If I were in St. Louis, which I’m not, this is probably what I would be doing in the way of panels and such. I do go to a lot of panels, even after all these years. Of course sometimes I leave them, or run into friends and get distracted, or decide to head into the bar early… But here’s my if I were there schedule, (my reason for the pick in parens):
8:30 A.M. – 9:30 A.M.
THE NAMES OF ANGELS-Majestic D
Talking classics in crime fiction – Jason Pinter (M), Bruce DeSilva, Carl Brookins, Matthew C. Funk, Andrew Grant, Scott Phillips
(I usually enjoy panels on “the classics” especially since my definition often differs from that of the panel)
10:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M.
THE MERMAIDS SINGING-Landmark 1,2,3
A taste of Magna Cum Murder – Kathryn Kennison (M), John Gilstrap, Parnell Hall, Val McDermid, Stuart Neville, Caroline Todd, Charles Todd
(I don’t miss a panel with Val McDermid on it if possible!)
11:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.
PASSENGERS-Majestic D
Fasten your seatbelts…. – Oline Cogdill (M), Colin Cotterill, Robert Crais, Charlaine Harris, Val McDermid
(now what did I just tell you about panels with Val on them? Plus Cotterill and Crais)
12:30 – 1:30
Lunch with friends
1:30 – 2:30
Book room
2:30 P.M. –3:30 P.M.
UNNATURAL VICES-Landmark 4
Comics and crime fiction
Cullen Bunn (M), Max Allan Collins, Gary Phillips, Jason Starr, Duane Swierczynski
(I’ve read a lot of crime comics over the years, always like to know what’s new)
— or —
BLEEDING IN BLACK AND WHITE-Majestic D
Colin Cotterill interviewed by S.J. Rozan
(I love Cotterill’s books, so this seems a natural for me)
4:00 p.m. – 5:00
Book room
5:30 – ?
bar, dinner, ?
The Broken Bullhorn 
Sounds like a fun schedule. Let’s both pretend we are there with Bill and George and the others. They may not notice that we are not.
I’d be doing mostly “lunch and drinks with friends” no doubt. Or with casually met strangers.
Good idea, Scott. Maybe we can fool them into thinking they just somehow missed seeing us there.
Charles, after a lot of Bouchercons, I still enjoy the panels. I usually go to more the first day, less the second one, not so many the third…
Rick, you missed a good time, although either the airplane or the hotel air gave me a miserable head cold much of the weekend. In some ways – and it was by design from what we were told – Thursday’s programming was the best of the weekend.
One highlight was the panel with the four Guests of Honor. Val McDermid’s story including the line “he strangled her with his penis” brought the audience – and the rest of the panel – to a state of convulsive laughter that lasted five minutes. Add in Charlaine Harris and Bob Crais and you have a winner. (Colin Cotterill did manage to hold his own.)
Jackie didn’t love the Magna Cum Murder panel, mainly because the moderator’s questions were so lame the panel often had a hard time finding anything to say. I skipped the first one and missed the comics panel due to “lunch with friends” although the lunch at McMurphy’s Grill was a disappointment, as was the only poor waiter/waitress of the weekend, who Jackie described (not entirely inaccurately) as “a homeless person.”
Dinner, at the Peruvian restaurant Mango, was much better. Both meals were DAPA-EM affairs, as was the entire weekend for us.
Oh, the book room was pretty good though from what I heard I don’t think sales were that great. Richard Katz from Milwaukee said he was doing OK at the con but that business in general is terrible.
It was a big wide open room on the second floor, next door to one of the panel rooms, with room for authors to sign books in the back. What they generally did was have some of the bigger names likely to draw the longest lines (Laura Lippman, Robert Crais, Charlaine Harris, etc.) sign at tables in the hall (which was wide) outside the book room with the rest seated alphabetically in the rear of the book room. Everyone was asked to sign immediately after their panels – many people were on two or three panels – and there was a half hour break between sessions.
Jeff, thanks for the reports! I wish I could have been there, but once the weekend is over I’m usually glad I didn’t have to travel.