The SMFS at Bouchercon 2016 (New Orleans, LA)

Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, took place September 15–18, 2016 at the New Orleans Marriott, 555 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Here's a roundup of Society and other activities of interest. Feel free to share photos or video with SMFS president Kevin R. Tipple (KEVINRTIPPLE at VERIZON dot NET) for recap blog posts.

Anything missing? Comment and let us know:

• 2016 Derringer Presentation
• Meetup Lunch
• Also at Bouchercon 2016
• Noir at the Bar
• Blood on the Bayou Bouchercon Anthology 2016
• Macavity Awards
• The Highway Kind Anthology Signing
• Anthony Awards
• Shamus Awards
• Soho Crime 25th Anniversary Party
• Polis Books Authors Signing
• S.J. Rozan's Basketball at Bouchercon
• Panels Dedicated to Short Stories
• Other Panels with SMFS Members

2016 Derringer Presentation

O'Neil De Noux

SMFS member, 2009 Derringer winner, and two-time previous finalist O'Neil De Noux presented the 2016 Derringer medals during Bouchercon opening ceremonies (Thursday, September 15, 6:30–9:00 P.M. in the Carondelet/Bissonet Ballrooms, 3rd Floor of the New Orleans Marriott).


On hand to accept were Best Flash Story winner Vy Kava, Best Short Story winner Meg Opperman, Best Long Story and Best Novelette winner John M. Floyd, and 2016 recipient of the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement Michael Bracken.

L to R: Vy Kava, Meg Opperman, John M. Floyd, O'Neil De Noux, Michael Bracken.
Photo by Aidan Russell. Click on image to enlarge.

Temple Walker's video of Michael Bracken's acceptance speech

The 2016 Derringer presentation was reported on by Southeastern Louisiana University's student newspaper, The Lion's Roar.

Photo by Art Taylor. Click on image to enlarge.

Established in 1996, the Short Mystery Fiction Society began awarding the annual Derringers in 1998 as certificate graphics honoring outstanding published stories, living writers' outstanding bodies of work, and people who've greatly advanced or supported the genre.

Derringer submission, judging, and voting take place January–March. The Derringer Awards Coordinator announces the winners March 31, but the physical awards have been presented at Bouchercon since 2009 so the winners can receive recognition from the assembled mystery community along with them.

If you are involved in planning a Bouchercon, feel free to contact our officers and help ensure the Derringer presentation is included.

To see or have your say in the specifics of future presentations, join the Society's Award Plans subgroup.

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Meetup

More than thirty guests attended the SMFS meetup lunch Friday, September 16, at noon, hosted by O'Neil De Noux at Napoleon House:

Foreground L to R: Carolyn and John M. Floyd, Deborah Elliott-Upton and guest, Karen Pullen, Christina Freeburn; Background L to R: Terrie Farley Moran, Michael Bracken
(Photo by Gigi Pandian)

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Also at Bouchercon 2016

• "Noir at the Bar" live readings by multiple authors took place Wednesday, September 14:
  
  4:30–6:30 P.M., 2nd Floor, New Orleans Marriott - Galeries 4, 5 including SMFS members Craig Faustus Buck, S.W. Lauden, Thomas Pluck, and Lori Rader-Day
  
  9:00 P.M.–Late, The Voodoo Lounge, 718 N. Rampart Street including SMFS members Eric Beetner and Sarah M. Chen.

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• Greg Herren edited the Bouchercon 2016 short fiction anthology, Blood on the Bayou, which includes several SMFS members' stories and benefits the New Orleans Public Library.
  
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• Fliers promoting last year's SMFS-member anthology, Flash and Bang, were at the registration desk Book Bazaar courtesy of contributor O'Neil De Noux.
  
  Copies of the anthology itself were not available at Bouchercon 2016, but can be ordered from various retailers or directly from publisher Untreed Reads.
  
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• The Macavity Awards were presented by Mystery Readers International director and Mystery Readers Journal editor Janet Rudolph during the September 15 opening ceremonies.
  
  Voted on by members of Mystery Readers International, Mystery Readers Journal subscribers, and friends and supporters of MRI, nominated for Best Short Story were SMFS members Megan Abbott, Barb Goffman, Travis Richardson, and B.K. Stevens, as well as 2013 Golden Derringer recipient Loren D. Estleman.
  
  In addition, nominated for Best First Mystery were the SMFS's Chris Holm and Art Taylor.
  
  And congratulations to the 2016 Macavity winners, including the SMFS's Megan Abbott for Best Short Story, "The Little Men".
  
