The Renaissance St. Louis Grand Hotel in St. Louis, Mo. will provide the location for Bouchercon 2011, to be held Sept. 15-18. This 42nd annual gathering of writers and readers of mystery fiction features Ridley Pearson (Walt Fleming series) as its Toastmaster.
Robert Crais (Elvis Cole series, Joe Pike series) and Charlaine Harris (Aurora Teagarden, Lily Bard, Harper Connelly, Sookie Stackhouse series) are Bouchercon 2011’s American Guests of Honor; Colin Cotterill (Dr. Siri Paiboun series ) and Val McDermid (Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series) are International Guests of Honor. Mystery Scene magazine’s editors and publishers Kate Stine and Brian Skupkin are Fan Guests of Honor.
Bouchercon 2011 also recognizes two Special Guests whom the convention’s website calls "local living legends." Robert J. Randisi, whose most recent series is the Rat Pack Mysteries, has published over 500 books, including both detective novels and westerns. Edgar Award winner John Lutz (Frank Quinn series) served as a former president of both Mystery Writers of America and Private Eye Writers of America.
The convention will honor Sara Paretsky with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Paretsky, the founder of Sisters in Crime, began her Chicago-based V.I. Warshawski mystery series in 1982 with the publication of Indemnity Only. The 15th title in this series, Breakdown, will be released Jan. 3, 2012. The Mystery Writers of America also recognized Paretsky this year with its 2011 Grand Master Award.
Bouchercon, named in honor of writer and critic Anthony Boucher, issues yearly Anthony Awards which also bear his name. Winners of the 2011 Anthony Awards will be revealed at the convention’s closing brunch on Sept. 18.
Bouchercon also provides the setting for the announcement of winners of the Macavity, Barry, Shamus, Crimespree and Derringer Awards. Subsequent Mystery Series Examiner articles focus on these prizes.
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