Why Bouchercon?

Over the last little while I’ve been not-so-surreptiously planting the idea of attending the annual mystery convention (held this year in Toronto) in the minds of certain folks. Although I gave some compelling reasons for being in attendance–and not all of them involved drinking, I might add–I thought I’d open up the floor to a little bit of discussion.

Conventions are, shall we say, an interesting experience. Bouchercon especially is that, because it’s a mixture of people from all areas of the mystery world–fan, book dealer, reviewer, editor, agent, and of course, the author. People mingle to varying degrees–some constantly, others not at all. When I attended my first BCon back in 2001, my overall impression was that I saw the same 100-150 people over and over again. The fact that those people tended to congregate in the hotel bar after-hours probably had a little to do with it…but ultimately it underscores the fact that this is an opportunity for mass socializing.

As the years have passed, my own reasons for attending have changed. Three years ago, I had just started selling books and was definitely more of a fan, and this being the biggest such convention, I at least had to give it a shot. I did, and I met scores of wonderful people. I went back the next year in order to see those same people again, meet new ones, and see a city I’d never seen before (that time, it was Austin, TX). 2003 was a little different in that I was taking more of a professional approach (and I was also in a monumentally bad mood through the entire convention, but that’s another story) and this year’s no different. That isn’t to say that I won’t have any fun, but with the number of responsibilities I’ve acquired–pre- or post-blog–it’s changed my priorities somewhat. There are people I want to ask questions of, glean advice from, share ideas with. Yes, Bouchercon is big, unwieldy and sometimes a little insane, but I’ve always found some good in it, year after year, and expect to find the same this time around.

But enough about me. Why do you go? Especially if you’re a writer or someone in the publishing industry. Is it a case of “everybody does it and so should I” or are there specific reasons that apply directly to you? Has attending Bouchercon made a direct impact on sales, career path, or potential opportunities? There are anecdotal stories out there (Val McDermid comes to mind) but let’s hear more.