Bouchercon in Albany -- A Capital Idea

While most of us weren’t able to attend this year’s Bouchercon in Albany, New York, The Rap Sheet’s indefatigable and much-admired British correspondent, Ali Karim, was there with bells (and a buzz) on. I’ve accompanied Ali through more than one of these conventions, and he’s a whirling dervish of activity, greeting the many authors and critics he knows, introducing himself (and anyone he’s with) to novelists he has wanted to meet for years, and eventually winding down with copious glasses of beer, gin, or some comparable alcoholic refreshment. In between, Ali has his camera out and poised to snap photographs of the friends and famous faces he spots.

Even if you weren’t at this last weekend’s Bouchercon, you can get a sense of what it offered simply by browsing among Ali’s numerous images from the event. Here’s a selection of the many shots he took.

(Left to right) Ali Karim, Australian lawyer and former Ned Kelly Awards judge Sarah Byrne, and author Steve Hamilton (who is also the current president of the Private Eye Writers of America).

Heather Graham (Pozzessere), Ali Karim, and Tess Gerritsen.

Larry Gandle of Deadly Pleasures, historical mystery writer J. Robert Janes, and British novelist R.J. (Roger) Ellory.

Crime and suspense author Brendan DuBois with the seemingly ubiquitous Ali “Batman” Karim.

Matthew Quirk, author of The 500.

R.J. Ellory, Lawrence Block, Carla Buckley, French translator Robert Pepin, Steve Hamilton, and editor Otto Penzler.

Andrew Pyper, author of The Demonologist, answers questions during a “meet the author” session.

Ali Karim with Bouchercon 2013 chair Al Abramson.

And what do you know, it’s Mr. Karim again, this time hanging out with author Jeffery Deaver and Andrew Gulli, publisher of The Strand Magazine.

Finally, this is Ali Karim’s Don Sandstrom Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in Mystery Fandom. Nobody deserves it more.

READ MORE: “Bouchercon 2013: The Week That Was,” by Les Blatt (Classic Mysteries); “Back from Bouchercon,” by Max Allan Collins; “Report from Bouchercon Albany,” by Lee Goldberg; “Bouchercon 2013,” by Jen Forbus (Jen’s Book Thoughts); “Back from Bouchercon 2013,” by Gerald So (My Life Called So); and several Bouchercon postings from Peter Rozovsky.