I Love Bouchercon!

I love getting a book bag filled with free books. I love going to panels and discovering authors I‘ve never heard of, but can’t wait to read. I love the free book giveaways and author signings. I love exploring a new city or town that I most likely would have never visited had there not been a conference there.  I love getting advanced reader copies of books months before they are available to the public.  I love meeting new friends each and every time I attend, as well as reconnecting with old ones. And did I mention the free books?

The Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Conference, affectionately known as Bouchercon, is more than just a mystery fan convention.  It’s a community of readers, writers, publishers, librarians, bloggers, editors, you-name-its from all walks of life and from across the globe who come together once a year to celebrate their love of crime fiction.  And it’s a blast!

I attended my first Bouchercon in 2002 in Austin, Texas. I didn’t know any one when I arrived, but that didn’t last long.  By night fall I had been invited to play poker, met dozens of authors, had more books than I could carry, and had created more than one friendship for life.  The Bouchercon community had welcomed me with open arms and I was hooked.

I believe in the concept of paying forward or in this case paying back, which is why I decided to chair this year’s Bouchercon in Long Beach – the 45^th annual, by the way.  If you haven’t yet registered I hope you do because we have lots of great things planned, as well as a few new tricks up our sleeves.  (Check out our website at http://bouchercon2014.com.)  With Bouchercon now less than six months away, we’ll begin posting regular updates so be sure to check back and over the next month or so many of the authors and bloggers attending Bouchercon are going to tell you about their experiences, on our blog and around the web. .  

I want attendees to get as much joy and laughter, camaraderie and friendship, discovery and adventure, and free books at Bouchercon 2014 – Murder at The Beach, as I have had at other Bouchercons over the years.  This November, Long Beach and Bouchercon will be ready and waiting with open arms to make you feel welcome and we know you’ll be hooked too.

Sincerely,

Ingrid Willis, Chair

Bouchercon 2014 – Long Beach