Honolulu Havoc Newsletter: December 12, 2016

Aloha!

Welcome to all our new registrants since the last newsletter. Only 94 more days until Left Coast Crime in Honolulu, Hawaii!

Outline Schedule

The Honolulu Committee members are busily working away behind the scenes, arranging the panels, planning events, and making huge lists of everything we still need to do in the next three months! Here is an updated day by day outline schedule:

Wednesday, March 15
Afternoon: Convention Pre-registration

Thursday, March 16
Morning: Author Speed Dating, optional Police Museum Tour (transportation fee)
Afternoon: Panels, Lifetime Achievement Honorees Faye & Jonathan Kellerman interviewed by Jesse Kellerman
Evening: Opening Ceremony, possible Charlie Chan Movie Event

Friday, March 17
Morning: Meet the New Authors Breakfast, Panels, Toastmaster Laurie R. King interviewed by Catriona McPherson
Afternoon: Panels, Guest of Honor Colin Cotterill interviewed by Laurie R. King
Evening: Possible Optional Fundraising Event (extra charge)

Saturday, March 18
Morning: Breakfast, panels
Afternoon: Panels, Hawaii Crime Presentations, Guest of Honor Dana Stabenow interviewed by the Danamaniacs
Evening: Final Silent Auction Bidding, Awards Banquet

Sunday, March 19
Morning: Panels, Final Guest of Honor Panel
12:30 PM: Farewell

Lefty Award Nominations

We hope you have been making lists of all your favorite mysteries published in 2016. If not, start looking back over your notes since your Lefty Nomination Form will be coming your way very soon! Registrants of the 2016 and 2017 Left Coast Crime Conventions will be able to nominate three titles in each Lefty Award category. Nominations will be accepted the first two weeks of January, for the four 2017 Lefty Awards:
  • Best Humorous Mystery Novel
  • Best Historical Mystery Novel (The Bruce Alexander Memorial), covering events before 1960
  • 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 2016, in book or ebook format. (If published in other countries before 2016, a book is still eligible if it meets the US or Canadian publication requirement.)

Nomination forms will be emailed to all 2016 and 2017 LCC registrants in late December. The nominations will be announced on January 16, 2017. Final voting for the Lefty Awards will be by paper ballot at the convention in Hawaii.

Questions about the Lefty Awards? Email Awards Co-Chairs Lucinda Surber & Stan Ulrich

Hawaii News & Tips from Chair Gay Gale


Booking Travel

The Bad News – We were not able to get any airline to give us a special discount fare for LCC 2017 attendees. The Good News – As this newsletter is being written, all major airlines are offering discount fares for Spring in an attempt to divert some of your holiday shopping dollars. For example, Alaska Airlines is matching its lowest fares in years for many of its west coast departure points. Can you believe $169 one way from Oakland and San Jose? Check out your favorite airline and consider overnighting on the west coast because you might save some money and begin your trip with a quick visit to a new city.

General Excursions Information

Since there are hundreds of tour businesses in Hawaii offering every kind of outing you can imagine, we are only arranging one special tour – to the Honolulu Police Museum on Thursday morning. You will only pay for transportation and we will include details abut signing up in a later newsletter.

For those who want to start planning for your time before and after Left Crime 2017: Honolulu Havoc, we offer the following recommendations:
  1. DO Talk to those attending with you and decide what types of activities you want to do or sights you want to see, then tailor your research to those items.
  2. DO Mention you are going to Oahu in all conversations between now and March and everyone will give you their favorite Honolulu story.
  3. DO Check out the websites listed below for available options.
  4. DO Check out my recommendations for First-timers, Oahu with Kids, Non-traditional Touring, Outer Island Highlights and Best Budget Experiences which will be included in this and upcoming newsletters.
  5. DON’T BOOK UNTIL YOU GET HERE because you will want to pick up the tourist books that have coupons. AND you will want to be sure you have the best weather for your selections. We rarely have more than two rainy days in a row and almost all excursions go on rain or shine, but you will enjoy your water sports more on a sunny day and might want a museum or gallery tour if it is wet. EXCEPTION: There are a few tours that require special arrangements or are limited in access (like the tour of Doris Duke’s house – Shangri La – which is arranged by the Honolulu Museum of Art for small groups on a very limited schedule) but those putting on the tour make that clear in the advertising. AND online discount opportunities like Groupon are changed frequently and you want to take advantage of the latest versions.
  6. DON’T rent a car unless you miss driving and want ultimate control of your day. Why? Car rental in Hawaii is very expensive, parking is horrendous in Waikiki, gas is expensive, and we have awful traffic during rush hours just like on the mainland. Most tours include transportation with a terrific tour guide, and Waikiki has comprehensive bus and hop-on-off tram service that rivals any tourist destination in the world. Taxis and limos are plentiful but rates are typically “Major City” costly. If you do rent a car, do it for one day and consolidate your up-island touring.
For doing your homework: Have fun planning. If you are like me, the fun starts when you start listing and prioritizing options!

