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Wednesday, October 21
 

1:45pm MDT

Audio Books as a Cottage Industry: Pros and Cons of Recording Your Own Books
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 206
Once, the author and the audio book narrator were never the same person. Times change. Is self-recording worth it?
Moderators
BS
Speakers
MY
JM
JK
SF
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 206

1:45pm MDT

Bouchercon 101
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 201
Suggestions for getting the most out of Bouchercon and having the stamina to keep going
Moderators
LO
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 201

1:45pm MDT

In A Previous Life: Careers that Morphed into Fiction
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Macleod D
A career provides much material for writing books. Sometimes, the transition from doer to writer doesn’t go as expected.
Moderators
avatar for Melissa Yi

Melissa Yi

Scalpel by day, keyboard by night: Dr. Melissa Yi writes thrillers about Hope Sze, a physician who solves murders and, in her Seven Deadly Sins series, speak to ghosts. Melissa’s doggy detective story, My Two-Legs, won the Derringer Award and was shortlisted for the Macavity Award... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Debra H. Goldstein

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 →
avatar for Alex Dekker

Alex Dekker

Alex Dekker served as an elite member of the U.S. Army Special Forces “Green Berets” for 20 years. He has deployed multiple times to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations worldwide, traveled to dozens of countries for work and personal adventures, and is an avid student of history... Read More →
avatar for Malcolm Kempt

Malcolm Kempt

Malcolm Kempt is a Canadian novelist who worked as a criminal lawyer in the Arctic for 17 years. His debut thriller, A Gift Before Dying (Crown, 2026) was positively reviewed in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. Booklist called it 'the... Read More →
avatar for Michael Rigg

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 →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

1:45pm MDT

Mysteries Set at Special Occasions
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 203
Holidays; group events like weddings, graduations, and reunions; and moving to a new town are ideal times to set mysteries.
Moderators
avatar for Vanessa Westermann

Vanessa Westermann

Vanessa Westermann is known for Charley Scott Mysteries and Murder by the Book Mysteries. She has been a former Arthur Ellis Awards judge, holds an MA in English Literature and a Bachelor of Education, and has taught creative writing. At the heart of all of Westermann’s stories... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Shelley Marsh

Shelley Marsh

Shelley Marsh is a Florida mystery author and Vice President of the Northeast Florida chapter of Sisters in Crime. She writes mysteries where sunshine, secrets, and trouble collide, including the Estate Sale Mysteries and her newly released eco-mystery Up the Creek. A former magazine... Read More →
avatar for Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

Joan Donaldson-Yarmey is the author of eight mystery novels, seven Canadian historical novels, two sci/fi novels, two holiday romance novels, and two non-fiction books. Her Travelling Detective Series includes Illegally Dead, The Only Shadow In The House, and Whistler's Murder while... Read More →
avatar for Diane Bator

Diane Bator

Diane Bator is a Canadian author, publisher, book coach, editor, and mom of three who all have her quirky sense of humor. She is the host of the Escape With a Writer blog, and started her own publishing company, Escape With a Writer, in January of 2024 to relaunch her previous novels... Read More →
avatar for Dawn M. Barclay

Dawn M. Barclay

Agatha/Chanticleer/Derringer finalist Dawn M. Barclay writes psychological/domestic/romantic suspense and edits crime anthologies as D.M. Barr and writes nonfiction under her own name. A former editor for Down & Out Books and Champagne Book Group, she currently edits for Hold Fast... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

1:45pm MDT

Welcome to Canada: Five Canadian Writers Debate, politely of course.
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 208
Canadian writers from Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, and Newfoundland/Labrador debate which part of Canada is the best location for crime novels.
Moderators
avatar for Lisa Bush

Lisa Bush

Lisa Bush is a writer, educator, and storyteller. Her work is based on the belief that stories have the power to transform ourselves and the world around us. Lisa is the author of two novels, The District and City Hall. She has also published a non-fiction book, Teaching Well: How... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Randy McCharles

Randy McCharles

Randy McCharles is a full-time author of crime and speculative fiction. He is the recipient of several Aurora Awards, and his most recent publications include the Connecticut Gumshoe trilogy and the Peter Galloway soft-boiled detective series. Previous publications include Much Ado... Read More →
avatar for Madona Skaff-Koren

Madona Skaff-Koren

Madona writes the Naya Investigates series, about a woman disabled by multiple sclerosis who turns sleuth to solve crimes. Her novel Shifting Trust is a science fiction thriller set in the near future. She has published several short stories in various anthologies, as well as an essay... Read More →
avatar for Mike Martin

Mike Martin

Mike Martin was born in St. John’s, NL and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is the award-winning author of the best-selling Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, set in the beautiful Grand Bank area of Newfoundland. There are now 17 books in this light mystery series with the... Read More →
avatar for Iona Whishaw

Iona Whishaw

Iona Whishaw is the author of the award-winning best-selling Lane Winslow Mysteries. She is a former educator whose mother and grandfather were both spies during their respective wars. She has won the Bony Blythe award, and has been a finalist for a Crime Writers of Canada award... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

1:45pm MDT

North of the Border Investigations: What happens When Things Go South
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm MDT
Macleod BC
Homicide investigation principles get more complicated when more than one law enforcement jurisdiction is involved. Or isn't but should be.
Moderators
avatar for Dave Sweet

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 →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm MDT
Macleod BC

3:00pm MDT

Best 2025 Humor Mysteries/Thrillers
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 201
What’s the funniest book you read last year? The panelists will have suggestions for books you may have missed.
Moderators
ML
Speakers
avatar for Caro Ramsay

Caro Ramsay

Caro Ramsay writes both the Anderson and Costello mystery series based in Glasgow, and the Christine Caplan series, based on the glorious West Coast of Scotland. 2026 sees the American publication of Where She Lies in PB, which has previously been published in the UK to critical acclaim... Read More →
avatar for Lisa Harkrader

Lisa Harkrader

When Lisa Harkrader was in third grade, she wanted to be a writer, an artist, and a spy. Today, she’s a writer and illustrator who has published 45 books for children and has received the William Allen White Children’s Book Award and four Kansas Notable Book awards. Her books... Read More →
avatar for Rob Osler

Rob Osler

Rob Osler is the USA Today Bestselling Author of Harriet Morrow Investigates, so far including The Case Of The Missing Maid and The Case Of The Murdered Muckraker, both Publishers Weekly Starred Reviews. Rob also writes Perry Winkle Whodunits for Ellery Queen Magazine. An Edgar Finalist... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 201

3:00pm MDT

Delayed Redemption
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 206
The more dark secrets characters have, and the longer they have kept silent, the better the reveal when it comes.
Moderators
avatar for Alex Slusar

Alex Slusar

Alex Slusar is a former political assistant, naval officer, and writer of crime, neo-Western and historical fiction. His short stories have appeared in magazines including Grain, Saddlebag Dispatches, and Starlite Pulp Review, and his novella "The Hot Streak" was published in the... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Bill Cusano

Bill Cusano

In 2024, Bill's whole world came crashing down when hs wife of 32 years passed away. Bill had promised her he would keep himself busy, writing the kind of stories she loved to read. Bill is now about to publish the fifth book in the series devoted to her and can feel her presence... Read More →
avatar for J. Luke Bennecke

J. Luke Bennecke

J. Luke Bennecke is a bestselling thriller author who writes about what happens when technology gets smarter—and people don’t. A former civil engineer and longtime executive, he spent decades designing real-world systems in California before turning to fictional ones that fail... Read More →
avatar for Faye Arcand

Faye Arcand

Faye Arcand is an award-winning author of domestic suspense who embraces the gritty reality of her characters and situations. Fascinated by unique quirks and varied perspectives, she explores deviance, mental health, fear, and the unconventional through her twisted writer’s lens... Read More →
AP
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 206

3:00pm MDT

Double Timelines and Unusual Narratives
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Macleod D
Double timelines, multiple points of view, and unusual narrative structures have become ways to show, not tell.
Moderators
avatar for James Byrne

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
avatar for Bill Schweigart

Bill Schweigart

Bill Schweigart is the author of Dirty 20, a dark humor crime novel about Family, TTRPGs, and escaping into fantasy. He is also the author of The Guilty One, “Women and Children First,” a story co-written with James Patterson in The New York Times bestselling 3 Days to Live, and... Read More →
avatar for JP Bird

JP Bird

JP writes cozy mysteries with quirky characters that make her laugh when they disagree with the laid-out plans for their story and take her on a different path. When she’s not writing or reading, she spends her summers in the garden and her winters plotting how to win her neighbourhood... Read More →
avatar for Justin M. Kiska

Justin M. Kiska

Justin is a theatre producer, director, and the author of the award-nominated Parker City Mysteries Series from Level Best Books, which includes Now & Then, Vice & Virtue, Fact & Fiction, Black & White, Cops & Robbers, and Cat & Mouse. He is one of the former owners of the Way Off... Read More →
avatar for Thomas Cavanagh

Thomas Cavanagh

Thomas B. Cavanagh is an Amazon best-selling, award-winning author of five Florida crime thrillers. He has won both Gold and Bronze Florida Book Awards and has been a finalist for a Best Novel Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America. He has written award-winning children’s... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

3:00pm MDT

Field of Dreams
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 203
What are productive ways to fill the time between signing a book contract and the book’s release date?
Moderators
avatar for Lori L. Lake

Lori L. Lake

Lori L. Lake has authored 14 novels, 3 short story collections, edited 5 anthologies, and has work featured in over a dozen anthologies including Silence Of The Loons, Once Upon A Crime, And Women Of The Mean Streets.
Next up will include Adventures Unlimited and a “revenge-based” short story collection, both for 2026 publication. Lori lives with writer-partner Tairi Blair in Oregon. To find out more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lori_L._Lake... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Alison McBain

Alison McBain

Alison McBain's novels have received over thirteen awards, including the Foreword INDIES. When not writing for herself, she’s a ghostwriter who has penned over two dozen books for clients, as well as an award-winning editor who has worked with both celebrity and NY Times-bestselling... Read More →
avatar for Shelley Adina Bates

Shelley Adina Bates

After a childhood spent reading Nancy Drew and several years supporting the RCMP, Shelley Adina Bates now writes mysteries as a member of Sisters in Crime and Crime Writers of Canada. She is the author of some 60 novels—steampunk adventure, cozy fantasy mystery, and deeply researched... Read More →
SK
avatar for Stacie Grey

Stacie Grey

Stacie Grey is the USA Today bestselling author of She Left and She Didn't Stand A Chance and She Had Enough. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, their dog, and several strongly-held opinions. She has never lived outside of California, and frankly would rather... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

3:00pm MDT

Fire Behavior and Arson Investigations for Writers
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Macleod BC
Arson investigators build a case out of ashes. This is especially difficult when fires happen in remote locations.
Moderators
avatar for David Wickenden

David Wickenden

A former deputy fire chief, David Wickenden retired to write thriller novels full-time. He has published six thrillers, one YA fantasy, and seven screenplays since 2018. David is a member of the International Thriller Association, International Screenwriter Association, the Writer’s... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Macleod BC

3:00pm MDT

Misdirections and Red Herrings that Don’t Cheat
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 208
Like magicians, writers misdirect a reader’s attention. Magicians never tell how tricks are done, but writers do.
Moderators
avatar for Therese Greenwood

Therese Greenwood

Therese Greenwood’s short crime fiction received a Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence and a Western Writers of America Spur Award. Her recent book with an Indigenous Elder received an Axiom Bronze Medal and was nominated for an Alberta Literary Award. Her memoir was a Finalist... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Karen Dodd

Karen Dodd

Karen Dodd writes international suspense exploring justice, corruption, and the personal cost of truth. Her novel Everybody Knows introduces Italian prosecutor Nicoló Moretti, whose investigation into political corruption in Malta turns personal when he discovers he has a young son... Read More →
avatar for Ande Pliego

Ande Pliego

Ande Pliego is the USA Today bestselling author of You Are Fatally Invited and The Library After Dark. She began writing stories when she discovered she could actually wield her overactive imagination for good. Born in Florida, raised in France, and having left footprints all over... Read More →
avatar for Melinda Mullet

Melinda Mullet

Formerly a communications, media and entertainment lawyer Melinda is now enjoying a second career as a mystery writer. Author of the Whisky Business Mysteries, a traditional mysteries set in and around a single malt whisky distillery in Scotland. Traditional mystery, A Ghostwriter’s... Read More →
EC
Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

4:15pm MDT

Crime Writing Around the World, Part 1
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Glen 208
Four authors, stories set in four (or more) countries give a glimpse into crime writing around the world.
Moderators
avatar for Mel Bradshaw

Mel Bradshaw

While Mel Bradshaw’s latest novel, The Shadow Decade, probes dark and dangerous corners of the 1950s, his crime fiction haunts many eras. Victim Impact foregrounds 21st century biker gangs and courtroom drama. Quarrel with the Foe, Fire on the Runway, and Winner’s Loss bring readers... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Michael Sears (Michael Stanley)

Michael Sears (Michael Stanley)

Michael Sears writes with Stanley Trollip as Michael Stanley. Their Detective Kubu novels are set in Botswana and based around real issues affecting southern Africa. The latest book in the series, Dead Wrong, is a twisted tale where nothing is what it seems. They won a Barry Award... Read More →
avatar for Alex Shaw

