Bouchercon, the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, is an annual convention

Fan convention

A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...

 of creators and devotees of mystery

Mystery fiction

Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...

 and detective fiction

Detective fiction

Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...

. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher

Anthony Boucher

Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...

.

It is held annually in the fall, each year being hosted in a different city by a different group of volunteers. The convention typically starts on Thursday and finishes on Sunday.

Each year, Bouchercon nominates and votes the Anthony Awards for excellence in crime fiction, including but not limited to: Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Short Story, Best Critical Non-Fiction, and Best Paperback Original.

People who attend are fans, authors, agents, booksellers, publishers and other people who read and enjoy mystery and crime fiction. The first one was held in Santa Monica, California (CA) in 1970. The guest of honor was Robert Bloch

Robert Bloch

Robert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of Psycho, the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock...

of Psycho fame.

Registered attendees of each Bouchercon are designated as 'members', and vote at the annual business meeting (held during the convention) on necessary business items. Bouchercon's governing body is its Standing Committee, which changes year to year, being made up of people who have hosted and will host the convention, and three at large members who are elected by the membership.

Locations and Lifetime Achievement Awards

	Year	Place	Lifetime Achievement Award
I	1970	Santa Monica, California	none
II	1971	Los Angeles, California	none
III	1972	Los Angeles, California	none
IV	1973	Boston, Massachusetts	none
V	1974	Oakland, California	none
VI	1975	Chicago, Illinois	none
VII	1976	Culver City, California	none
VIII	1977	New York, New York	none
IX	1978	Chicago, Illinois	none
X	1979	Los Angeles, California	none
XI	1980	Washington, D.C.	none
XII	1981	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	none
XIII	1982	San Francisco, California	none
XIV	1983	New York, New York	none
XV	1984	Chicago, Illinois	none
XVI	1985	San Francisco, California	none
XVII	1986	Baltimore, Maryland	none
XVIII	1987	Minneapolis, Minnesota	none
XIX	1988	San Diego, California	none
XX	1989	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Dorothy Salisbury Davis
XXI	1990	London, U.K.	Michael Gilbert
XXII	1991	Pasadena, California	William Campbell Gault
XXIII	1992	Toronto, Ontario	Charlotte MacLeod
XXIV	1993	Omaha, Nebraska	Hammond Innes and Ralph McInerny
XXV	1994	Seattle, Washington	Tony Hillerman
XXVI	1995	Nottingham, U.K.	none
XXVII	1996	St. Paul, Minnesota	none
XXVIII	1997	Monterey, California	Donald Westlake
XXIX	1998	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	none
XXX	1999	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Len Moffatt and June Moffatt
XXXI	2000	Denver, Colorado	Jane Langton
XXXII	2001	Washington, D.C.	Edward D. Hoch
XXXIII	2002	Austin, Texas	none
XXXIV	2003	Las Vegas, Nevada	none
XXXV	2004	Toronto, Ontario	Bernard Cornwell
XXXVI	2005	Chicago, Illinois	Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller
XXXVII	2006	Madison, Wisconsin	Robert B. Parker
XXXVIII	2007	Anchorage, Alaska	James Sallis
XXXIX	2008	Baltimore, Maryland	Lawrence Block
XL	2009	Indianapolis, Indiana	Allen J. Hubin
XLI	2010	San Francisco, California	Lee Child
XLII	2011	St. Louis, Missouri	Sara Paretsky