Trouble in Tucson Newsletter

January 17, 2023

Lefty Award Nominees

Our thanks to all who submitted their nomination forms. The Lefty Awards will be voted on at the convention and presented at a banquet on Saturday, March 18, at the El Conquistador Resort in the Oro Valley of Tucson, Arizona. We are delighted to announce the Lefty nominees.

Lefty Nominees for Best Humorous Mystery Novel
  • Ellen Byron, Bayou Book Thief (Berkley Prime Crime)
  • Jennifer J. Chow, Death by Bubble Tea (Berkley Prime Crime)
  • A.J. Devlin, Five Moves of Doom (NeWest Press)
  • T.G. Herren, A Streetcar Named Murder (Crooked Lane Books)
  • Catriona McPherson, Scot in a Trap (Severn House)
Lefty Nominees for Best Historical Mystery Novel
(The Bill Gottfried Memorial) for books set before 1970
  • Dianne Freeman, A Bride’s Guide to Marriage and Murder (Kensington Books)
  • Catriona McPherson, In Place of Fear (Mobius)
  • Wanda M. Morris, Anywhere You Run (William Morrow)
  • Karen Odden, Under a Veiled Moon (Crooked Lane Books)
  • Ann Parker, The Secret in the Wall (Poisoned Pen Press)
  • Iona Whishaw, Framed in Fire (Touchwood Editions)
Lefty Nominees for Best Debut Mystery Novel
  • Erin E. Adams, Jackal (Bantam Books)
  • Eli Cranor, Don’t Know Tough (Soho Crime)
  • Ramona Emerson, Shutter (Soho Crime)
  • Meredith Hambrock, Other People’s Secrets (Crooked Lane Books)
  • Harini Nagendra, The Bangalore Detectives Club (Pegasus Crime)
  • Rob Osler, Devil’s Chew Toy (Crooked Lane Books)
  • Jane Pek, The Verifiers (Vintage Books)
Lefty Nominees for Best Mystery Novel
(not in other categories)
  • Kellye Garrett, Like a Sister (Mulholland Books)
  • Laurie R. King, Back to the Garden (Bantam Books)
  • James L’Etoile, Dead Drop (Level Best Books)
  • Gigi Pandian, Under Lock & Skeleton Key (Minotaur Books)
  • Louise Penny, A World of Curiosities (Minotaur Books)
  • Alex Segura, Secret Identity (Flatiron Books)

Convention Updates

Panel Placement
The registration deadline for priority panel placement was December 31, 2022. Panels are scheduled from noon Thursday through noon Sunday. Authors attending the full convention have a much greater chance of receiving a panel assignment. Authors were requested to let us know prior to December 31 if unable to attend certain days. Please let us know ASAP if you haven’t already and we will do our best to accommodate your request. Our panel team is currently creating the panels, and panel assignments will be sent out in early February.

Other Opportunities for Authors
After the panels have been announced, we will begin taking requests for other events like Meet the New Authors Breakfast, Author Speed-Dating, Author-Hosted Tables, and Author-Reader Connections. Watch your newsletters for information about signing up for these events when it is time. (We do not accept requests in advance.)

Book Room

Mostly Books, an independent bookstore in Tucson, will handle the sale of both traditionally published books, those returnable through major publishers or distributors, and consignment sales for authors who publish their works through alternate avenues.

Traditionally Published Authors
If you are a traditionally published author, you need to fill out <THIS FORM> with up to three books you would like Mostly Books to stock in the Book Room. The deadline for submitting the form is January 31.

Consignment Authors
Consignment authors must bring or ship their own books to the convention and fill out this Consignment Form (with all the details) to deliver with their books. Books left for consignment must have the sale price on the cover. Consignments are accepted at the rate of 60% for the author and 40% to the bookseller. At the end of the convention consignment authors must pick up any unsold books.

Advertising in the 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! We would like to receive reservations for ad space by January 20; after that date, please inquire whether ad space is available. The deadline for submission of artwork is February 3, 2023.
Details and Advertising Form

Sponsorship at Left Coast Crime

Left Coast Crime encourages organizations to sponsor a variety of events such as the Opening Reception, the Awards Banquet, the Friday “Meet the New Authors” breakfast, the Saturday breakfast, and the Hospitality Room. 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.

Our thanks to Kensington Books for sponsoring Saturday in the Hospitality Room. Closer to the convention we will share a schedule of the Kensington authors who will appear in the Hospitality Room on Saturday to sign books and meet fans.

Books for Book Bags
We are happy to accept crime fiction and non-fiction books for distribution to all attendees in our book bags. There is no charge, but you will need to ship the books to arrive by March 1, 2023. We accept any quantity of books, but 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.

Please email Lucinda Surber if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship opportunities or donating  books for our book bags.

Tucson Side Trips

Destination & Conference Services will be offering five tours for Left Coast Crime attendees and their guests. All tours are four hours long and include round-trip transportation from El Conquistador Tucson, admission fees, taxes, service gratuities, and bottled water. All five tours will be offered the following days and times. There is a 12-person minimum for each tour. If tours do not meet the minimum enrollment they will be cancelled and registrants will be offered another tour or a refund.

Dates & Times
  ◉ Tuesday, March 14, 2023: 1:00–4:00 PM
  ◉ Wednesday, March 15, 2023: 1:00–4:00 PM
  ◉ Thursday March 16, 2023: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Tour Options
  ◉ Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: $119
  ◉ Sabino Canyon: $99
  ◉ Biosphere 2: $199
  ◉ San Xavier del Bac Mission and downtown historical tour: $79
  ◉ Pima Air & Space Museum: $119

Please download the flyer with all the details about the tours. Information for making your reservation is on the final page.

Good-bye to Albuquerque

Now that the Lefty nomination period is finished, those of you who attended LCC 2022 in Albuquerque and are not registered for LCC 2023 will be removed from the Tucson newsletter distribution list. Interested in receiving occasional news about future conventions? Sign up for the Left Coast Crime eNews List.

If you are not sure whether you are registered for LCC 2023, please check the Tucson website:
Attendee Page: https://leftcoastcrime.org/2023/Attendees.html
Registration Page: https://leftcoastcrime.org/2023/Registration.html