Bloody Words Toronto, the most Bloody Fun a Bloody Writer can have!

Bloody Words 2008, Marriott Hotel, Toronto Eaton Centre
It’s Sunday afternoon, and another Bloody Words Conference has come to an end. For the uninitiated, let me explain what Bloody Words is all about. Founded in 1999, Bloody Words is the annual crime writers’ conference for readers, writers, literary agents and publishers – in short, anyone interested in true crime or crime fiction.

This year there were so many great panels and guests that it’s hard to pinpoint my favourite moments of the conference. I’d have to say, though, that my visit to the Mystery Café was probably at the top of the list. One of my all-time favourite authors, Giles Blunt, read to us from his latest book, which will be released in October, 2008.

I was also deeply impressed by the panel on Interpol, which was presented by author and former Interpol employee Michael E. Rose. His latest book titled The Tsunami File caught my eye in the Dealers’ Room, and I confess I snapped it up. It promises to be a thrilling read, in particular given my own research into the Southeast Asia tsunami of Boxing Day, 2004 which I did in preparation for writing Gold And Fishes.

There was also an exceptional panel on Criminal Profiling, (see VICLAS) presented by Det. Sgt. Ed Chafe, OPP Behavioural Sciences and Analysis Services. The amount and quality of the information that Ed brought to us was beyond my expectations, and I’m very grateful for his insight into such a fascinating subject.

There were numerous other panels and guests, (visit the Bloody Words schedule for a complete list) not the least of which were our own Canadian guest of honour, Rosemary Aubert, and our International guest of honour Carolyn Hart. The reception on Friday night was a blast, and the dinner banquet on Saturday evening got rave reviews from everyone I spoke to. My husband and I both enjoyed it very much.

If you are a reader or a writer of mystery or true crime genre, or if you would like to meet your favourite genre author, Bloody Words is the place to be. The writers are friendly, generous to a fault, and almost embarrassingly (wink, wink) willing to talk about their work to anyone who asks.

In short, it’s just about the most Bloody Bang you can get for your buck, short of investing in an – er – actual weapon, but let’s not talk about that….

Donna Carrick, June 8, 2008

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