Leslie Karst

Bouchercon Recap-Blood on the Bayou

The biggest annual crime writing convention in the US (attracting some 1,500 attendees) is Bouchercon, named for the famed writer, reviewer, and editor, Anthony Boucher (rhymes with “voucher”). The first one was held in Santa Monica, California, in 1970. Little did I suspect as I started the ninth grade at Lincoln Junior High in Santa Monica that same year, that just minutes away was the start of something that some fifty years later would become such an important part of my own life.

This year, Bouchercon was held in New Orleans, and I was lucky enough to room with fellow Chick, Ellen Byron, who–having lived in NOLA for some years–acted as tour guide extraordinaire for the six days we were here. The convention ended yesterday, and five of us Chicks were in attendance: Ellen Byron, Lisa Q. Mathews, Jennifer Chow, Marla Cooper, and myself. Can you say FUN?

Here are some of the highlights (this is a rather long post, but mostly photos, so just scroll on down for an armchair trip to New Orleans!).

I arrived in New Orleans a day early so I could spend some time with my pal Valerie who lives here, and she was kind enough to drive us down the Gulf Coast for the day where we took in the beautiful water and local wildlife.

But the next day, it was time to head to the Bouchercon hotel, where some of the first folks I recognized were my beloved Les and Leslie Blatt. So we of course had to take our traditional “Three Leslies” photo:

I sat on my first panel on Wednesday, “Great Ensemble Casts,” and then headed over to be timekeeper for the “Wisecrackin’ Through Crime” panel including Chicks Ellen Byron (moderator) and Lisa Q. Mathews.

Next, time for quick bite with Lisa at the historic Napoleon House, where we enjoyed delicious Pimms Cups along with chicken and andouille gumbo.

Wednesday night started with the fabulous Cozies and Cocktails hosted by our own Ellen Byron along with Raquel V. Reyes.

And this was followed by the Sisters in Crime reception, celebrating 40 years for the marvelous organization.

And a reunion of five of the Chicks: Marla Cooper, Ellen Byron, yours truly, Jennifer J. Chow, and Lisa Q. Mathews.

Wednesday morning, Ellen took several of us on a walking tour of the Vieux Carré, aka the French Quarter.

St. Louis Cathedral

dapper local gentleman

obligatory stop at Café du Monde for coffee and beignets

Later that morning, I was on the “Cozies that Will Wine and Dine You” panel with Mia P. Manansala (moderator), Valerie Burns, Nancy Coco, Raquel V. Reyes, and Sharon Lynn. Good fun, but it made me hungry.

After sitting at the Left Coast Crime table, talking up the conference to be held next February in San Francisco (where I’ll be toastmaster!) with the marvelous Lucinda Surber and Stan Ulrich,

it was time for the Bouchercon Second Line parade to the WWII museum for the opening ceremonies.

Friday morning: At 6:30 am, Ellen and I roust ourselves from bed and stumble down to partner for the Speed Dating event, where authors go from table to table, getting two minutes to give an elevator pitch about their books to the readers in attendance.

That night, all five Chicks in attendance, along with authors Raquel V. Reyes and Libby Klein, had dinner together at the amazing Arnaud’s restaurant, where we were treated to a tour of their museum beforehand–a collection of one of the past owner’s Mardi Gras gowns from the mid-1900s. Simply fabulous! (I had sweetbreads meunière, shrimp bisque, and asparagus with Hollandaise sauce for dinner–delicious!

At Arnaud’s–cheers!

Afterwards was the Underrepresented Voices Celebration, with a meet-and-greet, raffles, and bingo. Here I am with Audrey Lee and Rob Osler:

Saturday morning I got up at the ungodly hour of five am to go on a walk along the canal in Bywater down to the Mississipi River with my pal Valerie and her adorable but rambunctious Dobermans, Tristan and Freya:

And then a trip to the Holt Cemetery, a “potter’s field” (aka a burial ground for the poor, unidentified, or unclaimed), with gravestones dating back the the late 1800s and magnificent live oak trees.

