Readers meet writers at 2011’s crime fiction conferences

Followers of mystery series fiction have much to look forward to in the coming year. Many of their favorite writers will be on hand to discuss their works and meet with fans at conferences scheduled both here in the U.S. and abroad. The following crime fiction conference calendar lists many of these events. It will be updated throughout the year as more information becomes available.

January 2011

• The Baker Street Irregulars will hold their annual weekend meeting in New York City from Jan 5-11.
• The American Library Association Midwinter Meeting will be held in San Diego, Calif. from Jan. 7-12. Kathy Reichs is one of two speakers in ALA’s Sunrise Speaker’s series.
• Murder Goes South will hold its ninth annual conference from Jan. 28-29 in Smyrna, Ga. Erica Spindler is the keynote speaker for this event, which celebrates Southern mystery authors.

February  2011

• Love Is Murder will take place in Rosemont, Ill. from Feb. 4-6. Featured authors at this event include Rhys Bowen, Joseph Finder, Carolyn Haines, Joan Johnston, Jon Land, and F. Paul Wilson. Love is Murder also recognizes Dick Tracy’s creator, the late Chester Gould, as its “Ghost of Honor.”
• The Cape Fear Crime Festival returns to the Northeast Branch of the New Hanover County Library in  Wilmington, N.C. on Feb. 5. The program for this one-day meeting involves “writing, marketing and the nuts and bolts of getting into print.”
• The Homewood Library in Birmingham, AL will be the site of Murder in the Magic City, also scheduled for Feb. 5. Chris Grabenstein and Nancy Means Wright are Guests of Honor.

March 2011

• Sleuthfest 2011 will have Dennis Lehane, Meg Gardiner and SJ Rozan as Guests of Honor. The event takes place in Deerfield Beach, Fla. from March 3-6 and has “Put some sizzle in your writing” as its theme.
• The Tucson Festival of Books is scheduled for  March 12-13 on the University of Arizona campus. 
• “The Big Chili,” this year’s Left Coast Crime conference, will be held in Santa Fe, N.M. from March 24-27. Steve Brewer is Toasmaster. Margaret Coel and Steven Havill are Guests of Honor. Martin Cruz Smith will be recognized for Lifetime Achievement. The Big Chili has “Ghosts of Honor,” too – Dorothy B. Hughes and Frances Crane.

April 2011

• Murder 203: Connecticut's Mystery Festival will have Carolyn Hart as Guest of Honor on April 9-10 when it presents "A Meeting of the Mystery Minded." The Easton (Conn.) Public Library will host the event.
• The Mystery Writers of America will meet in New York City on April 27-28 to announce the 2011 Edgar® Awards.
• Malice Domestic, the annual celebration of the traditional mystery, will take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, in Bethesda, Md. from April 29-May 1. Carole Nelson Douglas is Guest of Honor at this event, and Donna Andrews is its Toastmaster. Sue Grafton will be recognized for Lifetime Achievement, and Janet Rudolph will receive the Poirot Award.

May 2011

• Bristol, Eng. is again the scene for the 2011 Crimefest, which is scheduled for May 19-22. Don Winslow is Toastmaster; and Lindsey Davis, Peter James and Deon Meyer are the Featured Guest Authors at this international crime fiction convention..

June 2011

• Canada’s Bloody Words conference will be held in Victoria, B.C. from June 3-5. Michael Slade is Guest of Honor; Tess Gerritsen, International Guest of Honor.
• The  will take place in New Orleans, La. from June 23-28. J.A. Jance and Harlan Coben will participate in the Auditorium Speaker Series. Laura Lippman will be a keynote speaker at the PLA President's Program.
• The Poisoned Pen Conference 2011 is scheduled for June 24-25 at Phoenix's Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. Juliet Blackwell, Alafair Burke, Jan Burke, Marcia Clark, Robert Dugoni, CS Harris, Michael Koryta, Sophie Littlefield, Peter Lovesey, April Smith, Patricia Wynn, Laurie R. King, Dana Stabenow, Lauren Willig and Jacqueline Winspear are participating authors.

July 2011

• New York City’s Grand Hyatt will be the site for the International Thriller Writers’ ThrillerFest, scheduled for July 6-9. Thrillerfest VI features R.L. Stine as Thrillermaster and Robert Crais, Diana Gabaldon and John Lescroart as Spotlight Guests.
• Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival will again be held in Harrogate, Eng. from July 21-24. Linwood Barclay, Lee Child, Martina Cole, Lisa Gardner, Tess Gerritsen, Dennis Lehane and Howard Marks are among the authors scheduled for this event. P.D. James will receive the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award.
• The Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference is also scheduled for July 21-24. This 18th annual event will again take place in Corte Madera, Calif. and features Marcia Clark, Robert Dugoni, John Lescroart and Daniel Silva.
• PulpFest will recognize the 80th anniversary of The Shadow magazine at its July 29-31 meeting in Columbus, Ohio.

August 2011

• The Wolfe Island Scene of the Crime Festival will be held on August 13, 2011 at Wolfe Island, Ontario. Elizabeth Duncan, C.B. Forrest, R.J. Harlick, and Howard Shrier are guest authors, and Maureen Jennings is the Grant Allan Award Winner. .
• Edinburgh, Scotland will again host the Edinburgh International Book Festival from Aug. 13-29.
• Tess Gerritsen and John Hart will appear  'Setting the Stage for Murder' in Christchurch NZ on Aug. 21, where the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel will be presented.
• Killer Nashville, “A Conference for Thriller, Suspense & Mystery Writers and Lovers,” is scheduled for Aug. 26-28 at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. Donald Bain and Robert Dugoni are Guests of Honor.

September 2011

• Agatha Christie’s hometown of Torquay, England hosts the Agatha Christie Festival every September. The dates for the 2011 event are Sept. 11-18.
• Bouchercon 2011, “Spirits of St. Louis,” will take place in St. Louis, Mo. from Sept. 15-18. Ridley Pearson is Bouchercon’s Toastmaster. Robert Crais and Charlaine Harris are the American Guests of Honor; Colin Cotterill  and Val McDermid are International Guests of Honor. Sara Paretsky will be recognized for Lifetime Achievement.
• Guilford Technical Community College and Public Safety Training Academy in Jamestown, N.C. will host the 2011 Writers’ Police Academy on September 23-25. Christopher Reich will deliver the keynote address; Alafair Burke and Lee Lofland are among the presenters.
• The National Book Festival, sponsored by the Library of Congress, will become a two-day event this year. It will be held in Washington D.C. on the Mall from Sept. 24-25.

October 2011

• The International Festival of Authors (IFOA) will take place in Toronto, Ont. from Oct. 19-29.
• Magna Cum Murder will be held at the Horizon Convention Center in Muncie, Ind. from Oct. 28-30. Parnell Hall is Guest of Honor, and Bob Brier is Banquet Speaker.

November 2011

• The fourth annual Reading Festival of Crime Writing will be held from Nov. 10-13 in Reading, Eng. Val McDermid, Christopher Brookmyre, Lindsey Davis, Paul Doherty, Nicci French, Sophie Hannah and Andrew Taylor will be making an appearance.
• The New England Crime Bake  is scheduled for November 11-13 in Dedham, Mass. Barry Eisler and Nancy Pickard are Guests of Honor.

December 2011

• The Wolfe Pack will hold its Black Orchid Weekend in December 2-4, 2011 in New York City. Nero Award and Black Orchid Novella Award winners will be named at the Dec. 3 banquet.

Updated Nov. 13, 2011