Alex Shaw

Alex Shaw is the best-selling author of four thriller series, published by HarperCollins and Boldwood Books, featuring Aidan Snow, Jack Tate, Sophie Racine and Wolf Six – Ruslan Akulov. He has been shortlisted for the 2021 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Award, and the 2026 Barry... Read More →
avatar for Charles Philipp Martin

Charles Philipp Martin

After six years as a bassist in the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Charles Philipp Martin left music to become a writer and broadcaster. His 2011 novel Neon Panic introduced Hong Kong police inspector Herman Lok. Rented Grave appeared in August 2024. Both suspense novels earned praise for... Read More →
avatar for Janice MacDonald

Janice MacDonald

Janice MacDonald wrote the first mystery series set in Edmonton after defending an MA thesis on the development of detective fiction and the legitimacy of genre fiction. Her Randy Craig Mysteries celebrate the University of Alberta, the city and clever women. Her new series, the Imogene... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

4:15pm MDT

Hands, Hearts, and Help: Fellow Travelers on the Pilgrimage
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Glen 203
Writers helping writers happens all the time. Who are people who were there when you needed someone?
Moderators
SM
Speakers
avatar for Alan Gordon

Alan Gordon

As Allison Montclair, the Sparks and Bainbridge mysteries set in post-WWII London, starting with The Right Sort of Man and, most recently, Fire Must Burn. As himself, the Fools’ Guild mysteries, starting with Thirteenth Night. His short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery... Read More →
avatar for Geri Krotow

Geri Krotow

Geri Krotow is the award winning, best selling author of over 40 novels that include romantic suspense, cozy mystery and traditional mystery. Her Cascade Confidential suspense series is her latest. A US Naval Academy grad and veteran, Geri draws from her global experiences to write... Read More →
avatar for Tracy Blom

Tracy Blom

Tracy is an award-winning author of 40+ books featured nationwide in bookstores, museums, zoos, airports, and major retailers. Her work has earned STEM accreditation and multiple awards, with international media features. Her latest book, The Wonder Lens Friends: Lissa Loves Bugs... Read More →
JH
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

4:15pm MDT

Make the Most of a Wilderness Setting
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Macleod D
Wilderness settings change the rules. Communication, weather, remote locations all contribute to increased stakes and a different type of story.
Moderators
avatar for Alejandro Nodarse

Alejandro Nodarse

Alejandro Nodarse was born and raised in Miami, FL and is the son of Cuban exiles. He was a Finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel and is long-listed for the 2026 Clark Fiction Prize. In addition to being a writing teacher, Nodarse is an avid hiker... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Wes Blalock

Wes Blalock

Wes Blalock, a retired police officer and recipient of both Valor and Lifesaving awards, has appeared in several prominent magazines and has received awards from Writers Digest and Bewildering Stories. His first collection of short stories, No Rest For The Wicked, is available now... Read More →
avatar for Rodger Carlyle

Rodger Carlyle

Rodger Carlyle is the author of 11 novels. His Gritt series of historical stories follows one family over decades of personal and world crises, with just the right amount of romance to introduce the next generation. His Team Walker series weaves snippets of world events and political... Read More →
avatar for Nick Petrie

Nick Petrie

Nick Petrie‘s first novel, The Drifter, won the ITW Thriller and Barry Awards, and was nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Hammett Awards. He was named one of Apple’s 10 Writers to Read in 2017. Light It Up was named the Best Thriller of 2018 by Apple Books and was nominated for... Read More →
avatar for Tamara Miller

Tamara Miller

Tamara L. Miller is a Canadian author of psychological suspense, where wild landscapes meet messy human secrets. Her debut, Into the Fall, an Amazon First Reads pick, unravels a troubled marriage against the unforgiving Canadian Shield. Her March 2026 release, The Weight of Glass... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

4:15pm MDT

Walking on the Gritty Side
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Glen 201
Complex and resilient characters surviving tough times
Moderators
avatar for Helen Escott

Helen Escott

Helen C. Escott is an award-winning Canadian author and playwright known for her cinematic storytelling and deep insights into the human condition. A former senior communications strategist with the RCMP, she brings authenticity to her work. Her bestselling Operation Series has been... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Albert Tucher

Albert Tucher

Albert Tucher is the creator of suburban sex worker Diana Andrews, who has appeared in more than 100 stories in venues including The Best American Mystery Stories 2010.
Diana will also appear in the novel Do Overs from White City Press. In 2017 Albert Tucher launched a second series set on the Big Island of Hawaii, in which Pele's Prerogative is the most recent entry. He lives in New Jersey, USA, and he loves New Jersey Turnpike jokes... Read More →
avatar for N.L. Blandford

N.L. Blandford

Crime fighter by day and crime writer by night, N.L. Blandford crafts high-tension thrillers that play on readers' emotions. Recipient of the 2026 IAFCI Financial Crimes Investigator of the Year award, she leverages a unique background to inspire stories rooted in truth. Through Novel... Read More →
avatar for Nicole Blades

Nicole Blades

Nicole Blades is a novelist and journalist with nearly two decades of experience in the media industry. Her cover stories and features have been published in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Runner’s World, and more. Would I Lie to You? is her fourth novel. A proud Caribbean-Canadian... Read More →
avatar for Matt Witten

Matt Witten

Matt Witten is a TV writer, novelist, and screenwriter who has written for Law & Order, House, Pretty Little Liars, and many other shows. His thriller The Necklace has been published in eight languages. Matt wrote four mystery novels, including the Malice Domestic Award-winning Breakfast... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Glen 201

4:15pm MDT

What Happens When a Writer Changes Genres?
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Macleod BC
Changing genres: the enjoyment, the hassles, and the unexpected surprises
Moderators
avatar for Leslie Budewitz

Leslie Budewitz

Stories are the spice of life. Leslie Budewitz writes two cozy mystery series, the Spice Shop mysteries and the Food Lovers' Village mysteries. As Alicia Beckman, she writes standalone suspense. All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, brings to... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than sixty books: clever cozies to gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy.
She is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. Vicki lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario... Read More →
avatar for R.J. Koreto

R.J. Koreto

R.J. Koreto is the author of the Lady Frances Ffolkes series, the Alice Roosevelt series, and the Wren Fontaine Historic Homes series. His latest novel is the Regency Noir mystery, Winter's Season. Over the years, he’s been a magazine writer and editor, website manager, PR consultant... Read More →
avatar for P.D. Workman

P.D. Workman

Award-winning Canadian author P.D. Workman has written over a hundred addictive page-turners featuring diverse and divergent sleuths, high-stakes investigations, and stories that linger long after the last page. Her books dive deep into characters’ minds while exploring timely social... Read More →
avatar for Catriona McPherson

Catriona McPherson

Serial awards-botherer Catriona McPherson (she/her) was born in Scotland and immigrated to the US in 2010. She has published historical series, contemporary psychothrillers and humorous mysteries about a Scot-out-of-water in a “fictional” college town in Northern California. Catriona... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Macleod BC

4:15pm MDT

Women Holding It Together
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Glen 206
When the world is coming apart, what’s your go-to glue? Food? Family? Friends? Music? Relations?
Moderators
RL
Speakers
avatar for Chris Marrs

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 →
avatar for Heather Levy

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 →
avatar for Veronica Cline Barton

Veronica Cline Barton

Veronica Cline Barton's cozy, country house murder mysteries spin the mayhem as country life meets the high life. Her tales include luxurious settings and glamorous events; baffling scenarios to keep you guessing; have a touch of wry humor to lighten up the mood when needed (frequently... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Glen 206

6:30pm MDT

Cozies & Cocktails
Wednesday October 21, 2026 6:30pm - 8:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
Grab a cocktail and mingle with some of today's most popular cozy authors. Enjoy readings, book give aways, and free swag. This fun event is open to all attendees. Whether you're a die-hard cozy fan or just curious, we'd love to see you there! Hosted by Ellen Byron and Raquel V Reyes. Cash bar.
Wednesday October 21, 2026 6:30pm - 8:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
 
Thursday, October 22
 

7:00am MDT

Author Speed Dating
Thursday October 22, 2026 7:00am - 9:00am MDT
Macleod D
This is a great way to meet authors and find out about their latest books. Authors circulate tables of readers to pitch their books. It's a fast-paced event with 40 authors, short pitches, and lots of fun. Limited seating.
Thursday October 22, 2026 7:00am - 9:00am MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

Celebrating Strength in Mid-Grade and YA Stories
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 206
Growing up is confusing. It helps having friends and allies, who when they aren’t driving you crazy, help you find yourself.
Moderators
avatar for Kristie McMechan

Kristie McMechan

Kristie is a STEM nerd, ultimate frisbee champion, former marathon runner, parent, world traveller, volunteer dog walker and now writer, thankfully not all at the same time. She is currently working on her first novel, a middle-grade sci-fi/fantasy about children and vegetable vi... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Gary R. Bush

Gary R. Bush

YA or adult, if it’s historical, Gary R. Bush writes it. His award-winning YA Jamie Sharpe novels, Jamie Sharpe and the Seas of Treachery, Jamie Sharpe and the Pirates of Barbary, and The Voyage To Hell’s Island, are “A simply riveting read:” Midwest Book Review. Bush is co-editor... Read More →
avatar for Lorna Schultz Nicholson

Lorna Schultz Nicholson

Lorna Schultz Nicholson is an award-winning author and has published children’s picture books, middle grade fiction and non-fiction, YA fiction, and adult non-fiction. She has a middle grade mystery series featuring Rhapsody Smith Ice Angel. AND she is currently writing an adult... Read More →
avatar for Nancy G. West

Nancy G. West

Nancy West writes suspense/thrillers about ordinary people in danger who struggle to save themselves or loved ones. Risky Pursuit, an inter-generational thriller and Anthony Nominee, is her ninth book. A UT-Austin business grad who switched to English lit, Nancy found writing fiction... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 206

9:00am MDT

Closed Communities: Looking in, Looking Out
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 208
Views from inside a closed community differ widely from views on the outside looking in. How does position change story?
Moderators
SC
Speakers
avatar for C.J. Carmichael

C.J. Carmichael

USA Today Bestselling author C. J. Carmichael has written over 55 novels, including the Twisted Cedars trilogy, the Bitter Root Mysteries series, and Tangle of Lies. A film version of her novel, A Bramble House Christmas, premiered as a Hallmark Mystery movie in 2017. C. J. and her... Read More →
avatar for Tony Wirt

Tony Wirt

Tony Wirt is the bestselling author of four novels, the most recent being Silent Creek (2025, Thomas & Mercer). A graduate of the University of Iowa, he spent nine years doing media relations for the Hawkeyes. He’s also been a sportswriter, movie ticket taker, and Dairy Queen ice... Read More →
avatar for Randy Nikkel Schroeder

Randy Nikkel Schroeder

Randy Nikkel Schroeder's most recent crime novel is Sinner's Banquet, a "Menno-Noir" described as "The Coen Brothers meet Miriam Toews." His previous, Arctic Smoke, is a surrealist crimepunk set in the Canadian Arctic. In his spare time, Schroeder is a professor of English, Languages... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

Digging Deep
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod D
Characters that build strength and tenacity in spite of - or because of - life's challenges.
Moderators
avatar for Lori Rader-Day

Lori Rader-Day

Lori Rader-Day is the USA Today bestselling author of Wreck Your Heart. She has been nominated for the Edgar Award and Thriller Award and has won the Mary Higgins Clark Award, the Agatha Award, and three Anthony Awards. She lives in Chicago, where she co-chairs the crime fiction readers... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Renda Knapp

Renda Knapp

Renda Knapp writes medical thrillers featuring resilient women confronting impossible odds. Her debut novel is set for publication early 2027 by Penzler Publishers. As an Ob/Gyn physician, Renda brings authentic medical expertise to her fiction, crafting stories where life-and-death... Read More →
avatar for Nick Petrie

Nick Petrie

Nick Petrie‘s first novel, The Drifter, won the ITW Thriller and Barry Awards, and was nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Hammett Awards. He was named one of Apple’s 10 Writers to Read in 2017. Light It Up was named the Best Thriller of 2018 by Apple Books and was nominated for... Read More →
avatar for Joseph Moldover

Joseph Moldover

Joseph Moldover's mystery debut, To the end of Reckoning was published by Mysterious Press in April 2026. He is also the author of two prior Young Adult novels and many works of short fiction and nonfiction. He is a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist. Joe lives in Massachusetts... Read More →
avatar for Kat Caputo

Kat Caputo

Kat Caputo’s debut mystery, A Sliver in the Dark, will be published in 2027 by Red Adept Publishing. Her work has been featured in Mystery Readers Journal and Hudson Valley MOCA. An award-winning arts educator and artist, Kat coaches creatives and hosts Mystery Woman Creative R... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

Introducing the Steele Curry Collection
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod BC
A discussion of the collection of more than 8,000 mystery, espionage and thrillers donated to the University of Calgary by Steele Curry, longtime Bouchercon supporter and 2026 Fan Guest of Honour
Moderators
AM
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod BC

9:00am MDT

Rural versus Urban
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 203
Cities bustle; small towns relax. Except it’s more complicated. The real trick is intimately knowing place vibes.
Moderators
avatar for Ruth Knafo Setton

Ruth Knafo Setton

Ruth Knafo Setton is the author of Zigzag Girl—ITW Award finalist for Best Standalone Book, Next Generation Indie Book finalist for Best Mystery, & Grand Prize winner of ScreenCraft’s Cinematic Book Competition. She has studied magic with Teller & other magicians, been sawed in... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Linda Norlander

