Left Coast Crime

Left Coast Crime is an annual conference organised by mystery fiction fans for mystery fiction fans, first held in San Francisco in 1991. It is concerned with western North American region mysteries, but the conference itself travels worldwide, having been held in Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as different parts of the United States. The conference enables fans to mix with authors. A prominent author of western mystery fiction is invited to be guest speaker.^[1][2][3]

Awards

Conference participants have voted on an award for the most humorous mystery novel since 1996. The Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery (for a mystery set prior to 1950) has been voted since 2004.^[4] The PANIC is an award for the best Los Angeles noir in memory of Paul Anik and the first, for 2009, will be awarded at the 2010 conference in Los Angeles.^[5]

Lefty Award Winners

• 1996: The Fat Innkeeper by Alan Russell
• 1997: No award given
• 1998: Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
• 1999: Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
• 2000: Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews
• 2001: No award given
• 2002: tie: Dim Sum Dead by Jerrilyn Farmer and Fender Benders by Bill Fitzhugh
• 2003: tie: The Hearse Case Scenario by Tim Cockey and Pipsqueak by Brian M. Wiprud
• 2004: Mumbo Gumbo by Jerrilyn Farmer
• 2005: tie: We'll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews and Blue Blood by Susan McBride
• 2006: Cast Adrift by Peter Guttridge
• 2007: Go to Helena Handbasket by Donna Moore
• 2008: Murder With Reservations by Elaine Viets
• 2009: Greasing the Pinata by Tim Maleeny
• 2010: Getting Old Is a Disaster by Rita Lakin
• 2011: The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein by J. Michael Orenduff
• 2012: The Real Macaw by Donna Andrews
• 2013: The Girl Next Door by Brad Parks^[6]

The Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery^[4]

• 2004: For The Love Of Mike by Rhys Bowen
• 2005: The Witch in the Well by Sharan Newman
• 2006: Spectres In The Smoke by Tony Broadbent
• 2009: Nox Dormienda, A Long Night For Sleeping by Kelli Stanley
• 2010: A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell
• 2011: The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear
• 2012: Mercury's Rise by Ann Parker
• 2013: Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder by Catriona McPherson.

References