller (Kristopher's husband, and super person)

And let’s not forget the fact that conferences have allowed me to go to places I’d never have seen, meet authors whose works I’ve enjoyed as a reader whom I’d never have met, thank actors who’ve brought characters I’ve loved on the page to life on the screen, and have granted me the chance to gain a new perspective on tapping away in my room on my computer, alone.

With Hugh Fraser, who played Captain Hastings, at CrimeFest UK 2016

It’s wonderful to attend them – and I admit it’s blissful to get back to the peace of my writing room afterwards!  

With Yrsa Sigurðardóttir,Iceland's Queen of Noir, (who is a hoot) at Bouchercon New Orleans 2017

So, if you’ve never been to one before, consider it seriously. Yes, the costs add up, but (if you’re a writer) it’s an investment in all I’ve explained, if you’re a reader it’s a great way to connect with hundreds of authors, all at once. And to realise we’re human beings who love to chat. 

Leading the Crime Writers of Canada's sortie at LCC in Phoenix in 2017

If you fancy coming to Vancouver, in March 2019, I’ll be Toastmaster at Left Coast Crime, where the International Guest of Honor is CJ Box, and the Canadian Guest of Honor is Maureen Jennings. 

With Maureen Jennings at Bloody Words in Toronto in 2014

 

I’ll be honest, when I attended my first Left Coast Crime at Monterey in March 2014 I couldn’t have imagined that I’d be the honored Toastmaster of it in 2019. What a five years it’s been! And maybe – just maybe – this is just the beginning! Lee Child, Nevada Barr, Harlen Coben and Laurie R King have been previous Toastmasters at LCC, and I hear they’re all doing rather well at this writing thing.

Coffee with Lee Child at Bouchercon New Orleans 2017

Maybe a bit of that will rub off on me, but – you know what – even if it doesn’t, it won’t matter, because I have already gained so much from attending conferences, as I think these photos show. 

With LCC 2019 Vancouver organisers Linda McNab (left) and Colleen Glynn, at LCC in Reno 2018

 To find out more about Left Coast Crime Vancouver, click here: http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2019/

To find out more about Cathy and her work click here: www.cathyace.com

 

A Tale of Several Cities by Cathy Ace

Tell us which conferences are your favorites and why you like to attend them.

There are different types of conferences in “our world” of crime writing: there are the conferences devoted to the craft of writing where authors pay to attend and have the chance to listen to those who write and teach writing; there are “festivals” where authors are invited to attend, are paid to do so, and tickets are sold so that (generally) readers and fans have the chance to listen to authors speak on panels or in interviews; then there are “conferences/conventions” where authors and readers/fans sign up and pay to attend, the authors are arranged into panels where their audience comprises readers and other authors, and there are many chances for socializing and mingling.

I’ll take the chance to consider this third type of “get together”, because it’s what I’ve attended most of to date.

So far I’ve attended Bloody Words (now defunct…nothing to do with my appearance there, I don’t think!), Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime and Malice Domestic. I’ll be attending CrimeFest in the UK for the first time this year. Each is different and all have their plus-points, so being asked to choose a favourite is like being asked to choose a favourite child. I’ll therefore (wimp that I am), give that part of the question a miss and focus on each in turn (this might help readers of this blog who are considering attending a conference and need some insights).

With Sue Grafton at Bouchercon

Bouchercon is the biggest annual international convention focusing on crime fiction, and non-fiction. It moves to a different venue each year and, while it’s usually held within the last three months of the year, the exact dates vary. Because it’s the biggest (around a couple of thousand delegates sometimes) it can feel overwhelming (the first ever conference I attended was a Bouchercon and I certainly felt a bit nonplussed at first). However, because it’s so big it gives authors of many different types of sub-genres the chance to meet each other, their readers, and new potential readers. From cozy to noir, historical to espionage, YA to forensic (if you can imagine those as being on any sort of spectrum) authors and fans are represented, so it’s a wonderful melting pot for all things criminal. I met people at that first Bouchercon who have become friends I now keep in touch with on an ongoing basis, learn from as I read and admire their work…and I had the chance to become a complete fangirl when I met many of the Big Names whose work has given me joy over decades – Sue Grafton and Katherine Hall Page to name just two. Here’s a link to the website: http://www.bouchercon.info/

With Louise Penny

Malice Domestic is the annual conference that focuses on traditional and cozy mysteries. To the uninitiated, it might come as a surprise to realize how far the word “cozy” goes: Hank Phillippi Ryan, Louise Penny, Charles Todd and Catriona McPherson – all of whom write books that deviate from the expected “here’s a cat solving a mystery in a cheese shop” idea of “cozy” – are among the attendees (and award winners) who write compelling, thrilling, procedural and even dark works where a crime is at the heart of the story, and the recesses of the human condition and character are investigated. It’s always held in Bethesda, Maryland over the last weekend in April and has a few hundred attendees – both authors and readers. It’s a blast for those of us who believe suspense and satisfaction can be delivered without the need for acronyms, global maniacs, umpteen explosions or car chases – and that we can weave a tale that engages and holds the attention of readers without resorting to gore or strong language on the page. I’ve attended a few Malice Domestic conferences, and am looking forward to the next one at the end of this month. I’ll get to renew friendships, learn from my peers, and mix with authors whose work is, for me, the epitome of skillful plotting, character-building and storytelling. This year I also get to moderate a panel there for the first time – something I’m honoured (and a bit nervous) to do…it’s a big responsibility to ensure the authors on the panel have their chance to shine. Here’s the website: http://malicedomestic.org/

With Catriona McPherson at LCC

Left Coast Crime is, for me, a great balance: its focus is any sort of crime fiction/non-fiction but with a slant toward the West Coast of the USA and Canada. Around five hundred authors and readers attend, and it’s held in different venues in the “Left Coast Crime” region at slightly different times of the year (usually February/March). Authors who either live in the region or set their work there (the location on the temperate West Coast attracts many from the chillier East) enjoy the relatively relaxed atmosphere, and there’s a lot of mingling with readers and fans. I’ve attended a few of these and have also planned my time to be able to indulge in “side-trips” (this year it was held in Phoenix, AZ, so I took the chance to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West – next year it’s in Honolulu so I dare say a bit of time on Waikiki Beach will be called for!). Because it’s a multi-genre conference the mix of readers and authors is similar to Bouchercon, but on a smaller scale. Even so, with four or five tracks of panels running for the whole conference there’s no shortage of places to be, and people to meet. Here’s a link to the site: http://leftcoastcrime.org/

I don’t know what to expect of CrimeFest. Because I have a UK publisher for my WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries (which are set in Wales) I felt I should find out more about UK authors and readers, and attending CrimeFest seems to be a good way to do it. I’m thrilled that the two panels I’ve been selected to appear on will have me sitting down with, in one case, James Runcie the author of the books featuring Sidney Chambers upon which the TV series Grantchester is based, and, on another, with Felix Francis, who has taken up the reins of his father’s hugely successful domination of books set in the world of horse racing. It’s also got an international slant that veers toward the European and I know I’ll get to meet Icelandic, Scandinavian and French etc. authors as well as others from the UK (Ian Rankin included – WOOT!). It should be exciting! Here’s a link: http://www.crimefest.com/

Cathy Ace writes the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries (book #2 THE CASE OF THE MISSING MORRIS DANCER was published in hardback in February, and book #1 THE CASE OF THE DOTTY DOWAGER was published in trade paperback on March 1st) and the Cait Morgan Mysteries (book #7 THE CORPSE WITH THE GARNET FACE was published in paperback in April). Find out more about Cathy and her work, and sign up for her newsletter at http://cathyace.com/