January 15, 2019 — Vancouver, BC — Left Coast Crime 2019, “Whale of a Crime,” will be giving four Lefty Awards at the 29th annual LCC convention, to be held in Vancouver in March: humorous, historical, debut, and best. The awards will be voted on at the convention and presented at a banquet on Saturday, March 30, at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver, BC. The award nominees have been selected by this and last years’ convention registrants. There are more nominees in each category this year due to unusually close voting. LCC is delighted to announce the Lefty nominees for books published in 2018:

Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel. The nominees are:

  • Ellen Byron, MARDI GRAS MURDER (Crooked Lane Books)
  • Kellye Garrett, HOLLYWOOD ENDING (Midnight Ink)
  • Timothy Hallinan, NIGHTTOWN (Soho Crime)
  • Leslie Karst, DEATH EL FRESCO (Crooked Lane Books)
  • Cynthia Kuhn, THE SPIRIT IN QUESTION(Henery Press)
  • Catriona McPherson, SCOT FREE(Midnight Ink)

Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel for books set before 1960. The nominees are:

  • Rhys Bowen, FOUR FUNERALS AND MAYBE A WEDDING (Berkeley Prime Crime)
  • David Corbett, THE LONG-LOST LOVE LETTERS OF DOC HOLLIDAY (Black Opal Books)
  • Laurie R. King, ISLAND OF THE MAD (Bantam Books)
  • Sujata Massey, THE WIDOWS OF MALABAR HILL (Soho Crime)
  • Ann Parker, A DYING NOTE (Poisoned Pen Press)
  • Iona Whishaw, IT BEGINS IN BETRAYAL (Touchwood Editions)

Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel. The nominees are:

  • Tracy Clark, BROKEN PLACES (Kensington Books)
  • A.J. Devlin, COBRA CLUTCH (NeWest Press)
  • A.J. Finn, THE WOMN IN THE WINDOW (William Morrow)
  • Dianne Freeman, A LADY’S GUIDE TO ETIQUETTE AND MURDER (Kensington Books)
  • Aimee Hix, WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU (Midnight Ink)
  • Keenan Powell, DEADLY SOLUTION (Level Best Books)
  • J.G. Toews, GIVE OUT CREEK(Mosaic Press)

Lefty for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories). The nominees are:

  • Lou Berney, NOVEMBER ROAD (William Morrow)
  • Matt Coyle, WRONG LIGHT (Oceanview Publishing)
  • Louise Penny, KINGDOM OF THE BLINDK (Minotaur Books)
  • Lori Rader-Day, UNDER A DARK SKY (William Morrow Paperbacks)
  • Terry Shames, A RECKONING IN THE BACK COUNTRY(Seventh Street Books)
  • James W. Ziskin, A STONE’S THROW (Seventh Street Books)

The Left Coast Crime Convention is an annual event sponsored by mystery fans, both readers and authors. Usually held in the western half of North America, LCC’s intent is to host an event where readers, authors, critics, librarians, publishers, and other fans can gather in convivial surroundings to pursue their mutual interests. Lefty Awards have been given since 1996.

The 29th annual Left Coast Crime Convention will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, March 28–31, 2019. This year’s Guests of Honour are authors C.J. Box and Maureen Jennings. Don & Jenn Longmuir of Scene of the Crime Books are the Fan Guests of Honour. Author William Deverell is the Local Legend. Author Cathy Ace will serve as Toastmaster.

Left Coast Crime is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation holding annual mystery conventions in the West. Each LCC convention raises money to support a local literary organization and is staffed entirely by volunteers.

For more information on Left Coast Crime 2019, please visit www.leftcoastcrime.org/2019/