Shameful confession of the year: I've never read a Nero Wolfe novel. Nero Wolfe's creator, Rex Stout, is one of the great icons of the crime fiction community and my canonical oversight really should be the subject of a 2009 New Year's Resolution.
Despite my dereliction, The Wolfe Pack, comprised of devoted Nero Wolfe fans, was kind enough to welcome me to their annual Black Orchid Banquet. I went because a pal of mine was receiving an award and I wanted to be there to cheer for him.
Imagine my delight to find several other friends in attendance and a warm welcome from everyone else. Needless to say, I'm joining immediately and planning to attend next year, even if there is some dreadful oversight and a friend of mine does not get the Black Orchid Novella Award (called, so far, the BONA, not to be pronounced aloud above 14th Street!)
One of the evening's highlights was being present to see Jane Cleland (current president of the NYC chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and author of the Josie Prescott mystery series) as part of the "must be seen to be believed" dance troupe. You didn't know Jane was a dancer? Me either. It seems that one of the traditions of the Black Orchid Banquet is that each of the tables write and perform a song; something in keeping with the theme of the evening. Jane's table wrote words to the Goldfinger theme song. The gentlemen sang; the ladies...undulated. Undulate as in the opening montage of the James Bond movies. You really had to be there. I was and it is a memory I will cherish for life.
I'm told Bouchercon2009 will have a Nero Wolfe/Rex Stout banquet that is the same kind of event as the Black Orchid Banquet I attended on Saturday. I'm so there! I'm praying Jane and her troupe will be as well!
Another highlight was discovering the office of
FinePrint Literary Management is on the same street as Nero Wolfe's famous
brownstone. There is some question about the
specific house number (it said to be 918, 506, 922, 902 and 914 in various
books) but clearly it's on 35th Street.
Needless to say, I'm now on a mission to go see the house (the City of
New York placed a plaque at 454 West 35th to mark the spot) and take advantage
of the proximity. After all, a
literary agent who lives on the same street as Nero Wolfe should be pretty good
at selling crime fiction, and solving the mystery that is royalty statements
right?
As I now know, Nero Wolfe would say "Most satisfactory!"
