Bouchercon2026: Calgary: Full Schedule

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7:00am MDT

Friday October 23, 2026 7:00am - 9:00am MDT

One-minute introductions to 30 newly published writers. Enjoy breakfast with one of them, then hear from each of the authors as they are introduced by a special guest. This event is a fan favourite, so you'll want to line up early! Free breakfast for the first 250 attendees. Sponsored by Louise Penny.

Friday October 23, 2026 7:00am - 9:00am MDT
Exhibit Hall

9:00am MDT

Bold Heroines who Make Bad Decisions, but We Love Them

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT

Macleod D

Do they give us hope or drive us crazy? Does their outlandish behaviour set a good example for girls?

Moderators

Donalee Moulton

Donalee Moulton published Hung out to Die in 2023. A historical mystery, Conflagration!, won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery. Bind and Melt, the first in a new series, the Lotus Detective Agency, were published last year. Her first paranormal mystery, Cardinal... Read More →

Speakers

Sherryl Clark

Sherryl's crime thrillers are mostly set in Australia and NZ, and are often sparked by real crimes. Her first novel, Trust Me, I'm Dead, was shortlisted for two CWA awards. Her most recent novel, For All the Dead Girls, featuring PI Lou Alcott, was published in June 2026. She is currently... Read More →

Faith Gardner

Faith Gardner is a Bay Area author of more than a dozen psychological suspense novels, including Breakneck Bay, The Mirror House Girls, and her latest, The Spin. A lifelong fan of Hitchcock, true crime, and the stranger corners of history, she writes stories about secrets, obsession... Read More →

Cathy Ace

Cathy Ace’s Cait Morgan Mysteries feature a globetrotting Welsh Canadian criminal psychologist who solves traditional whodunits alongside her retired-cop husband, Bud Anderson (Eve Myles will portray Cait in the TV production by Free@LastTV). Her WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries... Read More →

Lisa de Nikolits

Lisa de Nikolits is the award-winning author of twelve novels, including Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon (2025). Her work has been recognized by the International Book Awards and the Sunburst Award, translated into Italian, and published in numerous anthologies including the Crime Writers... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

Bouchercon 101

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT

Glen 201

Suggestions for getting the most out of Bouchercon and having the stamina to keep going

Moderators

Local Organizing Committee Members

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 201

9:00am MDT

Celebrating the Heist Caper, Successful or Not

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT

Glen 203

From million dollar museum robberies to grandparent phone scams, the world is ripe for heists. Not all of them succeed.

Moderators

Kevin Jagernauth

Kevin Jagernauth is a pop culture critic who has written about cinema, music, and literature for over twenty years. Born in Ottawa, he currently resides in Montreal. The Longest Death is his first novel.

Speakers

Holly West

Holly West is the author of the Mistress of Fortune historical mystery series and the Anthony Award-winning editor of Killin’ Time in San Diego, the 2023 Bouchercon anthology. Her most recent project is a short story for the upcoming Monkees-inspired anthology, Daydream Believer... Read More →

Scott Von Doviak

Scott Von Doviak is the author of the Edgar and Anthony Award-nominated novel Lowdown Road, which Stephen King called “a f**king great story.” His debut novel Charlesgate Confidential was named one of the top 10 crime novels of 2018 by the Wall Street Journal. He spent two decades... Read More →

Claire Booth

Claire Booth is a former journalist whose writing career took her from Missouri to Washington, D.C., Florida, the Seattle region, and the Bay Area. She spent years covering crimes so strange they seemed more like fiction than reality. Eventually, she had enough of the real world and... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

Debut Publishing

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT

Glen 206

The first publication is a hard slog. It’s also a time for celebration.

Moderators

Hilary Faktor

Hilary Faktor is a writer shaped by the boreal forest and the rhythms of a northern mining town. Her debut novel, Pretty Bird, a contemporary, coming-of-age thriller that transports readers from modern-day Toronto to an isolated Saskatchewan farm, will be published in October 2026... Read More →

Speakers

Karen Knutson

Karen Knutson, a writer and former practicing care manager and nurse practitioner, drew on her twenty years as a nurse care manager in Charlotte, North Caroline for her debut novel, Expert Witness. She has a master's degree in nursing, an MBA and personal experience as an expert witness... Read More →

Liz Rachel Walker

Liz Rachel Walker’s debut historical mystery, The Dieppe Secret, will be published by Allison & Busby in summer 2027. A young detective in 1942 London must unmask a killer inside Britain’s spy service before a German mole turns the Allies’ next invasion into a massacre. An award-winning... Read More →

Kevin P. Bartlett

Kevin P. Bartlett has degrees in history and in physics. This mix of interests is reflected in his debut novel, Timebomb (Sharpe Books), which weaves a plot of espionage around historical events in the early days of atomic research. He lives in Victoria with his wife, the writer Liz... Read More →

Nikolett Popovics

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 206

9:00am MDT

Submitting to Anthologies and Short Story Publishers

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT

Glen 208

There have been several significant changes in the short story market. What’s the best way to submit in this changing environment?

