The Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave is an annual convention

Fan convention

A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...

 for mystery

Mystery fiction

Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...

 writers and fans held in Manhattan, Kansas

Manhattan, Kansas

Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...

. The Conclave is a Non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

.

Panelists

Guest speakers in the past include Nancy Pickard

Nancy Pickard

Nancy Pickard is a US crime novelist. She has won five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, and a Shamus Award. She is the only author to win all four awards. She also served on the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America...

, Diane Mott Davidson

Diane Mott Davidson

Diane Mott Davidson, born , is an American author of mystery novels that use the theme of food. Several recipes are included in each book, and each novel title is a play on a food or drink word....

, Will Thomas

Will Thomas

Will Thomas, born 1958 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is a novelist who writes a Victorian mystery series featuring Cyrus Barker, a Scottish detective or "private enquiry agent," and his Welsh assistant, Thomas Llewelyn. The Barker/Llewelyn novels are set in the 1880s and often feature historical...

, Chris Roerden, Karen Lee Killough

Karen Lee Killough

Karen Lee Killough is an American writer of science fiction mystery novels under the name Lee Killough. She lives and works in Manhattan, Kansas.-Series :Bloodwalk#Blood Hunt...

, Cait London

Cait London

Lois Kleinsasser of German-Russian ancestry is a USA Today's bestselling American writer of over 45 romance novels since 1980 as Cait London. She also signed her novels as Cait Logan.-Biography:...

, Norm Ledgin

Norm Ledgin

Norm Ledgin is an American writer and journalist, living in the Stanley section of Overland Park, Kansas...

, L. C. Hayden

L. C. Hayden

L. C. Hayden is an American mystery novelist whose 2006 novel Why Casey Had to Die was a finalist for the Agatha Award for Best Novel. Hayden was also a high school English teacher for 26 years, having retired in 2001....

, Mary Monica Pulver, Harley Jane Kozak

Harley Jane Kozak

-Life and career:Kozak was born Susan Jane Kozak in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Dorothy , a university music teacher, and Joseph Aloysius Kozak, an attorney. She has seven siblings: brothers John, Joseph, Peter and Andrew and sisters Dorothy, Mary and Ann. Harley is the youngest of...

, J. A. Konrath

J. A. Konrath

Joseph Andrew Konrath is a fiction writer working in the mystery, thriller, and horror genres. He writes as J. A. Konrath.-Biography:...

, Robert W. Walker, Radine Trees Nehring, Lisa Harkrader, Beth Groundwater

Beth Groundwater

Beth Groundwater is an American author who has written three novels. Her first novel, A Real Basket Case, was nominated for the Best First Novel Agatha Award in 2007...

, and Warren Bull.

In addition to mystery

Mystery fiction

Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...

 writers, members of law enforcement are frequently used in discussion panels. Frequent contributors include forensic anthropologist Michael Finnegan (anthropologist)

Michael Finnegan (anthropologist)

Dr. Michael Finnegan is a Professor of anthropology at Kansas State University and is one of the nation's leading forensic anthropology experts. In 2005, he was named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He holds a Ph.D...

, psychologist James Shanteau

James Shanteau

James Shanteau is an American professor and psychologist. He is co-developer of the Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau index of performance, which measures expert performance in the absence of independent criteria....

, Alan Riniker of the Riley County Police Department, recently retired Riley County Attorney William E. Kennedy III and Sedgwick County Chief Public Defender Steve Osburn.

The Guest of Honor for Fall 2009 is Earlene Fowler

Earlene Fowler

Earlene Fowler is the author of a number of mystery novels set in the fictional city of San Celina, California. She was raised in La Puente, California....

 and the Toastmaster is J. M. Hayes

J. M. Hayes

J.M. Hayes is an American author of mystery novels.Hayes was born and raised in central Kansas, graduated from Wichita State University and did post graduate work at the University of Arizona....

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List of Events

	Date	Keynote Speaker(s) or Guest(s) of Honor	Toastmaster
GMMC1	Oct. 1-3, 2004	JoAnna Carl, Jeanne Dams, Margaret Maron Margaret Maron Margaret Maron is an American writer, the author of award-winning mystery novels.-Biography:Maron was born and grew up in central North Carolina. She has also lived in Italy. She and her husband, artist Joe Maron, lived in Brooklyn before returning to her home state where they now... , Nancy Pickard Nancy Pickard Nancy Pickard is a US crime novelist. She has won five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, and a Shamus Award. She is the only author to win all four awards. She also served on the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America... , Carolyn Wheat	none
GMMC2	Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, 2005	Susan Wittig Albert Susan Wittig Albert Susan Wittig Albert is a mystery writer from Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. She currently resides in Bertram, Texas, near Austin, with her husband, Bill Albert.- Career :... , Carolyn Hart Carolyn Hart Carolyn Gimpel Hart is an award-winning American mystery writer who specializes in traditional mysteries, also known as cozy mysteries.-Biography:... , Patricia Sprinkle, Denise Swanson Denise Swanson Denise Swanson is an American mystery writer. She is currently working on the Scumble River Mysteries that are set in a fictional town in Illinois.-Books in Order:Murder of a Small-Town HoneyMurder of a Sweet Old LadyMurder of a Sleeping Beauty... , Letha Albright, Susan McBride, Marcia Talley Marcia Talley Marcia Talley is an award-winning mystery novelist, author of the Hannah Ives mystery series, two collaborative novels, and numerous short stories. A former librarian, she took early retirement in 2000 to write full-time...	none
GMMC3	Nov. 3-5, 2006	J. M. Hayes J. M. Hayes J.M. Hayes is an American author of mystery novels.Hayes was born and raised in central Kansas, graduated from Wichita State University and did post graduate work at the University of Arizona.... , Nancy Pickard Nancy Pickard Nancy Pickard is a US crime novelist. She has won five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, and a Shamus Award. She is the only author to win all four awards. She also served on the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America...	none
GMMC4	Sept. 28-30, 2007	Diane Mott Davidson Diane Mott Davidson Diane Mott Davidson, born , is an American author of mystery novels that use the theme of food. Several recipes are included in each book, and each novel title is a play on a food or drink word....	Will Thomas Will Thomas Will Thomas, born 1958 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is a novelist who writes a Victorian mystery series featuring Cyrus Barker, a Scottish detective or "private enquiry agent," and his Welsh assistant, Thomas Llewelyn. The Barker/Llewelyn novels are set in the 1880s and often feature historical...
GMMC5	Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, 2008	JoAnna Carl	Joel Goldman
GMMC6	Oct. 30 - Nov. 1, 2009	Earlene Fowler Earlene Fowler Earlene Fowler is the author of a number of mystery novels set in the fictional city of San Celina, California. She was raised in La Puente, California....	J. M. Hayes J. M. Hayes J.M. Hayes is an American author of mystery novels.Hayes was born and raised in central Kansas, graduated from Wichita State University and did post graduate work at the University of Arizona....