New England Crime Bake is an annual conference celebrating the work of New England crime fiction and nonfiction authors. Registration is open to anyone, including authors (published and unpublished), readers, booksellers, librarians, agents, and publishers.
Held just outside of Boston, the conference features panels, seminars, and interviews with authors, literary agents, and experts in forensics and other fields related to writing crime fiction and nonfiction. Master classes on writing craft and partial manuscript critiques are offered for an additional fee. There are book signing events and social events with authors and agents, in addition to the festive annual Crime Bake Gala, a themed banquet and costume party.
New England Crime Bake also includes the annual Al Blanchard Award to honor the best crime short story by a New England author or set in a New England setting.