Moderators

Pamela Donison

Pamela Donison, JD, has been a writer in one iteration or other her entire life. These days, she writes mystery, thriller, and literary fiction with a dash of feminine rage. Pamela is the 2024-2025 president of Sisters in Crime Canada West Chapter, and is a member of Crime Writers... Read More →

Speakers

Avram Lavinsky

Avram Lavinsky has written twenty-five stories published or accepted for publication in esteemed magazines and anthologies, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and several best-of compilations. In a starred review, ALA Booklist called his story “Playing God” a “particular... Read More →

E.A. Aymar

Booklist wrote, of multiple Anthony Award-nominated E.A. Aymar’s most recent thriller, When She Left “This would appeal to fans of Elmore Leonard…with high-stakes violence tempered by humor and disarmingly sympathetic antiheroes.” A former contributor to the Washington Post... Read More →

Mysti Berry

Mysti Berry edited and published the award-winning Low Down Dirty Vote anthology series, which raised $25k for US voting rights. She lives in San Francisco with husband Dale Berry and a black rescue cat. Her short stories have been published in EQMM, AHMM, and other anthologies, with... Read More →

Puja Guha

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

The Dawn of Modern Forensics

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT

Macleod BC

How forensics developed in North America 1910 to 1940

Moderators

K.K. Cathers

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod BC

9:45am MDT

Book Signing: Kathy Reichs

Friday October 23, 2026 9:45am - 10:15am MDT

Macleod A

Meet Kathy Reichs!

Friday October 23, 2026 9:45am - 10:15am MDT
Macleod A 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Anthony Nominees Paperbacks, E-Books, Audiobook Originals

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT

Glen 201

Come and hear the Nominees in these categories

Moderators

Olyn Fleming Ozbick

Olyn writes domestic crime thrillers with paranormal elements for books and movies. Editor of 2026 Bouchercon Anthology, she works with writer to bring sharp, intelligent crime stories reflecting our world to audiences at Bouchercon and beyond. An award-winning screenwriter, her adaptation... Read More →

Speakers

James L'Etoile

James L'Etoile uses twenty-nine years behind bars to influence his award-winning crime fiction. He is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, and director of California’s parole system. His novels have been shortlisted or awarded the Lefty... Read More →

Lina Chern

Lina Chern is the author of Play the Fool, winner of the 2024 Mary Higgins Clark Award and nominee for the 2024 Lefty and Anthony Awards. A sequel, Tricks of Fortune, has been nominated for an Anthony Award. Lina has also written trivia questions, poetry, word puzzles for a TV game... Read More →

Tracy Clark

Tracy Clark is the author of the Cass Raines Chicago Mystery series and the Detective Harriet Foster series. She is a multi-nominated Anthony, Lefty, Edgar, International Thriller Writers, Macavity, and Shamus Award finalist, the 2020 and 2022 winner of the G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue... Read More →

Bruce Robert Coffin

Bruce Robert Coffin is an international bestselling author and retired detective sergeant. He is the author of the Detective Byron and Detective Justice mysteries, and the co-author (with LynDee Walker) of the Turner and Mosley Files. He has won Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion... Read More →

Heather Levy

Heather Levy is a graduate of Oklahoma City University’s Red Earth MFA program for creative writing. The New York Times called her Anthony-nominated debut Walking Through Needles “spellbinding” and Publisher’s Weekly says her thriller Hurt for Me “delivers both heat and... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 201

10:15am MDT

As Real as it Gets: What’s Harder to Write, Fiction or True Crime?

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT

Macleod D

True crime: drama, suspense, heartbreak. Flip side: grieving, angry families and story lines that refuse to conform to deadlines.

Moderators

Stephen Kimber

Award-winning author Stephen Kimber’s Mick Blackwell detective series launches October 6. Traitor’s Game, set in 1940 in Halifax, Canada, the North American city closest to the real war in Europe, is part police procedural, part historical fiction, part spy thriller … and, oh... Read More →

Speakers

Wendy Whitman

Wendy Whitman worked at Court TV and HLN's Nancy Grace show, covering almost every major high-profile murder case in America. Whitman previously worked for comedians Lily Tomlin and George Carlin. She has received three Telly Awards and two GLAAD nominations. Whitman has published... Read More →

Rick Mofina

Rick Mofina is a USA Today, Toronto Star, and Globe and Mail, bestselling author of more than 30 thrillers that have been published in nearly 30 countries. He has twice won the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence. A Barry Award winner, and a multiple finalist for ITW’s Thriller... Read More →

Deborah Levison

Deborah Levison is an author and coffee fiend who ping-pongs between Connecticut and Canada. Her award-winning books include The Crate, a true crime story of a murder involving her family, A Nest of Snakes, inspired by real-life abuses in elite boarding schools, and A Novel Crime... Read More →

Aggie Blum Thompson

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Dark, Scary Thrillers

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT

Glen 203

Books to read with the lights on . . . or not. Where is the heart of darkness? What makes books too scary?

