A little over a week ago, we attended our first writing conference. Bouchercon—named for Anthony Boucher, a mystery writer and critic who helped found the Mystery Writers of America—brings together writers, booksellers, readers, and fans from across the globe for five days of panels, lectures, book signings, and special events. It’s essentially a celebration of books and storytelling, and we were excited to attend Bouchercon for the very first time!

Changing locations every year, the 55^th Bouchercon was held in Nashville, in a beautiful, enormous, glass-encased conference hotel (In his interview, Harlan Coben called it a terrarium and swore it was slowly rotating). About 1600 people joined us in Nashville for the convention, and we can say it was energizing and incredibly fun.

Highlights include:

There were a variety of panels presented every day: five sessions across the morning and afternoon, with a choice of six different panels in each session, so there was something for everyone—every subgenre of mystery and thriller writing was represented, along with panels for debut authors, co-authoring, craft sessions and everything in-between. The panels were fun, informative, and introduced us to lots of new authors and books to read! Jessica won two giveaways and got free books from the panelists. After each session, panelists hold book signings, so you can meet one of your favorite authors and get a copy of your book signed, or buy one at the on-site bookstore and have the writer sign it for you, all in the same place.

Other first-time attendees might not know, but registering for Bouchercon also gets you four tickets for the Book Bazaar—a room completely stocked with books that attendees can take, for free! New releases and old favorites are separated by publisher, and you get to exchange your tickets for books to take home with you. It’s a great value, if you like hardcovers, and an opportunity to grab books by attending authors and get them signed. We got ours early and are glad we did; some titles will sell out by the end of the first day.

Each year, Bouchercon invites special guests of honor to participate in special interviews and book signings, and this year the GOH included bestsellers like Harlan Coben, Brad Thor, and Rachel Howzell Hall. Attending their panels was a highlight of the weekend, and being able to meet these authors is something that only happens at Bouchercon!

Possibly the biggest highlight of the weekend was attending Opening Ceremonies, an evening event with incredible food where attendees celebrated the beginning of the conference and the announcement of several awards for long and short fiction: the Derringers, Seamus, and Barry Awards. Through an incredible series of circumstances we ended up sharing a table not only with the presenters for the Seamus and Barry awards, but also Dennis Lehane, which was about the coolest thing to ever happen. His novel Small Mercies won the Barry Award for Best Mystery or Crime Novel.

Next year’s event takes place in New Orleans. Whether you are published, an aspiring author, or just love books, Bouchercon has something for everyone. We had a great weekend and would highly recommend attending a future Bouchercon if the location is accessible to you! Leaving the conference, we couldn’t wait to get back to writing—unfortunately, our car didn’t feel the same way; we had a tire blow out on the drive back home and had to get towed from the highway to a tire shop to get a replacement put on. That was a little more excitement than we’d bargained for!