A few days ago, a flock of writers (and readers) attended the 2026 Bouchercon mystery conference, held this year in Calgary. I did not make the trip, but from my conversations with some of those who did, I'm told the conference was well attended and well done.
I did, however, have a story in the 2026 Bouchercon anthology--a B'con feature that wasn't even around when I attended my first Bouchercon, in Baltimore. It was at that 2008 B'con that I met fellow Criminal Brief blogger Leigh Lundin, along with CBers James Lincoln Warren, Steve Steinbock, Angela Zeman, and Melodie Johnson Howe. Little did Leigh or I know that three years later Criminal Brief would end its run and we two gluttons-for-punishment would jump from that blog to a new one, one that we decided to call SleuthSayers. But that's another story.
About three years after that, someone--I never knew who--came up with the idea of doing an annual Bouchercon anthology, to be launched each year during the conference. It was a good decision, embraced by readers as well as writers, and if I'm not mistaken, all of those books have done well. Most have a "theme" stated in their submission guidelines, like travel, music, conference setting. etc.
For those of you who don't remember them (I didn't), here's a list of all the anthologies so far:
2014 - Murder at the Beach - the conference location was Long Beach, California; the editor was Dana Cameron; the publisher was Down & Out Books
2015 - Murder Under the Oaks - Raleigh, Art Taylor, Down & Out Books
2016 - Blood on the Bayou - New Orleans, Greg Herren, Down & Out Books
2017 - Passport to Murder - Toronto, John McFetridge, Down & Out Books
2018 - Florida Happens - St. Petersburg, Greg Herren, Three Rooms Press
2019 - Denim, Diamonds, and Death -- Dallas, Rick Ollerman, Down & Out Books
2020 - California Schemin' - Sacramento, Art Taylor, Wildside Press
2021 - This Time for Sure - New Orleans virtual event, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Down & Out Books
2022 - Land of 10,000 Thrills - Minneapolis, Greg Herren, Down & Out Books
2023 - Killin' Time in San Diego -- San Diego, Holly West, Down & Out Books
2024 - Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem - Nashville, Heather Graham, Down & Out Books
2025 - Blood on the Bayou: Case Closed - New Orleans, Don Bruns, Down & Out Books
2026 - The Lines We Cross - Calgary, Olyn Fleming Ozbick, Level Best Books
NOTE 1: This year's anthology theme was "borders," which might've had something to do with the fact that the conference was held not far north of the U.S,/Canada line. I have a story in that anthology, and I regret that I was not present for the signing, which is always an event in itself.
NOTE 2: The 2027 anthology will be titled Mystery Most Monumental, and its theme will be "power"--probably because the 2027 Bouchercon location will be Washington, D.C. I believe they're taking story submissions now for that anthology; I've already sent mine in.
For what it's worth, I've been fortunate enough to have stories in several of the B'con anthologies. My stories, in order, were:
"The Blue Delta" - An escaped murderer terrorizes a rural family in South Louisiana. - Bouchercon 2016
"Life Is Good" - A tale of motherly and brotherly love--and deceit--that reaches from one Coast to another. - 2017
"Frontier Justice" - A local hitman's assassination of a district attorney in Tallahassee fails to go as planned. - 2018
"The Midnight Child" - The story of a grand heist by a team of Southern bank robbers, told backward. - 2019
"Windows" - A young woman alone in a house at night knows an intruder is there also--but can't find him. - 2022
"Plymouth West" - A restaurateur sits down to Thanksgiving dinner with a man who's there for one reason only: to kill her. - 2023
"Garden Path" - To con-man Brian Woodson, blackmailing a U.S. Senator and his wife sounded not only easy but foolproof. At first. - 2026
My questions for today:
Which Bouchercons have you attended? Which, in your opinion, were the best? (I've heard from many which one was the worst, but I won't reveal that.) Did you have stories included in any of the anthologies, and if so, which ones? Are you planning to go in 2027? Have you submitted a story yet, for the '27 anthology? Do you plan to?
If you do make the trip to Washington next year, have a good time, and if you don't go, well, get lots of writing done. And even more important (and timely):
Happy Halloween!
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