The second conference organised by the British Library on Golden Age detective fiction was held on June 11, 2016. About 200 enthusiasts filled the cozy (so to speak) auditorium and were entertained for quite a full day (British Library 6_11_2016). All the presentations were relaxed and humorous and there was a very enjoyable atmosphere. An additional benefit was meeting people I had only corresponded with over the internet.
There was a lot of kidding about all the awards Martin Edwards’ has (deservedly) received for The Golden Age of Murder. Martin became president of The Detection Club recently and Taku Ashibe (seen below with moi ) was given a warm welcome as the representative of the Honkaku Mystery Writers of Japan, which has based itself on The Detection Club. Ashibe-san brought along a suitcase full of Japanese equivalents to all the books discussed throughout the day, an extremely generous gesture which was very well received.
A straw poll indicated interest in another conference in 2017 and I would encourage anyone interested in the genre to attend
