Seattle Shakedown Newsletter
February 14, 2024
The Panels Are Here!
We are thrilled to announce that we have posted the Nearly Final Panel Schedule. It’s always a challenge to find places for everyone who requests panel appearances, and the available panel slots are limited. Our ultimate goal is to make sure the LCC audience is entertained and informed. Some panelists have yet to confirm, so do check back over the next week or so to view additions and changes.
Seattle Shakedown Events
At Left Coast Crime 2024 we are offering our usual four opportunities outside the normal panel and book signings for authors and readers to interact.
Author Speed-Dating
Author Speed-Dating will take place Thursday, April 11, from 9:00–11:00 AM, before the panel programming begins, and is a fun way for authors to connect to a new set of readers. The time frame and setup allows 40 authors to circulate in pairs and 144 fans to relax and enjoy the 2-minute pitches. Speed Dating Hosts: Les and Leslie Blatt
Authors: If you are interested in Speed-Dating, please email Lucinda.LCC@gmail.com. First-time Speed-Daters have priority if requested before March 1, so do mention if you are a newbie. If you have a partner in mind, provide the name and email and we will do our best to pair you up.
Fans: First come, first seated!
Meet the New Authors Breakfast, sponsored by Sisters in Crime
Debut Authors who have a first mystery, crime, thriller, or suspense novel first published between January 1, 2023, and April 14, 2024, and who did not present at LCC 2023, are eligible to present at our 2024 Meet the New Authors Breakfast on Friday, April 12, hosted by Mike Befeler, assisted by Les and Leslie Blatt. If you have not yet received an invitation from Mike Befeler, please contact him at
mikebef@aol.com.
Fans: All LCC registrants are welcome.
Author-Hosted Tables
Authors are invited to partner with another author to host a table at the Lefty Awards Banquet on Saturday, April 13. Convention attendees will sign up to sit with you at dinner. There is no fee for hosting. Table favors and decorations optional.
Author-Hosts: Email Lucinda.LCC@gmail.com with BOTH of your names and email addresses. You will receive a return email with more information.
Fans: After you pick up your registration materials, look for the Author-Hosted Table nearby to sign up. First come, first served.
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. Author-Reader Connections provide an easy forum for readers and authors to enjoy some time together in a small group. These Author-Reader Connections are free, and in some cases may include some special benefits from the authors.
Authors: Email connections@leftcoastcrime.org for all the information about setting up a Connection.
Fans: Only registered attendees can sign up for Connections. You may sign up for a MAXIMUM of TWO Connections, and no more than one per author. Author-Reader Connections will be posted near the end of February, with new Connections added until the week before the convention. View and sign up for Author-Reader Connections on our Connections page:
https://leftcoastcrime.org/2024/Connections.html
Seattle Shakedown Needs You!
As an all-volunteer organization, LCC can’t run conventions without volunteers like you! There are plenty of volunteer opportunities for everyone. To volunteer for any of the opportunities listed below, please email volunteer4lcc@gmail.com with the Volunteer Job(s) you would like along with some times you are available.
Registration
Sign up for a two-hour shift helping Registration Captain Dotty Morefield manage the registration table. We need both experienced Registration volunteers and those who have never done this fun job of welcoming convention registrants and handing out the envelopes and book bags. We need volunteers for two-hour shifts on Wednesday (3:00–5:00 PM), Thursday (8:30 AM – 5:00 PM), Friday (8:30 AM – 5:00 PM), Saturday (8:30 AM – 5:00 PM), Sunday (8:30–10:30 AM). If you would like to volunteer for Registration, please please email volunteer4lcc@gmail.com and note some time blocks you would be available.
Panel Room Timekeeper/Monitor
Sign up for a shift managing a panel room. We need 70 volunteers for this fun and important job! Responsibilities include picking up the Panel Packet and arranging the panelist name tents before the panel, holding up signs so the Panel Moderator knows how much time is left before the end of the panel, and escorting the panelists to the signing space after the panel. Written instructions will be provided. If you are interested, please look over the Panel Schedule and email volunteer4lcc@gmail.com with a list of some panels you would like to help with. Please include a maximum number of panels if you are sending several possibilities.
Book Signing Room Helper
Sign up for a shift helping with the book signings. Duties include placing signage for each panel, greeting and directing authors to their seats, and managing lines to avoid congestion. Please email volunteer4lcc@gmail.comwith some time blocks you would be available.
Silent Auction & Hospitality Room Monitor
Sign up for a two-hour shift monitoring the hospitality room and Silent Auction items. We need volunteers for two-hour shifts on Thursday (Noon – 4:00 PM), Friday & Saturday (10:00 AM – 4:00 PM), and Sunday (8:30–10:30 AM). If you would like to help out in the Hospitality Room, email volunteer4lcc@gmail.com with some time blocks you would be available.
Silent Auction Donations
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. The 2024 beneficiary is Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program which works to close the literacy opportunity gap that too often leaves children in communities of concentrated low income behind. All proceeds from our auctions go to Page Ahead. Anyone — reader, writer, bookseller, librarian, blogger — may donate items to the silent auction. You can either mail your Silent Auction donations to yourself at the hotel or bring them with you. Silent Auction Chairs Scotti Andrews and Leslie Hall will be accepting donations on Thursday morning from 9:00-11:00 AM while setting up the Silent Auction Room.
Authors: Getting Your Books in the Book Room
Third Place Books, founded in 1998 will handle sales in the convention Book Room of traditionally published books — those returnable through major publishers or distributors — as well as consignment sales.
Traditionally Published Authors
If you would like some of your titles stocked in the convention Book Room, you MUST submit a list of up to THREE titles using
this survey. The DEADLINE to submit the survey is Thursday, February 29th. (If Third Place Books cannot obtain your titles, they will let you know and you will need to use the consignment option described below.)
Consignment Sales
Third Place Books will also be handling Consignment Sales for authors who publish through alternate avenues. Consignment authors must bring or ship their own books to the convention and fill out this
Consignment Form to email in advance or deliver with their books.
Sponsorship at Left Coast Crime
Our thanks to Amazon Publishing for sponsoring the Opening Reception, Sisters in Crime for sponsoring the Meet the New Author Breakfast, MWA Northwest Chapter for sponsoring our convention name badge holder and to Kensington Books and Pipeline Media for sponsoring Friday and Saturday in our Hospitality Room.
Please email Lucinda Surber if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship opportunities.
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! The deadline for reserving ad space is February 28, 2024.
Details and Advertising Form
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 31, 2024. 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 donating books for our book bags.
A Queer & Stormy Night
Join Rob Osler, Margot Douaihy, Robyn Gigl, Cheryl A. Head, and Leslie Karst along with Seattle‘s King of Camp Harvey Princeton on Wednesday, April 10th at at Elliott Bay Book Co. (1521 10th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122)
Left Coast Crime 2025
Rocky Mountain High Jinks, the 35th Left Coast Crime convention, will be held March 13-16, 2025, in Denver, Colorado. Our hotel is the Westin Denver Downtown on the 16th Street Mall, a mile-long pedestrian-friendly mall, and a couple of blocks from Larimer Square, a picturesque city block of restaurants and shops dating back to Denver’s earliest days.
The Registration Price is $299 through April 15, 2024 (the close of LCC 2024) and our hotel rate is $199.
More information and Registration
