Thrillerfest 2018 was notable for having Thrillermaster George R. R. Martin as the Guest of Honor. He was interviewed by his editor Anne Groell, no questions were allowed, and he held court from the stage in his trademark Mets cap. Really, only a Mets fan could write The Red Wedding,… Read more
This year's Thrillerfest was a blast! Hosted at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, it was five glorious days of meeting authors, hearing their stories, getting advice and writing tips, and schmoozing with authors, industry, and fans alike. Criminal Element was lucky enough to be there for it all,… Read more
If you’re not familiar with ThrillerFest, it’s the official convention of the International Thriller Writers, held every July in New York City at the Grand Hyatt hotel. The basic convention is two days, Friday and Saturday, with the Thriller Awards banquet held Saturday evening. But, there’s a lot more if… Read more
The International Thriller Writers organization is well known for their debut authors program, which has nurtured many a thriller writer from volunteer to award-winning novelist. One of these authors is Jenny Milchman, former Debut Author Chair for the ITW and the author of the Martha Higgins Clark Award-winning Cover of… Read more
The mood of ThrillerFest is palpably different from CraftFest. There’s more excitement and the personalities come out. Such as Brad Parks, author of the Carter Ross mysteries, recognizable as the tall thin man in the gray suit, and Karin Slaughter, dressed all in black with a short blonde bob, but… Read more
The second day of CraftFest is technically CareerFest, with two tracks: one for independent (self) publishing and the other for traditional publishing. As I am yet unable to split myself in twain like a liver fluke and inhabit two spaces at once, I visited the first panel of the indie… Read more
There are many mystery conventions, but only one ThrillerFest. The first was held in Phoenix, Arizona in 2006, when the International Thriller Writers was founded by David Morrell (author of First Blood and many others) and Gayle Lynds (The Last Spymaster and more). It got big quick, and moved to… Read more
Mystery conventions are a great way to find new mystery-loving friends and hear directly from your favorite authors – and maybe even meet some of them. All of these conventions feature keynote speeches or interviews from big name guests of honor as well as author, expert and fan panels talking… Read more
Thrillerfest IX finished up a long weekend of seminars and panels with its annual ITW Thriller Awards, with Andrew Pyper's The Demonologist winning Best Hardcover Novel. But Thrillerfest isn't about awards as much as it is about celebrating the art of writing (and scaring). Attendees of the event's first two… Read more
2014 promises to be chock full of wonderful mystery conventions and conferences ranging from Bouchercon— the world’s largest crime fiction convention—to more tightly-focused conferences like Malice Domestic, which specializes in traditional and cozy mysteries. Thrillerfest is, of course, primarily about thrillers, and Left Coast Crime is regional, but also offers… Read more
