Hey Man!! My Spine's out of Place!!

I've been at the computer awhile now.

Thanks Mr. Bowie, tonight you are my music of choice. We haven't checked in in a while but boy, we are about to hit you all on many fronts. Bouchercon 2008 is in full swing. Authors keep those bios and pix coming!!

As to registration, for now the cost will remain $175.00. Just keep registering and we'll update you here, at least a week in advance if the rate is going to go up. We want to give you all the best value for your money that we possibly can.

Never have I spent such a large part of my summer in front of a computer terminal. Truly I believe I'm about to merge with the machines, Judy is feeling the same way I know .... but you know what? It's one year and it's been a privilege. And we are getting truly caught up to where we wanted to be thanks to many people. all of you who've sighed a sigh, answered a bizarre e-mail at six in the morning and gone about your day. To the people behind the scenes, love and first born kittens (there will be no babies in this house).

So thank you all. This is a great community and astounding things happen everyday. We started a feature called B-Con memories to keep you all coming back and I hope that anyone who'd like to share a memory, or promised to share one will write to me at ruth@crimespreemag.com . Reading others experiences has been grand.

So as I begin to type in the registrations that have arrived the last two days and coordinate the pay pals that have come in, I will not think of this as work.... instead I'm leaving you with a different kind of Bouchercon Memory.

Otto Penzler is passionate about this genre. He has embraced it in every way, in every guise. A true champion, who always gets people talking simply by sharing his opinions about the state of this giant umbrella now known as Crime Fiction (with 2000 sub genres and counting). For me, he'll remain short story champion, editor extraordinaire, and the guy who dumped me on the floor the first time we interacted. But it's the mystery community and the story is a good one I'm sure this man has long forgotten.

So today and tomorrow... Otto will share his experience hosting TWO Bouchercons. TWO? That proves to me that beyond all his other contributions, OTTO is first and foremost..... one insane fan. So look back and marvel at how far we've come and how once bitten by the Bouchercon Bug you will never be able to let it go.

Ruth



BOUCHERCON VIII - From Otto Penzler



Chris Steinbrunner, my co-author of the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, asked if I wanted to organize a Bouchercon in New York and I said yes. I figured if we were going to do it, we should it with style so I went to the Waldorf-Astoria and got it arranged. I think the registration fee was $8.00 and people were outraged at the stupendous cost and let us know it.

Since it was in New York, a larger number of authors than usual attended, as it gave them a chance to see their editors and agents. The larger number of authors attracted more fans, too, so we had by far the largest Bouchercon participation in the history of the event, nearly tripling the previous record. There were 335 in attendance.

The highlight of the weekend was the luncheon, at which the Guest of Honor was Stanley Ellin. Chris and I felt a little guilty about making Stan the G of H–not because he didn’t deserve it, which of course he did, but because he was such a close friend to both of us that it smacked of favoritism. We got over it.

Many of his books and stories were filmed and televised on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, most notably his acclaimed masterpiece, “The Specialty of the House.” We decided to honor the story as well as him by giving him a roast. Since this is a scary thing for some people, I asked him in advance if it would be okay to do this. He said it was not a problem–just so long as he had the opportunity to respond. There were a lot of very funny authors and fans who participated in roasting the future Grand Master, but no one matched him for wit and, even though he was a Quaker, the brutality of the humor.