I would love to share the entire article from Publishers Weekly, “20 Years In, ThrillerFest Mixes Escapism with Engagement” by Lenny Picker. But, I don’t want to violate copyright. Instead, I’m going to share the section that mentions Barbara Peters and The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.
20 YEARS OF THRILLS
David Morrell and fellow ITW cofounder Gayle Lynds spoke with PW about ITW’s humble beginnings and two-decade journey. Lynds credited Barbara Peters, of the Poisoned Pen bookstore and press, with first putting together the conference of thriller writers two decades ago. The conference, along with Lynds and Morrell, featured the authors Lee Child, Clive Cussler, Vince Flynn, and Kathy Reichs.
“It was a wonderful writing conference, with outstanding authors teaching,” Lynds said. “Interestingly, instead of the attendees being dominantly aspiring writers, which all of us had expected, readers came, too—and outnumbered the writers.” That, for Lynds, was the “ah-ha moment. For the first time, we had evidence that readers wanted thriller gatherings, as did we writers. Those of us there talked seriously about starting an organization, which David and I agreed to honcho, and we became co-presidents.” She recalled it as “a wonderful, fascinating, busy time.”
Asked about the role ITW and ThrillerFest play in the business, Lynds responded that, when it began, “although thriller novels often filled bestseller lists, panels about thriller writing were seldom offered at writing conferences, and writing organizations seldom honored thriller novels with awards. So, from their beginning, ITW worked to integrate thrillers into conferences and to draw attention to our field as worthy to receive awards.” To date, Lynds said, “ITW’s growth has been amazing, and inspiring. Any time you start something, you can never be sure how it will turn out I’m proud of all the writers we’ve helped better their craft; the opportunities we’ve given writers to talk face-to-face with agents, publishers, and media people; and the writers who have worked so hard to write top-notch novels and can say ITW helped them in many ways.”
Morrell also recalled that initial gathering in Scottsdale, at the famed Arizona Biltmore hotel.”It occurred to everyone that we were mostly thriller authors at a mystery store event,” he told PW. “Gayle and I began to wonder about an organization for thriller writers. After a year of phone calls and help from many, many people, International Thriller Writers was born.”
Morrell admitted that he is surprised at what ThrillerFest has evolved into in 2025: “Membership and attendance have grown amazingly, as ITW provides a community for thriller writers, encourages new authors, and explores the possibilities of what thrillers can be.” He credited “the generous support of ITW’s members, their officers, committees, event volunteers, and anthology contributors. A lot of people give their time and enthusiasm to help one another and the thriller-author community. Our books may be filled with mayhem, but at ThrillerFest, there are a lot of smiles.”
