Bouchercon Bouchercon, the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher, and pronounced the w ...

is an annual convention of creators and devotees of

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

and

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...

. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor

Anthony Boucher William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dr ...

; also the inspiration for the

Anthony Awards The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Categori ...

, which have been issued at the convention since 1986. This page details Bouchercon XXVII and the 11th Anthony Awards ceremony.

Bouchercon

The convention was held in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

on October 10, 1996; running until the 13th. The event was chaired by Dennis Armstrong and freelance book reviewer Bruce Southworth. Armstrong was working for the local "Once Upon a Crime" book-store at the time and was allowed to take time off work to organise the event.

Special Guests

*Guest of Honor —

Mary Higgins Clark Mary Higgins Clark (born Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins; December 24, 1927 – January 31, 2020) was an American author of suspense novels. Each of her 51 books was a bestseller in the United States and various European countries, and all of her ...

*Fan Guest of Honor — Ellen Nehr *Toastmaster — Jeremiah Healy

Anthony Awards

The following list details the awards distributed at the eleventh annual Anthony Awards ceremony.

Novel award

Winner: * Mary Willis Walker, '' Under the Beetle's Cellar'' Shortlist: *

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of Detective fiction, detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring Los Angeles Police Department, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and cr ...

, ''

The Last Coyote ''The Last Coyote'' is the fourth novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. It was first published in 1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance ...

'' *Barbara D'Amato, ''Hard Christmas'' *

Andrew Klavan Andrew Klavan (; born July 13, 1954) is an American novelist and conservative political commentator. He has also worked in film and as an essayist and video satirist. He is also known for being a political commentator and hosts ''The Andrew Klava ...

, ''True Crime'' *

Bill Pronzini Bill Pronzini (born April 13, 1943) is an American writer of detective fiction. He is also an active anthologist, having compiled more than 100 collections, most of which focus on mystery, western, and science fiction short stories. Pronzini is ...

, ''Blue Lonesome''

First novel award

Winner: * Virginia Lanier, '' Death in Bloodhound Red'' Shortlist: *Richard Barre, ''The Innocents'' * G. M. Ford, ''Who in Hell is Wanda Fuca?'' *Charles Kenney, ''Hammurabi's Code'' *Martha C. Lawrence, ''Murder in Scorpio''

Paperback original award

Winners: *

Harlan Coben Harlan Coben (born January 4, 1962) is an American writer of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past, murders, or fatal accidents and have multiple ...

, ''

Deal Breaker ''Deal Breaker'' is a 1995 thriller novel by Harlan Coben and is the first in his Myron Bolitar series. Plot Investigator and sports agent Myron Bolitar is poised on the edge of the big-time. So is Christian Steele, a rookie quarterback and M ...

'' Shortlist: *Eileen Dreyer, ''Bad Medicine'' *

Teri Holbrook Teri Peitso-Holbrook (born Teri Jill Peitso) (Atlanta Native) is an American mystery writer living in Atlanta with her husband and two children. She is the author of four mysteries and has been nominated for several literary awards. She currently ...

, ''A Far and Deadly Cry'' *Gloria White, ''Charged with Guilt'' * Robert D. Zimmerman, ''Closet''

Short story award

Winner: *

Gar Anthony Haywood Gar Anthony Haywood (born 1954) is an American author of crime fiction. He was born in Los Angeles in 1954, and worked as a computer technician for over a decade before he started publishing novels. ''Fear of The Dark'' (1988) won the Shamus Awar ...

, "And Pray Nobody Sees You", from '' Spooks, Spies, and Private Eyes'' Shortlist: * K.K. Beck, "Rule of Law", from ''Malice Domestic 4'' *Jean B. Cooper, "The Judge's Boy", from ''

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fic ...

'' August 1995 *

Bill Crider Bill Crider (July 28, 1941 – February 12, 2018) was an American author of crime fiction among other work. Biography Crider received a Master of Arts degree at the University of North Texas, in Denton. Later, he taught English at Howard Payne ...

, "How I Found a Cat, Lost True Love, and Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo", from ''Cat Crimes Takes a Vacation'' *Elizabeth Daniels Squire, "The Dog Who Remembered Too Much", from ''Malice Domestic 4''

Critical / Non-fiction award

Winner: *

Kate Stine Kate may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer * Lauren Kate (born 1981), American author of ...

, ''The Armchair Detective Book of Lists'' Shortlist: * Nicholas A. Basbanes, '' A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books'' *Douglas G. Greene, ''John Dickson Carr: The Man Who Explained Miracles'' *

Robert Polito Robert Polito is a poet, biographer, essayist, critic, educator, curator, and arts administrator. He received the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography in 1995 for ''Savage Art: A Biography of Jim Thompson.'' The founding director of th ...

