Bouchercon Bid Bulletin

If you’re registered for Bouchercon 2008 (or are about to be) this post is important and should be disseminated to as many people as possible. There are many reasons, from when to expect to hear about panel assignments to the creation of a message board and Facebook page, but here’s the crucial reason why, as co-chair Ruth Jordan explains:

For the year 2010 two bids have been presented to the committee. Both

reached us by the July 1st cut off date and were deemed sincere. **This

means that you will decide where Bouchercon is held at the General

Business Meeting this year.**

For the year 2011 one bid was

presented. The committee [ed. full disclosure: I’m a member at large] has approved the bid and there will be a

motion to carry at this year’s General Business Meeting.

There

is within the Bouchercon Rules and By-Laws a stipulation that all

future bids for upcoming conventions should be presented the first day

of the convention. The Standing Committee is waving this wording for

2008 because a portion of the membership would be unable to be active

in the discussion. However, we feel it is important to honor the spirit

of the wording and so all three bids will use this space this week to

present their proposal to our membership minus contract specifics. For

the membership who does not yet use the internet there will be copies

of all three bids available at this year’s registration tables.

So check back with the Charmed to Death blog throughout this week for news about the 2010 bids in particular. It’s been a while since there has been more that one bid in a year, and the timing this time around is exceptionally tight. So read each proposal and when the General meeting takes place on Friday, October 10 during the noon hour, come out, listen to the presentations in person and vote. Because for the first time in years, you can determine where Bouchercon will be two years from now.

UPDATE: More on the first announced 2010 bid, from San Francisco.

UPDATE 2: More on the second announced 2010 bid, from Tempe, AZ.