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• Friday, September 16, 3:30–4:15 P.M., Signing of The Highway Kind: Tales of Fast Cars, Desperate Drivers, and Dark Roads at Mystery Mike's table in the Book Room.
  
  Editor Patrick Millikin and contributors Ace Atkins, C.J. Box, Joe R. Lansdale, Gary Phillips, James Sallis, and Wallace Stroby signed.
  
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• Friday, September 16, 6:00 P.M., Anthony Awards ceremony at the Orpheum Theater (after David Morrell's interview of Lee Child).
  
  Like Bouchercon itself, the Anthonys are named in memory of author and editor Anthony Boucher. The Anthony nominees have received the most mentions in a poll of full-time Bouchercon registrants and those who registered for last year's event. Bouchercon 2015 attendees vote on the nominees throughout the con.
  
  Our Anthony-nominated members were Megan Abbott, Hilary Davidson, Chris Holm, Christopher Irvin, Thomas Pluck, Lori Rader-Day, Travis Richardson, Hank Phillippi Ryan, B.K. Stevens, and Art Taylor.
  
  And congratulations to the 2016 Anthony winners, including the SMFS's Chris Holm for Best Novel, The Killing Kind; Megan Abbott for Best Short Story, "The Little Men"; and Art Taylor, editor of the Best Anthology/Collection, Murder Under the Oaks.
  
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• Friday, September 16, 6:30–9:00 P.M., the Private Eye Writers of America's Shamus Awards banquet at the Renaissance New Orleans Pere Marquette French Quarter Area Hotel (817 Common Street).
  
  The SMFS's Robert S. Levinson was up for Best Private Eye Short Story, and O'Neil De Noux was up for Best Private Eye Paperback Original.

And congratulations to the 2016 Shamus winners. Parnell Hall won Best Private Eye Short Story for "The Dead Client" (Dark City Lights: New York Stories).

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• Friday, September 16, 9:30 P.M., Crimespree Magazine party for the 25th anniversary of publishing imprint Soho Crime at Ernst Cafe (600 S. Peters Street).
  
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• Saturday, September 17, 1:00 P.M., Polis Books author signing at Garden District Books' table in the Book Room. Scheduled to sign were:
  
  • Richard Brewer & Gary Phillips (Occupied Earth)
  • 2015 Derringer finalist Rob Hart (New Yorked, City of Rose, South Village)
  • Terrence McCauley (Sympathy for the Devil, A Murder of Crows)
  • Steph Post (Lightwood)
  • Bryon Quertermous (Murder Boy, Riot Load)
  • J.D. Rhoades (Devils and Dust, Ice Chest)
  • Todd Robinson (Rough Trade)
  • Jason Starr (Savage Lane)
  
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• Saturday, September 17, 1:15–2:15 P.M., S.J. Rozan's Basketball at Bouchercon annual game.

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• The full Bouchercon 2016 panel schedule is available from Scribd. Here we highlight panels related to short stories or including SMFS members.
  
  CDs and MP3 files of Bouchercon 2016 panels will be available from VWTapes.com.
  
  
  Panels Dedicated to Short Stories:
  
  
  • Thursday, 5:15–6:15 P.M., Balconies LMN, 4th Floor: "Minotaur Presents Once Upon a Crime, A Collaborative Caper from the Beast of Crime Fiction"; Join C.J. Box, Charlaine Harris, Julia Dahl, Kelli Stanley, Rebecca Drake, and dozens of other Minotaur authors as they collaborate on a mystery story in front of your very eyes! Open to the public. Free drinks for early arrivals.
  • Friday, 11:00–11:50 A.M., Mardi Gras D: "Murder by Nunbers" - Ellery Queen, their works, and the magazine; with moderator James Lincoln Warren, EQMM editor Janet Hutchings, Shelley Dickson Carr, Ted Hertel, Steve Steinbock, and Otto Penzler.
  • Saturday, 2:00–2:50 P.M., Bissonet: Signing of Blood on the Bayou, the Bouchercon 2016 Anthology; with Kaye Barley, Eric Beetner, G.J. Brown, Sheila Connolly, O'Neil De Noux, Barbara Ferrer, John M. Floyd, Alison Gaylin, editor Greg Herren, B.V. Lawson, R.T. Lawton, Deborah Lacy, Edith Maxwell, Liz Milliron, Terrie Farley Moran, David Morrell, Dino Parenti, Mike Penn, Gary Phillips, Thomas Pluck, Paula Smith, Elaine Viets, Heather Graham, and publisher Eric Campbell.
  