Moderators

Barbara Gayle Austin

Barbara Gayle Austin writes crime fiction. Originally from Texas, Austin spent years in corporate finance, working for international companies in Europe, before turning to writing full time. She now lives in Amsterdam with her two children and her dog. Austin’s debut thriller, What... Read More →

Speakers

Carolyn Arnold

Carolyn Arnold is an international bestselling, award-winning author of fast-paced crime thrillers and realistic police procedurals. Known for compelling detectives like Madison Knight and Amanda Steele, her novels blend gripping suspense, authentic investigations, and relentless... Read More →

Alexandra Ryan

Alexandra Ryan is a paranormal mystery author known for blending sharp humor, emotional grit, and rule‑breaking twists. Her work mixes the uncanny with the unexpected, delivering fast‑paced stories full of voice and attitude. She publishes under Oddity House Publishing, and writes... Read More →

Andrew Ludington

Andrew Ludington is the Compton Crook award nominated author of the Rabbit Ward series, including Splinter Effect and Double Shadow. Book Trib says, "Like HG Wells, [Ludington] gives us just enough fact to keep us believing in the fiction, penning a book that would make Michael Crichton... Read More →

Robyn Harding

Robyn Harding is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Strangers In The Villa, The Haters, The Drowning Woman, The Perfect Family, The Swap, The Arrangement, Her Pretty Face, and The Party. She is a two-time finalist for the Crime Writers of Canada best crime novel... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Deadly Canada

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT

Glen 206

Polite Canadians? Peace, order and good government? Think again. In a writer’s imagination no place in Canada is safe.

Moderators

Wayne Arthurson

Wayne Arthurson is a writer and literary agent of Cree descent from Edmonton. He is the author of eight novels, including three from his Leo Desroches crime series and two from his Sergeant Neumann Mystery series. His book, The Red Chesterfield, won the 2020 Crime Writers of Canada... Read More →

Speakers

Dave Sweet

With 25 years of policing experience, Detective Dave Sweet (retired) has investigated some of Canada’s most heinous crimes. Over his career, Dave worked as a patrol officer and undercover police officer, and led task forces targeting gangs and organized crime groups operating in... Read More →

Anthony Bidulka

Anthony Bidulka's body of work features his Saskatchewan roots and underrepresented, diverse main characters. Bidulka was the first Canadian to be awarded the Lambda Literary Award for Best Men’s Mystery and Going to Beautiful is the 2023 winner of the Crime Writers of Canada Award... Read More →

Charlotte Morganti

A former lawyer, now an award-winning author, Charlotte Morganti sets her mysteries in small towns that miraculously harbour both villains and the sleuths who pursue them. She and her husband live on the Sunshine Coast of Canada, where it's mostly sunny, except when it's raining... Read More →

M.H. Callway

M. H. Callway is the author of 20+ works of short fiction and the critically acclaimed thriller, Windigo Fire. She has been short-listed for the Debut Dagger, Derringer and several CWC Awards. In 2013, Madeleine and Donna Carrick co-founded the Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem, a... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 206

10:15am MDT

Hop, Bounce, Flip, Pounce, Lunge, Trip, Ricochet, Duck

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT

Macleod BC

How to make a living even if you're not a genius

Moderators

Hart Hanson

Hart Hanson is best known for creating the television series Bones (based on books by Kathy Reichs) which ran for 12 seasons, the longest-running scripted hour-long series in Fox history. Hart started writing in his native Canada for CBC television shows The Beachcombers, North ... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Macleod BC

10:15am MDT

Nuts and Bolts of Archival Research

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT

Glen 208

Finding and accessing archival material: so many archives are in far away places. A Google search isn’t enough research. What to do?

