Mystery Book Conference/Convention Events Calendar

Key Information About the Listings

  • –> Last Updated On: 2/28/2024.
  • –> Sequence: In order, January through February. If you are reading this in the summer, for example, the dates and information for January through April events may reflect the following year, if that info is available.
  • –> Dates: “TBD” = Exact dates have not yet been made available.
  • –-> Location: Most events return to the same event town/city every year. A few events deliberately move around to different cities each year to provide a different atmosphere and to make it more accessible to people from different regions.
  • –> Link: Should take you to the conference website in a new tab or window. Most conferences do not display a “program” or “schedule” until 6-8 weeks before the start. They update their sites with what they know so far. Go on faith after considering their list of expected main speakers.
  • –> Awards: Not all conferences confer awards; not all awards are conferred at a “conference.”  Often the registered attendees are participants in the selection process. See – stopyourekillingme.com/Awards/index.html
  • –> The Focus Ratings: Most conferences say they welcome authors (writers) and fans (readers). Of course most authors are also readers. I am most interested in events that focus more toward the reader, and less interested if the focus seems to be more about “how to” write and sell a book. While nearly all of the conferences listed are at least a little bit appropriate for both, the focus varies considerably. The ratings are my views. Your experience may vary.
  • –> RATING CODE – Optimal for Fans (F): F3= relatively great for fans; F2= okay, it will be fun; F1= crumbs only.
  • –> RATING CODE – Optimal for Learning to be a Successful Writer (W): W3= highly useful [connecting w/agents or publishers discussed or even facilitated], W2= useful, W1= crumbs only.  I’m not a writer so take the writer ratings with a grain of salt.

MARCH: Left Coast Crime Conference

  • March 13-16, 2025
  • Denver, CO. (City location changes every year, but always in the west [left] side of North America.)
  • https://leftcoastcrime.org/2025/
  • Lefty Awards (Determined by nomination and vote by attendees).
  • Focus: F3 / W2. F3 due to quantity & variety of panels. They put effort into creating a few fun activities for fans.

APRIL: Malice Domestic

  • April 26-28, 2024
  • Bethesda, MD (Annually in the same city)
  • https://www.malicedomestic.org
  • Agatha Awards determined by registered attendees.
  • Focus: F3 / W1. F3 due to quantity & variety of panels. The type of books emphasized are all types of cozies; few thrillers.
  • Mission Statement: Established in 1989, Malice Domestic is an annual fan convention that takes place each year in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. Malice celebrates the Traditional Mystery, books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. The genre is loosely defined as mysteries which contain no explicit sex, or excessive gore or violence.
  • 2024 Featured Speakers (among the many):

MAY: CrimeFest

  • May 9-12, 2024
  • Bristol, England UK (Annually in the same city)
  • https://www.crimefest.com
  • Awards – Yes in about 7 categories. The method of selection is not clear, but appears to be based on attendee nominations and subsequent final voting.
  • Focus: F3 / W2. F3 due to quantity & variety of panels. But also because of some interactive quiz sessions and other “fun” activities.
  • About: CrimeFest is a convention for people who like to read an occasional crime novel as well as for die-hard fanatics. Drawing top crime novelists, readers, editors, publishers and reviewers from around the world, it gives all delegates the opportunity to celebrate the genre in a friendly, informal and inclusive atmosphere. It was created following the hugely successful one-off visit to Bristol in 2006 of the American Left Coast Crime convention. The British hosts were encouraged to continue with a similar annual event and, as a result, the first CrimeFest was organised in June 2008. The convention has grown to become not only one of the biggest crime fiction events in Europe, but also one of the most popular dates in the international crime fiction calendar.

MAY-JUNE: Capital Crime (London)

  • May 30-June 1, 2024
  • London, England (Annually in the same city)
  • https://www.capitalcrime.org
  • Fingerprint Awards (Determined by nomination and vote by attendees).
  • Focus: W2 / F3
  • 2024 Guest Authors include those shown below plus 100 others…

MAY-JUNE: Thrillerfest (New York)

  • May 31-June 1, 2024 (Friday and Saturday)
  • New York City, NY (Annually in the same city)
  • https://thrillerfest.com
  • Awards: Thriller Awards determined by members of the International Thriller Writers organization that puts on the conference.
  • NOTE: The week long Thrillerfest Conference includes a series of one and two day events including the fan-centered ThrillerFest Event on the last 2 days. The preceding days are events for helping new and medium weiters.
  • Focus: F3 / W3. F3 due to guaranteed slots for prominent, top-selling authors present. W3 due to the focus — on the preceding days! — on connecting new authors with tools, agents, and publishers. Probably the best out there. Look for MasterClass, CraftFest, QueryFest, and PitchFest that take place on the days before the final ThrillerFest. As a fan, register and pay for the “ThrillerFest & Banquet” package and skip the rest. Plan to be there by late Thursday May 30 for check-in, etc. Possible evening optional activities. Then it is all day Friday and Saturday.
  • Mission Statement: The International Thriller Writers is an honorary society of authors, both fiction and nonfiction, who write books broadly classified as “thrillers.” This would include (but isn’t limited to) such subjects as murder mystery, detective, suspense, horror, supernatural, action, espionage, true crime, war, adventure, and myriad similar subject areas.
  • A taste of the 2024 ThrillerFest- below

