Seattle Shakedown Newsletter

January 15, 2024


Lefty Award Nominees

Our thanks to all who submitted their nomination forms for the best mystery/crime/thriller novels published in 2023. The Lefty Awards will be voted on at the convention and presented at a banquet on Saturday, April 13, at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, Washington. We are delighted to announce the Lefty nominees.

Lefty Nominees for Best Humorous Mystery Novel

  • Jennifer J. Chow, Hot Pot Murder (Berkley Prime Crime)
  • Lee Matthew Goldberg, The Great Gimmelmans (Level Best Books)
  • Leslie Karst, A Sense for Murder (Severn House)
  • Catriona McPherson, Hop Scot (Severn House)
  • Cindy Sample, Dying for a Decoration (Cindy Sample Books)
  • Wendall Thomas, Cheap Trills (Beyond the Page Books)
Lefty Nominees for Best Historical Mystery Novel
(The Bill Gottfried Memorial) for books set before 1970
  • Cara Black, Night Flight to Paris (Soho Crime)
  • Bruce Borgos, The Bitter Past (Minotaur Books)
  • Susanna Calkins, Death Among the Ruins (Severn House)
  • Dianne Freeman, A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune and Murder (Kensington)
  • Cheryl A. Head, Time’s Undoing (Dutton)
  • Naomi Hirahara, Evergreen (Soho Crime )
Lefty Nominees for Best Debut Mystery Novel
  • Lina Chern, Play the Fool (Bantam)
  • Margot Douaihy, Scorched Grace (Gillian Flynn Books)
  • Josh Pachter, Dutch Threat (Genius Book Publishing)
  • Ana Reyes, The House in the Pines (Dutton)
  • Nina Simon, Mother-Daughter Murder Night (William Morrow)
Lefty Nominees for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories)
  • Tracy Clark, Hide (Thomas & Mercer)
  • S.A. Cosby, All the Sinners Bleed (Flatiron Books)
  • Matt Coyle, Odyssey’s End (Oceanview Publishing)
  • Jordan Harper, Everybody Knows (Mulholland Books)
  • James L’Etoile, Face of Greed (Oceanview Publishing)
  • Gigi Pandian, The Raven Thief (Minotaur Books)
 

Good-bye to Tucson

Now that the Lefty nomination period is finished, those of you who attended LCC 2023 in Tucson but are not registered for LCC 2024 will be removed from the Seattle Shakedown newsletter distribution list. If you are not sure whether you are registered for LCC 2024, please check the Seattle Shakedown website:
Seattle Shakedown Attendee Page: https://leftcoastcrime.org/2024/Attendees.html
Seattle Shakedown Registration Page: https://leftcoastcrime.org/2024/Registration.html
 

 

Convention Updates


Panel Placement
The registration deadline for priority panel placement was December 31, 2023. 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. 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.)


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, and the Saturday breakfast. Other options include sponsoring one of our Guests of Honor or supporting Left Coast Crime by sponsoring products such as the convention book bag.

Our thanks to 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


Book Room Information

The Left Coast Crime Book Room provides a convenient place for attendees to purchase books by their favorite authors and newly discovered ones.

Dale Johnson is our Book Room Manager. Cross Genre Books, owned by Dale & Natalie Johnson specializes, in out-of-print mystery hardcovers and paperbacks.

Third Place Books, founded in 1998, has three locations in the Seattle metro area. Third Place Books will handle sales of traditionally published books, those returnable through major publishers or distributors, as well as consignment sales. Information about both will be shared with authors soon.


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 April 1, 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 learning more about donating  books for our book bags.


The House of Mystery Radio

The House of Mystery Radio will be featuring authors attending Seattle Shakedown on Noir at the Bar, which airs every Thursday at 3:30 PM PST on KKNW 1150 AM Radio Seattle. The readings of three authors will be featured each episode, which will then be aired on the House of Mystery in February. Alan R. Warren, Joe Goldberg, and John Copenhaver co-host the episodes.
More Information
 

 

Russell & Holmes Day: April 10, 2023

The day before Seattle Shakedown begins — April 10 — Laurie R. King and friends are holding a day-long event at the convention hotel to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice! Everything about the Russell & Holmes Day will touch on the world of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes: local beekeepers will talk about the insects that so fascinated the Great Detective on his “retirement” to Sussex; a lock-picking lesson will get you started on those skills; we may have a knife-thrower to show you how Russell does it. But wait, there’s more: Laurie talking about Sherlock Holmes, exclusive giveaways (including The Russell and Holmes Times: Bellevue Edition — A Newspaper Celebrating “The Beekeeper’s Apprentice”, written and produced by Laurie just for this event), a variety of guest speakers, and a peek at what comes next for the characters. In other words, you should expect Shenanigans, Monkeyshines, Fun & Games, and perhaps even a touch of Tomfoolery—all of it related to the beloved Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes series. Registration ($190) and regularly updated speaker info are on Laurie’s web site.


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