With winter starting to slowly fade away, it means one thing. It’s book convention time again!
The first gathering up is Left Coast Crime (LCC), the annual mystery convention sponsored by mystery fans, both readers and authors. LCC is held during the first quarter of the year in Western North America. Last year was in Vancouver, Canada, and this year’s session will be held in San Diego, California. March in San Diego–not bad.
LCC will run from March 12th through the 15th, at the San Diego Marriott in Mission Valley and if you’re thinking about attending your first convention, this one will be a good choice. LCC is low key and not as overwhelming to the new attendees as some of the larger gatherings like Bouchercon, or ThrillerFest.
There are panels, and smaller session for just about every taste in the crime fiction world. Here is the master panel schedule for the convention: click here
LCC hosts the Lefty Awards and huge congrats to these fine authors:2020 Lefty Award Nominees
| Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel | |
| ° | Ellen Byron, Fatal Cajun Festival (Crooked Lane Books) |
| ° | Leslie Karst, Murder from Scratch (Crooked Lane Books) |
| ° | Cynthia Kuhn, The Subject of Malice (Henery Press) |
| ° | Catriona McPherson, Scot & Soda (Midnight Ink) |
| ° | Wendall Thomas, Drowned Under (Poisoned Pen Press) |
| Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel (Bruce Alexander Memorial) for books covering events before 1970 |
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| ° | Susanna Calkins, Murder Knocks Twice (Minotaur Books) |
| ° | L.A. Chandlar, The Pearl Dagger (Kensington Books) |
| ° | Dianne Freeman, A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder (Kensington Books) |
| ° | Jennifer Kincheloe, The Body in Griffith Park (Seventh Street Books) |
| ° | Sujata Massey, The Satapur Moonstone (Soho Crime) |
| Lefty for Best Mystery Novel | |
| ° | Steph Cha, Your House Will Pay (Ecco) |
| ° | Tracy Clark, Borrowed Time (Kensington Books) |
| ° | Matt Coyle, Lost Tomorrows (Oceanview Publishing) |
| ° | Rachel Howzell Hall, They All Fall Down (Forge Books) |
| ° | Attica Locke, Heaven, My Home (Mulholland Books) |
| Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel | |
| ° | Tori Eldridge, The Ninja Daughter (Agora Books) |
| ° | Angie Kim, Miracle Creek (Sarah Crichton Books) |
| ° | Tara Laskowski, One Night Gone (Graydon House) |
| ° | John Vercher, Three-Fifths (Agora Books) |
| ° | Carl Vonderau, Murderabilia (Midnight Ink) |
I’m going to be there and if you’re around, here’s where you can find me:
- Thurs 3/12 9:00 – 11:00 Author Speed Dating (Rio Vista A-D)
- Thurs 3/12 4:00 – 5:30 KCA Cocktail Party
- Saturday 3/14 3:10 – 3:25 Crime Time Crime Trivia (Santa Fe 4)
- Sunday 3/15 9:00 – 10:00 Panel “Call the Cops: how procedurals get it right or not (Rio Vista F-H)
Then there’s always the informal gatherings in the bar. You don’t have to drink to enjoy the conversation and who know’s you just might meet your new favorite author.
Hope to see you there…
James L'Etoile
James L'Etoile 