Next it was off with Ellen and Dru Ann Love to the iconic Dew Drop Inn–considered one of the most influential venues in the development of rhythm and blues–for brunch and revue of R&B and early rock ‘n roll music. The house band and singers were outstanding!

Saturday night was the Anthony Awards ceremonies, where two of our illustrious Chicks, Ellen and Jen, were nominated in the cozy/humorous panel. The award ended up going to Rob Osler (congrats, Rob!), but I’m so proud of El and Jen for their noms!

Here’s an amusing frozen closed-caption monitor from one of the afternoon’s panels that I saw on my way to the restroom before the awards ceremony:

On Sunday morning, our last full day in New Orleans, Ellen and I went to the gospel mass at St. Augustine’s Church in the Tremé neighborhood. So fun to get to sing along to uplifting songs and clap your hands in church! We weren’t allowed to take photos during the service, of course, but here’s one I shot afterwards:

And then, on Sunday evening, Ellen and I did an author event at Blue Cypress Books, a great way to cap off a terrific week in beautiful New Orleans! And they even provided bubbly for all of us!

To top off a perfect day–and week– we went to Boil Seafood House for some Louisiana shrimp boil, blue crab (see photo at top for a live version), and charbroiled oysters. I was in heaven.

Thanks for following along with my Bouchercon adventures, and I hope you enjoyed the trip to New Orleans!

Readers: Have you ever attended mystery (or other) conventions? Do you have any favorites? Have you ever been to New Orleans?

39 thoughts on “Bouchercon Recap-Blood on the Bayou”

  1. LESLIE: I am soooo happy to see these photos of you at this year’s NOLA Bouchercon and nearby locations. And a Chicks reunion is so fab.

    I went to the 2016 NOLA Bouchercon (same hotel & main organizer) and it was one of the best conventions ever, and I have been going since 1992. We also did a Second Line parade but down Canal St with full GOH floats. We carriedumbrellas and wore beads since it was raining.

    Since it was my first time in NOLA, I stayed there for 2 weeks. Ellen Byron did give me great recommendations for gumbo and pralines. I also did a French Quarter food walking tour, cemetery tour, swamp tour & plantation tour before/after Bouchercon.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. How fun that they had floats for your parade! And I agree: as far as locations go, this has for sure been my favorite B’con. NOLA reminds me so much of an Old World city–so fun to hang out (and eat) in! And I’m so so sorry that you couldn’t be here. xoxo

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. My first was the 1977 World Science Fiction Convention in Miami, FL – I was still in college. At the time, I read a LOT of science fiction, so it was a thrill to meet so many sf authors, most of whom were gracious to the fans. Over the years, I’ve attended some smaller Star Trek conventions (CreativeCon events), where I met some of my favorite Star Trek actors (James Doohan and George Takei were both super-nice!). Other than that, I’ve attended American Library Association Conferences. I’ve visited New Orleans a number of times over the years, starting in 1988 – mostly for ALA conferences. My husband loves the food there. He bought a cookbook from one of the local publishers in 1988, and ever since then he has cooked gumbo and chicken sauce piquante at home, among other dishes.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  3. hestia here.

    thank you for all the pictures and the wonderful descriptions. It looks like you did just about everything in New Orleans except for Mardi Gras. This sounds like a whirlwind, I’ll bet you all are sleeping for the next week. hope. The post for the rest of the week are already done and on automatic posting mode.

    i’ve never been about Bouchercon. 1500 people? I’m not sure if I could even handle that many. Especially in the city I know nothing about. I could see me spending the entire time trying to find one familiar face. But, I will probably be going when it is in DC in a couple years.

    i’ve been to some conventions over the last couple decades. But nothing really, really big. In two weeks I’m going to the creature’s crimes and creativity conference in Maryland. I’m very excited, because there’s people there I can’t wait to see. And they will have some panels where I will be writing down everything that is said.

    because, I am self publishing my first actually Compton book with a release date of October 23. I started advertising today.

    so if any of the chicks feel drained over the next six weeks, it’s my fault. I am pulling every chick five I can for my courage.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. OMG, I’m so excited to hear this news about your upcoming book, Hestia–can’t wait to read it! Huzzah! And congrats!

