Crime fiction conferences brighten the new year in 2012

Mystery series readers have an excellent group of conferences, conventions and festivals they can attend during 2012. The list below includes meetings that are exclusively oriented to crime fiction as well as more general conferences that traditionally have a strong crime fiction component.

January 2012

The Baker Street Irregulars, the oldest literary society dedicated to Sherlock Holmes, will meet in New York City Jan. 13-15.
American Library Association Midwinter Conference will take place in Dallas, Texas, from Jan. 20-24.

February 2012

The Cape Fear Crime Festival will be held at the New Hanover Library in Wilmington, N.C. Feb 3-4.
Love Is Murder, a Feb. 3-5 conference in Chicago, Ill., will have Donald Bain, Julie James, David Morrell and Hank Phillippi Ryan as Featured Authors and Julie Hyzy as the Local Guest of Honor
Carolyn Haines and Erica Spindler will be Guests of Honor at Murder in the Magic City, which takes place Feb. 4 at the Homewood Library in Birmingham, Ala.
The New Zealand International Arts Festival, scheduled for Feb 24-March 18 in Wellington, N.Z., will included guest authors Jo Nesbo and Denise Mina.
The Feb. 25 Book `Em North Carolina Writers Conference at Robeson Community College in Lumberton, North Carolina will have Carla Neggers and Michael Palmer as Guests of Honor.

March 2012

Charlaine Harris, Jeffery Deaver, Chris Grabenstein are Guests of Honor for Sleuthfest, to be held March 1-4 in Orlando, Fla.
The Public Library Association Conference, meeting in Philadelphia, Pa. March 13-17, will feature guest authors including David Baldacci and Carl Hiaasen.
The Nancy Drew Convention will be held in Phoenix, Ariz. on March 19-25.
Harley Jane Kozak will be Toastmaster and John Lescroart and Jacqueline Winspear Guests of Honor at the March 29-April 1 Left Coast Crime Conference in Sacramento, Calif.

April 2012

Michael Palmer is Guest of Honor at Murder 203, held in Easton, Conn. on April 14-15.
Sleuths! The English Riviera Festival Of Crime And Thriller Writing will take place April 18-21 in Torquay, South Devon, U.K. Scheduled authors include Colin Dexter, Sophie Hannah and Felix Francis.
Mystery Writers of America will hold its 2012 Edgar Awards Banquet April 26 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
Malice Domestic, with Guest of Honor Jan Burke, Toastmaster Dana Cameron, Lifetime Achievement Award winner Simon Brett, Poirot Award winner Lee Goldberg and Amelia Award winner Elizabeth Peters, will take place April 27-29 in Bethesda, Md.

May 2012

CrimeFest, held May 24-27 in Bristol U.K., has Jeffery Deaver as Toastmaster and Lee Child, Sue Grafton, PD James, Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström as Featured Guests.

June 2012

Toronto, Canada’s Bloody Words Conference, scheduled for June 1-3, includes Linwood Barclay as Guest of Honour, Gayle Lynds as International Guest of Honour and Rick Blechta as Master of Ceremonies.
The American Library Association’s annual conference will take place in Anaheim, Calif., June 21-26.

July 2012

The International Thriller Writers Thrillerfest conference, scheduled for July 11-14 in New York City, will feature 2012 ThrillerMaster Jack Higgins; Spotlight Guests Lee Child, John Sandford and Catherine Coulter; 2012 True Thriller Award Recipient Ann Rule and 2012 Silver Bullet Award Recipient Richard North Patterson.
Annual Poisoned Pen Conference at the Arizona Biltmore, sponsored by The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, takes place July 13.
The Public Safety Writers' Conference will be held July 12-15 in Las Vegas, Nev. July 13-15.
The Crime and Justice Festival, occurring July 13th-15th 2012 in Melbourne, Aust., includes International Crime Patron Ian Rankin, Australian Crime Patron Kerry Greenwood and International Social Justice Patron: Brendan Kilty SC.
Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival, with Programming Chair Mark Billingham and Special Guests Harlan Coben, John Connolly, Charlaine Harris and Jo Nesbo, will take place July 19-22 in Harrogate, U.K.

August 2012

Ontario, Canada’s Wolfe Island Scene of the Crime Festival is planned for Aug. 11.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival will take place Aug. 11-27 in Edinburg, Scotland.
Killer Nashville is scheduled for Aug. 24-25 in Nashville, Tenn. with C.J. Box, Heywood Gould and Peter Straub as Guests of Honor.

September 2012

The annual The Agatha Christie Festival will take place Sept. 9-16 in Torquay, U.K.
The Bloody Scotland Festival, the Scottish International Crime Writing Festival, scheduled for Stirling, Scotland, Sept. 14-16, will have Ian Rankin and Val McDermid as featured authors.
The Library of Congress will hold theNational Book Festival from Sept. 22-23.

October 2012

Bouchercon 2012, occurring in Cleveland, Ohio Oct. 4-7, will feature Elizabeth George as American Guest of Honor, Robin Cook for Distinguished Contribution to the Genre, Mary Higgins Clark as Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Les Roberts as Special Cleveland Guest and John Connolly as Toastmaster.
Ontario, Canada’s International Festival of Authors (IFOA) will take place Oct. 18-28.

November 2012

NoirCon, in Philadelphia, Pa. Nov. 8-11, has Lawrence Block as the David L. Goodis Award Winner, Otto Penzler as the Jay and Deen Kogan Award Winner for Literary Excellence, Robert Olen Butler as Keynote Speaker and Charles Benoit as Master of Ceremonies.
The 2012 Men of Mystery conference occurs Nov. 17. John Lescroart, Joseph Finder and James Rollins headline the event.

December 2012