Regular readers of this blog know that I'm in charge of programming for the ThrillerFest writers and readers conference to be held next June in Phoenix. This will be the inaugural conference of the International Thriller Writers and will feature a lot of interesting activities, including the presentation of the Thriller awards.
It looks like it's going to be a very interesting conference, with some great writers, including several who don't ordinarily attend conventions like Bouchercon. So I think there will be a lot of opportunities for fans to meet writers they might not ordinarily see. The hotel (The Arizona Biltmore) is also supposed to be great, which might partially offset the unappealing prospect of visiting Phoenix in the middle of the summer.
As I mentioned a while back, I'm interested in involving readers in some of the programming. So this is where you come in! I'm looking for 4 people to be part of a panel where fans (you know, the people who actually buy and read all those books) are the stars.
Instead of listening to authors talk about their books, this will be a chance for the readers to talk about what they like and don't like, what impresses them or turns them off, what makes them buy books, who they're reading and why, and a whole host of related topics. The moderator will be an author, hopefully somebody fun and cool, although I don't know who yet.
If you're planning to attend ThrillerFest and that sounds like the kind of thing you'd like to do, please email me and let me know. (Note: You do NOT need to be a member of ITW to be on this panel.) There aren't really any qualifications for inclusion, other than a love of books, reasonable knowledge about the thriller genre, and the willingness to share your opinions about both.
On the other hand, if that sounds dreadful, but you have a cool idea for what you'd like to see, you can email that to me, too.
You can visit the ThrillerFest website for more information.
