The Heirs of Anthony Boucher Marvin Lachman

Bouchercon: 21st Century
2003: Las vegas
The 34th Bouchercon came to Las Vegas October 16–19 with a predictable emphasis
on gambling. Attendees were even given rolls of nickels in their registration package,
and most spent some time at the “slots.” Gambling metaphors abounded in the
program, and a separate booklet, The Gleam in Bugsy Siegel’s Eye by Barry T. Zeman,
a bibliography of mystery fiction about Las Vegas and gambling, was distributed. The
site was the Riviera, one of Las Vegas’s oldest hotels. Many attendees found it rundown,
and signs in bathrooms offering “free needles” didn’t inspire confidence that
they were intended for diabetics.
1,641 people registered, and many found this hotel with its multiple towers confusing.
There were long walks, through corridors filled with cigarette smoke, to the
meeting rooms. There was no place to sit and chat near the meeting rooms or even
on the way except, of course, in the casino. Also, there was no hospitality suite. Everyone
paid a 3% “energy fee” on their hotel bill to allow Las Vegas to keep its lights
on twenty-four hours a day.
Deen Kogan, who had put on two Bouchercons in Philadelphia, saved this one by
agreeing to chair this one in the Western region, but her nerves seemed somewhat
frazzled throughout. A live-cast radio mystery during the opening reception was
almost impossible to hear, not surprising at what essentially was a cocktail party with
several bars. It should have been presented as a separate production. The highlight of
the reception was the third Sandstrom fandom award to Mary “Maggie” Mason.
The dealer’s room was more crowded than at any previous Bouchercons, and
there was wonder that the fire marshals didn’t close it. Some potential book buyers
avoided it. One person suggested that whoever planned the dealers’ room forgot
people needed aisles in which to walk.
James Lee Burke was American Guest of Honor, and Scottish writer Ian Rankin
was International Guest of Honor. Ruth Rendell was saluted for her “Exemplary
Body of Work,” and Janet Hutchings, editor of EQMM, was cited for her “Contribution
to the Field.” Jeff and Ann Smith of Baltimore were Fan Guests of Honor. They
represent what is most generous in fandom. Unlike some honored in the past, who
have also written for pay, they are not involved in the commerce of the mystery. They
are devoted readers, contributors to DAPA-EM, and loyal Bouchercon attendees. In
Las Vegas, they threw their suite open to mystery fans every night.
On the Wednesday before Bouchercon officially opened, there was a Writer’s
Workshop conducted by Jeremiah Healy and Gayle Lynds. During Bouchercon,
there were again many panels on the “business” of writing and being published.
Other panels were about Las Vegas, its history, and gambling scams. There were true
crime panels including another with a police dog and its handler. Two panels were
about the internet, and another on audio books. Perhaps the most unusual panel was
“Walter Sickert Is Innocent, OK!” in which two British academics disputed Patricia
Cornwell’s book in which she “identified” that British painter as “Jack the Ripper.”
Highly popular was “Wanted for Murder,” a show in which Liza Cody, Peter Lovesey,
and Michael Z. Lewin amusingly demonstrated how a mystery is developed.
The annual auction benefited the libraries of Las Vegas and Clark County. People
were bidding up to $2,000 to be a character in an Ian Rankin or Lee Child book.
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