Bob Booth R.I.P.

Bob Booth passed away early Saturday morning after an eight-month battle with cancer. A writer, editor, and publisher, he was perhaps best known as the founder of NECON (Northeastern Writer’s Conference) — a favorite convention for several generations of horror and thriller writers (including myself).

There are many great remembrances of Bob on the Internet this weekend. Mine was posted to Twitter (since I received word of his passing while in the mountains and away from a computer). My favorites are this short one by F. Paul Wilson (posted on his Facebook page) and this lengthier one by Mary SanGiovanni (who I might not be in a happy relationship with today were it not for Bob’s legendary annual party). There’s a phrase I hear get tossed around a lot: “the lifeblood of the genre”. It’s an overused phrase — but not in the case of Bob. I’m hard pressed to think of anyone who has constantly done more for our community, and brought more enjoyment, happiness, and a sense of kinship and belonging and family to our field, than Bob Booth. He will be missed, indeed.

He is survived by his wife, Mary; his son, Dan; his daughter, Sara; and his granddaughter, Jillian — as well as an extended family of writers, editors, artists, and readers, all of whom considered annual NECON attendance an absolute must. Condolences can be sent to: Mary Booth, 67 Birchland Ave., Pawtucket, RI 02860. They can also be sent via email to Dan (daniel.booth77@gmail.com) and Sara (saracalia08@gmail.com).