Bouchercon 2008 is just a few weeks away. Beth, Cindy and I have been busy preparing for the Bouchercon auctions. I think there is great reason for you to be excited.
In case you don’t know the names of the two charities receiving this year’s auction proceeds, they are The Enoch Pratt Free Library and Viva House. You can read an excerpt of Laura Lippman’s experiences at Viva House here.
I’ve mentioned a few items available in the auctions in prior posts, and if you don’t mind, I’ll mention a few additional items just to whet your appetites. I hope you’ll find these of interest and really help our charities out when it’s time to bid.
Characters are everywhere in crime fiction, and if you bid well, they just might have your name attached. Could Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell be conferring with you on a case? Could Thomas H. Cook put your name through some heart-wrenching drama? Brutality (not to exclude intelligent and thought-provoking) is a word often used in describing David Corbett’s work and you might just find he has brutalized you by a crime boss or street thug. Donna Andrews (do you want to be a bird?), J.T. Ellison, Marion Moore Hill, Michael Bowen, Robert Ellis, M.J. Rose, Charlaine Harris, Libby Fischer Hellmann, J.A Konrath, Gayle Lynds (imagine it’s pitch-black night and you’re leaping from a moving train), Toni L.P. Kelner, Richard Stevenson, Jane Cleland and Zöe Sharp all can set you down for mystery eternity. Sandra Parshall will give you animal naming rights (have you ever wanted to name a poodle, Spike?). Get your name down and buy a copy of the book for all your relatives. It will make next year’s birthday or holiday shopping so much easier.
But, you might ask, “what else is available in the auction?” Your name is John Smith or Mary Jones and it just doesn’t seem that exciting to have it set out as a character. How about books signed by your favorite authors?
Ken Bruen has provided three impossible-to-find firsts, one of which is The Guards in Russian. Bill Fitzhugh is offering a copy of Slim and Howdy signed, not only by Bill, but by Brooke and Dunn too. Kathy Lynn Emerson, Trey R. Barker, James Scott Bell, James R. Benn, Declan Burke, Reed Farrell Coleman, Robert Fate, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Barbara Graham, Sophie Hannah, Julie Kramer, Lisa Lutz, Rick Mofina, Priscilla Royal, Marcus Sakey, Stanley Trollip, Caroline Todd, and Caroline Wall have provided a great array of books for your bidding pleasure.
There are also some items that you can’t read, but will create memories, laughs, or continuous hours of pleasure. John Harvey has offered to spend some time with a winning bidder over a drink or a coffee. Manuscript critiques are available for those hoping to test their creative fiction skills. You might get a great deal bidding on a special Indy 500 basket, including entry to next year’s Bouchercon in Indianapolis.
When you’re ready to participate in the auction, we’ve added a couple of nice touches that should make your auction experience a little easier. For the silent auction, we have a banner that will ensure you locate the auction table and have time to check out all of the items available for bid. For the live auction, in addition to wonderful auctioneers and great items to bid on, you will have your very own colorful Bidder’s Paddle to make sure that Donna and Chris can see you when you raise the bid one more time. Pretty neat, huh?
We are going to have fun in Baltimore!
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4 comments:
Hello. As this will be my first B'con, can you give me some more information on the charity auctions. Firs of all, how do you pay if you win? Do you have to have cash on you or can you use a credit card or pay by check? And can you give me an idea of the price range that items have gone for in the past? For instance for an author to put you in a book, did someone donate hundreds of dollars? Thousands? Thanks.
Marjorie
What forms of payment the auctions take can vary from year to year. This year we'll be accepting checks and credit cards (Thanks to Mystery Mike Bursaw).
Character names have gone anywhere from $40 and up. Bids in the live auction have gone as high as $1200. That was for a character name in a Lee Child book at the Las Vegas Bouchercon. One year the bidding for a character in an S.J. Rozan novel went over $800 and when someone bid $850, S.J. agreed to do a character name for each of the bidders. The authors are very generous in their support of the auctions.
My highlight for a Bouchercon auction was two years ago (I think) when a raucous auction for a Zoe Sharp target range visit went up and up, and the winning bid went to Austin Judy for over $800. Judy is blind. But according to Zoe, Judy acquitted herself well, using a couple transistor radios to help with her targeting.
Hope that helps.
Dave
Thanks, Dave. That give me a good idea of whatc to expect.
--Marjorie
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