Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention


2009 Indianapolis, IN
2008 Baltimore, MD
2007 Anchorage, AK
2006 Madison, WI
2005 Chicago, IL
2004 Toronto, ON
2003 Las Vegas, NV
2002 Austin, TX
2001 Washington, DC
2000 Denver, CO
1999 Milwaukee, WI
1998 Philadelphia, PA
1997 Monterey, CA
1996 St. Paul, MN
1995 Nottingham, UK
1994 Seattle, WA
1993 Omaha, NE
1992 Toronto, ON
1991 Pasadena, CA
1990 London, UK
1989 Philadelphia, PA
1988 San Diego, CA
1987 Minneapolis, MN
1986 Baltimore, MD
1985 San Francisco, CA
1984 Chicago, IL
1983 New York, NY
1982 San Francisco, CA
1981 Milwaukee, WI
1980 Washington, DC
1979 Los Angeles, CA
1978 Chicago, IL
1977 New York, NY
1976 Culver City, CA
1975 Chicago, IL
1974 Oakland, CA
1973 Boston, MA
1972 Los Angeles, CA
1971 Los Angeles, CA
1970 Santa Monica, CA





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History of Bouchercons By-laws of Bouchercon Standing Rules of Bouchercon Minutes of past Bouchercon Standing Committee meetings Contact the various Bouchercon committees back to the Bouchercon Standing Committee front page

Standing Rules

(see the By-Laws here)
  1. Standing rules are created to carry out the business of Bouchercon. The following process shall be used to amend the Bouchercon Standing Rules:
    1. Changes shall be presented in writing to the membership through the Bouchercon updates prior to the Bouchercon business meeting including printing the existing by-laws and standing rules.
    2. Changes shall be discussed at the Bouchercon business meeting.
    3. Changes shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority vote at the Bouchercon business meeting.


  2. The Standing Committee Standing Rules:
    1. The Standing Committee shall be comprised of the following individuals. If a Bouchercon Chair cannot attend, they may appoint a representative. A conference represented by Co-chairs shall have one vote on the Standing Committee.
      1. The past three Bouchercon Conference Chairs.
      2. The current Bouchercon Conference Chair.
      3. The upcoming Bouchercon Chairs.
      4. Three members-at-large.
    2. Members-at-large shall be elected by the following process:
      1. The Standing Committee shall solicit nominees in the updates.
      2. The Standing Committee shall select three nominees to be presented to the membership.
      3. In the last update mailing to the membership prior to Bouchercon, the nominees shall be presented to the membership.
      4. The Standing Committee shall prepare a ballot with the nominees listed.
        1. The attending membership of the Bouchercon shall vote on the nominees.
        2. A simple majority, as validated by The Standing Committee, shall elect the member-at-large.
        3. The winning member at large shall be announced at the banquet or any other appropriate all conference event.
      5. Members-at-large shall serve on The Standing Committee for three years.
      6. The terms of office for the Members-at-large will be limited to two consecutive terms of three years with a wait period of three years before a person could rejoin the committee.
    3. The chair of the Standing Committee shall be the most senior member-at-large.
    4. If a Bouchercon chair declines to participate or appoint a representative, their chair shall remain vacant.
    5. If a member-at-large declines to participate or resigns, The Standing Committee may elect a new member-at-large to fulfill the term of the replaced member.
    6. The most junior member-at-large will serve as the recording secretary during their first year on the Standing Committee.