Linda Norlander

Linda Norlander is the author of three mystery series set in Minnesota. Her fourth Sheriff Red mystery Only the River Knows was published in September 2026. She is an award-winning author of short fiction, humor and non-fiction. Her short story was a winner in the 2026 Tucson Festival... Read More →
CK
avatar for Sandy Vora

Sandy Vora

Sandy Vora is a former employee of the U.S. Department of Defense who spent over a decade working on advanced defense and intelligence technologies, including classified assignments worldwide. His real-world experience brings captivating authenticity to his spy thrillers. Of Indian... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

The Spark that Lights the Fire
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 201
Celebrate that ah-ha moment when historical research solves character or plot problems that seemed unsolvable.
Moderators
avatar for Katherine Glover

Katherine Glover

Katherine Glover spent her childhood flying between St. Paul and Santa Barbara, and now lives in Hollywood. She's an award-winning playwright and journalist who's hard at work on her second novel, a post-apocalyptic queer political fantasy/amateur sleuth locked room whodunnit. She... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Abir Mukherjee

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 →
avatar for Kevin Sands

Kevin Sands

Since escaping from university with a pair of degrees in theoretical physics, Kevin Sands has worked as a researcher, a business consultant, a teacher, and a professional poker player. He lives in Ontario, Canada. He is the author of the bestselling The Blackthorn Key and Thieves... Read More →
avatar for William Kent Krueger

William Kent Krueger

William Kent Krueger is the author of twenty-two novels in the New York Times bestselling Cork O’Connor mystery series. His 2013 stand-alone novel Ordinary Grace won the Edgar Award for Best Novel. This Tender Land, a stand-alone novel published in 2019, spent six months among the... Read More →
avatar for Charles Todd

Charles Todd

Charles Todd is the NTY Best Sellin author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge Series and the Bess Crawford series. Coming soon, A Christmas Witness Novella 10-21-25 and A Day of Judgement 3-10-26 followed by a Bess Crawford Mystery. He has published over forty books and twenty short-stories... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 201

9:45am MDT

Book Signing: Mark Greaney
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:45am - 10:15am MDT
Macleod A
Meet Mark Greaney!
Thursday October 22, 2026 9:45am - 10:15am MDT
Macleod A 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Bouchercon 101
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Macleod D
Suggestions for getting the most out of Bouchercon and having the stamina to keep going
Moderators
LO
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Bouchercon Anthology #1
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 201
Come and meet some of the authors featured in the Anthology
Moderators
avatar for Olyn Fleming Ozbick

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
avatar for Brenda Buchanan

Brenda Buchanan

Brenda Buchanan’s crime fiction reflects her experience as a journalist and lawyer. Her three-book Joe Gale mystery series—Quick Pivot, Cover Story and Truth Beat—feature a newspaper reporter covering the Maine crime and courts beat. Brenda also writes short fiction. Her story... Read More →
NP
avatar for Charles Shipps

Charles Shipps

Charles Shipps is a mystery writer and a retired bus driver for the Detroit Department of Transportation. His short story, "God of the Pond," appears in the Penguin Berkley Prime Crime anthology Shades of Black, edited by Eleanor Taylor Bland. After decades of navigating Detroit’s... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 201

10:15am MDT

Crafting Domestic Violence Characters
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 208
(Trigger warning) Intimate partner violence is a dark place. How do writers and readers approach these stories while protecting themselves?
Moderators
avatar for M.M. DeLuca

M.M. DeLuca

M.M. (Marjorie) DeLuca was born in England, then later moved to Canada.
She’s the author of seven gripping suspense novels: Bestsellers, The Perfect Family Man and The Secret Sister, critically acclaimed The Savage Instinct, Lilah, The Night Side, The Divorce Party and her latest, Deadly Diamonds. She’s been featured on top podcasts, The Thrille... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Steena Holmes

Steena Holmes

Steena Holmes is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with more than 3 million copies sold worldwide. With 55+ psychological thrillers and suspense novels to her name, she is a prolific voices in the genre. Named in Good Housekeeping's Top 20 Women Authors to Read, Steena... Read More →
avatar for Lis Angus

Lis Angus

Originally from Alberta, Lis has also lived in Germany, Ottawa and Toronto. Before turning to fiction, she worked with children and families in crisis, and later as a business writer, conference organizer, and policy advisor while raising two daughters. Her two suspense novels, Not... Read More →
avatar for Delia Pitts

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 →
avatar for Brenda Chapman

Brenda Chapman

Brenda Chapman is a Canadian crime fiction author with twenty-six published novels. In addition to short stories and standalones, she has written the lauded Stonechild and Rouleau police procedural series, the Anna Sweet mystery novellas, and the Hunter and Tate mysteries. Her work... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Start as You Mean to Go On
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 206
New to writing? Stuck? All writing careers contain turning points where tweaking current practices can reap benefits.
Moderators
avatar for Christina Romeril

Christina Romeril

Christina Romeril writes the Killer Chocolate Mysteries. She lives in a quaint Southern Alberta village with her husband and two Chihuahuas. Her days are spent plotting twisty whodunits that serve up deadly fun, because every homicide should have a happy ending. She firmly believes... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than sixty books: clever cozies to gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy.
She is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. Vicki lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario... Read More →
avatar for Barrett Bowlin

Barrett Bowlin

Barrett Bowlin is the author of the story collection, Ghosts Caught on Film. His essays and short fiction appear in places like The Best American Mystery & Suspense 2024 anthology, Mystery Tribune, and the Saturday Evening Post. An Arkansas expatriate, he lives and teaches and rides... Read More →
MD
avatar for Patricia Smith

Patricia Smith

Patricia Smith has authored 12 books, including The Intentions of Thunder, winner of a 2025 National Book Award and finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize, and Incendiary ArI, finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize. Her story "When They Are Done With Us" won the Robert L. Fish Award from... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 206

10:15am MDT

Writing Cold: Northern Imagination
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 203
Explore the uniqueness of living and writing in cold climates. Something about winter gives stories a different feel.
Moderators
avatar for Loretta Colton

Loretta Colton


Loretta Colton worked as a lawyer with Canada’s Department of Justice for 30 years, including nine years spent living and working as a prosecutor in the Northwest Territories. She now lives in Ottawa. What the Aurora Remembers is her first novel.
Speakers
avatar for Pamela Beason

Pamela Beason

Pamela Beason is an avid hiker, snowshoer, kayaker, and occasional scuba diver. She cannot imagine a world without wilderness and wild animals. She is the author of the Sam Westin Wilderness Series, The Neema the Signing Gorilla Series, The Run for Your Life Trilogy, and several romantic... Read More →
avatar for Marc Cameron

Marc Cameron

Marc Cameron is a former chief deputy U.S. marshal and the New York Times author of the Arliss Cutter novels, the Jericho Quinn series, and seven Tom Clancy Jack Ryan, Sr. books. A second degree blackbelt in jujitsu, he's a certified law enforcement scuba diver and man tracking... Read More →
avatar for Barbara Fradkin

Barbara Fradkin

Barbara Fradkin is a retired child psychologist with a fascination for why we turn bad. She has published seventeen novels, over thirty short stories, and four Rapid Reads short novels. Eleven of her works have been shortlisted or won Awards of Excellence from Crime Writers of Canada... Read More →
avatar for Tessa Wegert

Tessa Wegert

Tessa Wegert is the critically acclaimed author of the Shana Merchant mysteries, as well as the North Country series, beginning with In the Bones. Her books have received numerous starred reviews and have been featured on PBS and NPR Radio. Tessa grew up in Quebec and now lives in... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

The Hidden Load-Bearing Principles of a Murder Mystery Plot
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Macleod BC
A mystery story is really two stories: what actually happened and what appeared to happen, plus clues and red herrings
Moderators
avatar for Juanita Violini

Juanita Violini

Juanita Rose Violini, author and teacher, has 35+ years plotting and writing mystery scripts, sold and performed worldwide. Creator of the Mystery Bones Method, she teaches visual systems for crafting tight plots and creating cohesive characters through books and classes. She has... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Macleod BC

11:30am MDT

Cozies, the Next Generation
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Macleod D
Many of today's cozies have nary a tea cup nor a summer fete in sight. Writers bring cozies into this century.
Moderators
avatar for Penny Warner

Penny Warner

Penny Warner has published 6 mystery series. Murder at Blackwood Inn(2025) features a mystery ghostwriter and her eccentric aunts who run mystery-themed Bed and Breakfast Inn. Other books include, The Official Nancy Drew Handbook (Anthony nom), Dead Body Language (Macavity winner... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Adrian Andover

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 →
avatar for Alexis Koetting

Alexis Koetting


Alexis writes the Bella James series (Encore, Triple Threat, Revival). The series' fourth book, Corpse, is in progress. She has been shortlisted for Arthur Ellis and Bony Blithe Awards and has been acclaimed by Indies Today and Writers’ Digest. Alexis has adjudicated various lit... Read More →
avatar for Nancy Coco

Nancy Coco

USA Today Bestselling Author Nancy Coco (also known as Nell Hampton or Nancy Parra) has penned over 35 novels across five popular mystery series. Dive into The Oregon Honeycomb, Candy-Coated, Kensington Palace, Wine Country Tours, Gluten-Free Baker’s Treat, or Perfect Proposal Mysteries... Read More →
avatar for Elle Hartford

Elle Hartford

Elle Hartford is author of the award-winning Alchemical Tales series, blending cozy mystery with cozy fantasy. She has also published several spin-off series and short stories in numerous anthologies. Check out author interviews on her podcast, Cozy Alchemy, and find her indie publishing... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

11:30am MDT

Dying with Laughter
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 206
Murder is not funny. Except, some times it is. What kinds of humour are appropriate in deadly situations?
Moderators
avatar for Priscilla Paton

Priscilla Paton

Priscilla Paton grew up on a Maine dairy farm and now lives on the Wisconsin/Minnesota border overlooking the Mississippi River. She writes the award-nominated Twin Cities Mystery series featuring Detectives Deb Metzger and Erik Jansson. Her latest, In Blind Trust about the murder... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Whiskey Leavins

Whiskey Leavins

Whiskey Leavins is a humorist with a crime-writing problem who loves life in Santa Cruz, California. His humorous Santa Lacrimosa series featuring murderous clown factions, turkey cults, and brawling street performers, was referred to by one Goodreads reviewer as “A one-man genre... Read More →
avatar for Kate Michaelson

Kate Michaelson

As a curriculum developer, Kate Michaelson has created educational content on everything from media literacy to cybersecurity; however, her first love is crime fiction. Kate’s debut mystery, Hidden Rooms, won an IPPY medal. She serves on the boards of the Sister in Crime Guppies... Read More →
avatar for Mindy Carlson

Mindy Carlson

Mindy Carlson is the Silver Falchion-nominated author of the leather jacket cozy Her Dying Day. Her newest short story AITA for Using My Husband's Hobby to Teach Him a Lesson She's continually surrounded by stacks of books, knitting yarn, half-filled tea cups, and sleeping cats.
avatar for J.B. Manning
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 206

11:30am MDT

In Pursuit of Phantoms
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Macleod BC
A dead relative. A beaten partner. Missing women. When stakes are high and phantoms elusive, detectives won't stop. They can't.
Moderators
avatar for Julie Hennrikus

Julie Hennrikus

Julie Hennrikus is the executive director of Sisters in Crime, an international organization for crime writers. She hosts the Sisters in Crime Writers’ Podcast. As J.A. Hennrikus she writes the Theater Cop Mystery Series, and has published several short stories. As Julia Henry... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for John Copenhaver

John Copenhaver

John Copenhaver's novel Hall of Mirrors was a New York Times Crime Novel of the Year and won the Left Coast Crime Award for Best Historical Mystery. Earlier titles include Dodging and Burning and The Savage Kind, a Lambda Literary Award winner. He co-edited Crime Ink: Iconic, serves... Read More →
avatar for Laurie L. Dove

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 →
avatar for Suzanne Trauth

Suzanne Trauth

Suzanne Trauth is the author of the suspense novel The First to Die, the Dodie O’Dell mystery series—Show Time, Time Out, Running out of Time, Just in Time, No More Time, and Killing Time—and What Remains of Love, an historical romance (Firebird, American Book Fest, Chanticleer... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Macleod BC

11:30am MDT

Notes From the Checkout/Sales Desk
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 203
What booksellers and librarians wish readers and writers knew about supply chains, hand-selling, book signings, and shelf space.
Moderators
DG
Speakers
MG
avatar for Michael C. Bumsted

Michael C. Bumsted

Dr Michael C Bumsted is the proprietor of Whodunit? Bookshop. The Libris award winner is also a published historian of Canadian history and a former instructor of archaeology with a PhD from the University of Aberdeen. Michael is a current judge for Bloody Scotland & an Irregular... Read More →
avatar for Elizabeth Ross

Elizabeth Ross

Elizabeth Ross is an author and bookseller. Her young adult novel, Belle Epoque, was a finalist for the American Library Association’s William C. Morris Award and the California Book Award. Her second novel, a noir mystery, The Silver Blonde, was a Junior Library Guild selection... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

11:30am MDT

The Past is not the Present
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 208
Balancing historical reality and modern agency
Moderators
avatar for Iona Whishaw

Iona Whishaw

Iona Whishaw is the author of the award-winning best-selling Lane Winslow Mysteries. She is a former educator whose mother and grandfather were both spies during their respective wars. She has won the Bony Blythe award, and has been a finalist for a Crime Writers of Canada award... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Baer Charlton

