LEFT COAST CRIME AWARD NOMINATIONS

LEFT COAST CRIME 2015 * CRIMELANDIA
PORTLAND, OREGON * MARCH 12-15, 2015

2015 Left Coast Crime Award Nominations. Congratulations to all!

Left Coast Crime 2015, “Crimelandia,” will be giving four awards at the 25th annual LCC convention, to be held in Portland. The awards will be voted on at the convention and presented at a banquet on Saturday, March 14, at the Doubletree by Hilton Portland. The award nominees have been selected by convention registrants. The nomination period has just concluded, and LCC is delighted to announce the nominees for books published in 2014:

The Lefty has been awarded for the best humorous mystery novel since 1996.
The nominees are:
    • Donna Andrews, The Good, the Bad, and the Emus (Minotaur Books)
    • Timothy Hallinan, Herbie’s Game (Soho Crime)
    • Jess Lourey, January Thaw (Midnight Ink)
    • Cindy Sample, Dying for a Dude (Cindy Sample Books)
    • Diane Vallere, Suede to Rest (Berkley Prime Crime)

The Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award (first awarded in 2004) is given to mystery novels covering events before 1960.
The nominees are:
    • Rhys Bowen, Queen of Hearts (Berkley Prime Crime)
    • Susanna Calkins, From the Charred Remains (Minotaur Books)
    • Catriona McPherson, A Deadly Measure of Brimstone (Minotaur Books)
    • Kelli Stanley, City of Ghosts (Minotaur Books)
    • Jeri Westerson, Cup of Blood (Old London Press)

The Rose, commemorating our Portland location, is for the best mystery novel set in the LCC region.
The nominees are:
    • Chelsea Cain, One Kick (Simon & Schuster)
    • Terri Nolan, Glass Houses (Midnight Ink)
    • Gigi Pandian, Pirate Vishnu (Henery Press)
    • L.J. Sellers, Deadly Bonds (Thomas & Mercer)
    • Johnny Shaw, Plaster City (Thomas & Mercer)

The Rosebud, for the best first mystery novel set anywhere in the world.
The nominees are:
    • Lisa Alber, Kilmoon (Muskrat Press)
    • M.P. Cooley, Ice Shear (William Morrow)
    • Allen Eskens, The Life We Bury (Seventh Street Books)
    • Lori Rader-Day, The Black Hour (Seventh Street Books)
    • Holly West, Mistress of Fortune (Carina Press ebook)

The Left Coast Crime Convention is an annual event sponsored by fans of mystery literature for fans of mystery literature, including both readers and authors. Usually held in the western half of North America, LCC’s intent is to provide an event where mystery fans can gather in convivial surroundings to pursue their mutual interests.

The 25th annual Left Coast Crime Convention will take place in Portland, OR, March 12–15, 2015. This year’s Guests of Honor are authors Chelsea Cain and Timothy Hallinan. Phillip Margolin is a Special Guest. Friends of Mystery are the Fan Guests of Honor. Author Gar Anthony Haywood will serve as Toastmaster.

For more information on Left Coast Crime 2015, please visit www.leftcoastcrime.org/2015/

Lucinda Surber & Stan Ulrich, Left Coast Crime Awards Committee Co-Chairs

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What's new at Crimelandia! Left Coast Crime 25!!

Only 52 more days until Left Coast Crime: Crimelandia! There's still time to sign-up, so don't hesitate. Left Coast Crime, March 12-15, 2015! Portland, Oregon! Register Now.

Who's Attending? Check it out HERE.

What's New?

Author/Reader Connections
One of the best things about Left Coast Crime is the chance to get to know your fellow readers and writers. But sometimes, during the excitement and flurry of activities, it’s not always easy to find time to meet your favorite writer. At Crimelandia, a number of authors want to make it easy to connect with readers. With that in mind, LCC has created Author/Reader Connections. It might be lunch or dinner, a quiet drink, or a walk together through town. All you need to do is click the link for the writer you’d like to connect with and sign-up. Then, during the conference, you’ll connect at the scheduled time and place. These connections are free, and in some cases may include some special benefits from the authors. Visit the Author/Reader Connection page to sign up.

Portland Area Side Trips
In addition to a great conference full of fellow mystery readers and writers, there are a number of fascinating side trips to enrich your time in the City of Roses.