      As for the size of Bouchercon, yes, that is a drawback. But I can always manage to find my people, and we hang our in our own small groups, which makes it easier to handle.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. Sounds like so much fun! I attended in Nashville last year and am hoping to be in Calgary in 2026. Have to get Left-Coast on my radar soon. Malice has become a new favorite because it is smaller and so much more personal. Wish they would move it around though. I love the opportunity to visit different cities. Love New Orleans and am so glad you all had such a grand time, but with such an almost native daughter, Ellen as a guide it is to be expected!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  6. Love all these photos, Leslie! (Also, kinda jealous since I didn’t get to explore beyond the French Quarter.) Bouchercon was such a lovely time; I think I finally got the right mix of balancing meeting new people, hanging out with friends, and exploring a little of the city. Plus, I got to room with Marla! It was my first time in New Orleans, so I enjoyed soaking in the atmosphere–and eating all that good food!

    As for conventions, I’ve been to the usual mystery ones: Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime, and Malice Domestic. I’ve also been part of two comic conventions: L.A. Comic Con & WonderCon.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  8. Sounds like a fabulous time. I was here working since it is quarter end.

    I’ve only been to Left Coast Crime and Bouchercon when they were in So Cal. In fact, the first two LCC’s I went to, I stayed at home and just drove in for the days. Easy enough to do when they were were in Pasadena and downtown LA. I was planning to stay at the infamous LCC in San Diego in 2020. For Bouchercon, I stayed in Long Beach that year, and I did spent two nights in San Diego for the one day I was there in 2023.

    And I’ve been to Malice a few times as well.

    Conventions are always fun, and I wish I could go to more. But they often conflict with work deadlines, sadly.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      1. I’d gone down the day before, so I stayed there overnight. But I left after the panel I moderated was done (and they’d canceled the rest of the convention) that Thursday.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  9. Thanks for the Bouchercon travelogue! I attended my first in Minneapolis – it was just 90 minutes from my front door – and hope to be in D.C. in 2027. Judging by all the pics/posts I’ve seen, NOLA organizers really leveled up!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  10. It was so great hanging out with the Chicks, and I loved this fun recap! It felt like going to summer camp and having all your friends there. Les bon temps did, in fact, roulez!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  11. Awesome photos and recap of a great conference, Leslie! So glad I got to share my first time in NOLA with several of us Chicks and other amazing friends. Never would have thought I’d be behind you in a second line…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Since I am a Northern CA gal who has never visited New Orleans, I love that you have been sharing photos! It’s fun to see some of my favorite authors out and about!

    Like

    Reply

  15. I have never been to a writer’s convention, but NOLA is one of our favorite places. We started going there in 1976 on Memorial Day. Just us. The next year, we had another couple join us and this continued for six years and six couples, one each year. We loved it. Then we did not go again until later. We would drive there to meet our friends from Texas and spend Thanksgiving there for six years or more. I forget what year we started but I think that it was around 2013, but we stopped doing it in 2019. We always stayed at the St. Charles Inn as they took dogs. It used to be a Best Western and was a great place to stay and we knew everyone. Sometimes we went twice a year. We did it all and ate it all. We love that place and want to go again. Someday, I want to go to a write’s conference. I see that you will be in San Fran next year, which is another favorite that we used to visit frequently. I won’t go there again, but will keep reading and watching. You all went to so many of our favorites. AS they say, “Cher is sum goot gumbo!”

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to Grace Koshida Cancel reply