Whale of a Crime Newsletter: July 2018


Hello everyone! I’m Linda McNab and I’m looking forward to welcoming you to the first Canadian Left Coast Crime convention: Whale of a Crime. My partner in crime, Colleen Glynn, and I are the Co-chairs for this historic convention.

We often get asked how we got involved in Left Coast Crime and how we ended up planning this convention. Well, it all started with Sue Grafton. At one of my mystery book club meetings, a member arrived with a list of mystery fan conventions that she’d found online. I didn’t even know that conventions like those existed! I immediately noted that Sue Grafton was going to be attending Calamari Crime in Monterey, California in March 2014. Now, I had read all Sue Grafton’s books and felt that if I ever met Kinsey Millhone, I would be on a first name basis with her. I had to go to this convention. But at the time, my husband didn’t read mysteries and he had no interest in going with me. (I am pleased to report that he is now a fellow mystery fan.)

So at my walking club, I told my walking partner, Colleen, that I really wanted to go meet Sue Grafton. Colleen said, “I’ll go with you!” — and the rest is history. We went to Calamari Crime, met Sue Grafton, and left blissfully unaware that Left Coast Crime conventions could become addictive. We had so much fun that we have attended every Left Coast Crime convention since.

Lifetime Achievement Honouree Sue Grafton

When we volunteered to chair Left Coast Crime Vancouver 2019, we thought of Sue Grafton again. At the Honolulu convention, the Left Coast Crime Standing Committee voted to award Sue Grafton a Lifetime Achievement Award, which would be presented to her at the Vancouver convention in 2019. When contacted about the award, Sue said that she was delighted and that she was looking forward to coming to Whale of a Crime. Sadly, she passed away in December 2017, and now she will be receiving her award posthumously. Rather than scheduling her Honouree Interview, we are now planning a tribute for her: M is for Memories: Remembering Sue Grafton.

Sue Grafton was no stranger to Left Coast Crime: she was a Guest of Honor at the Tucson, Arizona convention in 2000, and she was a special guest, “G is for Guest: Sue Grafton” at the Monterey, California convention in 2014. “A” is for Alibi was published in 1982, introducing intrepid sleuth, Kinsey Millhone, who would become well-known and well-loved by millions of readers throughout the world. Books in her alphabet series have been translated into 26 languages and are international bestsellers. Named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, she has also received many other honours and awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, the Ross Macdonald Literary Award, the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award from Britain’s Crime Writers’ Association, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Malice Domestic, the Anthony Award given by Bouchercon, and three Shamus Awards. Besides being a bestselling and award-winning author, Grafton was an early pioneer in writing American mystery novels with a female sleuth and by a female writer. In the early 1980s, it was not an easy time for female authors writing mysteries, particularly when they wrote about strong female protagonists. Over thirty years ago, she was one of the founding members of Sisters in Crime, an organization formed to support women in their writing endeavors.

Recently, Janet Rudolph described her in the Left Coast Crime Reno convention program: “She was a gracious and talented woman with a wry sense of humor and a large amount of Southern charm. She was supportive of other writers and a friend to all.” Sue Grafton is a worthy recipient of Left Coast Crime’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

News from Local Legend William Deverell

I fell in love with Vancouver in the early 1960s, when I worked as a reporter with the city’s main daily, the Sun — my beat was its busy, colourful waterfront, and later the criminal courts. After working my way through law school as a journalist, I joined a small firm in the crime-ridden downtown eastside — adjacent to the criminal courts and the city jail. (There was a jailbreak one night, prisoners clambering down over our roof.) Our waiting room was populated with alleged hit men, scammers, hookers, dopers, and all manner of zany characters — all presumed innocent, of course — who later provided an endless source of plots and characters for my novels. As did some dirty cops, corrupt judges, and lawyers hooked on smack.

Our office moved to the heart of historic Gastown and soon grew into one of Vancouver’s most aggressive criminal law firms, winning many notable victories in murder cases, both as defenders and — as hired guns for the state — prosecutors. But my dream had always been to write novels, a dream I shelved for a few decades until I took time off to write a thriller, Needles, which captured my favorite city vividly enough to earn me a $50,000 prize. The rest is history (19 novels later) and that history is to be found in a lively, up-close-and-personal sketch on my website.

Ghost of Honour L.R. (Bunny) Wright

Laurali “Bunny” Rose Wright was a masterful storyteller and was one of Canada’s finest mystery writers. Wright rarely used her given names and published all her novels as L.R. Wright (in the USA she also appeared as Laurali Wright), and was known as Bunny in her personal life. Before embarking on her award-winning career with her first novel, Neighbours in 1979, Ms. Wright was a journalist, working for newspapers such as The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, The Calgary Albertan and The Calgary Herald. Her earliest novels were literary fiction, and after the success of her mystery novel, The Suspect in 1985, she concentrated on writing mysteries. She wrote two series that are located in the town of Sechelt on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast, separated from Vancouver by Howe Sound, and only accessible by ferries. She wrote nine novels featuring Karl Alberg, Staff Sergeant in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and his girlfriend, Cassandra, a librarian. When Karl Alberg retired, he was replaced by Edwina “Eddie” Henderson, a woman officer in the RCMP in Sechelt. Sadly, only two books were written about Eddie Henderson before L.R. Wright died from breast cancer. Wright’s work won many awards, including the Alberta Best First Novel award for Neighbours (1979), the 1986 Edgar for Best Crime Novel for The Suspect (1985), the Canadian Author’s Association award for fiction for Mother Love (1995), and the Crime Writers of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award for Mother Love and for A Chill Rain in January (1999). After her death, the Crime Writers of Canada gave her the Derrick Murdoch Award in 2001. We are pleased to present L.R .Wright as our Ghost of Honour at Whale of a Crime and hope that people will discover her books and will enjoy reading her mysteries as much as we have.

Whale of a Crime

Whale of a Crime T-shirts and other merchandise are now on sale through our CafePress Store. Order your T-shirt now and arrive at the convention in style! I already showed off my T-shirt at the convention in Reno!

Not sure if you are registered for LCC 2019? Check our Whale of a Crime List of Attendees. Then visit the LCC 2019 Registration Page if you need to register for Left Coast Crime 2019.

There is lots to see and do in Vancouver — Canada’s third-largest city — and the convention hotel rate can be applied three days before and after the convention, depending on room availability. Come for the convention and stay for a holiday!

Left Coast Crime 2020: San Diego

Registration is Now Open!
When: March 12–15, 2020
Where: San Diego Marriott Mission Valley

Guest of Honor: Rachel Howzell Hall
Guest of Honor: T. Jefferson Parker
Toastmaster: Matt Coyle
Fan Guest of Honor: Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore
Visit the Murder’s a Beach website for all the details and to register.