Baer Charlton

Baer Charlton secretly read science fiction books while his seventh-grade teacher talked. Listening to older people gave him a basis for characters. Talking and sharing meals with the older members of marginalized cultures give his characters depth. Baer’s characters remind readers... Read More →
avatar for Rob Osler

Rob Osler

Rob Osler is the USA Today Bestselling Author of Harriet Morrow Investigates, so far including The Case Of The Missing Maid and The Case Of The Murdered Muckraker, both Publishers Weekly Starred Reviews. Rob also writes Perry Winkle Whodunits for Ellery Queen Magazine. An Edgar Finalist... Read More →
avatar for Olesya Lyuzna

Olesya Lyuzna

Olesya Lyuzna is the author of the Ginny Dugan Mysteries, a queer, female-driven noir series set in the glittering shadows of the Jazz Age. She lives in Toronto, where she spends her free time hosting murder mystery parties, haunting old movie theatres, and scouring the archives for... Read More →
NA
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

11:30am MDT

Young Sprouts and Mature Trees: Writing Dialogue for Younger and Older Characters
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 201
Books are no longer uni-generational, and a 12 year old doesn’t talk like an 80 year old. Writing intergenerational dialogue.
Moderators
avatar for Anna St. John

Anna St. John

Anna St. John writes the Josie Posey Mystery Series, featuring a mature yet feisty former crime reporter as the amateur sleuth. Cashed Out Cold (2026) is book four of the series. Others include Doomed by Blooms (2023), Clocked Out (2024), and Dolled Up for Murder (2025). A member... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Marcy Lane

Marcy Lane

Marcy Lane is a late-blooming novelist whose fiction explores resilience, found family and the power of second chances. She’s currently writing the Eh! Team Mysteries, a cozy-ish series set in fictional Erie Bluff, Ontario. An army brat turned Lake Erie local, Marcy shares her cottage... Read More →
TR
avatar for David A. Poulsen

David A. Poulsen

David A. Poulsen’s writing career began in earnest when The Welcomin’ won the 1984 Alberta Culture Short Story Competition. His inaugural foray into the world of adult crime fiction was Serpents Rising, the first of the Cullen and Cobb mysteries, a four-book series including Dead... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Glen 201

1:45pm MDT

Anthony Nominees Anthology and Short Stories
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 201
Come and hear Nominees for Anthologies and Short Stories
Moderators
avatar for Heather Bonin MacIntosh

Heather Bonin MacIntosh

Heather Bonin MacIntosh from my Calgary / Mohkinstsis writes and published cross cultural stories.Ever hopeful, she has two novels in progress.
Speakers
avatar for C.W. Blackwell

C.W. Blackwell

C.W. Blackwell is a crime analyst and award-winning author from the Central Coast of California. He is a 3x Derringer Award winner and Anthony Award Finalist. His short stories have appeared with Shotgun Honey, Reckon Review, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and Rock and a Hard Place... Read More →
avatar for Mindy Carlson

Mindy Carlson

Mindy Carlson is the Silver Falchion-nominated author of the leather jacket cozy Her Dying Day. Her newest short story AITA for Using My Husband's Hobby to Teach Him a Lesson She's continually surrounded by stacks of books, knitting yarn, half-filled tea cups, and sleeping cats.
avatar for John Copenhaver

John Copenhaver

John Copenhaver's novel Hall of Mirrors was a New York Times Crime Novel of the Year and won the Left Coast Crime Award for Best Historical Mystery. Earlier titles include Dodging and Burning and The Savage Kind, a Lambda Literary Award winner. He co-edited Crime Ink: Iconic, serves... Read More →
avatar for Curtis Ippolito

Curtis Ippolito

Curtis Ippolito is an Anthony Award-winning writer and the author of the crime novel Waves of Burden, published this June from Rock and a Hard Place Press. His short stories have appeared in numerous publications and featured in several anthologies. Curtis is also the editor of On... Read More →
AO
avatar for Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier

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 →
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 201

1:45pm MDT

Bones and Flesh
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 206
Go beyond thriller readers’ elemental expectations
Moderators
avatar for Shoshona (S.M.) Freedman

Shoshona (S.M.) Freedman

S.M. Freedman worked as a private investigator before returning to her first love: writing. Her books have reached #1 on the Amazon charts, been a finalist in the Crime Writers of Canada’s Awards of Excellence, chosen as the Best Debut of the Year by Suspense Magazine, and selected... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for P.J. Vernon

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 →
avatar for Jennifer Hillier

Jennifer Hillier

Jennifer Hillier is the USA Today bestselling author of Things We Do in the Dark, winner of the ITW Thriller Award for Best Audiobook. Earlier novels include Creep, Freak, The Butcher, Wonderland, Jar of Hearts (winner, ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover), and the national bes... Read More →
avatar for Hannah Mary McKinnon

Hannah Mary McKinnon

Internationally bestselling author Hannah Mary McKinnon’s suspense novels include The Revenge List, Only One Survives, and A Killer Motive, which is her 11th book. Her work has been optioned for the screen, and she also writes romance as Holly Cassidy. Hannah Mary lives near Toronto... Read More →
avatar for Tracy Clark

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 →
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 206

1:45pm MDT

Joys and Pitfallsof Collecting Crime Fiction and Non-Fiction
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 203
Book collecting is not for the faint of heart. There's the search, the 'holy grail' book, but also the expense.
Moderators
avatar for Sam Wiebe

Sam Wiebe

Sam Wiebe is an award-winning writer based in the Pacific Northwest. His fiction has won the Kobo Emerging Writers Prize and two Crime Writers of Canada awards, and been nominated for the Edgar, Hammett, Shamus, and City of Vancouver book prizes. His latest novel featuring Vancouver... Read More →
Speakers
PR
avatar for Warren Moore

Warren Moore

Warren Moore is Professor of English at Newberry College in Newberry, SC. His fiction has appeared in several online venues, magazines, and anthologies, including seven anthologies edited by Lawrence Block. He is also co-director of the Newberry Crime Writing Workshop, at http://www.newberry.edu/ncww... Read More →
CC
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

1:45pm MDT

Locked Rooms, and Cyphers, and Maps, Oh My
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 208
Puzzles mysteries are more fun when authors reveal just enough to test the readers powers of deduction and problem solving.
Moderators
avatar for Shelly Dickson Carr

Shelly Dickson Carr

Carr’s time-travel mystery novel Ripped won 3 Ben Franklin awards: Best First Novel, Best Mystery/Suspense & Best New Voice. It was #1 YA e-book on Amazon. Founding member of the GBH Masterpiece Trust for Masterpiece and Masterpiece Mystery! Carr has published short stories in EQMM... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Pamela Kenney

Pamela Kenney

Pamela Kenney is a Canadian writer of cozy mysteries with a touch of humour, including the "Retired Cop Cozy Mystery" series and the "Body in Banff" series. Her short stories have been published in numerous anthologies including After Dark by Rowan Prose and Knucklehead Noir by Coffin... Read More →
avatar for Mary Seifert

Mary Seifert

Mary Seifert is the award-winning author of the Katie and Maverick Cozy Mysteries, must-reads for cozy fans with curious minds, a love of puzzles, and a need to uncover the truth. When she's not penning her next mystery, you’ll find her with a book in one hand, a glass of wine in... Read More →
avatar for S.B. Watson

S.B. Watson

S. B. Watson is a short story specialist with a particular love for locked-room mysteries and impossibility problems. His stories have appeared in Ellery Queen’s and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazines, Mystery Magazine, Mystery Tribune, and anthologies from publishers such as... Read More →
avatar for Audrey J. Cole

Audrey J. Cole

Audrey J. Cole is a USA TODAY bestselling thriller author, and her work has been translated into multiple languages. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her two children. Before writing full time, she worked as a neonatal intensive care nurse for eleven years.
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

1:45pm MDT

Rising Out of the Slush Pile
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Macleod D
What agents look for in potential new clients.
Moderators
CL
Speakers
LC
JF
CD
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

1:45pm MDT

Spotlight Interview: Kevin Sands
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Macleod BC
Join David A Poulsen in conversation with 2026 Kids' Guest of Honour Kevin Sands
Moderators
avatar for David A. Poulsen

David A. Poulsen

David A. Poulsen’s writing career began in earnest when The Welcomin’ won the 1984 Alberta Culture Short Story Competition. His inaugural foray into the world of adult crime fiction was Serpents Rising, the first of the Cullen and Cobb mysteries, a four-book series including Dead... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Kevin Sands

Kevin Sands

Since escaping from university with a pair of degrees in theoretical physics, Kevin Sands has worked as a researcher, a business consultant, a teacher, and a professional poker player. He lives in Ontario, Canada. He is the author of the bestselling The Blackthorn Key and Thieves... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm MDT
Macleod BC

3:00pm MDT

Anthony Nominees Non-Fiction and YA
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 201
Come and hear nominees in these categories
Moderators
avatar for Leslie S. Klinger

Leslie S. Klinger

Leslie S. Klinger is the two-time Edgar-winning, NY Times best-selling editor of dozens of annotated works of classic crime fiction and anthologies, including the New Annotated Sherlock Holmes and Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s. He is the series editor of the multi-volume... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Dawn M. Barclay

Dawn M. Barclay

Agatha/Chanticleer/Derringer finalist Dawn M. Barclay writes psychological/domestic/romantic suspense and edits crime anthologies as D.M. Barr and writes nonfiction under her own name. A former editor for Down & Out Books and Champagne Book Group, she currently edits for Hold Fast... Read More →
avatar for Lee Matthew Goldberg

Lee Matthew Goldberg

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the Anthony, Lefty, and Prix du Polar nominated author of sixteen novels including The Ancestor and The Mentor, and The Great Gimmelmans. Miles In Time and Time Fixers are out now. He’s been published in multiple languages and is the publisher of Fringe Press... Read More →
avatar for Mia P. Manansala

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 →
avatar for Nancy G. West

Nancy G. West

Nancy West writes suspense/thrillers about ordinary people in danger who struggle to save themselves or loved ones. Risky Pursuit, an inter-generational thriller and Anthony Nominee, is her ninth book. A UT-Austin business grad who switched to English lit, Nancy found writing fiction... Read More →
avatar for Anne Soon Choi

Anne Soon Choi

Anne Soon Choi is an award winning historian and writes across genres. Her true crime biography, LA Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood was published in 2025 . She lives and writes in Los Angeles.
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 201

3:00pm MDT

Best in Show
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 203
How animal characters enhance story telling, and may be surrogate support animals for the readers.
Moderators
avatar for Margaret Mizushima

Margaret Mizushima

Margaret Mizushima is the author of the award winning Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries featuring Deputy Mattie Cobb, her K-9 Robo, and Cole Walker, DVM. Dying Cry is book ten in the series. Margaret and her veterinarian husband moved from Colorado to Washington’s Olympic peninsula, where... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Peggy Doviak

Peggy Doviak

Peggy Doviak writes cozy mysteries and personal finance books. Her Magnolia Hill series features a financial planner who solves murders with the help of her horse. She has just started a second cozy series set on Galveston Island. Her latest finance book offers money tips for creatives... Read More →
avatar for Sara Driscoll

Sara Driscoll

Sara Driscoll is the pen name of Jen J. Danna, author of the FBI K-9s and NYPD Negotiators thriller series, and coauthor of the Abbott and Lowell Forensic Mysteries. After over 30 years in infectious diseases research, Jen hung up her lab coat to concentrate on her real love—writing... Read More →
avatar for Liisa Kovala

Liisa Kovala

Liisa Kovala is an award-winning Finnish Canadian author, book coach, and podcaster. She is the author of Like Water for Weary Souls (House of Karhu, 2025), Sisu's Winter War (Latitude 46, 2022) and Surviving Stutthof: My Father's Memories Behind the Death Gate (Latitude 46, 2017... Read More →
avatar for Bonnie Elizabeth

Bonnie Elizabeth

Speculative fiction writer and retired acupuncturist, Bonnie Elizabeth uses her varied experiences to create believable but often unusual characters.