, ''Savage Art: A Biography of Jim Thompson'' *B.J. Rahn, ''Ngaio Marsh: The Woman and Her Work''

True crime award

Winner: *

Ann Rule Ann Rae Rule (''née'' Stackhouse; October 22, 1931 – July 26, 2015) was an American author of true crime books and articles. She is best known for '' The Stranger Beside Me'' (1980), about the serial killer Ted Bundy, her co-worker and one-ti ...

, '' Dead By Sunset'' Shortlist: *

Burl Barer Burl Barer (born 1947 in Walla Walla, Washington) is an American author, literary historian and radio host. He is best known for his writings about the character Simon Templar. Career Fiction ''The Saint'' ''The Saint: A Complete History in ...

, '' Man Overboard: The Counterfeit Resurrection of Phil Champagne'' *

John E. Douglas John Edward Douglas (born June 18, 1945): "...my parents almost chose that as my middle name instead of the more prosaic Edward." is an American retired special agent and unit chief in the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He ...

& Mark Olshaker, '' Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit'' * Pete Earley, ''Circumstantial Evidence: Death, Life, and Justice in a Southern Town'' *

T. J. English T. J. English (born October 6, 1957) is an American author and journalist known primarily for his non-fiction books about organized crime — both contemporary and historical — criminal justice, jazz, and the American underworld. Biography T. ...

, ''Born to Kill''

Short story collection / anthology award

Winner: *

Marcia Muller Marcia Muller (born September 28, 1944) is an American author of mystery and thriller novels. Muller has written many novels featuring her ''Sharon McCone'' female private detective character. ''Vanishing Point'' won the Shamus Award for '' ...

, '' The McCone Files: The Complete Sharon McCone Stories'' Shortlist: *

Martin H. Greenberg Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 – June 25, 2011) was an American academic and anthologist in many genres, including mysteries and horror, but especially in speculative fiction. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned ...

Edward Gorman Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. (November 2, 1941 – October 14, 2016) was an American writer and short fiction anthologist. He published in almost every genre, but is best known for his work in the crime, mystery, western, and horror fields. His no ...

, ''Cat Crimes Takes A Vacation'' *

Carolyn G. Hart Carolyn Hart (also known as Carolyn G. Hart) is an American mystery and suspense writer. She is the author of 63 books, including the Death on Demand, Henrie O and Bailey Ruth series. In 2014, she was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers o ...

, ''Crimes Of The Heart'' *Carolyn G. Hart, ''Malice Domestic 4'' * Paula L. Woods, ''Spooks, Spies, and Private Eyes''

Movie award

Winner: *''

The Usual Suspects ''The Usual Suspects'' is a 1995 crime thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite and Kevin S ...

'' Shortlist: *'' Copycat'' *'' Devil in a Blue Dress'' *''

Get Shorty ''Get Shorty'' is a 1990 novel by American novelist Elmore Leonard. In 1995, the novel was adapted into an eponymous film, and in 2017 it was adapted into a television series of the same name. Plot summary The story is about Ernesto "Chili ...

'' *''

Seven 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

Television series award

Winner: *''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'' Shortlist: *'' Life on the Street'' *''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' *'' Murder One'' *'' N.Y.P.D. Blue''

Magazine award

Winner: *''

The Armchair Detective ''The Armchair Detective'' is a 1952 British B movie, second feature ('B') mystery film directed by Brendan J. Stafford and starring Ernest Dudley, Hartley Power, and Sally Newton. It was written by Dudley and Derek Elphinstone based on Dudley' ...

'' Shortlist: *''Deadly Pleasures'' *''Drood Review'' *''

'' *'' Mystery Scene''

Publisher award

Winner: *

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

Shortlist: * Avon *Mysterious Press *

Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjo ...

Walker Books Walker Books is a British publisher of children's books, founded in 1978 by Sebastian Walker, Amelia Edwards, and Wendy Boase. In 1991, the success of Walker Books' ''Where's Wally?'' series enabled the company to expand into the American ma ...

Editor award

Winner: * Sara Ann Freed Shortlist: *Marjorie Braman *Carolyn Marino *Kate Miciak *Michael Seidman

Cover art award

Winner: * Pamela Patrick; for Jeanne Dams, '' The Body in the Transept'' Shortlist: *Fred George & Corsillo/Manzone; for John Dunning, ''The Bookman's Wake'' *

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

& Krystyna Skalski; for Bill Moody, ''Death of a Tenor Man'' *FCL Colorspace & Richard Hasselberger; for Lynn Hightower, ''Flashpoint'' * Earl Emerson; for his ''The Vanishing Smile''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchercon 27 Anthony Awards 27 1996 in Minnesota