Excursions for First Timers

(or those who haven’t been to Oahu in more than 10 years)

Honolulu’s number one industry is Tourism so almost every activity you can think of is available to entice you away from Honolulu Havoc. Here are my top recommendations as someone who has been coming to the islands since 1972, and who has visited almost every location in the AAA tour book.
  1. Pearl Harbor: Price Free (fee for submarine, USS Missouri and Pacific Aviation museum), Suitable for all ages and abilities, Open every day
    Get there early to pick up your tickets to the movie and boat trip to USS Arizona Memorial. I visit every year and continue to learn about this amazing place which observed the 75th Anniversary of the attack just last week
  2. Bishop Museum: Price $, Suitable for all ages and abilities, Closed major holidays
    Not your grandmother’s museum – everything you want to know about the history, topography and life in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with activities including a full sizes whale skeleton and a mummified child – something of interest for all ages
  3. Polynesian Cultural Center: Price $$ (or $$$ if you go to the Top rated show on the island), Suitable for all ages and abilities, Closed Sundays
    If your bucket list doesn’t include Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti or New Zealand, you will get a sense of these Pacific Island nations by visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center — Oahu’s number one paid tourist attraction. College students from these locations earn their tuition to Brigham Young University-Hawaii by introducing you to the history, traditional crafts or games and culture of their homelands. If you take a bus tour you will enjoy the knowledgeable guides who regale you with tales of Hawaii as you traverse the breathtaking Windward coast, including Waimanalo Bay which was recently ranked by a travel magazine as the most beautiful beach in the world.
  4. Hanauma Bay: Price $, Suitable for all ages and abilities but bring shade for infants, Closed Tuesdays
    NOTE: You can book a tour or take public Bus 22 (the Beach Bus) for $2.50 adults, $1.00 children/seniors
    You don’t even have to know how to swim to get up close and personal with fish in this marine sanctuary which was almost lost due to overuse. Snack foods and snorkel equipment are available for a fee, but be sure to apply sun screen as your back will be exposed when you paddle around and stare at the marine life. More than 1 million visitors experience this special place just 30 minutes from Waikiki.

Honolulu Havoc Sponsorship Opportunities

Left Coast Crime encourages publishers and organizations to sponsor a variety of events such as the Opening Ceremony, the Awards Banquet, the Saturday Breakfast, and the Hospitality Suite. Other options include sponsoring one of our Guests of Honor or supporting Left Coast Crime by sponsoring products such as the convention book bag or name badge holder. Please email Lucinda Surber if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship opportunities.

Books for Book Bags
We are happy to accept crime fiction and non-fiction for distribution in the book bags. There is no charge, but you will need to ship the books to arrive in Honolulu by March 1st. Any quantity is accepted. We prefer not to have more than 200 copies of a single title; multiple titles are recommended if you would like to place a book in every bag. In order to make book distribution work for both the participants (who will love receiving your books) and the booksellers (who will plan to bring different books to sell) we ask that you provide the title(s) and number of books you would like to donate. If interested, please email Lucinda Surber for shipping details.

Advertise in the Honolulu Havoc Program Book

Attention Authors! Please encourage your publisher to advertise in the Left Coast Crime Program Book. There are sizes and prices for every budget. Don’t be left out! The deadline for reserving ad space is February 3, 2017.
http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2017/Advertising.html

Outreach: School Visits

Honolulu Havoc organizers want to leave a legacy in Hawaii so we have organized two outreach events designed to light a fire in the next generation of potential authors.

In November 2016 we announced a creative writing contest for Grades 6-12 students in the entire state of Hawaii. Winners at each school will be recognized and the statewide winners will be introduced during the Opening Ceremony of Left Coast Crime 2017 – Honolulu Havoc.

Our second initiative is to facilitate author visits to schools on the island of Oahu. Junior and senior high schools, both public and private, would love to interact with a published author here for Honolulu Havoc. You don’t have to be a YA author to participate. If your own books are not appropriate for this level, consider reading from one of your favorite books when you were the students’ ages. And the students are sure to be full of questions about what it’s like to be a writer.

Visits will take place on Tuesday, March 14, Wednesday, March 15, or the morning of Thursday, March 16. If you would like to share your love of books with junior or senior high school students on the island of Oahu, please email Gay Gale and indicate what day you would like and whether you have a preference of grade level. Around the middle of February you will receive an email invitation from a school representative and you can take it from there. We hope you will be part of this important and fun opportunity.

Book Room Operations at Honolulu Havoc

We are excited that all authors at Honolulu Havoc will have the opportunity to have books for sale in the Book Room. Dale Johnson of Cross Genre Books is our Book Room Chair. Dale will be supported by Book Liaison Deb Hardy.