  3. The Standing Committee shall review all matters affected by the bylaws and standing rules.



  4. The voting procedures for selection of the sites for Bouchercons shall be as follows:
    1. Bid process for the annual Bouchercons:
      1. Each bidding group must provide the following information to The Standing Committee by July 1st of the bid year:
        1. Location.
        2. Dates, preferably in October.
        3. Conference committee membership directory.
        4. Confirmation of the availability of conference hotel including sleeping room set aside.
        5. Confirmation of the availability of conference meeting room space for a conference of approximately 1,500 attendees.
        6. Outline of conference committee plans for Bouchercon activities and events.
    2. The conference committee must schedule a Bouchercon site bid meeting in the first day of conference programming.
      1. Groups who have an approved bid by The Standing Committee may present to the membership. The presentation must include the following:
        1. Location.
        2. Dates, preferably in October.
        3. Conference committee membership directory.
        4. Confirmation of the availability of conference hotel including sleeping room set aside.
        5. Confirmation of the availability of conference meeting room space for a conference of approximately 1,500 attendees.
        6. Outline of conference committee plans for Bouchercon activities and events.
      2. The Standing Committee shall prepare a ballot with each valid Bouchercon bid listed.
        1. The attending membership of the Bouchercon shall vote on the valid sites.
        2. A simple majority, validated by The Standing Committee, shall award the Bouchercon to the winning site.
        3. The winning site shall be announced at the banquet or any other appropriate all conference event.
        4. The Conference Committee Chair of the winning site must sign the Bouchercon contract with the Chair of the Standing Committee prior to the announcement of the winning bid.


  5. The Standing Committee will hold a business meeting at each Bouchercon whose time and place must be published in all schedules distributed at the Bouchercon with the following agenda:
    1. Welcome by the Chair.
    2. Introduction of the Standing Committee.
    3. Public Comment.
    4. Report of the Current Bouchercon Chair.
    5. Reports of the Future Bouchercon Chairs.
    6. Amendments to the Standing Rules.
    7. Amendments to the By-Laws.
    8. Old Business.
    9. New Business.
    10. Adjournment.


  6. Guests of Honor procedures:
    1. Guests of Honor may have their expenses covered by Bouchercon. Legitimate expenses to be covered include hotel, travel and meals. No Guests shall receive any honorarium for appearing or speaking.
    2. Each Bouchercon may have the following Guest(s) of Honor:
      1. Author Guest of Honor drawn from the mystery/crime/suspense fiction field who is a professional whose work is deserving of public recognition.
      2. Fan Guest of Honor drawn from mystery/crime/suspense fandom who is deserving of public recognition.
      3. Toastmaster.
      4. Life Time Achievement drawn from mystery/crime/suspense field who is deserving of public recognition for a lifetime commitment to the field.
    3. Membership number 000 is retired in memory of the late Mrs. Phyllis White, widow and lifetime helpmate of Anthony Boucher and longtime supporter of Bouchercon during her lifetime.


  7. Each Conference Committee shall oversee the determination and awarding of the Anthony Awards.
    1. The Anthony Awards shall be given for outstanding achievement in each category to honor the memory of Anthony Boucher.
    2. Awards shall be given in the following categories:
      1. Best Novel.
      2. Best First Novel.
      3. Best Paperback Original.
      4. Best Short Story.
      5. Best Critical Nonfiction Work.
      6. Special Service Award.
      7. Up to three wild card awards.
    3. The procedure for the awarding of the Anthony Awards shall be as follows:
      1. Starting by February 28th and continuing until at least April 30th, the Conference Committee shall solicit nominations from members of the current (next to be held) Bouchercon and that of the immediately preceding Bouchercon. Each person, whether they are a member of one or both Bouchercons, shall be allowed to make up to five equally weighted nominations in every category.
      2. The Conference Committee shall count the nominations cast for each award category for eligible nominees. The five eligible nominees receiving the most nominations shall be Anthony Award nominees. If there is a tie including fifth place, all the tied eligible nominees will be listed. However, the Conference Committee may eliminate the fourth and fifth place eligible nominees if they receive fewer than five percent of the nominations cast in the category. The first three eligible nominees, including any ties, shall always be listed.
      3. The Conference Committee shall announce the Anthony Award nominees no later than 60 days prior to the convention, sooner by preference of the committee. The nominees shall be announced in at least one mailing to the membership of the current conference prior to the event.
      4. All voting shall be done at the conference event. The Conference Committee shall prepare a ballot and distribute one ballot to each registered attendee. Eligible voters shall be asked to vote for one nominee in each category. The method of voting, deadline, and place for return of ballots shall be clearly stated on the ballot. No ballots shall be accepted after the deadline. The Conference Committee will take steps to minimize the possibility of tampering and ensure that ballots are kept secure and properly counted. No one not on the counting committee may be present during the counting of ballots. No nominee may be on the counting committee.
      5. The Conference Committee shall determine the winners. The nominee receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared the award winner. In case of a tie for first place, the award shall be shared. Vote counts and final ranking other than first place shall remain confidential. The committee shall announce winners and make presentation of the awards at the banquet or other appropriate all-conference event.
      6. Only memberships of Bouchercon registered in the name of a real person are allowed to nominate or vote as defined in section VII.C. E.G. "Guest of" memberships, memberships in the name of corporations and memberships in the name of fictitious persons are not allowed to nominate or vote as defined in section VII.C. A person is allowed only one vote and / or nomination whether they are registered under their real name or pen name.


