PressRelease: 2018 Left Coast Crime “Lefty” Award Nominations Announced

January 14, 2018 — Reno, NV — Left Coast Crime 2018, “Crime on the Comstock,” will be giving four Lefty awards at the 28th annual LCC convention, to be held in Reno in March: humorous, historical, debut, and best. The awards will be voted on at the convention and presented at a banquet on Saturday, March 24, at the Nugget Casino Resort in Reno/Sparks, Nevada. The award nominees have been selected by this and last years’ convention registrants. The nomination period has just concluded, and LCC is delighted to announce the Lefty nominees for books published in 2017:

Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel. The nominees are:
 • Donna Andrews, Gone Gull (Minotaur Books)
 • Ellen Byron, A Cajun Christmas Killing (Crooked Lane Books)
 • Marla Cooper, Dying on the Vine (Minotaur Books)
 • Cynthia Kuhn, The Art of Vanishing (Henery Press)
 • Cindy Sample, Dying for a Diamond (Cindy Sample Books)

Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel (Bruce Alexander Memorial) for books covering events before 1960. The nominees are:
 • Rhys Bowen, In Farleigh Field (Lake Union Publishing)
 • Jennifer Kincheloe, The Woman in the Camphor Trunk (Seventh Street Books)
 • Renee Patrick, Dangerous To Know (Forge)
 • Priscilla Royal, The Proud Sinner (Poisoned Pen Press)
 • Jeri Westerson, Season of Blood (Severn House Publishers)

Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel. The nominees are:
 • Susan Alice Bickford, A Short Time To Die (Kensington)
 • Kellye Garrett, Hollywood Homicide (Midnight Ink)
 • Wendall Thomas, Lost Luggage (Poisoned Pen Press)
 • Nancy Tingley, A Head in Cambodia (Swallow Press)
 • Kathleen Valenti, Protocol (Henery Press)

Lefty for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories). The nominees are:
 • Matt Coyle, Blood Truth (Oceanview Publishing)
 • William Kent Krueger, Sulfur Springs (Atria Books)
 • Louise Penny, Glass Houses (Minotaur Books)
 • Terry Shames, An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock (Seventh Street Books)
 • James W. Ziskin, Cast the First Stone (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 28th annual Left Coast Crime Convention will take place in Reno, Nevada, March 22–25, 2018. This year’s Guests of Honor are authors Naomi Hirahara and William Kent Krueger. Author Todd Borg 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 2018, please visit http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2018/