The annual Left Coast Crime “Lefty” Awards are chosen by registered members of each Left Coast Crime convention. During the first two weeks of January, nominations for awards to be presented at the annual convention are made by people registered for that convention and also the immediately prior convention. A ballot listing the official nominees is given to each registrant when they check in at the convention, and final voting takes place at the convention. The ballots are tabulated and that year’s Lefty Awards are presented at the Awards Celebration.
Each annual convention presents awards in the following categories for best mystery/crime/thriller novels:
| |
• |
Best Humorous Mystery Novel |
| |
• |
Best Historical Mystery Novel (Bill Gottfried Memorial) |
| |
• |
Best Debut Mystery Novel |
| |
• |
Best Mystery Novel |
To be eligible, titles must have been published for the first time in the United States or Canada during the calendar year preceding the convention, in book or ebook format. If published in other countries before the calendar year preceding the convention, a book is still eligible if it meets the US or Canadian publication requirement.
2025 Lefty Award Nominees
| Lefty Nominees for Best Humorous Mystery Novel |
| ° |
Ellen Byron, A Very Woodsy Murder (Kensington Books) |
| ° |
Jennifer J. Chow, Ill-Fated Fortune (St. Martin’s Paperbacks) |
| ° |
A.J. Devlin, Bronco Buster (NeWest Press) |
| ° |
Catriona McPherson, Scotzilla (Severn House) |
| ° |
Rob Osler, Cirque du Slay (Crooked Lane Books) |
| ° |
Richard Osman, We Solve Murders (Pamela Dorman Books / Viking) |
Lefty Nominees for Best Historical Mystery Novel
(Bill Gottfried Memorial) for books covering events before 1970 |
| ° |
John Copenhaver, Hall of Mirrors (Pegasus Crime) |
| ° |
Robert Dugoni, A Killing on the Hill (Thomas & Mercer) |
| ° |
Dianne Freeman, An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder (Kensington Books) |
| ° |
Laurie R. King, The Lantern’s Dance (Bantam Books) |
| ° |
Laura Jensen Walker, Death of a Flying Nightingale (Level Best Books / Historia) |
| Lefty Nominees for Best Debut Mystery Novel |
| ° |
Peter Malone Elliott, Blue Ridge (Level Best Books) |
| ° |
Cindy Goyette, Obey All Laws (Level Best Books) |
| ° |
Audrey Lee, The Mechanics of Memory (CamCat Books) |
| ° |
Jennifer K. Morita, Ghosts of Waikiki (Crooked Lane Books) |
| ° |
K.T. Nguyen, You Know What You Did (Dutton) |
| Lefty Nominees for Best Mystery Novel |
| ° |
Claire Booth, Home Fires (Severn House) |
| ° |
Margot Douaihy, Blessed Water (Zando, Gillian Flynn Books) |
| ° |
Rob Hart, Assassins Anonymous (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) |
| ° |
Leslie Karst, Molten Death (Severn House) |
| ° |
James L’Etoile, Served Cold (Level Best Books) |
| ° |
Duane Swierczynski, California Bear (Mulholland Books) |
Visit the Left Coast Crime Awards Archives page for information about LCC Award categories, nominees, and winners from 1996 to the present.
Questions about the Lefty Award? Email the LCC Awards Co-Chairs |