Moderators

Jaima Fixsen

Jaima Fixsen is a USA Today and internationally bestselling Alberta author whose crime fiction blends history, medicine, and suspense. Her novel The Specimen was a finalist for the 2025 Crime Writers of Canada Best Novel Award. Trained as an occupational therapist, she writes about... Read More →

Speakers

Frances McNamara

Frances McNamara grew up in Boston, where her father served as Police Commissioner. She is the author of the Nutshell Murder Mystery series featuring "Mother of Forensic Science" Frances Glessner Lee. Book 4 is Unpapered Bedroom Murder in a Nutshell July 2026. Death at the Chicago... Read More →

David Dominé

David Dominé is a Louisville author, historian, translator, and tour guide whose true-crime memoir A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City inspired the HBO Original docuseries Murder in Glitterball City. He is currently writing The Curse of Bardstown and a mystery series featuring drag... Read More →

Karen Odden

USA Today bestselling author Karen Odden received her PhD in English from NYU, writing on Victorian literature. The author of six crime novels set in 1870s England, her work has been nominated for the Lefty, Anthony, Agatha, and Derringer awards. Her newest, An Artful Dodge, about... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

11:30am MDT

Anthony Nominees Best Hard Cover and Best First Novel

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT

Glen 201

Come and hear the Nominees in this categories

Moderators

Hilary Davidson

Bestselling author Hilary Davidson’s latest novel, Every Lie I Told, was published in June 2026. She’s written a mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Lily Moore and another featuring NYPD detective Sheryn Sterling, several standalone novels, two short-story collections and... Read More →

Speakers

Michael Rigg

Anthony and Agatha-nominated author Michael Rigg, an attorney for more than four decades, writes mysteries and thrillers set in two very different locations: Virginia Beach (where he lives) and New Orleans (which he visits as often as possible “for research,” including membership... Read More →

Sue Hincenbergs

Sue Hincenbergs is a former television producer who started writing when she was 60. Her debut novel The Retirement Plan was a Canadian #1 bestseller, has been nominated for five major crime and humor writing awards including an Anthony for Best First Novel, has been translated into... Read More →

Laurie L. Dove

Laurie L. Dove is an award-winning journalist and the bestselling author of Mask of the Deer Woman(PRH), a debut currently nominated for an Anthony Award for Best First Novel. The second novel in the Carrie Starr series, Cry of the Rain Crow, releases December 2026. Dove is a keynote... Read More →

Adrian Andover

Adrian Andover is the Lefty Award and Agatha Award-winning author of the Mixology Lounge Mysteries series, including Whiskey Businessand Pour Choices. When he's not reading, writing, revising, or publishing a story, he enjoys long walks, attending live music events, and spending quality... Read More →

Delia Pitts

Delia PItts worked as a journalist before earning a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago. After careers as a U.S. diplomat and university administrator, Delia authored the Vandy Myrick mysteries, featuring a Black private investigator in New Jersey. She won the Shamus award... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 201

11:30am MDT

Changing Face of Short Fiction

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT

Glen 203

From 100 word mini-stories to shared worlds to filler stories that enhance series, short stories are all over the place.

Moderators

Debra H. Goldstein

Judge Debra H. Goldstein is the award-winning author of With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying, a collection of her short stories, Kensington’s Sarah Blair mystery series, and standalones Maze in Blue and Should Have Played Poker. She is Vice-President of Sisters in Crime Worldwide... Read More →

Speakers

Merrilee Robson

Merrilee Robson has published over 40 short stories in Canada, the UK, and the USA, appearing in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, The People’s Friend, and various anthologies. Her mystery novel, Murder is Uncooperative, is set in a non-profit housing... Read More →

Michelle Kubitz

Michelle Kubitz lives in Minnesota and has roots in the farmlands of northeast Iowa. A member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Kubitz previously received the Hugh Holton Award recognizing promising new writers by the MWA – Midwest Chapter. Her unpublished... Read More →

Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Andrew is the author of the critically acclaimed Mercury Carter thriller series including The Mailman and The Delivery, the Shamus-Award-nominated Andy Hayes private eye series, and the standalone crime novel The End of the Road. Editor of Columbus Noir, Andrew’s short fiction has... Read More →

Victor De Anda

Victor De Anda is an author living and writing in the Philadelphia area. His story Bad Man Down is included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2025, edited by Don Winslow and Steph Cha. His novelette They Eat Their Own is part of the crime/thriller anthology Myopic Duplicity... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

11:30am MDT

Crime Writing Economics: Royalties, Advances, and the Big Break Myth

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT

Glen 208

What are hidden and not so hidden costs of publishing a book? What part does the author play?

