The Heirs of Anthony Boucher Marvin Lachman

The Nineteen-Eighties
by Phyllis Brown, of Grounds for Murder Mystery Bookstore, and Ray Hardy, announced
membership would be limited to 800, but they relented and eventually almost
900 attended, a Bouchercon record.
Charlotte MacLeod was guest of Honor, and Robert Barnard of England Toastmaster.
Considering the mysteries they write, it was only logical that each moderated
a panel called “The Mystery as Social Satire and Comedy of Manners.” Bruce Taylor
was Fan Guest of Honor.
There were three, at times four, tracks, but they were not enough to accommodate
the number of professional writers (200+) who attended and wanted exposure. The
presence of so many professionals again led to a perception by some that author
dominance at Bouchercons was increasing. They pointed to the failure to acknowledge
fans at the opening ceremony or to introduce Boucher’s widow, Phyllis White,
either then or at the banquet dinner. Along with name badges, attendees were given
ribbons to attach based on their status as Author, Bookseller, Reviewer, Editor, or
Panelist. Otto Penzler had so
many ribbons that, according
to Richard Moore, he “looked
like a commodore in the Prussian
Navy.” There were no ribbons
for fans, leading Moore to
wonder, “Why create this class
distinction at an event historically
free of them?”
The most controversial panel
had the longest title: “Fans,
Readers, Aficionados: What Is
the Difference? Is There A Difference?
Who is Making ‘Fan’ a
Dirty Word and Why?” Panelist
Michael Seidman said that
those who write and review for
fan magazines did not affect the sale of mysteries. Unanswered was my question
from the audience as to whether fans had not done much good for professionals by
founding Bouchercon and reviewing thousands of books since 1967, most favorably.
Seidman and moderator Robert Randisi told tales of fans bothering writers, including
a story of one fan who allegedly trailed an author into the rest room to get an
autograph. There was also no response to Art Scott’s point from the audience that it
was schizophrenic for writers to come to conventions to court fans while at the same
time wanting to be left alone.
There were four private eye panels, including one asking, “The Traditional Private
Eye: Is He Dead or Alive and Well?” There was also a panel, led by Sara Paretsky,
called “The Mystery Writer as the Conscience of Society.”
One of the memorable people at the San Diego Bouchercon (and others) was
Kerry Littler, a tiny woman from Annapolis, Maryland, who dressed in a deerstalker
and carried “Sherlock Hound,” a stuffed dog, also in a deerstalker. For the most part
0
Two Maryland fans, Bill Deeck and Kerry Littler,
better known for her alter-ego, “Sherlock Hound.”