Saturday, September 21, 2013

Bouchercon Day Two: Zines, scenes, and cannoli

Shaky photo by lunatic who claims to believe in
alien landings, or convention headquarters for
Bouchercon 2013? You decide. (Photos by your

humble blog keeper.)
Damn, I enjoy moderating Bouchercon panels. Today's session (noir and hard-boiled, with authors Eric Beetner, Mike Dennis, Dana King, Terrence McCauley, and Jonathan Woods) met all the criteria for a good panel: The laugh lines worked, the panelists were articulate, entertaining, and surprising, I learned things from them, and we ran out of time before I ran out of questions.

This panel was a bit different from previous sessions for which I'd served as moderator, since all five authors have published fiction in the e- and print zines and anthologies that have come to serve as today's Dime Detectives and Black Masks.  That meant that in addition to questions about each author's work, the panel included group discussion of publications such as Thuglit, Atomic Noir, Big Pulp, and Out of the Gutter, what such publications have meant to the authors' careers, and what they can mean to readers who seek crime fiction a bit out of the mainstream. Look for these writers, find out where their work appears, and investigate further.

Shamus Awards dinner: I left the gun,
but I took a picture of the cannoli.
This evening at the Shamus Awards dinner, I met Holly West, whose debut novel is to appear early next year. And that is the occasion for a tip of the hat to Susan Elia MacNeal, a member of my Thursday war panel whom I also met for the first time at this convention. Bouchercon is not all work, you know, and meeting new authors and talking about favorite books is always one of the highlights. West sets her writing in seventeenth-century England, and I was pleased to recommend to her Ronan Bennett's superb Havoc, in its Third Year.
*
Detectives Beyond Borders is seven years old today!

© Peter Rozovsky 2013

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12 Comments:

Blogger Kelly Robinson said...

And cannoli, too? Can you feel the envy?

September 21, 2013  
Blogger Simona Carini said...

Congratulations on your blog's anniversary!

September 21, 2013  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

Kelly: The cannoli were damned good cannoli, too.

September 21, 2013  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

Simona: Many thanks. Bouchercon is a good spot for a blog's anniversary. It gets Year Eight off to a good start.

September 21, 2013  
Blogger Dana King said...

This is my first chance to get online since Bouchercon. Many thinks for moderating a great panel, Peter. You did your usual outstanding job. If everyone else enjoyed themselves half as much as i did, it was a complete success.

September 23, 2013  
Blogger John McFetridge said...

Yes, congratulations on the blog's anniversary. And congratulations on some excellent moderating.

I'm thinking about talking to Judy Boblik about scheduling a panel in Long Beach comprised of yourself, Ali Karim, Barbara Fister and a couple other excellent moderators.

September 23, 2013  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

Thanks. I can nominate Eric Beetner for such a panel. But who would moderate it?

September 23, 2013  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

Dana: Thanks, professor. You guys were good. I liked your answer to the bad-language question. I know you'd been salivating all month for a chance to answer that.

September 23, 2013  
Blogger Charlieopera said...

Ah, the cannoli ... Bravo!

September 25, 2013  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

My eyes lit up when I saw those things. They tasted pretty good, too.

September 25, 2013  
Blogger RJR said...

Peter, Glad you liked the cannoli. All of the food was good that night, and everybody enjoyed the company at their tables. Sorry I missed your panel. Sounds like a good one.

RJR

September 26, 2013  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

The food was good, and prepared with commendable speed by an entertaining staff. And the company was a perfect mix of my entourage and people I had not met before. The music was pretty good, too. Thanks for getting me in.

September 26, 2013  

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