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It's no mystery that Bouchercon is one of the most thrilling literary events of the year. This year, the world's largest mystery convention was held on October 8-11 in Raleigh, NC, and brought together all parts of the mystery and crime fiction community for a weekend of exciting panels and awards. Once again, none of our staff was able to make it, but once again, our generous authors and friends played detective for us and sent back news from the front. Here, eight mystery superstars --- Wendy Corsi Staub, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Lisa Unger, Clair Lamb, Dana Kaye, Keith Kahla, Ali Karim and Alafair Burke --- share what made the weekend so special, including their favorite panels and the books they're most anticipating. Some even --- reluctantly --- repeat the best classified stories from the bar, breaking the sacred Bouchercon rule: What happens at the Bouchercon bar stays at the Bouchercon bar. Click here to check out our Bouchercon 2015 photo gallery.

On Saturday, October 3rd, readers and writers braved the very cool, damp and gloomy weather that followed the threat of a hurricane to attend the second annual Morristown Festival of Books. Focused on celebrating the power of the written word while bringing authors and readers together, the festival featured several fun, informative panels throughout the day as well as author signings and a pop-up bookstore.

With the recent release of THE ADVENTURESS, Anne Hawkins of John Hawkins & Associates talks about her client, bestselling author Tasha Alexander, and her 10-book Lady Emily mystery series. The first installment --- AND ONLY TO DECEIVE --- was released 10 years ago, and in honor of its anniversary, Anne reveals what she found so special about that first manuscript and why she believes Lady Emily’s popularity has only grown since then.

As one of this season's most highly anticipated novels, Lauren Groff's FATES AND FURIES is everywhere. I received my copy last week and since then I've seen copies on the subway, in coffeehouses and even in a few restaurants. Focusing on the marriage of Lotto and Mathilde, FATES AND FURIES offers readers to wildly different perspectives of a shared relationship over the course of two decades.

Over my summer staycation I read a number of Young Adult (YA) books. About 15 of them! I remembered why I love this category; tight plotting and typically edgy stories. Here are some that I particularly loved and recommend.  

September is always a big month for new releases and this year has been no exception. This week, I had the pleasure of attending two book launches for some of this season's most highly anticipated books. In my time in publishing, I've found that book launches are a terrific way for readers to interact with authors and get a behind-the-scenes view at how books are written and published. Best of all, readers can even hear their favorite authors read their work aloud and --- if they're lucky --- even snag a signed book or two.

Award-winning New York Times reporter Stephanie Clifford has been making her own news lately with the release of her debut novel, EVERYBODY RISE. Set in New York just before the financial crisis, the book introduces readers to Evelyn Beegan, a young woman desperate to make a name for herself amongst her privileged peers. As she starts trying to pass as one of the elite, however, her lies --- and debt --- begin to consume her, and she must fight to maintain the lifestyle she has created for herself. On Tuesday, I attended the EVERYBODY RISE book release party at BookCourt in Brooklyn, NY. Attended by dozens of fans, readers and friends of Stephanie's, it was an absolute blast. The night kicked off with wine and cheese as readers mingled and talked about the book. I was delighted to see that nearly everyone in attendance purchased a copy of EVERYBODY RISE, and some had started reading it!

A comment about National Coloring Book Day (August 2nd) in the Bookreporter newsletter on July 31st inspired lots of reader feedback. Please find below a selection of the comments that we heard, and see photos of some of our readers coloring and their work. Also, be sure to check out our latest bookshelf, "20 Coloring Books for Adults: Inky Adventures, Stress Relievers, Mandalas and More" and our roundup of some of the best supplies for coloring, "Passion for Coloring: What to Color With?"

On Monday night, in anticipation of the release of Paula McLain's CIRCLING THE SUN, readers enjoyed a lavish spa evening at Elizabeth Arden's The Red Door sponsored by Random House. I had the fortune of attending with a dear friend --- and audiobook lover --- Jamie Carroll, and we had a wonderful time.

This past Saturday, more than a hundred readers trekked up to beautiful Hudson Valley for Random House’s latest reader event, “Off the Page.”  Although Random House has been inviting readers into their headquarters for years, this time they took the party to the stylish Basilica Hudson, a stone’s throw from the Hudson Amtrak train station, where attendees were invited to listen as authors discussed their latest works, participate in workshops and even do a bit of shopping.  I had the fortune of attending Off the Page with former Bookreporter intern Matthew Burbridge, Bookreporter reviewer Vivian Payton and Carol Fitzgerald.