Moderators

Jessica Waite

Jessica Waite is a best-selling author and award-winning essayist whose debut memoir, The Widow’s Guide to Dead Bastards, was a Globe 100 Best Book of 2024. Jessica advocates for the healing power of storytelling, and the connective power of truth. She lives on Treaty 7 territory... Read More →

Speakers

W. Michael Gear

W. Michael Gear is the international and New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 56 novels with over 18 million copies in print. His work has been translated into 30 languages. Gear was inducted into the Western Writers Hall of Fame in 2021 and has won numerous national... Read More →

Mike Faricy

Mike Faricy is the successful crime fiction author of five different crime fiction series and ninety-five books. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota and Dublin, Ireland. His books are not about someone saving the world or stopping a nuclear attack. Rather his books are about local situations... Read More →

Neal Bailey

Neal Bailey writes novels, comics, and poetry. His novels include the Hal Taylor mystery series (Muscle and Blood, Owe My Soul), the Glory Cycle, and multiple standalone novels, including Esoteria (fantasy/horror), Blue Monday (sci-fi/pre-apocalypse), and Wilder (action/thriller... Read More →

Otto Penzler

Otto Penzler is the president and CEO of Penzler Publishers. He’s also the proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City and is regarded as the world’s foremost authority on crime, mystery, and suspense fiction. He has won a Raven Award, an Ellery Queen Award, and two... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

11:30am MDT

Crime Writing with a Social Conscience

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT

Glen 206

Tough times produce tough stories. That doesn’t mean stories which are hard to read don’t keep us enthralled.

Moderators

James L'Etoile

Speakers

James Queally

James Queally is a veteran criminal justice reporter at the Los Angeles Times and arbiter of fact from nonsense. He is the author of the Russell Avery novels from Counterpoint Press, which follows the ex-journalist turned P.I. as he digs into police killings, wrongful convictions... Read More →

Sara Paretsky

Sara Paretsky revolutionized the mystery world in 1982 when she introduced her Chicago detective, V.I. Warshawski, in Indemnity Only. Twenty-one V.I. novels followed, along with two non-series novels and two non-fictions. In 1986 she created Sisters in Crime, now a worldwide organization... Read More →

Robin Yocum

Robin Yocum is known for his fiction set in the Ohio Valley. He’s the author of 7 novels and 2 true crime books. His latest novel, The Last Hitman, was released in 2025 by Crooked Lane Books. Favorite Sons was the 2011 USA Book News Book of the Year for Mystery/Suspense. A Brilliant... Read More →

Raquel V. Reyes

Raquel V. Reyes is the first Latina to be traditionally published in the cozy mystery genre. Mango, Mambo, and Murder won a LEFTY for Best Humorous Mystery & is being adapted for the screen as Miami Spice. Her novels have been nominated for Agatha and Anthony Awards. Her short stories... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 206

11:30am MDT

International Thrillers

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT

Macleod D

Sponsored by Crooked Lane Books: Why do we need thrillers when we have the news? Because fictionalized situations help us understand different points of view.

Moderators

James Byrne

James Byrne is the pen name of Dana Haynes, who lives and writes in one of the coolest cities on Earth: Portland, Oregon. He has published 13 mysteries and thrillers, including Chain Reaction, released in 2025 and nominated for Best Series Mystery by the International Thriller Writers... Read More →

Speakers

Joe Battaglia

Joe Battaglia is a storytelling powerhouse with three decades of Olympic-fueled journalism. For over 20 years, he helped shape NBC Olympics’ coverage—from Beijing 2008 to Sochi 2014—capturing athletes’ sweat, shattered dreams, and euphoric triumphs. A veteran journalist, producer... Read More →

Mark Greaney

Mark Greaney is the #1 NYT Bestselling Author of The Gray Man series, the 15th of which, The Hard Line, was released in February 2026. The film version of his first novel, The Gray Man, was released in July 2022 starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans. He is also the author or co-a... Read More →

Libby Fischer Hellmann

Libby Fischer Hellmann left a career in broadcast news in Washington, DC and moved to Chicago a long time ago, where she, naturally, began to write gritty crime fiction. She soon began writing historical fiction as well. Eighteen novels and twenty-five short stories later, she claims... Read More →

Jennifer Sadera

Jennifer Sadera worked at national women’s magazines Woman’s World and Redbook before writing novels. Her debut domestic suspense, I Know She Was There won the 2025 gold medal IPPY Award for Best Suspense/Thriller and 2025 Judges’ Top Pick in Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

11:30am MDT

Spotlight Interview: P.J. Vernon

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT

Macleod BC

Join Chris Marrs in conversation with 2026 Toastmaster Guest of Honour P.J. Vernon

Moderators

Chris Marrs

Chris Marrs is a horror writer living in Calgary, Alberta. Her short stories have been published in various anthologies, notably the Bram Stoker Award winning The Library of the Dead (Written Backwards, 2015) She has also had novellas published with small press. Fall 2026 will see... Read More →

Speakers

P.J. Vernon

P. J. Vernon was born in South Carolina. Called a "rising star thriller writer" by Library Journal, Vernon's debut, When You Find Me, was both an Audible Plus #1 Listen and Associated Press Top Ten U.S. Audiobook. His most recent novel, Bath Haus, has been praised as "a nightmari... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Macleod BC

1:45pm MDT

Crime Around The World, Part 2

Friday October 23, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT

Glen 203

A second chance to visit crime fiction around the world. Four more authors, more countries, more stories.

