Bouchercon is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. ^[1] It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the convention since 1986. ^[2] This page details Bouchercon XXVII and the 11th Anthony Awards ceremony.

The convention was held in Saint Paul, Minnesota on October 10, 1996; running until the 13th. The event was chaired by Dennis Armstrong and freelance book reviewer Bruce Southworth. Armstrong was working for the local "Once Upon a Crime" book-store at the time and was allowed to take time off work to organise the event. ^{[3] [4]}

• Guest of Honor — Mary Higgins Clark
• Fan Guest of Honor — Ellen Nehr
• Toastmaster — Jeremiah Healy

The following list details the awards distributed at the eleventh annual Anthony Awards ceremony. ^[5]

Winner:

• Mary Willis Walker, Under the Beetle's Cellar

Shortlist:

• Michael Connelly, The Last Coyote
• Barbara D'Amato, Hard Christmas
• Andrew Klavan, True Crime
• Bill Pronzini, Blue Lonesome

Winner:

• Virginia Lanier, Death in Bloodhound Red

Shortlist:

• Richard Barre, The Innocents
• G. M. Ford, Who in Hell is Wanda Fuca?
• Charles Kenney, Hammurabi's Code
• Martha C. Lawrence, Murder in Scorpio

Winners:

• Harlan Coben, Deal Breaker

Shortlist:

• Eileen Dreyer, Bad Medicine
• Teri Holbrook, A Far and Deadly Cry
• Gloria White, Charged with Guilt
• Robert D. Zimmerman, Closet

Winner:

• Gar Anthony Haywood, "And Pray Nobody Sees You", from Spooks, Spies, and Private Eyes

Shortlist:

• K.K. Beck, "Rule of Law", from Malice Domestic 4
• Jean B. Cooper, "The Judge's Boy", from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine August 1995
• Bill Crider, "How I Found a Cat, Lost True Love, and Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo", from Cat Crimes Takes a Vacation
• Elizabeth Daniels Squire, "The Dog Who Remembered Too Much", from Malice Domestic 4

Winner:

• Kate Stine, The Armchair Detective Book of Lists

Shortlist:

• Nicholas A. Basbanes, A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books
• Douglas G. Greene, John Dickson Carr: The Man Who Explained Miracles
• Robert Polito, Savage Art: A Biography of Jim Thompson
• B.J. Rahn, Ngaio Marsh: The Woman and Her Work

Winner:

• Ann Rule, Dead By Sunset

Shortlist:

• Burl Barer, Man Overboard: The Counterfeit Resurrection of Phil Champagne
• John E. Douglas & Mark Olshaker, Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit
• Pete Earley, Circumstantial Evidence: Death, Life, and Justice in a Southern Town
• T. J. English, Born to Kill

Winner:

• Marcia Muller, The McCone Files: The Complete Sharon McCone Stories

Shortlist:

• Martin H. Greenberg & Edward Gorman, Cat Crimes Takes A Vacation
• Carolyn G. Hart, Crimes Of The Heart
• Carolyn G. Hart, Malice Domestic 4
• Paula L. Woods, Spooks, Spies, and Private Eyes

Winner:

• The Usual Suspects

Shortlist:

• Copycat
• Devil in a Blue Dress
• Get Shorty
• Seven

Winner:

• The X-Files

Shortlist:

• Life on the Street
• Law & Order
• Murder One
• N.Y.P.D. Blue

Winner:

• The Armchair Detective

Shortlist:

• Deadly Pleasures
• Drood Review
• Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• Mystery Scene

Winner:

• St. Martin's Press

Shortlist:

• Avon
• Mysterious Press
• Scribner's
• Walker Books

Winner:

• Sara Ann Freed

Shortlist:

• Marjorie Braman
• Carolyn Marino
• Kate Miciak
• Michael Seidman

Winner:

• Pamela Patrick; for Jeanne Dams, The Body in the Transept

Shortlist:

• Fred George & Corsillo/Manzone; for John Dunning, The Bookman's Wake
• John Howard & Krystyna Skalski; for Bill Moody, Death of a Tenor Man
• FCL Colorspace & Richard Hasselberger; for Lynn Hightower, Flashpoint
• Earl Emerson; for his The Vanishing Smile