Girl. Submissions are OPEN for the DC Bouchercon 2027 Anthology, Power Corrupts! Here’s a brief synopsis of the concept:

Power Corrupts is meant to encompass a wide range of storytelling options and any sub-genre within crime fiction, whether that be political, historical, cozy, traditional mystery, romance, suspense, noir or any others.

The theme also lends itself to an exploration of power dynamics within an organization, a marriage, a family, partnership, a personality quirk, and more. These can be stories about resistance or submission, responses to active or passive aggression, questions about authority and the necessity of following or disobeying leadership. Any relationship presents this dynamic, and we want to see the unique, exciting ways you explore the concept.

To that end, we invite you to be creative, but ask that you ensure the theme is incorporated within your work, and that your story features a crime.

Why are you telling us about this?

Because I’m the MANAGING EDITOR of the anthology!

Wow, that’s such an honor! Congratulations! So you pick the winning stories and your name goes on the cover and you’re…kind of a big deal? They usually pick a big name for GUEST EDITOR!

Oh, remember, I said “managing” editor. You’re thinking of the Guest Editor, which is very prestigious, but that’s not me. That’s Alma Katsu.

Oh, awkward.

It’s fine.

But Alma’s great!

She really is! I’ve admired Alma Katsu for a long time, both for her writing and as a writer. She’s made a name for herself in horror (her novel, The Horror, was named by NPR as one of their Top 100 Horror Stories) and crime fiction (her short story, Black Vault, is in development for TV, and she’s written wonderful thrillers), and she had a short story included in the celebrated, NYT-bestselling anthology, The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand. She’s a force of nature.

Nice. But what does a managing editor do?

I’m the one who organizes the anthology behind the scenes. I came up with the theme, wrote this little pitch for the Bouchercon web site (with help from the Calgary anthology team), etc. And I’m going to recruit judges, coordinate the process, get coffee for Ms. Katsu, that kind of stuff.

When I volunteered to work for the DC Bouchercon committee, this is the job I wanted. I love short stories and anthologies and it’s a blast to do it for the Bouchercon in my own (or nearby) city.

So, do you help pick out the stories? Because, you know…

You know?

I mean, you’re not really…

Oh, I know what you’re saying and, yes, I am very openly susceptible to bribes. It doesn’t even have to be a lot of money. Just some money.

But I’m only corrupt in, like, my taxes. I keep all my writing/publishing stuff above board. I’ll handle the subs and dole them out, but no one will know whose work they’re judging. And when the finalists go to Alma for her picks, she won’t know who wrote them. At no point, until the top 25 have been selected, will the writers’ identities be revealed.

Are you letting the power to go your head?

That would be ridiculous. There’s no power with this. In fact, I’m not even going to reply to that.

(But my assistant will. I have requested an assistant.)

What if someone uses AI?

I added something about AI in the rules. AI will not be used in any element of this book - not the cover, editing, graphics, etc.

But what if someone writes a story with AI?

If I discover someone wrote a story with AI, I will dogwalk their ass.

So that’s a no on AI?

That’s a no on AI.

Well, this is exciting! When do submissions open?

They’re open! Check out all the rules and requirements HERE, and then send us your work! The max length is 4,000 words, and the deadline closes on October 1. I’m excited to read your stories.

EA

I will be at ThrillerFest this coming weekend! By which I mean, I will be sitting at the bar, because I was too cheap to register for the conference. I was also too cheap to spring for a hotel, so I’ll be posting up at the bar all day Friday, and only Friday. If you’re in town for the conference, come say hi! And remember that I’m susceptible to bribes!

It's giveaway time! The winner of a copy of the last Bouchercon anthology, Blood on the Bayou, is:

k____idge@c__.org

Congrats, and I'll send you an email soon!

A few newsletters ago I mentioned that Ron Charles, former Head Reviewer for the Washington Post Books section, has started his own newsletter, and it’s great fun and informative and a nice continuation of his fantastic work.

Another former reviewer at the Post, Becky Meloan, has also started her own newsletter called What’s Our Next Book. It’s a great read - succinct and smart and really gives you the essence of a book, so you know by the end of the review if it’s for you or not. Check it out! Side note: I was very excited to see that, in her spring books roundup, Becky listed Erica Wright’s The Museum of Unusual Occurrences (I’m an Erica Wright stan).