Moderators

Puja Guha

Speakers

A.C. Frieden

A.C. Frieden writes gripping, high-stakes international thrillers grounded in real-world experience. A tech lawyer, seaplane pilot, former military sniper, and molecular biologist, he draws on travels to over 80 countries to shape his acclaimed Jonathan Brooks series, including The... Read More →

Stanley Trollip (Michael Stanley)

Stanley Trollip writes the Detective Kubu novels with Michael Sears under the name Michael Stanley. The latest is Dead Wrong (2026). They also wrote a thriller about rhino poaching, Dead of Night, set in South Africa, featuring investigative journalist Crystal Nguyen. Stanley also... Read More →

Roopa Unnikrishnan

Roopa Unnikrishnan—Rhodes Scholar, Arjuna Awardee, and Commonwealth Games gold medalist—swaps rifle ranges and boardrooms for murder and misdirection. An award-winning author, she crafts twisty, character-driven mysteries like The Jasmine Murders from her New York City home, which... Read More →

Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier

Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier’s work has appeared in EQMM, The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023, and other anthologies. Originally from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Ashley writes mysteries highlighting the vibrant culture of her home. She is a 2023 and 2026 Derringer finalist... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

1:45pm MDT

I Have Your Back: Camaraderie and Character Development

Friday October 23, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT

Glen 201

What can be taken from military and military adjacent experiences and transformed into realistic, well-rounded characters?

Moderators

Steve Stratton

Steve Stratton has worked at the White House and US Secret Service. He is a retired Green Beret and the author of four award winning novels, two novellas, and several short stories. His latest novel, Dances with Arrows is available now and is part of the Mongol Moon universe.

Speakers

Steven Konkoly

Steven Konkoly is the Wall Street Journal and repeated #1 Amazon bestseller of over twenty thrillers. Steven graduated from the United States Naval Academy, receiving a bachelor of science in English literature. He served the next eight years on active duty, traveling the world as... Read More →

Stuart Field

Stuart was born and raised in the West Midlands in the UK. At 17 and a half, he joined the army, where he served for 22 years. Stuart now works in armed security and, in his spare time, writes crime and thriller novels. As well as John Steel novels, Stuart has written the new Ronin... Read More →

Jack Murphy

Jack Murphy is an investigative journalist who writes national security news focused on the special operations and intelligence community for The High Side. He also hosts The Team House podcast, and is the author of a number of military thrillers, a memoir, and the non-fiction book... Read More →

Jason Allison

Bronx-born and raised, Jason Allison is a former NYPD homicide detective and an award-winning writer. His debut novel, The Killing Yards, set in the early 90’s New York City club scene, will be published in September 2026 by Crooked Lane Books.

Friday October 23, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 201

1:45pm MDT

It Can’t Be Just Money: What Motivates Private Investigators?

Friday October 23, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT

Glen 206

Is being a PI just another way to earn a living? Hardly ever.

Moderators

Harry Hunsicker

Harry Hunsicker is the best-selling author of ten crime thrillers and numerous short stories. His novels include The Life and Death of Rose Doucette—shortlisted for a 2025 Thriller Award—and the forthcoming Mother May I (October 2026). His work has also been a finalist for the... Read More →

Speakers

David Housewright

A past president of the Private Eye Writers of America, Housewright has published 33 novels. He earned an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, a Shamus nomination from the PWA, and three Minnesota Books Awards. A reformed newspaper reporter and ad man, he has taught at... Read More →

Angela van Breemen

Angela van Breemen is an author and soprano. After retiring from the dental industry, she focuses on writing, music, and volunteering with Procyon Wildlife. She writes the David Harris and Emma Jackson Mysteries, including Past Life’s Revenge and Revenge Is Not Enough, and is working... Read More →

Michael Wiley

Michael Wiley is the Shamus Award-winning author of twelve novels in four series. The most recent series features Franky Dast, an exonerated convict who investigates crimes involving the unjustly accused. Michael has been a speech writer, an assistant at a residential facility for... Read More →

Matt Goldman

Matt Goldman is a New York Times and USA Today Best Selling Author, and an Emmy Award Winning TV writer. He has been nominated for the Shamus Award, Nero Award, and a Writers Guild of America Award. His TV credits include Seinfeld, Ellen, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and Dirk... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 206

1:45pm MDT

Location, Location, Location

Friday October 23, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT

Glen 208

What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing a place you know well versus a place you don’t?

