Welcome to Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention
Bouchercon Bylaws
as amended, through Bouchercon LI [51], Sacramento, October 2020;
currently as of Bouchercon LIII [53], Minneapolis September 2022
I. Bouchercon, Inc., the World Mystery Convention, is a nonprofit organization (hereinafter referred to as "Bouchercon")
which holds an annual convention (hereinafter referred to as “Annual Convention”) in honor of Anthony Boucher, the
distinguished mystery fiction critic, editor and author whose real name was William Anthony Parker White. It is the world’s
premier convention bringing together all parts of the mystery and crime fiction community, and is commonly referred to as
Bouchercon with the appropriate sequential number appended.
II. Membership. Full-time registered attendees and Guests of Honor of each Annual Convention (hereinafter referred to as
"Members") shall constitute the membership of Bouchercon from the beginning of each year's convention until the
commencement of the following year's convention.
III. Board of Directors.
A. The Bouchercon Board of Directors (hereinafter referred to as "Board") shall be established to further the goals of
Bouchercon.
1. Unless authorized by the Members, Board are not entitled to receive remuneration for the duties they perform on
behalf of Bouchercon, except they may be reimbursed for expenses.
2. Every Board Member shall be deemed to have assumed office on the express understanding, agreement and condition
that each Officer and Director shall be indemnified and saved harmless from any costs, charges or expenses arising from
any action, suit or proceeding relating to the activities of Bouchercon and its Board unless it arose from their own willful
neglect, fraudulent misconduct, or failure to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of
Bouchercon.
B. The officers shall be Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. The board shall appoint its officers to two-year terms
commencing after the conclusion of each General Members Meeting.
C. The Board Shall:
1. Act in the interim between Annual Conventions as needed to maintain and improve Bouchercon.
2. Conduct a General Members Meeting at each Annual Convention.
3. Prepare proposals for Bylaws (hereinafter referred to as “Bylaws”) and Rules (hereinafter referred to as “Rules”)
changes to be put before the members at the General Members Meeting.
4. Determine if bids submitted for future Annual Conventions meet minimum requirements established in the Bylaws
and Rules. Any bid deemed by the Board to meet these requirements will be presented to the Members for approval,
except that if more than three acceptable bids are submitted for any one year, the Board can choose to limit
presentations to the top three.
5. Maintain a “best practices” manual and a history of Bouchercon.
6. Assist Local Organizing Committees to conduct successful Annual Conventions and review results of each year’s
convention.
7. Appoint committees and conduct projects that lead to the long-term success of Bouchercon.
8. Receive excess revenue generated by each Annual Convention; distribute funds to Local Organizing Committees as
seed money or for operations, conduct special projects, and fund Board operations. None of these funds shall inure to
the benefit of any Board member. All revenue received shall be used for the purposes of Bouchercon.
9. Report at each General Members Meeting on Bouchercon’s receipts disbursements and financial status.
10. Protect and promote the Bouchercon name, image and brand.
11. Recruit and hire an Administrator who will serve at the will of the Board of Directors and report directly to the Chair of
the Board. The Administrator will support and promote all activities of Bouchercon and be subject to all its policies.
12. Create a position of an immediate Past-Chair who will assist the current Chair in a non-voting, ex-officio capacity for
one year.
IV. Annual Convention.
A. The Annual Convention shall be held in September, October or November of each year in a location approved by the
Members at a General Members Meeting; conventions may be approved up to five years in advance.
B. Local Organizing Committees shall bid to hold Annual Conventions through a process enumerated in the Rules.
C. A bid for an Annual Convention in a non-North American site may be awarded if it will occur at least five years from another
non-North American Annual Convention.
D. If at the end of a General Members Meeting a location for an upcoming Annual Convention, within the subsequent five
years, has not been identified, the Board may step in, initiate and secure an Annual Convention location until a Local
Organizing Committee is identified.
V. Local Organizing Committees.
A. Local Organizing Committees wishing to host an Annual Convention must submit a bid to be placed before the Members at
the General Members Meeting. A Local Organizing Committee awarded a bid must either become a subsidiary of
Bouchercon, or be or become a tax-exempt, but not tax-deductible, nonprofit corporation.
B. The chair, or at least one of any co-chairs, of the Local Organizing Committee must, within six weeks of a bid being
approved, sign a contract with the chair of the Board agreeing to hold the Annual Convention under the provisions of its
bid, these Bylaws and the Standing Rules.
C. Guests of Honor.
1. The Local Organizing Committee for each Annual Convention shall select its Guests of Honor, which may include Fan
Guests, Author Guests, Toastmaster, Special Guests, Distinguished Contribution to the Mystery Community, and
Lifetime Achievement.
2. Guests of Honor may have their hotel, travel and meal expenses covered by the Local Organizing Committee, but shall not receive any honorarium for appearing or speaking at an Annual Convention.
3. An individual may serve in different Guest capacities at different Annual Conventions, but should not serve in the same
capacity twice.
D. Anthony Awards
1. The Anthony Awards shall be given to honor the memory of Anthony Boucher. The Local Organizing Committee shall
oversee the determination and awarding of the Anthony Awards within the provisions of these Bylaws and Rules.
2. Anthony Awards are given for work with a first publication date (when applicable) during the year before the Annual
Convention. In the convention the work’s first publication occurs in a non-North American country, nominations may
be made based on that date, or on a subsequent North American publication date.
3. Awards shall be designated by the year they are awarded, rather than when the work was published or produced.
E. Each Local Organizing Committee is responsible for all of the expenses associated with holding its Annual Convention
and acknowledges that Bouchercon and all other Local Organizing Committees have no liability for covering any
convention deficits.
F. Local Organizing Committees shall present progress reports at each General Members Meeting before and during its
Annual Convention.
G. Within 90 days after its Annual Convention, the Local Organizing Committee shall provide the Board and any upcoming
Local Organizing Committees with its membership list.
H. Within one year after its Annual Convention, the Local Organizing Committee shall provide the Board with a full and
final accounting of the finances of its Annual Convention. During that year, the Local Organizing Committee will
continue to provide financial reports as outlined in the Rules.
I. Each Local Organizing Committee shall prepare a program book for its Annual Convention.
J. After the Local Organizing Committee has paid all expenses for its Annual Convention, any funds remaining must be
turned over to the Board for the purposes established in the Bylaws and Rules.
VI. General Members Meeting.
A. The Board shall hold a General Members Meeting at each Annual Convention open and advertised to all Members; the
current Local Organizing Committee and the Board shall encourage Members to attend.
B. Unless otherwise specified, a simple majority of the Members present and voting at the meeting shall be sufficient to
take action.
C. There shall be no quorum for the General Members Meeting.
D. Actions that may be taken at the General Members Meeting include but are not limited to:
1. Awarding bids for future Annual Conventions.
2. Electing members to the Board;
3. Approving Bylaws and Rules; and
4. Such other items as deemed appropriate.
E. The agenda for the General Members Meeting shall be established by the Board
VII. Membership number 000 is retired in memory of the late Mrs. Phyllis White, widow and lifetime helpmate of Anthony
Boucher and longtime supporter of Bouchercon during her lifetime.
VIII. Bylaws.
A. The current Bylaws shall be published and distributed to all Members at each Annual Convention; when possible,
proposed amendments to bylaws shall also be published and distributed.
B. Amendments.
1. Amendments to the Bylaws may be proposed by a Member or the Board.
2.Proposed amendments shall be written, discussed and voted upon at a General Members Meeting. If the proposed
amendment(s) receive a majority of votes at the General Members meeting, those proposed amendments shall be
approved that year.