Bouchercon 2026 Update: February 2026

In This Issue

• Welcome
• Anthology Giveaway
• Meet the Guests of Honour – Mark Greaney
• Anthony Awards Updates
• Call For Historic Photos
• Fun Fact
• Registration and Passport Reminders
• Hotel Information
• Sponsorship
• Stay Connected

Welcome

Bouchercon is a reader’s convention for anyone who loves mysteries. Each year, we attract fans of crime fiction, published authors, aspiring writers, librarians, large and small publishers, editors, agents, and booksellers. We are nearing 1,000 registrants and we can’t wait to welcome you to Calgary in 2026. 

Please check our website for more information as events become available.

To see our past newsletters for Bouchercon 2026, click here.

Anthology Giveaway

Our registration numbers are building, and so is our excitement. To celebrate, we’re entering the first 1,000 registrants in a draw to win a print copy of the Bouchercon 2026 Anthology.

We expect to hit this benchmark within the month, so register soon for a chance to win! 

Meet the Guests of Honour: Mark Greaney

Mark Greaney is our American Guest of Honour and the #1 NYT bestselling author of twenty-five novels, including THE GRAY MAN (2009), and twelve more books in the Gray Man series. He also coauthored three Jack Ryan novels with Tom Clancy and authored four more Jack Ryan novels after Mr. Clancy’s death. Mark is the co-author of the military thriller, RED METAL (2019), and the author of the Josh Duffy series, including ARMORED (2022) and SENTINEL (2024). The film adaptation of THE GRAY MAN was released in 2022 and was the fifth most-watched Netflix film of all time.

We are thrilled to have him join us at Bouchercon 2026. 

Mark’s newest novel in the Gray Man series, THE HARD LINE, will release February 17, so mark your calendars or pre-order it today.

For more information, visit his website here.

Anthony Awards

At the end of February, all members who are registered for Bouchercon 2026 in Calgary, or who were registered for Bouchercon 2025 in New Orleans, will be receiving an e-mail with a link to nominate works for the 2026 Anthony Awards.

You will be able to nominate up to five works in each category. It is not necessary to nominate in every category, or to fill in all five options for the categories you do nominate in. Multiple nominations of the same work will only be counted once. Changes will not be possible once your nominations have been submitted. After submitting your nominations, you will receive a confirmation email.

The categories are:

• Best Hardcover Novel (Novels must have been published in hardcover format to be eligible)
• Best Paperback Original/E-Book/ Audiobook Original Novel (Novels also published in hardcover format in the same year are not eligible)
• Best Short Story (For works of 22,000 words or fewer)
• Best First Novel (Must be an author’s first published novel. Authors who have previously published a novel in another genre are not eligible in this category)
• Best Juvenile or YA
• Best Critical or Nonfiction Work
• Best Anthology or Collection

Works must be relevant to the crime/mystery/suspense genres and have been published for the first time in 2025. Works that have previously been published outside of North America but have been published for the first time in North America in 2025, are also eligible.

The deadline to nominate is Thursday, April 30, 2026, at midnight EST/9 pm PST.

The five works in each category with the most nominations will make up the final ballot, which will be announced in May. Voting for the awards will happen at Bouchercon 2026. You must be in attendance to be eligible to vote on the final ballot. The awards will be presented at a live ceremony on Saturday, October 24, 2026.

Call for Historic Photos

Bouchercon 2026 would like to celebrate the past forty years of the Anthony Awards, and we need your help. 



If you have photos of previous Anthony Awards ceremonies, the awards, or the winners and are willing to share them with us, you can upload them to the following location: Anthonys History

The photos will be used for a video montage at Bouchercon 2026. We will not use the photos for any other purpose without your permission. Thank you for being a part of this year’s event!

Fun Fact

Excited for the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Calgary was host to the 1988 Winter Olympics, and we saw such historic events as Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards and the first time the Jamaican Bobsled team competed at the Olympics.

Canada Olympic Park, now owned and operated by WinSport, was the home of the 1988 Winter Olympics and is still open today. It offers a variety of outdoor activities, including downhill skiing and tubing, downhill karting, and mountain biking. It is also home to a practice luge track, a superpipe, terrain park, and an extensive, multi-sport training facility. 



Photo Credit: Colin Way

Registration and Passport Reminders

Bouchercon 2026 registration is available here. Remember to check your passports now, so you have time to renew or apply if you need to. 

For more information specific to Canada, please note the information in the Visiting Calgary portion of our website, with emphasis on sections concerning passports, Canadian currency, and using your cell phone. 

Registration Tip: Remember to check your contact information–especially your email address– before finalizing your registration. Use an email address you check regularly as you’ll be receiving important information via this contact point.

If you do not receive a confirmation email upon registering, first check your junk mail, and if you haven’t received anything within 24 hours, contact us at Registration2026@bouchercon.com.

Please Note: Convention registration and payment can only be completed through the Bouchercon 2026 website. We will never send a link for payment via email, PayPal, Zelle, etc. Payments are to Bouchercon Inc., in U.S. dollars.

Hotel Information

Calgary offers three hotels with special rates for Bouchercon attendees: the Hyatt Regency, the Marriott Downtown, and the Fairmont Palliser. All three are incredible, ready to welcome you, and a skywalk connects them to the convention centre, so you’ll be protected from the elements.

Hotel information can be found here. Make sure you check each hotel for their cancellation policies before booking, each one differs and they’re booking up quickly!

Sponsorship

Our team is ready to welcome Bouchercon to Calgary, Alberta, for the first time EVER, and we are looking for corporate and community support to help us welcome mystery and crime-writing fans and professionals from around the world. Check out our sponsorship page here or contact us at Sponsorship2026@bouchercon.com for more details.

Sponsor the thrill, sponsor the mystery, sponsor the connection!

Stay Connected

For more updates, follow us on social media or check out our website. Keep checking for updates as more information will be forthcoming on a regular basis and increase as the convention draws closer.

We look forward to seeing you in Calgary!