As a multi-genre author, Bonnie has written paranormal cozy mystery, contemporary fantasy, gothic suspense, paranormal women’s fiction, and even young adult contemporary fantasy novels. Her short stories range from contemporary mystery to science fiction and secondary world fantasy... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

3:00pm MDT

Commercial Success Without Social Media: Is that Even Possible?
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 208
What would a marketing campaign look like without social media, and what are the chances it could be successful?
Moderators
avatar for Chris Dreith

Chris Dreith

Chris Dreith wrote several short stories, including “Old Soles” in the Bouchercon 2020 anthology, “Unknown Male and Parts of Two Others” in Cemetery Plots 2021 and “The Road To Limerick” in Mystery Most International 2022. More quirky short stories are being added to her... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Erik D’Souza

Erik D’Souza

Erik D'Souza is an author, publisher, and podcaster residing in Vancouver, BC. He is the author of the Suzanne Rickson Mystery Series, featuring a charming, resourceful senior sleuth. Erik serves as the Marketing Manager for Crime Writers of Canada and hosts their popular podcast... Read More →
avatar for Joanne Rock

Joanne Rock

Joanne Rock is a USA Today bestselling author and has written a variety of genre fiction. Her first domestic suspense, The Last Book Club, released in May from Crooked Lane Books. A frequent speaker at regional and national writing conferences, she has a master’s degree in literature... Read More →
avatar for Gerri Lewis

Gerri Lewis

Gerri Lewis is the author of The Last Word and Grave Words, the first two books in her Deadly Deadlines Mystery series about obituary writer and amateur sleuth, Winter Snow. During her career as an award-winning reporter, columnist and feature writer, Gerri has become a go-to person... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

3:00pm MDT

Editors as Co-Conspirators: The Accomplices You didn't Know You Needed
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Macleod BC
From hidden clues to shocking reveals, explore the author-editor partnership and the invisible decisions that shape crime fiction
Moderators
AB
Speakers
RM
SL
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Macleod BC

3:00pm MDT

Relatable Villians
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 206
We know they are the baddies, but there’s something about them that gets our attention, and maybe even our sympathy.
Moderators
avatar for Michelle Godard-Richer

Michelle Godard-Richer

Michelle Godard-Richer is a multi-award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of ten books, including Accident or Murder? and The Fatal Series. She also has a Criminology degree from the University of Ottawa and was named Best Canada Author of the Year by N.N. Light’s Book Heav... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Christopher Huang

Christopher Huang

Christopher Huang grew up in Singapore, where he served his two years of National Service before settling down for good in Canada. He studied Architecture at McGill University and lived for twenty-odd years in Montreal before finally moving to Calgary, where he has yet to find a proper... Read More →
avatar for Tanya Scott

Tanya Scott

Tanya Scott is a writer, doctor and medical educator based on the Victorian Surf Coast. Her love of twisty mysteries has made her an ‘accidental’ crime writer. She writes character-driven fiction informed by working in mental health care, where her patients have been her greatest... Read More →
avatar for Alexander Boldizar

Alexander Boldizar

Alexander Boldizar's writing has won a variety of awards in literary fiction, science fiction, thriller, and humor and satire categories, including the 2025 Locus Award for best science fiction. He has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, is a founding director of a charity that brings... Read More →
avatar for Curtis Ippolito

Curtis Ippolito

Curtis Ippolito is an Anthony Award-winning writer and the author of the crime novel Waves of Burden, published this June from Rock and a Hard Place Press. His short stories have appeared in numerous publications and featured in several anthologies. Curtis is also the editor of On... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Glen 206

3:00pm MDT

The Past is Another Country: Balancing Research and Reader Engagement
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Macleod D
What is a good balance between historical accuracy and story telling?
Moderators
avatar for Guy Mace

Guy Mace

Guy Mace is a debut author recently signed by Emily Bestler Books. He's a mechanical engineer and venture capitalist that travels extensively around the world, collaborating with people of various cultures, languages, and backgrounds. His passions include history, adventure, and all... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Susanna Calkins

Susanna Calkins

Susanna Calkins, a historian and educator, writes the award-winning Lucy Campion historical mysteries set in 17th century London and the Speakeasy Murders set in 1920s Chicago. Her fiction has been nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, as well as the Agatha, Anthony, and the... Read More →
avatar for Eleanor Kuhns

Eleanor Kuhns

Eleanor Kuhns is the author of the 2011 Minotaur/Mystery/Writers of America first mystery prize for A Simple Murder. Since then she has written eleven more Will Rees mysteries, with the newest title The Long Shadow of Murder. She has also written the Bronze Age Crete Mystery series... Read More →
avatar for Paddy Hirsch

Paddy Hirsch

Paddy writes thrillers and mysteries, including the Lawless New York series, set in early 1800s New York. His latest novel is Primed, a transatlantic revenge thriller set in Belfast and Los Angeles. When he’s not writing about financially-motivated murders, Paddy works as a Murrow... Read More →
avatar for Ann Parker

Ann Parker

Ann Parker writes the award-winning Silver Rush historical mystery series set in the 1880s American West and short stories set where and when her fancy takes her (lately those have been historical-mystery-fantasy mashups about a detective who "walks through time" to solve crime of... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

4:15pm MDT

Spotlight Interview: Mark Greaney
Thursday October 22, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
Sponsored by Editors Calgary: Join Nick Petrie in conversation with 2026 American Guest of Honour Mark Greaney.
Moderators
avatar for Nick Petrie

Nick Petrie

Nick Petrie‘s first novel, The Drifter, won the ITW Thriller and Barry Awards, and was nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Hammett Awards. He was named one of Apple’s 10 Writers to Read in 2017. Light It Up was named the Best Thriller of 2018 by Apple Books and was nominated for... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Mark Greaney

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 →
Thursday October 22, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall

7:00pm MDT

Opening Ceremonies
Thursday October 22, 2026 7:00pm - 9:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
Join Toastmaster PJ Vernon and the Calgary Fiddlers as we give a boisterous welcome to our 2026 Guests of Honour and Special Guests. We will announce the recipients of the Barry, Derringer, and Shamus Awards, and the David Thompson Award will be presented. Cash bar and light snacks. Sponsored by Berkley.
Thursday October 22, 2026 7:00pm - 9:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall

8:30pm MDT

Anthology Celebration
Thursday October 22, 2026 8:30pm - 9:30pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
Celebrate the launch of the Bouchercon 2026 anthology The Lines We Cross published by Level Best Books. Purchase your copy and get your book signed by all the authors!
Thursday October 22, 2026 8:30pm - 9:30pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
 
Friday, October 23
 

7:00am MDT

Debut Author Breakfast
Friday October 23, 2026 7:00am - 9:00am MDT
Exhibit Hall
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
avatar for Donalee Moulton

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
avatar for Sherryl Clark

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 →
avatar for Faith Gardner

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 →
avatar for Cathy Ace

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 →
avatar for Lisa de Nikolits

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
LO
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
avatar for Kevin Jagernauth

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
avatar for Holly West

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 →
avatar for Scott Von Doviak

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 →
avatar for Claire Booth

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
avatar for Hilary Faktor

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
avatar for Karen Knutson

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 →
avatar for Liz Rachel Walker

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 →
avatar for Kevin P. Bartlett

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 →
NP
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
avatar for Pamela Donison

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
avatar for Avram Lavinsky

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 →
avatar for E.A. Aymar

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 →
avatar for Mysti Berry

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 →
PG
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
KC
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
avatar for Olyn Fleming Ozbick

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
avatar for James L'Etoile

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 →
avatar for Lina Chern

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 →
avatar for Tracy Clark

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 →
avatar for Bruce Robert Coffin

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 →
avatar for Heather Levy

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
avatar for Stephen Kimber

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
avatar for Wendy Whitman

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 →
avatar for Rick Mofina

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 →
avatar for Deborah Levison

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 →
AB
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
avatar for Barbara Gayle Austin

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
avatar for Carolyn Arnold

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 →
avatar for Alexandra Ryan

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 →
avatar for Andrew Ludington

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 →
avatar for Robyn Harding

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
avatar for Wayne Arthurson

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
avatar for Dave Sweet

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 →
avatar for Anthony Bidulka

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 →
avatar for Charlotte Morganti

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 →
avatar for M.H. Callway

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
avatar for Hart Hanson

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
avatar for Jaima Fixsen

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
avatar for Frances McNamara

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 →
avatar for David Dominé

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 →
avatar for Karen Odden

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
avatar for Hilary Davidson

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
avatar for Michael Rigg

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 →
avatar for Sue Hincenbergs

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 →
avatar for Laurie L. Dove

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 →
avatar for Adrian Andover

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 →
avatar for Delia Pitts

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
avatar for Debra H. Goldstein

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
avatar for Merrilee Robson

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 →
avatar for Michelle Kubitz

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 →
avatar for Andrew Welsh-Huggins

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 →
avatar for Victor De Anda

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
avatar for Jessica Waite

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
avatar for W. Michael Gear

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 →
avatar for Mike Faricy

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 →
avatar for Neal Bailey

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 →
avatar for Otto Penzler

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
avatar for James L'Etoile

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 →
Speakers
avatar for James Queally

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 →
avatar for Sara Paretsky

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 →
avatar for Robin Yocum

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 →
avatar for Raquel V. Reyes

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
avatar for James Byrne

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
avatar for Joe Battaglia

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 →
avatar for Mark Greaney

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 →
avatar for Libby Fischer Hellmann

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 →
avatar for Jennifer Sadera

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
avatar for Chris Marrs

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
avatar for P.J. Vernon

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
PG
Speakers
avatar for A.C. Frieden

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 →
avatar for Stanley Trollip (Michael Stanley)

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 →
avatar for Roopa Unnikrishnan

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 →
avatar for Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier

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
avatar for Steve Stratton

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
avatar for Steven Konkoly

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 →
avatar for Stuart Field

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 →
avatar for Jack Murphy

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 →
avatar for Jason Allison

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
avatar for Harry Hunsicker

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
avatar for David Housewright

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 →
avatar for Angela van Breemen

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 →
avatar for Michael Wiley

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 →
avatar for Matt Goldman

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
avatar for Nick Wilkshire

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
avatar for Alex Finlay

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 →
avatar for Connie Johnson Hambley

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 →
avatar for Caroline Cleveland

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 →
avatar for Catherine McKenzie/Mack

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
avatar for Cathy Ace

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 →
Speakers
avatar for Abir Mukherjee

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
avatar for Bruce Robert Coffin

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 →
Speakers
avatar for Karen Dionne

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 →
avatar for Con Lehane

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 →
avatar for Nicole Brooks

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 →
avatar for Mandy Miller

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
avatar for Olyn Fleming Ozbick

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
CL
avatar for Linda Sanche

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 →
avatar for Tairi Blair

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 →
avatar for Raymond J. Brash

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
avatar for Jeff Ayers

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
avatar for Louise Penny

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 →
avatar for Mellissa Fung

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
avatar for Gordon Jack

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
avatar for Suzy Vadori

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 →
avatar for Daniel J. Hale

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.
avatar for Kate (K.B.) Jackson

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 →
avatar for Mia P. Manansala

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
avatar for Emily J. Edwards

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
avatar for Jim Fusilli

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 →
avatar for Sharon Lynn

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
GE
Speakers
avatar for Meredith Anthony

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.
BP
avatar for Abir Mukherjee

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 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
avatar for Hart Hanson

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 →
Speakers
avatar for Kathy Reichs

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
 
Saturday, October 24
 

9:00am MDT

Cognitive Dissonance of Noir in Non-traditional settings
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 203
Noir isn’t limited to gritty big city streets, but are there some places just too nice for noir?
Moderators
avatar for Reed Farrel Coleman

Reed Farrel Coleman

Called a hardboiled poet by NPR's Maureen Corrigan, Reed Farrel Coleman is the NY Times bestselling author of thirty-plus novels including six Jesse Stone novels for the estate of Robert B. Parker. He is a four-time Shamus Award recipient for Best PI Novel and a four-time Edgar Award... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Hope Thompson

Hope Thompson

Hope Thompson is a playwright, scriptwriter, and writer. Her plays have been produced in Canada and the US. and published in anthologies, including by Playwrights Canada Press. A licensed PI, Hope has written numerous true crime scripts for the podcasts Crimehub and Whereabouts Unknown—and... Read More →
avatar for Francesco Paola

Francesco Paola

Francesco was born in Turin, Italy, and raised in Italy, Thailand, and Australia before making his way to the US. In 2019 he spent two years at a cannabis startup in California where the experience led to the ideas for his debut novel, Left on Rancho. His short thriller film, Another... Read More →
avatar for Charles Salzberg

Charles Salzberg

Charles Salzberg is a former magazine journalist. His articles have appeared in New York, Esquire, and The New York Times. His first novel, Swann’s Last Song was nominated for a Shamus Award, as was Second Story Man (Beverly Hills Book Award winner), and Canary in the Coal Mine... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

Hosting a Bouchercon
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 201
This convention could happen where you live. Getting there means a long-term commitment and is a lot of fun
Moderators
BN
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 201

9:00am MDT

How Far Outside Normal does Something Have to be to Be Paranormal?
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 208
Ghostly wisps to full out vampire attack? Where are the borders of paranormal?
Moderators
avatar for Mark L. Van Name

Mark L. Van Name

Mark L. Van Name is a writer, technologist, and spoken word performer. He has published five mystery/SF crossover novels (One Jump Ahead, Slanted Jack, Overthrowing Heaven, Children No More, and No Going Back) and an omnibus collection of his first two books (Jump Gate Twist); edited... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for S.K. Andrews

S.K. Andrews

S.K. Andrews grew up writing fantasy stories and acting on stage. Her book series The Kelly Society features Vivien Kelly, a psychic warrior keeping the modern world safe from supernatural monsters in Bay of Darkness and A Kelly Society Christmas. Bay of Darkness was a Readers Favorite... Read More →
avatar for Gabi Coatsworth

Gabi Coatsworth

Gabi Coatsworth is an award-winning British-born author who lives in Connecticut in a cottage that’s American outside, and English inside. Her first novel, A Beginner’s Guide to Starting Over (2023) features a lovable ghost, and so does her second, A Field Guide to Library Ghosts... Read More →
avatar for C.A. Rowland

C.A. Rowland

Speculative fiction writer C.A. Rowland has lived and visited many amazing places around the world. Twists of historical facts, myths, and folklore help her create fantastical worlds. Want to come along? Her second novel in her amateur sleuth paranormal series, The Haunted City Mysteries... Read More →
LF
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

What does Query Mean Today?
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 206
Has every publisher gone digital? How do I find an editor or publisher who is taking new submissions?
Moderators
avatar for Kevin R. Doyle

Kevin R. Doyle

Kevin R. Doyle is the author of six novels in the Sam Quinton mystery series, all published by Camel Press. He’s also written four crime thrillers, including And the Devil Walks Away and The Anchor, and one horror novel, The Litter, along with numerous short horror stories published... Read More →
Speakers
TC
avatar for Shawn Reilly Simmons