  
  Other Panels with SMFS Members:
  
  Thursday
  Friday
  Saturday
  
  
  • Thursday, 12:00–12:50 P.M., Galerie 6: "One More Time" - Novels and characters taking on another life on screen; with moderator Lee Goldberg, Alexandra Sokoloff, David Morrell, Burt Weissbourd, Nina Sadowsky, and Phoeff Sutton.
  • Thursday, 12:00–12:50 P.M., Mardi Gras FG: "Knowing Me, Knowing You" - Cozy; with moderator Carolyn Tillery, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Kristi Abbott, Lorretta Ross, Carol Ann Newsome, Sandra Balzo, and Debra H. Goldstein.
  • Thursday, 1:30–2:20 P.M., Mardi Gras ABC: "Metropolitan Glide" - Police; with moderator Travis Richardson, Mark Edwards, Michael Dymmoch, James L'Etolle, Alex Gray, and R.T. Lawton.
  • Thursday, 1:30–2:20 P.M., Mardi Gras D: "Road to Find Out" - Research; with moderator Harriette Sackler, Michael Gear, Ross Carley, Ann Parker, Veronica Forand, and Michele Drier.
  • Thursday, 1:30–2:20 P.M., Mardi Gras E: "Something to Talk About" - Pick a topic, any topic; moderator Jill Block, Lawrence Block, Bill Crider, Catherine Coulter Joe R. Lansdale, and S.J. Rozan.
    
    
    "Something to Talk About" clip posted by Lawrence Block
    
  • Thursday, 1:30–2:20 P.M., Mardi Gras FG: "Jive Talking" - Humor; with moderator Jessie Chandler, Ryan Aldred, Shelly Costa, Ray Daniel, Parnell Hall, Kendell Lynn.
  • Thursday, 3:00–3:50 P.M., Mardi Gras ABC: "Small Plot of Land" - Small town mystery with moderator Janet Rudolph, John Burley, Terry Shames, M.P. Cooley, Barbara Ross, and Ann Voss Peterson.
  • Thursday, 3:00–3:50 P.M., Mardi Gras E: "Take Me Home" - Setting with moderator Rebecca Swope, Ellen Byron, R.G. Belsky, Amy M. Reade, R. Franklin James, and Lori Roy.
  • Thursday, 4:30–5:20 P.M., Galerie 1: "Here Comes the Sun" - Murder under the sun with moderator Mysti Berry, Michelle Dorsey, Annamaria Alfieri, Michael Stanley, Sarah M. Chen, and Jeffrey Hess.
  • Thursday, 4:30–5:20 P.M., Mardi Gras E: "Real Cool World" - Thrillers with moderator Keith Raffel, Jane Waterhouse, Robert McClure, Deborah J. Ledford, David McCaleb, and Stacy Allen.
  
  
  • Friday, 9:30–10:20 A.M., Galerie 6: "Me and My Friends" - Writing groups with moderator Eleanor Cawood Jones, Donna Andrews, Ellen Crosby, John Gilstrap, Alan Orloff, and Art Taylor.
  • Friday, 9:30–10:20 A.M., Mardi Gras FG: "I Fought the Law (and the Law Won)" - Evolution of the legal thriller with moderator Ken Isaacson, Twist Phelan, Bill Hopkins, Jonathan Putnam, Sheldon Siegel, and Marti Green.
  • Friday, 11:00–11:50 A.M., Galerie 1: "Leather and Lace" - Cozy vs. hardboiled with moderator Thomas Pluck, Clea Simon, Linda Rodriguez, Chris Knopf, David Putnam, and Linda Joffe Hull.
  • Friday, 11:00–11:50 A.M., Galerie 6: "Uptown Funk" - Gritty urban settings with moderator Eric Beetner, Tom Pitts, Patricia Smiley, Josh Stallings, Andrew Case, and J.D. Knight.
  • Friday, 2:00–2:50 P.M., Galerie 6: "Dirty Boulevard" - Hardboiled with moderator Susan Alice Bickford, Craig Faustus Buck, Rob Hart, Barbara Nickless, Todd Robinson, and Lisa Turner.
  • Friday, 2:00–2:50 P.M., Mardi Gras D: "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" - Competition/Elimination with audience judging; with moderator Bryan Van Meter, Duane Swierczynski, Dana Cameron, Chris Holm, F. Paul Wilson, Lori Rader-Day, Brad Parks, Johnny Shaw, and Catriona McPherson.
  • Friday, 3:30–4:20 P.M., Galerie 1: "The Boxer" - Writing violence; with moderator Zoë Sharp, Sheila Redling, Melinda Leigh, Thomas Pluck, E.A. Aymar, and Taylor Stevens.
  • Friday, 3:30–4:20 P.M., Galerie 6: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - YA mysteries; with moderator Maria Alexander, J.C. Lane, Kelley Armstrong, Anne Redisch Stamper, B.K. Stevens, and Chris Grabenstein.
  • Friday, 3:30–4:20 P.M., Mardi Gras ABC: "Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen" - Food mysteries; with moderator Helen Smith, Leslie Budewitz, Lynn Cahoon, Mary Ann Corrigan, Edith Maxwell, and Nancy Parra.
  • Friday, 3:30–4:20 P.M., Mardi Gras E: "Love Will Keep Us Together" - Co-writing; with moderator Reed Farrel Coleman, Barbara Collins, Lee Goldberg, Matthew Clemens, Nancy Allen, and Mark Greaney.
  • Friday, 3:30–4:20 P.M., Mardi Gras FG: "Common People" - Amateur Sleuths; with moderator Clea Simon, Suzanne Trauth, Marcia Talley, Tim O'Mara, Susan Oleksiw, and Con Lehane.
  
