Hello Folks-
Finally have a moment to drop a line about what went on
during the Great Bouchercon Noir Fiction Panel of 2007 last
month up in Anchorage. First off, the logistics: we were
originally slated to have the following panel:
Ken Bruen Jim Sallis Vicki Hendricks (our own Rara Avian!)
Bill Cameron
With yours truly moderating.
That lineup was set, and I was excited about it. Ken's a
friend of several years' standing, and I had heard good
things about Jim Sallis. Vicki I knew through the years we've
each spent as members of Rara Avis, and Bill Cameron is local
to me, and the author of the very dark LOST DOG (Midnight
Ink), so it looked like we were going to have quite a strong
panel.
Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans of
mice and men.
First off, Sallis flaked (and was neither gracious, nor
professional about it.).
Second, Ken had a surgery that he couldn't reschedule, and
was forced to drop out. Far more gracious about it, but
another hole in the schedule, nonetheless.
Sean Doolittle, who doesn't consider himself a noir writer
(RAIN DOGS notwithstanding), Julia Spencer-Fleming (whom I'd
bet no one considers a noir writer) were kind enough to agree
to substitute at nearly the last minute.
And we had a terrific discussion of what the history of noir
was, where it is now (mentioned Guthrie, Starr, Swiercynski,
et. al.), and why it seems to be going through the sort of
upswing in popularity that is causing many people who write
in other subgenres of the area to try to market their stuff
as "noirish," or "a taut, stylish noir thriller," and so
on.
The consensus seemed to be that we live in increasingly
darker times, and that's part and parcel of why noir is
beginning to have a broader appeal. Also, I believe it was
Sean Doolittle who laid out David Corbett's maxim that one
way to differentiate between noir and hard-boiled was that
anything that sold above a certain number of books was
"hard-boiled," and anything that sold below that certain
arbitrary number (while also being 'critically acclaimed')
must be "noir."
Vicki gave some very interesting insight into why she writes
the type of stuff she writes, and it's worth hearing. Since
she's a denizen of this list, though, I would much rather
have her recount it for you herself.
Vicki?
All in all, it was a lot of fun to do, the panelists were
first-rate, with no one hogging the mike, and a nice, even
spread in responses. We also benefitted from having an
informed and attentive audience.
As a moderator, isn't that really all one can ask for?
All the Best-
Brian Thornton
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