Shawn Reilly Simmons

Shawn Reilly Simmons is the author of The Red Carpet Catering Mysteries and is the Agatha Award-winning author of over 30 published short stories. As a crime fiction anthology editor, Shawn has also won an Anthony Award. She is Publisher & CEO at Level Best Books, an independent crime... Read More →
avatar for Jennifer van der Kleut

Jennifer van der Kleut

Jennifer van der Kleut is an award-winning former journalist of both print and digital publications, including the D.C. affiliate of ABC7 News. A graduate of San Jose State University, she spent most of her life in the Bay Area before moving to the Northern Virginia suburbs of D.C... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 206

9:00am MDT

What has Replaced the Cold War in Espionage Novels?
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod D
How have digital devices, drones, eco disasters, pandemics, and shifting alliances altered spy craft?
Moderators
JP
Speakers
avatar for Mark Greaney

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 →
avatar for Sam Reaves

Sam Reaves

Sam Reaves has written crime novels set in Chicago and the rural Midwest and has co-authored a mobster memoir. Under the name Dominic Martell he writes geopolitical thrillers with international settings. Reaves has traveled widely in Europe and the Middle East but has lived in the... Read More →
avatar for Matthew Lavoie

Matthew Lavoie

Matthew Lavoie is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling debut author of Main Street Fringe (Hopefully—his was written before the release). His gritty, real-world tales offer thrilling and genre-bending takes on societal undercurrents. A longtime political operative, he’s... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

Book Signing: Louise Penny
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45pm MDT
Macleod Lobby
Meet Louise Penny! Limit of 2 items for signing.
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45pm MDT
Macleod Lobby 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Deep in the Heart of Cozies
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 206
What is it about traditional stories that still speak to the heart?
Moderators
avatar for Claudia Hagadus Long

Claudia Hagadus Long

Claudia Hagadus Long is a lawyer in Calistoga, California. Her writing includes the Zara and Lilly mystery series, one of which, Nine Tenths of the Law (Kasva Press) has been optioned for a feature film. Truck a Duck and Murder without a Duck (Simpato Mystery series, Sibylline Press... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Rebecca Tope

Rebecca Tope

Rebecca's first novel was published in 1999. Since then, another 46 titles have appeared. None of them has won an award, but readers seem impervious to that sad fact, and the books gather many accolades. They comprise three series, almost entirely featuring female amateur sleuths... Read More →
avatar for Roz Nay

Roz Nay

Roz Nay is the bestselling, award-winning author of four thrillers, Our Little Secret, Hurry Home, The Hunted, and The Offing. Her new funnier mystery, All Rise for Murder, is the first in a series and will be released in May 2026.
avatar for Susan Calder

Susan Calder

Susan Calder lives in Calgary. She is the author of six novels published by BWL Publishing Inc. Four are part of her mystery series set in Calgary. Her standalone novels take readers to California and 1918 Calgary. She is currently working on a suspense novel set in Czechia. Susan’s... Read More →
avatar for Rosemary McCracken

Rosemary McCracken

Rosemary McCracken has worked on newspapers across Canada as a reporter, editor, editorial writer and arts reviewer. She's the author of the five-book Pat Tierney Mystery Series, and numerous works of short crime fiction. Rosemary now lives and writes in Toronto.
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 206

10:15am MDT

Forensic Toxicology and Treatment of Poisoning
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 203
What poisonings are commonly treated in emergency rooms? What is forensic toxicology?
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Hollywood Confidential
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 208
Hollywood has always had a darkness under the glitter. All too often that darkness surfaces.
Moderators
avatar for Elizabeth Crowens

Elizabeth Crowens

Entertainment industry veteran, Elizabeth Crowens (NY/LA) nominated for Lefty, Agatha, Macavity, Silver Falchion and Claymore, Glimmer Train Awards and won a MWA-NY Leo B. Burstein Scholarship, NYFA grant, Eric Hoffer and two Grand prize and seven First prize Chanticleer Awards. Crowens... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Anne Soon Choi

Anne Soon Choi

Anne Soon Choi is an award winning historian and writes across genres. Her true crime biography, LA Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood was published in 2025 . She lives and writes in Los Angeles.
AO
avatar for John Shepphird

John Shepphird


John Shepphird is a Shamus Award-winning author and writer/director of television films.Novels include Deception Specialist and the Hollywood-themed thriller Bottom Feeders. John's short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. He is the editor of the Tennis Noi... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Mysteries/Thrillers and …: Why Crime Fiction Plays Well With Other Genres
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Macleod D
When was the last time someone described their book as a straight mystery/thriller? Lots of hyphenated cross-genres out there.
Moderators
avatar for Alexandra Ryan

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 →
Speakers
avatar for Andrew Ludington

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 →
avatar for Raven Lee

Raven Lee

An avid traveler, Raven Lee, has never met a spooky tale she didn’t love. Ghost towns, haunted houses, or mysterious forests, wherever the story, she is fascinated. When not traveling, she channels her paranormal obsession into writing her own stories, hoping to make you sleep with... Read More →
avatar for Alexandra Renwick

Alexandra Renwick

Alexandra Renwick writes mythy, sometimes murdery tales of love and death. She splits time between Flower Mound, Texas and downtown Montreal but her short fiction appears under various iterations of her name around the world. Her novel Horn, a modern riff on unicorn folklore about... Read More →
avatar for Cynthia Swanson

Cynthia Swanson

Cynthia Swanson is the NYT bestselling author of the psychological suspense novels The Bookseller, The Glass Forest, and Anyone But Her, and the story collection This Isn’t New. Cynthia was named 2025 Indie Author of the Year by the Indie Author Project and has received the Colorado... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Spotlight Interview: Jennifer Hillier
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Macleod BC
Join Alex Finlay in conversation with 2026 Canadian Guest of Honour Jennifer Hillier
Moderators
avatar for Alex Finlay

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 →
Speakers
avatar for Jennifer Hillier

Jennifer Hillier

Jennifer Hillier is the USA Today bestselling author of Things We Do in the Dark, winner of the ITW Thriller Award for Best Audiobook. Earlier novels include Creep, Freak, The Butcher, Wonderland, Jar of Hearts (winner, ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover), and the national bes... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Macleod BC

10:15am MDT

The Fast Pace of Thrillers
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 201
What sets the clock ticking and propels your readers into the story?
Moderators
avatar for Vera Chan

Vera Chan

Former journalist/big-tech cog Vera Chan (AKA HC Chan) stretches the definition of noir: corporate (Murderers’ Feast, Midnight Hour), Chinese music-school (Tone Deaf, Tales of Music, Murder & Mayhem), domestic ("These Poor Mothers", LA Review 2023 Short Fiction Award), and stand-up... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Tom Milani

Tom Milani

Tom Milani’s short fiction has appeared online in Urban Pigs Press, The Yard: Crime Blog, among other places, as well as in several anthologies. Derringer finalist “Barracuda Backfire” was published in 2024 as Book 4 of Michael Bracken’s Chop Shop novella series. His first... Read More →
avatar for Ox Devere

Ox Devere

Ox Devere worked in the film industry for years before becoming an author. She lives outside of Boston with her Border Collie-Lab and an excessive collection of books and bourbon.
avatar for Hank Phillippi Ryan

Hank Phillippi Ryan

Hank Phillippi Ryan is the USA Today bestselling author of 17 thrillers including All This Could be Yours, the 2026 Mary Higgins Clark Award winner, and the new Mother Daughter Sister Stranger. She’s won every major mystery award, with her thrillers translated into multiple languages... Read More →
avatar for J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 35 psychological thrillers. When she's not writing about murder and mayhem, she's the Emmy® award-winning co-host of A Word on Words on Nashville PBS, where she talks about books for a living. With millions... Read More →
avatar for Peter Thomas Pontsa

Peter Thomas Pontsa

Peter Pontsa built a respected career in the dental industry, authoring numerous techno-clinical articles and serving as associate publisher of a denturist magazine. After retiring, he studied Advanced Fiction Writing at the University of Waterloo. A member of the Wordsmiths and Crime... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 201

11:30am MDT

General Members Meeting
Saturday October 24, 2026 11:30am - 1:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
If you are registered for the convention, then you're a member! You are invited to attend. Vote on future Bouchercon locations and items of business. This is your chance to have a say in the future of Bouchercon.
Saturday October 24, 2026 11:30am - 1:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall

1:00pm MDT

Special Exhibit of the Steele Curry Mystery, Espionage, and Thriller Collection
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:00pm - 4:00pm MDT
Lobby
A curated selection of author Steele Curry's collection of some 8,000 first edition books, mystery-related publications and 'archives' that he donated to the University of Calgary. The collection is held in the university's special book collections department for students, researchers, budding authors and film writers to access. Sponsored by the University of Calgary.
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:00pm - 4:00pm MDT
Lobby 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

1:30pm MDT

From Mean Streets to Dark Web Alleys
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Glen 206
Have real-life and fictional PIs moved from the mean streets to the dark web alleys?
Moderators
avatar for Peter Colt

Peter Colt

Peter Colt is a 1996 graduate of the University of Rhode Island. Colt was a 24-year veteran of the Army Reserve with deployments to Kosovo and Iraq as an Army Civil Affairs officer. He is currently a police officer in Providence, Rhode Island. He is married with two teenage sons... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Sandra J. Cady

Sandra J. Cady

Sandra J. Cady, is a former Detroit police officer and past owner of a private investigation agency. Her detective novel, A Game of Luck, releases on 4-30-26. Her short story, High School Reunion, is included in the 2026 Derringer Award finalist mystery anthology, The Not So Frail... Read More →
avatar for Angela van Breemen

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 →
avatar for Mir Bahmanyar

Mir Bahmanyar

Mir Bahmanyar holds a BA from Cal Berkeley, served in the 75th Ranger Regiment, and has an MA from King’s College London. His books feature on US military reading lists and have been translated into Arabic, German, Japanese, Polish and Spanish. He was a military technical advisor... Read More →
avatar for Paul Bishop

Paul Bishop

Paul Bishop is the author of fifteen novels and multiple nonfiction works on crime fiction and Western literature. A thirty-five-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, he spent more than twenty-five years investigating sexual assault crimes, experience that informs his... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Glen 206

1:30pm MDT

Humor Across the Board
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Glen 201
Authors of very different books still find common ground in laughter.
Moderators
avatar for Sean Little

Sean Little

​Sean Patrick Little is a writer, speaker, editor, educator, and general literary dude from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, best known for the critically acclaimed Abe & Duff Mysteries.
Speakers
avatar for Lawrence Allan

Lawrence Allan

Lawrence Allan is the award winning writer of the Jimmy Cooper Mysteries. The first in the series, Big Fat F@!k-Up, won two Claymore Awards and was a finalist for a Shamus Award. The follow up, Big F@!king Deal was a Silver Falchion Top Choice in Comedy, and Go F@!k Yourself is out... Read More →
avatar for Sue Hincenbergs

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 →
avatar for Ellen Byron

Ellen Byron

Ellen is a bestselling author, Anthony nominee, and recipient of multiple Agatha and Lefty awards for her Cajun Country, Vintage Cookbook, Catering Hall, and Golden Motel Mysteries. She is an award-winning playwright and non-award-winning writer of TV hits like Wings, Just Shoot Me... Read More →
avatar for Catriona McPherson

Catriona McPherson

Serial awards-botherer Catriona McPherson (she/her) was born in Scotland and immigrated to the US in 2010. She has published historical series, contemporary psychothrillers and humorous mysteries about a Scot-out-of-water in a “fictional” college town in Northern California. Catriona... Read More →
avatar for Ed Lin

Ed Lin

Ed Lin, a native New Yorker of Taiwanese and Chinese descent, is the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards. The Dead Can't Make a Living is the fifth installment in his Taipei Night Market mystery series published by Soho Crime. His other books include YA novel... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Glen 201

1:30pm MDT

Spotlight Interview: Vicki Delany
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Macleod BC
Join Cathy Ace in conversation with 2026 Cozy Guest of Honour Vicki Delany
Moderators
avatar for Cathy Ace

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 →
Speakers
avatar for Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than sixty books: clever cozies to gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy.
She is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. Vicki lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Macleod BC

1:30pm MDT

Sustaining a Detective Character Across a Series
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Macleod D
How long can one human being keep going? How are they a different person at the close of their careers?
Moderators
avatar for Libby Fischer Hellmann

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 →
Speakers
avatar for James W. Ziskin

James W. Ziskin

Anthony, Barry, and Macavity award-winner James W. Ziskin is the author of the Ellie Stone Mysteries. His books and short stories have also been finalists for the Edgar, Agatha, Lefty, and Sue Grafton Memorial awards. His latest novel is The Prank (July 2026). A picture clipped from... Read More →
avatar for Kathy Reichs

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 →
avatar for Robert Rotenberg

Robert Rotenberg

Robert Rotenberg is the author of eight bestselling novels. His books have been published in more than nine languages. He is also a full-time criminal lawyer in Toronto, as well as a screenwriting and writing teacher. (He loves to teach). Known as "Canada’s John Grisham,” some... Read More →
avatar for James Benn

James Benn

James R. Benn is the author of the Billy Boyle WWII mystery series and five stand-alone works. He worked in the library field for thirty years before leaving to write full-time. The Billy Boyle series is published by Soho Press. The New York Times called it “spirited wartime storytelling... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