Moderators

Nick Wilkshire

Nick Wilkshire is a lawyer and the author of seven novels, including a mystery series set in Havana, Moscow, and Tokyo and The Hunt (Fall 2025), a thriller set in the Yukon. Drawing on his experience of places where he has lived and explored, his fiction combines atmospheric settings... Read More →

Speakers

Alex Finlay

Alex Finlay is the bestselling author of several acclaimed novels, including the 2026 instant national bestseller, The Anniversary. His work has been translated into twenty-eight languages and sold around the world. Alex’s books have been optioned or in development for film and... Read More →

Connie Johnson Hambley

Connie Johnson Hambley‘s short stories appear in the Anthony Award-winning Mystery Writers of America’s anthology Crime Hits Home as well as Mystery Magazine and several Best New England Crime Stories. Her journalism credits include Bloomberg Business Week, Financial Advisor... Read More →

Caroline Cleveland

A native South Carolinian, Caroline Cleveland grew up in the small town of Walterboro and credits her love of reading to that quieter way of life. Her love of the written word led her to law school and then to private practice in Charleston. Her debut, When Cicadas Cry was published... Read More →

Catherine McKenzie/Mack

USA Today and Globe & Mail bestselling author of Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies.

Friday October 23, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

1:45pm MDT

Spotlight Interview: Abir Mukherjee

Friday October 23, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT

Macleod BC

Join Cathy Ace in conversation with 2026 International Guest of Honour Abir Mukherjee

Moderators

Cathy Ace

Speakers

Abir Mukherjee

Abir Mukherjee is the Times bestselling author of the Wyndham & Banerjee series of crime novels set in colonial-era India. His books have been translated into fifteen languages and won various awards including the CWA Dagger for best Historical Novel, the Prix du Polar Européen... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Macleod BC

3:00pm MDT

Atmospheric Antagonist: How Setting has Moved from Background to Character

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT

Glen 206

Is developing a place-character different from developing a person-character? What can a place do that a person can’t?

Moderators

Bruce Robert Coffin

Speakers

Karen Dionne

Karen Dionne is #1 internationally bestselling author of the award-winning psychological suspense novels The Marsh King’s Daughter andThe Wicked Sister. Named one of the best books of 2017 by iBooks and many other booksellers and reviewers, The Marsh King’s Daughter was released... Read More →

Con Lehane

Con Lehane spent most of his adult life in the labor movement—union organizer, contract negotiator, local union president, labor educator, labor journalist—all of which informs his writing. He now writes about made-up crimes that take place in a New York City that exists only... Read More →

Nicole Brooks

Nicole Brooks has a bachelor of environmental science and a lifelong love of reading, which has enabled her to blend two of her passions—nature and writing—into stories that put people into the thick of environmental disasters. She lives just outside Calgary with her family. No... Read More →

Mandy Miller

Mandy is an attorney, university professor, and writer. She is the author of the novels States of Grace, Friday Night in The Glades, and Grace Period. Her novel, a work of historical suspense set in Miami and Cuba entitled They Say They Want a Revolution will be published in 2026... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 206

3:00pm MDT

Bouchercon Anthology #2

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT

Glen 201

Come and meet some of the authors featured in the Anthology

Moderators

Olyn Fleming Ozbick

Speakers

Cheryl Lawton Malone

Linda Sanche

Linda Sanche’s debut novel, Off the Mark, will be published this fall. Her story, "Border Queen," appears in the Bouchercon 2026 Anthology and “The Electrician,” was a finalist in the 2025 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence. Linda is the president of Sisters in Crime... Read More →

Tairi Blair

Tairi Blair writes character-driven fiction exploring crime, consequence, and the complicated choices people make. A retired professor and editor of two Prentice Hall case-study volumes on organizational dilemmas, she now devotes her time to novels and short stories blending suspense... Read More →

Raymond J. Brash

Raymond J. Brash is a Trinidadian-American writer currently residing in Colorado with his wife and rescue pittie Bessie. He enjoys reading and writing speculative fiction, noir, and genre mashups. Raymond has stories published or forthcoming in The Lines We Cross: Bouchercon Anthology... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 201

3:00pm MDT

Co-writing Journey: Join Jeff Ayers in a conversation about co-writing with Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT

Exhibit Hall

A discussion with Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung

Moderators

Jeff Ayers

Jeff Ayers is an Anthony Award-nominated author who currently reviews suspense thrillers and mysteries for Library Journal, Criminal Element, and firstCLUE. Jeff co-writes the National Park thriller series for Minotaur under the name A.J. Landau and co-writes the Jigsaw Puzzle Mysteries... Read More →

Speakers

Louise Penny

Louise Penny, a former CBC radio journalist, is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She has been awarded the CWA Dagger, Nero, Macavity and Barry Awards, as well as two each of the Arthur Ellis and Dilys Awards. In addition, she has won the Agatha Award (eight times), multiple Anthony Awards, and was... Read More →

Mellissa Fung

Mellissa Fung is an award-winning journalist, author, and filmmaker who specialises in post-conflict and human rights reporting. Her latest book, and first foray into fiction, The Last Mandarin, written with Louise Penny, debuted on the NYT, USA Today, and Globe and Mail best-seller... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Exhibit Hall

3:00pm MDT

Keeping Young Readers

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT

Glen 203

True or false: despite the nay-sayers, children are reading more than ever, but not in the formats we might think?

