Could you talk about being a judge in the Best Thriller category for this year's contest?

We had to read some 300 novels. That in itself is a monumental undertaking. Once we had a shorter list of 20, we went back and forth among ourselves, e-mailing each other, before we voted again to come up with our finalists and the winner. One of the toughest aspects of the judging process for all of us was trying to assess the relative merits of very different novels. One might be literary, novelistic, beautifully written -- but was it a thriller? How can you compare a funny, lightweight, fast-paced tale with a weightier, more atmospheric one? Should a thriller be all action? When is a mystery also a thriller? We have some extraordinarily talented members, writing terrific books, and to try to pick the "best" of them in any given year is frankly impossible. Each of us had different tastes. In the end, we chose the novel that most appealed to us and that felt most like our own idiosyncratic notion of what a "thriller" is. Some very good novels weren't finalists simply because they didn't fit those very different, highly objective definitions. It was a difficult, even wrenching process. But I came out of it with a deep appreciation of my fellow judges and what passionate readers they are.

What will you be teaching at Craftfest this year?

I'll be teaching one on writing and one on what you might call career management. Not that I'm an expert in either one of those fields, believe me. But it's always struck me that we writers, unlike lawyers or doctors or businessmen or accountants or whatever, don't have a preordained career path. That's not fair! I'm fortunate to have a number of very successful, bestselling thriller writers as friends, and I often ask their advice. But what's a novice to do? Also, we've all made loads of mistakes as we bumble our way through our careers, and I thought it might be useful to pass on some of that hard-earned wisdom -- so writers who are starting out can avoid making those mistakes. And make their own mistakes!

Besides winning your award, what was a memorable highlight from the previous Thrillerfest?

I had a blast hanging out in the bar after the banquet, drinking rounds of champagne bought for me by my publisher and by other friends. I never pass up free booze. The whole evening, which went on quite late (for me, anyway), was hugely convivial. And it wasn't just the celebratory aspect. It was the realization that I really, really like writers, especially thriller writers. They're not just colleagues, not just fellow practitioners; they're a very cool bunch of people.

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Interviewer Jeff Ayers an ITW member and is the author of Voyages of Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion. He regularly reviews suspense/thrillers for Library Journal and Booklist. He also interviews authors and writes articles for Library Journal, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Writer Magazine, Northwest Magazine, and The Big Thrill, ITW's monthly webzine.