ANNOUNCING THE 2025 NERO WOLFE ASSEMBLY, THE 48TH BLACK ORCHID BANQUET, AND A SPECIAL SUNDAY “SAUL’S AND SARGE’S” EVENT
– SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6 AND 7, 2025
Since the 1970s, the highlight of each Wolfean year has been the annual Black Orchid Banquet, traditionally held the first Saturday of December each year, in honor of Rex Stout’s birthday on December 1.
BLACK ORCHID BANQUET
This year’s Banquet will be held on Saturday evening, December 6, 2025, starting at 6:00 p.m. We will be returning to Arno Ristorante, 141 West 38th Street (between Broadway and Seventh Avenue). Come to see your Wolfean friends again and enjoy all of your favorite Banquet activities including toasts, song parodies, a quiz, and presentation of this year’s Nero and BONA Awards.
Our keynote speaker this year will be mystery writer, anthologist, and editor Josh Pachter. Mr. Pachter became a published author at age 16 in 1968 and has since authored more than 130 crime and detective stories, as well as the novel Dutch Treat (Genius Books 2003), which was a finalist for three "Best First Mystery Novel" awards: the Malice Domestic Agatha, the Left Coast Crime Lefty, and Mystery Readers International's Macavity. He also compiled and edited The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe (Mysterious Press 2020), a collection of pastiches, parodies, and potpourri by a variety of authors. This important contribution to Wolfean literature could not receive the attention it deserved when it was published in March 2020, and we are glad to recognize its author now.
The cost for all this Wolfean entertainment and education will be just $125 per person for Wolfe Pack members and guests, $135 for others. This includes hors d’oeuvres and a three-course dinner with a choice of entrees as well as complimentary wine at dinner (additional drinks may be ordered à la carte).
Note: We regret that the Banquet is not handicap-accessible (the dining room is down a flight of stairs). Suggestions for accessible locations for future events are always welcome.
NERO WOLFE ASSEMBLY
The annual Nero Wolfe Assembly will be held on Saturday afternoon, December 6, 2025, beginning at 2:00 p.m., also at Arno Ristorante. Knowledgeable speakers will discuss the worlds of Nero Wolfe and Rex Stout. The Assembly will also include an interactive book discussion. This year’s book will be Murder by the Book (1950) – for maximum participation and enjoyment, please read or reread that book before the discussion. There will be a swap ‘n’ shop table for books and memorabilia – please bring items to sell or trade. Coffee and cookies will be served. The cost is $15 for members and guests, $20 for others.
SPECIAL SUNDAY EVENT: SAUL’S AND SARGE’S
This year we will hold a special event on the morning after the Assembly and Black Orchid Banquet, celebrating two important Corpus characters.
We all know that Saul Panzer had extraordinary talents and abilities. For many years, Saul lived in a Manhattan apartment on East 38th Street, between Third and Lexington Avenues. We will meet on Sunday morning and walk the block – many of the buildings are unchanged since the Corpus era – and our mission will be to locate Saul’s apartment, using the clues we can assemble from the descriptions that Archie Goodwin and Rex Stout gave us over the years.
Following our walk, we will meet for a group brunch at Sarge’s Deli, on Third Avenue between East 36th and 37th Streets. This restaurant has been open since the 1960s, when it was founded by a New York Police Department sergeant, whose photo still adorns the front of the menu. We don’t know the name of the sergeant … but let’s just suppose it was Sergeant Purley Stebbins of Manhattan Homicide. In any event, we hope the brunch will be a good wind-up for the Black Orchid Weekend, for New York area members and out-of-towners alike.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
A reservation form including payment information for the Assembly and Banquet is available here. Members and guests attending both the Assembly and the Banquet can do so for $135 (a $5 saving) if payment is received by November 15, 2025. We have again held our event prices the same as last year.
For Saul’s and Sarge’s, prepayment for brunch is not required, but please let us know on the attached form if you’ll be coming, so we can give the restaurant a head-count in advance. Also, please bring cash to pay for your brunch, as most restaurants prefer not to process a dozen or more credit cards.
If there are any questions, please let us know by e-mail to werowance -at- nerowolfe.org
IN-PERSON BOOK DISCUSSION IN NEW YORK ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2025
For our New York Metro Area members, our next in-person book discussion will held on Monday, November 17, 2025 at a restaurant in midtown Manhattan (specific location to be announced — suggestions for suitable locations are welcome).
We will be discussing the Nero Wolfe novel The Second Confession (1949). This is the second of the three novels featuring Mr. Wolfe’s arch-nemesis Arnold Zeck, and is also a fine mystery in its own right.
Prepayment is not necessary, but if you plan to attend, please let us know by e-mailing werowance -at- nerowolfe.org so we can give the restaurant a headcount. We hope to see many of you there!
UPCOMING VIRTUAL BOOK DISCUSSION ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2025
The Wolfe Pack also continues to hold bimonthly online book discussions via Zoom. The next one will be held on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. We will be discussing the Nero Wolfe novel Champagne for One (1958).
These online book discussions are open to paid Wolfe Pack members only. There is no fee, but advance registration is required, and the number of attendees is limited. If you are a Wolfe Pack member, you should be receiving our monthly newsletters with details and registration information for book discussions and other events. If you haven’t received a newsletter recently, please e-mail werowance -at- nerowolfe.org
REX STOUT INTERVIEW REPUBLISHED
During the early 1970s, Rex Stout gave a series of interviews to his biographer John McAleer, which were published under the title Royal Decree. This book has been out of print for many years and copies are difficult to obtain. These interviews have now been republished under the title Rex Stout: Killer Conversations with Edgar Winner John McAleer, with an updated introduction by William G. Tapply and an afterword by Edward D. Hoch. The book is now available via Amazon in either paperback or Kindle format. Highly recommended!
WOLFE PACK MEMBERSHIP
For more enjoyment of the works of
Rex Stout, join the Wolfe Pack or renew your membership by sending a check or using PayPal. (Paypal allows you to select which credit card to use with your Purchase.) Membership costs just $40.00 for two years and includes four issues of our journal, The Gazette and newsletters of upcoming events and Wolfean news.
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Rex Stout on Dick Cavett Show
(September 2, 1969)
Michael Bourne's Interview with Rex Stout
(out of print, no longer available for purchase)
Click below to listen to the interview
Side 1
Side 2 (approx. 10 second start delay)
Rex Stout Interviews John le Carre: Read the Print Interview
Latest Nero Wolfe Pastiche
THE MISADVENTURES OF NERO WOLFE:
Parodies and Pastiches Featuring the Great Detective of West 35th Street
Edited by Josh Pachter
Order the book from Amazon.com
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FLYER
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Soldiers of the Pen: The Writers' War Board in World War II by Thomas Howell
The little-known story of the WW II efforts of The Writers' War Board and its president, Rex Stout. Click the text link above to order.