  
  • Saturday, 10:30–11:20 A.M., Mardi Gras ABC: "The Soap Opera Song" - Soap Operas and Crime; with moderator Laura Benedict, Reed Farrel Coleman, Holly West, Joe Clifford, Charles Salzberg, and Toni McGee Causey.
  • Saturday, 10:30–11:20 A.M., Mardi Gras E: "Thrift Shop" - Ideas come from the weirdest places; with moderator Lori Rader-Day, Henry Chang, Alex Grecian, Carolyn Haines, Brian Thiem, and Karen E. Olson.
  • Saturday, 12:00–12:50 P.M., Galerie 6: "Dark Necessities" - Balancing the dark and light in stories; with moderator Dana King, Paul D. Marks, Terrence McCauley, Debbi Mack, Patrick Hoffman, and Heather Graham.
  • Saturday, 12:00–12:50 P.M., Mardi Gras ABC: "Bad to the Bone" - Anti-heroes; with moderator Chris Holm, David Swinson, Peter Spiegelman, Ian Hamilton, David Corbett, and Rory Flynn.
  • Saturday, 12:00–12:50 P.M., Mardi Gras D: "Once in a Lifetime" - How did I get here?; with moderator Kate Malmon, Hilary Davidson, Russel McLean, Jay Stringer, Angel Luis Colón, and Jess Lourey.
  • Saturday, 12:00–12:50 P.M., Mardi Gras E: "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" - Touring stories from the road; with moderator Molly Weston, Rhys Bowen, Andrew Grant, Andrew Grant, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Steve Hamilton, and Deborah Crombie.
  • Saturday, 1:30–2:20 P.M., Mardi Gras FG: "I am the Law" - Police; with moderator Colin Campbell, Matt Iden, Jorn Lier Horst, Richard Helms, John Farrow, and Kendra Elliot.
  • Saturday, 3:00–3:50 P.M., Galerie 1: "Even in the Quiet Moments" - A good story doesn't have to rely on all-out action; with moderator Oline Cogdill, M.O. Walsh, Tracy Kiely, Leigh Perry, William Lashner, and Annette Dashofy.
  • Saturday, 3:00–3:50 P.M., Galerie 6: "Born on the Bayou" - Louisiana stories; with moderator Bill Fitzhugh, Bill Loehfelm, O'Neil De Noux, S.W. Lauden, Harley Jane Kozak, and Jaden Terrell.
  • Saturday, 3:00–3:50 P.M., Mardi Gras D: "Learn to Be Lonely" - Writing is solitary. Being an author doesn't need to be; with moderator Hank Phillippi Ryan, Wendy Tyson, Gigi Pandian, Terrie Farley Moran, Julie Hennrikus, Kim Fay, and Kate White.
  • Saturday, 4:30–5:20 P.M., Galerie 1: "Step in Time” - Pacing; with moderator Art Taylor, Sara Blaedel, Suzanne Chazin, John Gaspard, Reece Hirsch, and Cate Holahan.
  • Saturday, 4:30–5:20 P.M., Galerie 6: "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" - Rural, Southern, Modern, Jewish — it's all noir to me; with moderator Dave Zeltserman, Ken Wishnia, Michael Cooper, David Burnsworth, and Jonathan Woods.
  
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