  8. Each Conference Committee Chair shall insure that the following rules are applied to their Bouchercon:
    1. At the business meeting, the Conference Committee Chair must provide The Standing Committee members with an accounting of the projected finances of their Bouchercon.
    2. Within ninety days of the end of each Bouchercon, the Conference Committee Chair must provide each Standing Committee member with an accounting of the finances of the Bouchercon.
    3. Within ninety days of the end of each Bouchercon, the Conference Committee Chair must pass on the membership list from the previous Bouchercon to the Chair of the Standing Committee and the next three Bouchercon Conference Committee Chairs.
    4. The program book will contain the by-laws and the standing rules.
Names of Note:
Allen J. Hubin
Ann & Jeff Smith
Art Scott
Barbara Peters
Bernard Cornwell
Beth Fedyn
Beverly De Weese
Bill Crider
Bill Pronzini
Bill S. Ballinger
Bruce Pelz
Bruce Taylor
Cap'n Bob Napier
Carl Hiaasen
Charlotte MacLeod
Chris Steinbrenner
Colin Dexter
Colin Wilcox
Dennis Lehane
Diana Gabaldon
Don Sandstrom
Donald A. Yates
Donald Westlake
Dorothy Salisbury Davis
Ed McBain
Edward D. Hoch
Ellery Queen*
Elmore Leonard
Gary Warren Niebuhr
Geoff Bradley
George C. Chesbro
George Pelecanos
Gregory McDonald
Hal Rice
Hammond Innes
Harlan Coben
Helen McCloy
Ian Rankin
James Ellroy
James Lee Burke
James Sallis
Jane Langton
Janet Hutchings
Janwillem van de Wetering
Jeremiah Healy
Jim Huang
Joan Kahn
Joe Gores
John D. MacDonald
John Nieminski*
Jonathan Gash
Joseph Hansen
Julie Smith
June Moffatt
Lawrence Block
Lee Child
Len Moffatt
Lew Buckingham
Linda Toole
Lindsey Davis
M.C. Beaton
Maggie Mason
Marcia Muller
Margaret Millar
Marvin Lachman
Mary Higgins Clark
Mary S. Craig
Mary Willis Walker
Max Allan Collins
Michael Connelly
Michael Gilbert
Nancy Buckingham
Natasha Cooper
Nevada Barr
Ori Hardy-Sayles
Otto Penzler
P. D. James
Parnell Hall
Peter Lovesey
Peter Robinson
Ralph McInerny
Reginald Bretnor
Reginald Hill
Rev. Robert E. Washer
Robert Adey
Robert B. Parker
Robert Barnard
Robert Bloch
Robert L. Fish
Ruth Cavin
Ruth Rendell
Sara Paretsky
Simon Brett
Sparkle Hayter
Stanley Ellin
Steve Stilwell
Sue Grafton
Thomas Perry
Tom Fontana
Tony Hillerman
Val McDermid
Walter B. Gibson
William Campbell Gault
William F. Deeck
William Kent Krueger
William Link


* In abstentia