Tour of the FBI’s Regional Crime Forensics Lab — Second Tour Added! A close look at the high tech ways the bureau uses digital evidence to solve crimes. The 7:45 AM tour filled up quickly, and luckily we were able to add an additional tour. 9:15–10:30 AM, Friday, March 13; FREE - 25 total spaces

Shanghai Tunnel Underground Tour of Old Portland
Join host Bill Sullivan for an exploration of Portland's underground tunnels, learning about Shanghai abductions, Chinese opium dens, brothels, and bootlegging in Portland's history. 1:00-3:00 PM, Saturday, March 14 (includes travel time to and from the tour location) $20 per person, Limit 40 (minimum 30)

River Tour of Portland 
Enjoy scenic views of Portland along the Willamette River from the Spirit Cruise Ship. Champagne brunch and live music included for $46, $43 for ages 60+. Noon to 2:00 PM, Sunday, March 15 (meet in the lobby to take the MAX line)

Writing Workshop 
Left Coast Crime 2015 is excited to offer a day of instruction on writing mystery, suspense, and thrillers. We thank April Henry and Bob Dugoni for joining us and for sharing their bestselling craft wisdom. Whether you’re a published or aspiring novelist, you won’t want to miss out on the chance to learn from two of the best. When: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM Where: Doubletree by Hilton Portland, the location of LCC 2015 Price: $70 for LCC registrants, $120 for non-LCC registrants.
More information and registration

Crimelandia News: Left Coast Crime, March 12-15, 2015

Save: Register before 12/31/14

The cost of registering for Left Coast Crime 2015: Crimelandia goes up after December 31st to $195. If you have friends who are procrastinating, remind them to register now!
Not sure if you have registered yet? Check the Crimelandia Attendee list.
Need to register? Registration page.

Author/Reader Connections

One of the best things about Left Coast Crime is the chance to get to know your fellow readers and writers. But sometimes, during the excitement and flurry of activities, it’s not always easy to find time to meet your favorite writer. At Crimelandia, a number of authors want to make it easy to connect with readers. With that in mind, Crimelandia has created Author/Reader Connections. It might be lunch or dinner, a quiet drink, or a walk together through town. All you need to do is click the link for the writer you’d like to connect with and sign-up. Then, during the conference, you’ll connect at the scheduled time and place. These connections are free, and in some cases may include some special benefits from the authors.

Visit our Author/Reader Connection page to sign up.

Crimelandia Award Nominations

Reminder: Keep making notes about your favorite books published in 2014 in order to be prepared for the Left Coast Crime 2015 Award Nominations, which happen very soon — in January!

Registrants of the 2014 and 2015 Left Coast Crime Conventions will be able to nominate three titles in each category. Nominations will be accepted between January 1 and January 23, 2015, for the Left Coast Crime awards in these four categories:

The Lefty: Best humorous mystery novel

The Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award: Best historical mystery novel covering events before 1960

The Rose: Best mystery novel set in the LCC region (North America Mountain Time Zone and all time zones westward to Hawaii)

The Rosebud: For budding writers, best first mystery novel set anywhere in the world

To be eligible, titles must have been published for the first time in the United States during 2014, in book or ebook format. If published in another country before 2014, a title is still eligible if it was published in the US during 2014.

Nomination forms will be emailed to all 2014 and 2015 LCC registrants on January 1, 2015. The nominations will be announced on January 26, 2015. Final voting will be by paper ballot at the convention in Portland. The awards will be presented at the Awards Banquet on Saturday, March 14, 2015.

Questions? Email Awards Co-Chairs Lucinda Surber & Stan Ulrich.

Crimelandia News: Left Coast Crime

CRIMELANDIA: LEFT COAST CRIME, MARCH 12-15, 2014, Portland, OR.

Coming to Bouchercon?

The Crimelandia Team will be selling registrations for LCC 2015 at the LCC table in the Book Room at Bouchercon Long Beach. If you will be attending, drop by and say hello, or even better, email Co-Chair L.J. Sellers and volunteer to help at the table. Information about LCC 2016 in Phoenix and LCC 2017 in Honolulu will also be available.

Don’t Forget to Register for Crimelandia!

The Crimelandia registration fee is $175 through December 31, 2014, and then will increase to $195. Registration fee includes Welcome Reception, two Breakfasts, the Awards Banquet, and access to all panels and programming.

Not sure if you have registered yet? Check the Crimelandia Attendee list.
 
Need to register? Visit the Registration page.

Interested in advertising in the Crimelandia Program Book? Check out the Advertising page for all the details. The deadline for reserving ad space is February 6, 2015. The deadline for submission of artwork is February 13, 2015.

See you in Portland or at the LCC table at Bouchercon next week!

Crimelandia News: Left Coast Crime, March 12-15, 2015

LEFT COAST CRIME: Crimelandia, March 12-15. Portland, OR.