Moderators

Gordon Jack

Gordon Jack has been a high school librarian for thirty years. In that time, he did his best to keep kids reading, including writing two young adult novels, The Boomerang Effect and Your Own Worst Enemy. Now that he's about to retire, he figured he should write for people closer to... Read More →

Speakers

Suzy Vadori

Suzy is Calgary Bestselling Author of The Fountain Series (The Fountain, The West Woods, Wall of Wishes). This series has received three Aurora Nominations for Best Young Adult Novel. She is represented by Naomi Davis of Bookends Literary Agency. Suzy is an Advanced Certified Book... Read More →

Daniel J. Hale

Daniel J. Hale is an Agatha Award-winning author, a repurposed attorney and a former Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America. He's bilingual (French-English) and holds remote pilot certification from the FAA.

Kate (K.B.) Jackson

Kate (K.B.) Jackson is a two-time Agatha Award winner, two-time silver Falchion Award finalist, and three-time Anthony Award nominated author of mystery books for kids and grownups. When not writing about murder and Sasquatch, she enjoys traveling with her trophy husband and their... Read More →

Mia P. Manansala

Mia P. Manansala is a writer from Chicago who loves books, baking, and bad-ass women. She is the multi-award-winning author of the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series, the Dizon Detective Agency series (YA), and the forthcoming cozy fantasy, The Spirit Medium’S Enchanted Apothecary... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

3:00pm MDT

Podcast Predictions

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT

Glen 208

Have podcasts peaked or are they stronger than ever? How does a new podcaster find their audience?

Moderators

Emily J. Edwards

Emily J. Edwards is the author of The Girl Friday Mysteries. She earned her degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College and took the long road to becoming an author, working for years as a wine and spirits journalist, radio producer, and at a Hollywood PR firm... Read More →

Speakers

Jim Fusilli

Jim Fusilli is the author of 10 novels including The Price You Pay, The Mayor of Polk Street and its predecessor Narrows Gate,and his latest, A Song for Katy Shayne, He’s also host and executive producer of the popular podcast "Writers at Work.” He wrote the words and music for... Read More →

Sharon Lynn

Sharon Lynn was raised in Arizona but developed a profound connection to the English countryside when living there as a teenager, inspiring the setting of the award-winning Cotswold Crimes Mystery series. Nowadays, she spends her time in an International Dark City in Northern Arizona... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

3:00pm MDT

Rave Reviews: Reviews and Recommendations

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT

Macleod BC

Looking for the next, best book. Lots of recommendations from people who read lots of books.

Moderators

George Easter

Speakers

Meredith Anthony

Meredith Anthony reviews mysteries and thrillers for Deadly Pleasures magazine. She also writes books and short stories. She lives in New York City.

Barbara Peters

Abir Mukherjee

Friday October 23, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Macleod BC

4:15pm MDT

Spotlight Interview: Kathy Reichs

Friday October 23, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT

Exhibit Hall

Join Hart Hanson in conversation with 2026 Cross-Border Guest of Honour Kathy Reichs

Moderators

Hart Hanson

Speakers

Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs is actually Dr. Kathy Reichs, one of only eighty-two forensic anthropologists ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. For years she consulted to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina, and she continues to do so for the Laboratoire... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall

7:00pm MDT

Author Fair

Friday October 23, 2026 7:00pm - 8:30pm MDT

Macleod D

This is a great place to discover your new favourite author! Meet dozens of indie and self-published authors and buy their books and/or get free swag. Cash bar and light snacks. Sponsored by William Kent Krueger.

Friday October 23, 2026 7:00pm - 8:30pm MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00pm MDT

Underrepresented Authors Reception

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00pm - 10:00pm MDT

Macleod Lobby

Author Bingo returns! Join us for this popular format, a fun and dynamic way to socialize and mingle with your favourite crime writers. Free food, cash bar, and door prizes provide the lively backdrop for the social event of the weekend. All convention-goers are warmly welcomed to attend! Hosted by the Crime Writers of Color and Sponsored by SinC international.

Friday October 23, 2026 9:00pm - 10:00pm MDT
Macleod Lobby 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6