“Indie-Published” Authors (self and small press)
Cross Genre Books will be handling consignment sales for the authors who have found exciting new ways to publish their works through alternate avenues. Authors will need to bring or ship their own books to the convention. Details about consignment sales are available in the Consignment Form. If you have questions, please Contact Cross Genre Books at crossgenrebooks@gmail.com.

“Traditionally Published” Authors
Barnes & Noble will be in the Book Room selling your books just like they do in their store. To make it manageable and economically feasible, we are asking authors to limit their selection of available books to three titles. Book Liaison Deb Hardy will collate the information and work with B&N to ensure that your books are available. Please email Deb Hardy with your three titles and publisher for each title. If you strongly believe your potential sales justify more than three titles, let Deb know. Barnes & Noble will have the final say on adding additional titles.

Silent Auction

Each Left Coast Crime Convention raises money to support a local literacy organization with funds raised through a silent and live auction and the annual Quilt Raffle. Honolulu Havoc’s auction recipient is Read Aloud America, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes literacy, encourages a love of reading in adults and children, and increases children’s prospects for success in school and life. Founded in Hawaii in 1995, Read Aloud America provides Hawaiian parents with the tools they need to communicate with their children from an early age while fostering a love of books and learning. The Read Aloud program helps bridge the gap for parents who don’t have a family heritage of literacy, encouraging parents to turn off electronic media and strengthen family bonds by reading together.

All proceeds from Left Coast Crime 2017’s auction go to Read Aloud America. Anyone — reader, writer, bookseller, librarian, blogger — may donate an item or two to the silent auction. A few of you are probably working on your auction donations right now — it’s a good excuse not to do actual work! You can either mail your Silent Auction donations to yourself at the hotel or bring them with you. We’ll be setting up the Silent Auction Room on Wednesday and Thursday, but we will accept donations on Friday as well.

Questions? Email Auction Chair Alain (A K) Gunn

Meet the New Authors Breakfast

Calling all authors who have a first mystery, crime, thriller, or suspense novel published between March 1, 2016, and March 19, 2017. You are eligible to present at the Meet the New Authors Breakfast, Friday, March 17, 2017. Contact Mike Befeler at mikebef@aol.com.

Searching for a Roommate?

Would you like to share a room at the convention? Email Gail Bauginiet, our Roommate Coordinator, if you have a hotel room to share or if you are searching for a roommate and she will match you up.

Are You Registered for Honolulu Havoc?

You are receiving this newsletter either because you are registered for LCC 2017 or because you attended LCC 2016 in Phoenix. LCC 2016 attendees, who are eligible to submit nominations for the Honolulu Havoc Lefty Awards, will remain on the distribution list through the nomination period in January 2017.

Not sure if you are registered for LCC 2017? Check the Honolulu List of Attendees. If your name isn’t there, visit the Honolulu Registration Page to register for Left Coast Crime 2017. The registration price goes up on January 1, 2017.

Left Coast Crime 2018
Crime on the Comstock

Registration is now open for LCC 2018 — March 22–25, 2018 — in Reno, Nevada, at the Nugget Casino Resort. Located in Reno/Sparks, the legendary Nugget Casino Resort is consistently ranked at the top of Reno resorts and Sparks hotels. The Nugget features a complimentary airport shuttle, eight award-winning restaurants, an indoor atrium pool, a gym, and a legendary Casino and Bingo Hall.
• Guests of Honor: Naomi Hirahara & William Kent Krueger
• Toastmaster: Todd Borg
• Ghost of Honor: Mark Twain (McAvoy Layne)

Early Bird Registration: $175 until March 19, 2017 (close of LCC 2017)
Register Online Now!

Our convention rate is about $82 for the convention nights in the newly remodeled West Tower, plus three nights before and after the convention (subject to availability) so you can extend your stay in Nevada. Our convention room rate is fixed at $69 plus a mandatory daily resort fee (currently $12.50), which includes wireless Internet in guest rooms, round-trip shuttle transportation from the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Atrium Pool and Fitness Center access, and valet and self-parking in the Nugget’s secure covered parking structure. Registrants will receive the hotel reservation code in late March 2017 when the hotel will begin accepting reservations for our group.

Visit the LCC 2018 website for more information about Crime on the Comstock.

Left Coast Crime 2019
Whale of a Crime

Left Coast Crime 2019 will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver, March 28–31, 2019. Co-chairs Colleen Glynn and Linda McNab are hard at work planning for the convention. More information will be available later this year.
If you are interested in learning more about hosting or helping with a future Left Coast Crime Convention, please let us know! The LCC Standing Committee would love to help you with your bid and answer all your questions. You will receive all the support you need.