What to Pack for a Mystery Convention

By Margaret Lucke

As I write this, I’m getting ready to travel to Denver for Left Coast Crime, affectionately known as LCC—a wonderful annual convention for readers and writers of mysteries and thrillers and a highlight of my calendar each year.

I enjoy conventions and conferences and I’ve been to quite a few, starting with a Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, in San Francisco long ago. I was one a few dozen mystery writers and fans who gathered to celebrate our favorite genre at the very first Left Coast Crime in 1991. I’ve attended Malice Domestic several times, as well as conventions that focus on other genres–romance, horror, science fiction and fantasy. I celebrated a significant birthday at a conference in Los Angeles organized around the 100th anniversary of the publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

If you’ve just signed up for your first LCC or another conference and are wondering what to bring with you, let my experience be your guide. Here are a few tips and pointers about what put in your suitcase.

Clothes (of course). I go for business casual but lots of people opt for casual-casual, which is fine too. Just remember to think layers, and bring a sweater or indoor-type jacket along. Conference events take place in hotel meeting rooms, and according to law meeting-room thermostats must be set for the wrong temperature. If you’re dressed for warm weather, the room will be freezing, with a drafty wind aimed at your chair. If you dress in expectation of a chill, the room will be hot and stuffy. Whatever the temperature in the room you go to for a 10 am panel, you can count on the room with the 11 am panel being twenty degrees hotter or colder.

Highlighter. The bigger the convention, the more activities there are to keep track of. That means you’re almost certain to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. You’ll receive a handy pocket program to carry around, but the type will be too small to read without squinting. Marking your must-see panels and events in bright yellow (or a color of your choice) can help you tell at a glance where you want to be at 2 pm.

Cell phone. You and your friend from the other side of the country will both be at the same conference. You email her to say, “Let’s get together for lunch on one of those days,” and she agrees. When you get to the conference hotel, can you find each other amongst the hundreds of people? Maybe, but maybe not, which is why you’re glad to be carrying your phone, programmed with the numbers of everyone you might want to contact while your at the conference. And be sure to bring a charger! Don’t forget, though, to turn off your phone while you’re in the audience for a panel or program.

Business cards, bookmarks, postcards, swag. Whether you’re a reader, writer, or other, you’ll meet people you’ll want to keep in touch with, so business cards are great to have. If you’re an author, you’ll want items to hand a fan to alert her to your latest book. In the past I’ve brought home recipes, pens, coasters, notepads, those things you use to twist of jar lids, and more. In Denver, look for the word search puzzles I’ll be leaving on the giveaway tables, along with my pamphlet called “10 Clues to Writing Great Fiction.”

Extra space in your luggage. You’ll need room in your suitcase to tuck in all of those pens and coasters, not to mention the books you’re going to acquire. You will need to accommodate the books in the bag you receive at registration, the books you buy in the dealers room, the books you grab off the swap table …

Energy and stamina.  Conferences are fun. They’re busy. They’re demanding. They’re exhausting. Be sure to bring along an abundance of energy and stamina, or whatever will help you achieve those thing—extra vitamins, your walking shoes so you can leave the hotel and get some fresh air and exercise, earplugs so you can enjoy a good night’s sleep despite your roommate’s snores.

Smiles. You’ll want to have plenty of these on hand so you can hand them out freely. Fortunately, you’ll be able to replenish your supply with all of the smiles that people will give to you.

I hope to see you next week in Denver! If you’ll be at LCC, be sure to seek me out and say hello. A couple of opportunities to find me easily are the panels I’ll appear on: “Art & Crime” on Friday at 9 am, and “The Craft of Writing,” which I’ll be moderating, on Saturday at 2:45 pm.