Noir, cozy, thriller, historical, graphic novels, and more… Left Coast Crime, a fan convention, will encompass programming and events to meet a wide variety of reading tastes. Festivities open Thursday afternoon, March 12, 2015, and continue through noon on Sunday, March 15, 2015. Guests of Honor: Chelsea Cain and Tim Hallinan. Toastmaster: Gar Haywood.

Don’t Forget to Register for Crimelandia! 

Crimelandia registration fee is $175 through December 31, 2014, and then will increase to $195. The registration fee includes the Welcome Reception, two Breakfasts, the Awards Banquet, and access to all panels and programming.

Not sure if you have registered yet? Check the Crimelandia Attendee list.
Register here.


CRIMELANDIA NEWS:

Although Left Coast Crime is a Fan Convention, there will be authors, writers and pre-published writers in attendance. Come early and register for LCC's Writing Workshop.


Left Coast Crime 2015 just announced a day of instruction on writing mystery/suspense/thrillers. April Henry and Bob Dugoni will share their bestselling craft wisdom. Whether you’re a published or aspiring novelist, you won’t want to miss out on the chance to learn from two of the best.

When: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Where: Doubletree by Hilton Portland, the location of LCC 2015
Price: $70 for LCC registrants, $120 for non-LCC registrants
Register for the workshop

Writing Workshop Schedule

Turn up the Tension and Plot Your Way to Success: 9:00 AM – noon
Instructor: April Henry
Mysteries and thrillers are all about plot, and this workshop is all about providing tips for writing books readers can’t put down. April will share the techniques she uses to write her award-winning novels, including tips for getting your story started, growing your plot, and adding subplots. In addition, you will learn the key ingredient you only want in a book (and not in real life), traps you should avoid, how to fix stories that have stalled, and 47 ways to turn up the tension.

Playing God: Creating Memorable Characters: 1:00 – 4:00 PM
Instructor: Robert Dugoni
What is it about certain books that when we finish the final page the characters stay with us for days? What is it about these characters that makes them so memorable? Using examples from his own books and from other writers, Bob will teach techniques to make your characters well-rounded individuals who will keep readers wondering about them long after they have finished reading your novel.

See you at Crimelandia!

Left Coast Crime Crimelandia News!

LEFT COAST CRIME: CRIMELANDIA NEWS!

This in from Chairs L.J. Sellers and Bill Cameron: Left Coast Crime, Crimelandia, Portland, OR.

Ridley Pearson will not be able to attend. He discovered a conflicting engagement that he couldn’t get out of. The good news is that sweet and talented Tim Hallinan will join us as Guest of Honor. Tim is the Edgar, Lefty, Shamus, and Macavity-nominated author of sixteen published novels, including six Bangkok-set thrillers about an American travel writer, Poke Rafferty, four comic mysteries starring Los Angeles burglar, Junior Bender, who moonlights as a private eye for crooks, and six cult-status private-eye novels featuring L.A. private detective Simeon Grist.

Tim will have an in-depth interview about how he manages to live in two places and write three diverse and incredible series. Tim also plans to auction off a name in his next novel, so this is your chance to be one of the wacky characters Junior runs into.

Chelsea Cain is our Portland-based Guest of Honor. Her thrillers, described by The New York Times as “steamy and perverse,” have been published in over 30 languages, recommended on “The Today Show,” appeared in episodes of HBO’s “True Blood” and ABC’s “Castle,” named among Stephen King’s top ten favorite books of the year, and included in NPR’s list of the top 100 thrillers ever written. According to Booklist, “Popular entertainment just doesn’t get much better than this.” We can’t wait to hear what she has to say about developing such chilling characters.

You’ll also get to hear from our Toastmaster, the charming Gar Anthony Haywood. Gar is the Shamus and Anthony award-winning author of twelve crime novels and numerous short stories. He has written six mysteries featuring African-American private investigator Aaron Gunner; two starring Joe and Dottie Loudermilk, retiree crime-solvers and Airstream-owning parents to five grown Children From Hell; and four standalone thrillers. Gar has also written for both the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, and for such television shows as New York Undercover and The District.

But the convention has even more to offer. We have a lot of terrific side trips planned—including an FBI hostage-rescue workshop and a stroll through the Shanghai Tunnels. The side trips will soon be listed on the website for signup. In addition, we’re hosting a new feature in which readers can sign up for lunches with authors.

Our thanks to those who have registered early to join us for this great convention. Not sure if you have registered for Crimelandia? Check our Attendee list.

Not registered yet? $175 rate is good through the end of December.
Registration page to sign up to join us in Portland in March 2015.