1:30pm MDT

The Beat Goes On
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Glen 208
Music in crime writing
Moderators
avatar for Rick Overwater

Rick Overwater

Rick Overwater is a crime, sci-fi and fantasy writer from Calgary, Alberta. He holds a Creative Writing MFA from the University of British Columbia and is currently co-editing a crime anthology set in Alberta, slated for release in Fall, 2026. His graphic novel Futility: Orange Planet... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Lori Rader-Day

Lori Rader-Day

Lori Rader-Day is the USA Today bestselling author of Wreck Your Heart. She has been nominated for the Edgar Award and Thriller Award and has won the Mary Higgins Clark Award, the Agatha Award, and three Anthony Awards. She lives in Chicago, where she co-chairs the crime fiction readers... Read More →
avatar for Dale W. Berry

Dale W. Berry

Dale is a San Francisco-based author and graphic novelist. Among many questionable accomplishments, some favorites are: first comics artist to appear in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, having a story submitted to the Edgars, contributing to the multiple award-winning How To Write... Read More →
avatar for Winona Kent

Winona Kent

Winona's writing career began in 1989 with her Seal Books First Novel finalist, Skywatcher. She's since published eleven more books, including her five Jason Davey amateur sleuth mysteries. Winona's the Past Chair of Crime Writers of Canada. She lives in New Westminster, BC with her... Read More →
avatar for Kelly Oliver

Kelly Oliver

Kelly Oliver is the award-winning and bestselling author of four mystery series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, The Fiona Figg Mysteries, and The Detection Club Mysteries. Kelly is Past President of Sisters in Crime National, current Education Coordinator... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

1:30pm MDT

Through the Speculative Lens
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Glen 203
Speculative twists and how they influence story lines and ambience.
Moderators
avatar for Laurie R. King

Laurie R. King

Laurie R. King is the NYT bestselling author of the SFPD Inspector Raquel Laing series (Those Who Are Gone), the Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes stories, the Kate Martinelli series, and other beloved books. She has won the Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, Lambda, Wolfe, Macavity, Creasey, and... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Sandra S.G. Wong

Sandra S.G. Wong

Sandra SG Wong writes fiction across genres. Her novels and short stories have garnered multiple awards nominations in Canada and the United States. In addition to being a speaker, mentor, and community organizer, Sandra is a Past President of Sisters in Crime and founder of its DEIJB... Read More →
avatar for Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of The Bewitching, The Seventh Veil of Salome, Velvet Was the Night, Mexican Gothic, and many other books. She has won the Locus, British Fantasy and World Fantasy awards. Her latest novel is the 1940s noir The Intrigue.
CJ
avatar for Lee Matthew Goldberg

Lee Matthew Goldberg

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the Anthony, Lefty, and Prix du Polar nominated author of sixteen novels including The Ancestor and The Mentor, and The Great Gimmelmans. Miles In Time and Time Fixers are out now. He’s been published in multiple languages and is the publisher of Fringe Press... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

2:45pm MDT

AI Possibilities and Pit Falls
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Macleod BC
Where is AI these days? The good parts; the not so good; and the downright scary.
Moderators
DF
Speakers
avatar for Kathy A Norris

Kathy A Norris

Kathy A. Norris is an author and host of the podcast The Quill & The Quantum: AI and Writing Craft. In each episode Kathy talks to authors and other creatives about how they use, or refuse to use, artificial intelligence in their creative process. Kathy has published short stories... Read More →
avatar for Shawn Reilly Simmons

Shawn Reilly Simmons

Shawn Reilly Simmons is the author of The Red Carpet Catering Mysteries and is the Agatha Award-winning author of over 30 published short stories. As a crime fiction anthology editor, Shawn has also won an Anthony Award. She is Publisher & CEO at Level Best Books, an independent crime... Read More →
avatar for Mary Lynn Cloghesy

Mary Lynn Cloghesy

Mary Lynn Cloghesy is an author and editor from Calgary, Alberta. She's also the founder of the Leadership Literary Lab, a program for aspiring authors. Mary Lynn holds a master’s degree in critical and creative writing, has been shortlisted for the Claymore and Aurora awards, and... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Macleod BC

2:45pm MDT

Could We Please Stop for Just a Minute?
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Glen 208
How do thriller writers give readers an occasional break from non-stop action, violence, and tension?
Moderators
avatar for S.J. Rozan

S.J. Rozan

SJ Rozan is the author of 21 novels and 100+ short stories, and the editor of three anthologies. She's won multiple awards, including the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, Macavity; Japanese Maltese Falcon; and Life Achievement Awards from both the Private Eye Writers of America and the... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for David Heska Wanbli Weiden

David Heska Wanbli Weiden

David Heska Wanbli Weiden, an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota nation, is author of Wisdom Corner (2026). His debut novel, Winter Counts (2020), was the winner of the Anthony, Thriller, Lefty, Barry, Macavity, and other awards, and named by Time as one of the best mystery novels... Read More →
avatar for Andrew Welsh-Huggins

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 →
avatar for Boyd Morrison

Boyd Morrison

Boyd Morrison is an actor, engineer, Jeopardy! champion, and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 16 thrillers, including 6 collaborations with Clive Cussler. Before becoming a writer, he worked at Johnson Space Center, RCA/Thomson, and Microsoft’s Xbox group. His newest... Read More →
avatar for Tracy Clark

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 →
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

2:45pm MDT

First Contact
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Macleod D
Want to jump from print to media like television, movies, plays, or games? What starter kit do you need?
Moderators
avatar for Ryan Aldred

Ryan Aldred

Ryan Aldred is the author of the Bar on a Beach mystery series and The Extractor thriller series. His debut novel Rum Luck was shortlisted for two Arthur Ellis awards and a Bony Blithe. He also writes interactive fiction including video games and tabletop adventures. Ryan previously... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Kathleen Barber

Kathleen Barber

Kathleen Barber is the author of Truth be Told, which was adapted by Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine into a series that ran for three seasons on AppleTV+, Sisterhood Above All(in collaboration with TikTok influencer with Amayah Shaienne), Follow Me, and Both Things are True. A... Read More →
avatar for Bonnie Kistler

Bonnie Kistler

Bonnie Kistler is the Edgar Award-nominated author of Shell Games and several other psychological suspense thrillers. Her novels have been optioned for film and streaming TV adaptations and have been translated into a dozen foreign languages. A former Philadelphia trial lawyer, she... Read More →
avatar for Hart Hanson

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 →
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

2:45pm MDT

Psychology Meets Fiction: Writing Evil vs. Mental Health and Circumstances
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Glen 203
Now that health and social professionals know a lot more about mental health, is there still a place for a truly evil character?
Moderators
avatar for Alice Bienia

Alice Bienia

Alice Bienia is the bestselling author of the Jorja Knight Mystery series. A three-time Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence finalist and Indie Author Project regional winner, her mysteries are known for their surprising twists, realistic characters, and tight plots. Before... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Scott Ousdahl

Scott Ousdahl

Scott is a first time author, just completing the manuscript for a psychological crime thriller, Court of Equalization. He retired in 2025, finally able to focus his time on his writing passion. Scott has recently started a You-Tube channel, Destination Write!, to encourage the writer... Read More →
avatar for Alexandra Sokoloff

Alexandra Sokoloff

Alex is the Thriller Award-winning, Bram Stoker & Anthony Award-nominated author of 14 supernatural & crime thrillers and the Screenwriting Tricks for Authors books. As a screenwriter she’s written for numerous Hollywood studios. Her genre-bending, feminist Huntress Moon series... Read More →
avatar for C.W. Blackwell

C.W. Blackwell

C.W. Blackwell is a crime analyst and award-winning author from the Central Coast of California. He is a 3x Derringer Award winner and Anthony Award Finalist. His short stories have appeared with Shotgun Honey, Reckon Review, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and Rock and a Hard Place... Read More →
avatar for Craig Robertson

Craig Robertson

Craig Robertson had a 20-year career as a journalist before becoming a full-time author. A Sunday Times and international bestseller, he has written 12 novels, and been longlisted and shortlisted for the main UK crime fiction prizes on nine occasions. Three of his books are currently... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

2:45pm MDT

Selling books in a Challenging, Chaotic Marketplace
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Glen 206
Is there anything new on the bookselling horizon? What should be there?
Moderators
JO
Speakers
avatar for Michael C. Bumsted

Michael C. Bumsted

Dr Michael C Bumsted is the proprietor of Whodunit? Bookshop. The Libris award winner is also a published historian of Canadian history and a former instructor of archaeology with a PhD from the University of Aberdeen. Michael is a current judge for Bloody Scotland & an Irregular... Read More →
avatar for Angela Douglas

Angela Douglas

Angela Douglas is an award-winning thriller author, based in the Okanagan. Her debut novel, Every Fall, has been recognized by the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, Canadian Book Club Awards, Pen Craft Awards, and National Indie Excellence Awards. When she isn’t spending... Read More →
JG
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Glen 206

2:45pm MDT

Tones and Moods: Haunted Houses, Liminal Spaces, and Gothic Ambiance
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Glen 201
Some places just feel different. Is it our imagination or could there be something else out there? Why is fear fun?
Moderators
avatar for Lexie Angelo

Lexie Angelo

Dr. Lexie Angelo holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in creative writing. Her short fiction has appeared in Gutter Magazine, Neon Books, Typewronger Press, WRITE Magazine and Forest Publications. She was shortlisted for the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award and the Killer... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Debi Chowdhury

Debi Chowdhury

Love to write.
avatar for Carolyne Topdjian

Carolyne Topdjian

Carolyne Topdjian is the author of the acclaimed gothic novels The Black Moth and The Hitman’s Daughter, the latter of which received a starred review from Library Journal. Her short fiction has appeared in PRISM International, Firewords Quarterly, Tales to Terrify, and elsewhere... Read More →
avatar for D.M. Pulley

D.M. Pulley

Before becoming an Amazon best-selling author, D.M. Pulley worked as a Professional Engineer rehabbing historic structures and assessing building failures. Her survey of a vacant building in Cleveland, Ohio inspired her debut, The Dead Key, the winner of the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough... Read More →
avatar for Tara Goedjen

Tara Goedjen

Tara Goedjen has worked all over the world, from Europe to the island of Guam. A recovering academic, she holds a Master of Fine Arts and a PhD, and was also an editor at a Sydney-based publishing house for several years. Tara now lives in the moody Pacific Northwest, where she can... Read More →
Saturday October 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm MDT
Glen 201

4:00pm MDT

Spotlight Interview: Louise Penny
Saturday October 24, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
Join Rick Mofina in conversation with 2026 Lifetime Achievement Guest of Honour Louise Penny
Moderators
avatar for Rick Mofina

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 →
Speakers
avatar for Louise Penny

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 →
Saturday October 24, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall

7:00pm MDT

Saturday Showcase: Auction & Awards
Saturday October 24, 2026 7:00pm - 9:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
This highly anticipated event is hosted by PJ Vernon. It includes the Live Auction in support of Further Education Society of Alberta with auctioneer Cathy Ace, immediately followed by the 40th Annual Anthony Awards Ceremony. It's the moment everyone has been waiting for, especially the nominees and we will have some very special presenters in attendance to congratulate the winners. Cash bar and...
See More →
Moderators
avatar for P.J. Vernon

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 →
Saturday October 24, 2026 7:00pm - 9:00pm MDT
Exhibit Hall

9:00pm MDT

Pub Night Trivia
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00pm - 10:30pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
How good is your knowledge of mystery trivia? Join the Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime Canada West as they host a mystery trivia competition. Put on your thinking caps and sharpen your pencils - we have prizes for the winning teams. Cash bar and light snacks.
Saturday October 24, 2026 9:00pm - 10:30pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
 
Sunday, October 25
 

9:00am MDT

Authentic and Rich Characterization
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 206
Finding inspiration and perspective when creating your characters
Moderators
avatar for Gail Vallance Barrington

Gail Vallance Barrington

Gail Vallance Barrington has published several short stories and poems in literary journals. She is the author of a six-story series about an irrepressible starlet who solves mysteries despite herself. Her current project is a a crime novel about a firefighter with a brain injury... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Timothy Reynolds

Timothy Reynolds

Timothy Reynolds is a prize-winning Canadian author who balances writing novels with his humorous non-fiction column in San Fransisco's SEARCH Magazine. He has seven published novels and is currently working on a snarky, unconventional thriller series set in New York, and a semi-cozy... Read More →
NA
avatar for Winnie Frolik

Winnie Frolik

Winnie Frolik writes the Mary Grey series set in Interwar England. She currently resides in Pittsburgh with Smoky the cat.
RB
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 206

9:00am MDT

Best Side Kicks: the Ones Readers Remember Even if They Forget the Protagonist’s Name
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod D
Forget the main character, I’m here for the sidekick. What makes a memorable side kick?
Moderators
avatar for Jessie Chandler

Jessie Chandler

Jessie Chandler is the award-winning author/editor of ten novels, including the slapstick Shay O’Hanlon Caper Series. Her crime fiction has garnered an Independent Publisher Book Award, three Golden Crown Literary Awards, three USA Book Awards, and an American Book Award. The fifth... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Roxanne Dunn

Roxanne Dunn

Murder Richly Deserved is Roxanne Dunn’s third novel, following Murder Unrehearsed and Murder Undetected. She is working on Murder Undeserved.In each of her novels, the good guys win, the bad guys get their comeuppance, and the course of true love does not run smooth. Roxanne has... Read More →
avatar for Anna Di Meglio