JUNE: Maine Crime Wave

  • June Date, 2024 – TBD
  • Portland ME – USM Campus (Annually in the same city)
  • https://www.mainewriters.org/maine-crime-wave
  • Awards – No.
  • Focus: F1 / W3. F1 the focus is on writing. But if your fav Maine crime fiction writer is there…! Or their national crime fiction master is a favorite of yours… It’s not far away and this could make it at least an F2

AUGUST: St Hilda’s College Crime Fiction Weekend

AUGUST: Killer Nashville

  • August 22-25, 2024
  • Nashville, TN (Annually in the same city)
  • https://www.killernashville.com
  • The Silver Falchion Award, in various categories.
  • Focus: F1 / W3. Totally geared for crime fiction writers.

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER: Bouchercon

  • August 28 – September 1, 2024 (Wed afternoon thru Sun noon)
  • Nashville, TN (City and national region location changes every year.)
  • https://bouchercon2024.com
  • Awards: (1) Anthony Awards – determined by nomination and vote by Bouchercon attendees; (2) Macavity Award – determined by subscribers to Mystery Readers International; (3) Barry Awards – determined by a nomination process developed by the editor of Deadly Pleasures magazine and then voted upon by its subscribers.
  • Focus: W2 / F2.5. One of the oldest and largest conferences and one that advertises “for fans by fans” – and yet panel slots are 95% filled by authors, agents, editors, or publishers. They have have top authors as guests of honor (which attracts many attendees) and one reader/fan that is honored for significant contributions to the mystery book reader world, but they need to make some top to bottom changes to live up to their slogan and get my F3. Still, I highly recommend it for fans.
  • Future Locations: 2025 – New Orleans; 2026 – Calgary.
  • 2024 Guests shown below….

SEPTEMBER: Bloody Scotland

  • September 13-15, 2024
  • Stirling, Scotland (Annually in the same city)
  • https://bloodyscotland.com
  • The McIlvanney Prize; Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year
  • Focus: F3 / W2. F3 due to absolutely the biggest number of top writers participating in a ’22 conference. Innovative, well-organized and many fun events.
  • Priding ourselves as the literary festival where you can let down your hair and enjoy a drink at the bar with your favourite crime writer, we strive to put on entertaining as well as informative events during a weekend in September, covering a range of criminal subjects from fictional forensics, psychological thrillers, tartan noir, cosy crime and many more. With an international focus at the heart of Bloody Scotland, we are always looking to bring in crime writing talent from outside of Scotland whom you may not have heard about. You might, however, knows us for our annual Scotland vs England football cup which always draws a crowd and inevitably ends in tears for someone…

SEPTEMBER: SleuthFest (Florida)

  • September 26 – 29, 2024
  • St Petersburg, Florida (Annually in a Florida city.)
  • https://sleuthfest.com
  • No Awards.
  • Focus: W3 / F1.
  • This conference is designed for mystery, thriller, and suspense fiction writers. SleuthFest provides writers at any point in their publishing journey with techniques to improve their craft, information on publishing, marketing, and the business of writing, along with insight from best-selling authors, industry professionals, and forensics experts. We also give authors networking opportunities that are an invaluable component of any writer’s toolkit. SleuthFest helps attendees achieve their publishing goals.

NOVEMBER: Mid-West Mystery Conference

  • Date: TBD (bi-annual?) Saturday Only
  • Chicago, IL (Annually in the same city)
  • http://midwestmysteryconference.com/
  • No Awards
  • Focus: W2 / F2.
  • The Midwest Mystery Conference is a bi-annual event featuring some of the Midwest’s top mystery/crime writers and a few of their friends, too. This event is perfect for crime readers and librarians hoping to find new books to read and aspiring crime writers hoping to learn about the mystery community and writing and publishing careers.

NOVEMBER: New England Crime Bake (Dedham, MA)

  • November 8-11, 2024
  • Dedham, MA (Annually in the same city)
  • https://www.crimebake.org/
  • No Awards
  • Focus: W3 / F1. Also pre-conference writer workshops.
  • 2024 Featured Guest Speaker: Gabino Iglesias

NOVEMBER: Iceland Noir

  • November 20-23, 2024
  • Reykjavík, Iceland (Annually in the same city)
  • https://icelandnoir.weebly.com
  • No Awards
  • Focus: W2 / F3. F3 due to expected author lineup. And…Location!
  • Iceland Noir is held in Reykjavík at the darkest time of year. Founded by internationally bestselling authors Ragnar Jónasson and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, the festival started as a celebration of crime fiction in 2013. Although the name has stayed the same, the festival has evolved and grown and we now welcome writers from many genres, and our program includes events on film and television. What brings everything together is the theme of darkness. . . .

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