Anna Di Meglio

Retired public servant turned cozy mystery author, Anna crafts whodunits with quirky characters, charming cats, and clever twists. When not writing, you'll find her in her favourite chair with tea, drawing story inspiration from life's simple comforts. Proud member of Capital Crime... Read More →
avatar for Kayleigh Suggett

Kayleigh Suggett

Kayleigh Suggett’s passion for classic mysteries, British satire, and clever humour inspired Alibi by Accident, the first in her series featuring private dick Verona Montero. Wishing more women wrote in the irreverent style she loves, she did it herself.
Her customer service and business admin background fuels zany characters, fast banter, and hilarious situations drawn from human quirks. She lives in Calgary, AB with her husband and son... Read More →
avatar for Elise Scott

Elise Scott

Kit Gray, aka Elise Scott, writes from their lived experiences of queerness, disability, neurodivergence, fat-positivity, & petting three cats with two hands. Their debut cozy mystery, The Black Cat Dectectives, features three kitten sleuths solving a murder to save their human. Kit... Read More →
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

Different Genres; Different Headspaces
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 203
Do writers need to be in different head spaces to write different genres? Tips for accomplishing this.
Moderators
AL
Speakers
avatar for Adam Gorgoni

Adam Gorgoni

Film composer Adam Gorgoni has scored dozens of movies and TV shows over a decades long career. He recently turned to crime fiction, and stories have appeared in several anthologies including (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight: Crime Fiction Inspired by One-Hit Wonders and A Killing... Read More →
avatar for Scott McKinnon

Scott McKinnon

Scott McKinnon began his career writing screenplays, mostly romantic comedies, before turning to cozy mystery and crime fiction. Born and raised in Alberta, he spent time in Los Angeles and Vancouver before settling in Toronto. Inspired by Anthony Horowitz, Rian Johnson, and Agatha... Read More →
avatar for Jonathan Ames

Jonathan Ames

Jonathan Ames is the author of thirteen works of fiction and non-fiction. His most recent novel, from Mysterious Press, is A Past Without Pictures. His Novel The Wheel Of Doll (Part Of His Doll Series) won the Shamus in 2022. He's the creator of the television show Bored to Death... Read More →
avatar for Claudia Hagadus Long

Claudia Hagadus Long

Claudia Hagadus Long is a lawyer in Calistoga, California. Her writing includes the Zara and Lilly mystery series, one of which, Nine Tenths of the Law (Kasva Press) has been optioned for a feature film. Truck a Duck and Murder without a Duck (Simpato Mystery series, Sibylline Press... Read More →
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

Hosting a Bouchercon
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 201
This convention could happen where you live. Getting there means a long-term commitment and is a lot of fun
Moderators
BN
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 201

9:00am MDT

No Inspiration Left Unturned
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 208
Sometimes writing inspiration comes from poetry, art, and Tarot Cards.
Moderators
avatar for Lane Stone

Lane Stone

Lane Stone lives in Alexandria, Virginia and Lewes, Delaware with her standard schnauzers, Cordy and Emma. She’s the author of The Big Picture art crime thriller trilogy. Book one,The Collector was followed by The Canvas. Crimes and Sins completes the trilogy. She published several... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Lina Chern

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 →
avatar for Pam Martin

Pam Martin

Pam Martin is a retired therapist who enjoys writing and walking in the woods. Born in Ottawa, Pam spent most of her adult life in PEI, with a few years in Northern Saskatchewan. In addition to a wide variety of jobs, Pam has a background in the book trade, including co-owning and... Read More →
avatar for Ruth Knafo Setton

Ruth Knafo Setton

Ruth Knafo Setton is the author of Zigzag Girl—ITW Award finalist for Best Standalone Book, Next Generation Indie Book finalist for Best Mystery, & Grand Prize winner of ScreenCraft’s Cinematic Book Competition. She has studied magic with Teller & other magicians, been sawed in... Read More →
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

9:00am MDT

Pay it Forward
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod BC
Helping one another is what crime writers and readers do. Book clubs, critique groups, festivals and conventions. Ready to volunteer?
Moderators
TD
Speakers
avatar for Bruce Johnson

Bruce Johnson

In over four decades of working in information technology, Bruce published a dozen computer books. In a move that surprised anyone who knew him -- Canadians are supposed to be polite, not dreaming up innovative ways to kill -- he pivoted to writing psychological suspense. He has published... Read More →
SM
avatar for Susan Calder

Susan Calder

Susan Calder lives in Calgary. She is the author of six novels published by BWL Publishing Inc. Four are part of her mystery series set in Calgary. Her standalone novels take readers to California and 1918 Calgary. She is currently working on a suspense novel set in Czechia. Susan’s... Read More →
Sunday October 25, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am MDT
Macleod BC

10:15am MDT

Converting Real People, Places and Events into Fiction
Sunday October 25, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Macleod D
What’s possible? What’s ethical? What’s legal? What’s wise?
Moderators
avatar for Vicki Montet

Vicki Montet


Vicki Montet is an Emmy award-winning Journalist with decades of experience as a TV News writer, reporter, executive and producer. She has two southern mysteries in the works. Her stories have been published by the San Francisco Writers Conference and also recognized by the Atlanta Wri... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Stephen England

Stephen England

Stephen England is the author of the Shadow Warriors and Lion of God series. Drawing upon over a decade and half of research into the Middle East, espionage and counterterrorism operations, England's work has drawn praise for breathing new life into the genre with the hard-edged realism... Read More →
avatar for Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson

Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson

Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson is the author of the Patrick Bird Mystery Series. The series' first book, The Road to Heaven, was nominated for an Edgar Award and a Shamus Award. The second book, Opposite Sully’s Gym, was released in 2026. Alexis is a past winner of the Black Orchid... Read More →
avatar for Steven L. Conley

Steven L. Conley

Steven L. Conley is a retired FBI Special Agent with nearly 25 years experience in counterespionage, counterintelligence, and intelligence operations. Steve's novels reflect his time as a Senior Executive at FBIHQ and within field office leadership over all criminal and national security... Read More →
avatar for S.J. Rozan

S.J. Rozan

SJ Rozan is the author of 21 novels and 100+ short stories, and the editor of three anthologies. She's won multiple awards, including the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, Macavity; Japanese Maltese Falcon; and Life Achievement Awards from both the Private Eye Writers of America and the... Read More →
Sunday October 25, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Macleod D 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Long Distance Trucking
Sunday October 25, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 206
It’s been a long road, getting from there to here. What keeps writers and their fans going for decades?
Moderators
avatar for Lori L. Lake

Lori L. Lake

Lori L. Lake has authored 14 novels, 3 short story collections, edited 5 anthologies, and has work featured in over a dozen anthologies including Silence Of The Loons, Once Upon A Crime, And Women Of The Mean Streets.
Next up will include Adventures Unlimited and a “revenge-based” short story collection, both for 2026 publication. Lori lives with writer-partner Tairi Blair in Oregon. To find out more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lori_L._Lake... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Traci Abramson

Traci Abramson

Traci Hunter Abramson worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for six years, eventually resigning in order to raise her family. She credits the CIA with giving her a wealth of ideas as well as the skills needed to survive her children’s teenage years. She firmly believes all... Read More →
avatar for Tracy Blom

Tracy Blom

Tracy is an award-winning author of 40+ books featured nationwide in bookstores, museums, zoos, airports, and major retailers. Her work has earned STEM accreditation and multiple awards, with international media features. Her latest book, The Wonder Lens Friends: Lissa Loves Bugs... Read More →
avatar for Jennifer Hillier

Jennifer Hillier

Jennifer Hillier is the USA Today bestselling author of Things We Do in the Dark, winner of the ITW Thriller Award for Best Audiobook. Earlier novels include Creep, Freak, The Butcher, Wonderland, Jar of Hearts (winner, ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover), and the national bes... Read More →
LJ
Sunday October 25, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 206

10:15am MDT

Out of this world
Sunday October 25, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 203
Paranormal elements take a story to a whole new level, but not all readers buy into the “other worlds” thing.
Moderators
avatar for Sharon Ashwood

Sharon Ashwood

USA Today Bestselling author Sharon Ashwood is a novelist, desk jockey and enthusiast for the weird and spooky. As a vegetarian, she freely admits the whole vampire/werewolf lifestyle would never work out, so she writes mystery and fantasy fiction instead. Sharon lives in Victoria... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Ana Stanojevic

Ana Stanojevic

Ana Stanojevic is the author of a trilogy called Fire Wave along with a brand new series known as The Bounded Curse. The sequel of The Bounded Curse is set to be released on June 17, 2026
avatar for Wendy Roberts

Wendy Roberts

Wendy Roberts is a thriller, mystery and supernatural writer living a super-normal life. Cloak and dagger are her bread and butter. She is the author of Burning Hope, four novels in the Bodies of Evidence series, five Ghost Dusters mysteries, as well as Dating Can Be Deadly, and Grounds... Read More →
avatar for Matthew Porter

Matthew Porter

Matthew Porter is a lawyer, writer, and media creator, and author of the psychic P.I. mystery Questions for the Dead. With his son Ian he co-hosts the Inter-Millennium Media Project podcast. He is also a speaker on topics including digital evidence, and lock picking for mystery fans... Read More →
Sunday October 25, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 203 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

White Collar Crimes: Commit a Crime from the Comfort of your Home.
Sunday October 25, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 208
There’s lots of money to be made without resorting to bank robbery. Well, bank robbery with a gun and balaclava.
Moderators
avatar for Brad Elder

Brad Elder

Brad Elder is an author of thriller novels and a licensed attorney in the state of Texas. His first two novels in his Ryan Wolfe Series, Recoil of Justice and Core of Truth, are available now. Brad’s life goals are to be favored by God, be a great father and husband, write a few... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Amran Gowani

Amran Gowani

Amran Gowani is a former organic chemist and financial analyst turned full-time author and stay-at-home dad. His first novel Leverage, a darkly satirical Wall Street thriller, was named a Best Book of 2025 by CrimeReads. He's also a prolific content creator and dabbles in podcast... Read More →
avatar for Jenny Dandy

Jenny Dandy

Jenny Dandy is the author of the Houses of Crime Mystery series: The Brownstone on E. 83rd, “hits the ground running”—William Boyle; The Penthouse on Park Avenue, “top-floor entertainment”—James D. F. Hannah; The Loft at Broadway and 14th. “Highly recommend.”—Lou... Read More →
avatar for Susan Jane Wright

Susan Jane Wright

Susan Jane Wright was a litigator and corporate lawyer before becoming a writer. Her career took her from the boardrooms of Calgary to the streets of Hong Kong. Her debut novel, Box of Secrets, was a Crime Writers of Canada finalist and her third book, Fortune Favors the Dead, won... Read More →
avatar for Lawrence Light

Lawrence Light

Larry’s latest book, Payback, is out in July. It’s a revenge tale, where four Wall Street billionaires are marked for death. His previous books include Crash, with David Hagberg, and Ladykiller, with his wife, Meredith Anthony. He also is the author of many short stories, in Alfred... Read More →
Sunday October 25, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 208 136 8th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0K6

10:15am MDT

Writing and Reading for Joy
Sunday October 25, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 201
Despite all the challenges, storytelling is so satisfying, some times even life-saving. Celebrate it.
Moderators
avatar for Richard E. Gower

Richard E. Gower

Richard E. Gower followed a varied and winding career path before turning to write crime fiction. In previous lives, he was an air force officer, an advertising copywriter, a commercial pilot, a magazine writer, editor and publisher, a technical writer, a government speechwriter and... Read More →
Speakers
AP
avatar for Christine Tsai Taylor

Christine Tsai Taylor

Christine Tsai Taylor is a Dutch American Taiwanese writer living in Edmonton. She writes essays and other non-fiction about her experience as a biracial American abroad. She lived most of her adult life in The Netherlands and Canada is her seventh country. Awarded a 2024 Individual... Read More →
Sunday October 25, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Glen 201

11:30am MDT

Closing Ceremonies with Guest of Honour Panel
Sunday October 25, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
Hear from our Guests of Honour in this final panel moderated by David Poulsen. And learn about plans for Bouchercon 2027 as we pass the baton to Washington DC!
Moderators
avatar for David A. Poulsen

David A. Poulsen

David A. Poulsen’s writing career began in earnest when The Welcomin’ won the 1984 Alberta Culture Short Story Competition. His inaugural foray into the world of adult crime fiction was Serpents Rising, the first of the Cullen and Cobb mysteries, a four-book series including Dead... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Kathy Reichs

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 →
avatar for Abir Mukherjee

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 →
avatar for Mark Greaney

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 →
avatar for Jennifer Hillier

Jennifer Hillier

Jennifer Hillier is the USA Today bestselling author of Things We Do in the Dark, winner of the ITW Thriller Award for Best Audiobook. Earlier novels include Creep, Freak, The Butcher, Wonderland, Jar of Hearts (winner, ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover), and the national bes... Read More →
avatar for Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than sixty books: clever cozies to gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy.
She is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. Vicki lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario... Read More →
avatar for Kevin Sands

Kevin Sands

Since escaping from university with a pair of degrees in theoretical physics, Kevin Sands has worked as a researcher, a business consultant, a teacher, and a professional poker player. He lives in Ontario, Canada. He is the author of the bestselling The Blackthorn Key and Thieves... Read More →
avatar for P.J. Vernon

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 →
Sunday October 25, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Exhibit Hall
 

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