Left Coast Crime 2026 Newsletter

December 2, 2025

Welcome to all our new registrants! Check out our previous newsletters for Greetings from our Special Guests and Things to See and Do Close to the Hyatt Regency.

This newsletter is going out to all registrants of Denver 2025 and San Francisco 2026. Denver registrants will remain on our newsletter list through the Lefty Nomination period in mid-January. (Not sure if you are registered for San Francisco? Check the San Francisco Attendee page for your name.)


Get Ready for the Lefty Nominations!

Don’t forget to make notes about all the wonderful books published in 2025 that you’ve read this year so you are ready to respond when your Lefty Nomination Form arrives by email in mid-December. 

The categories are …
  • Best Humorous Mystery Novel
  • Best Historical Mystery Novel (The Bill Gottfried Memorial), covering events before 1970
  • Best Debut Mystery Novel
  • Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories)
 

Book Room Information

Author, Author! specializes in online sales, special events, books for writers, and books for authors. Author, Author! will handle sales in the convention Book Room of traditionally published books — in general, titles returnable at a regular discount 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 on this AUTHOR BOOKROOM SURVEY. The DEADLINE to submit the survey is January 5, 2026. (If Author, Author! cannot obtain your titles, they will let you know and you will need to use the consignment option described below.)

Consignment Sales
Author, Author! 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. Please download and fill out this CONSIGNMENT AGREEMENT, and then return by email to Author, Author! by January 12, 2026. (Email & phone number on Consignment Agreement for questions.)
 

 

Did you know our conference hotel once hosted Jack the Ripper?

“Well, okay, sort of. In the 1979 serial-killer thriller Time After Time, Jack the Ripper comes to San Francisco with the help of H.G. Wells’s time machine and gets a room at the Hyatt Regency. When H.G. tracks him down there, an epic chase catapults the movie through the hotel complex, much of which is still recognizable today — especially the iconic glass elevators ... The characters chase each other all over San Francisco, making stops at the Vaillancourt Fountain at Embarcadero Plaza (steps away from the Hyatt and facing possible removal, so check it out before you leave), the Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Park, and Grace Cathedral ...”

For the rest of the story, be sure to read Michelle Chouinard’s Program Book essay “If You’re Killing in San Francisco”
 


FOG: An Evening of Original Crime Short Story Readings

When: Wednesday, February 25th from 7:30-9:00 PM
Where: The Best Bookstore in Union Square, 226 Powell Street, San Francisco
What: Nine crime writers will read original stories featuring San Francisco's most famously creeping and moody main character: FOG.
Host: Elsa Touche, beloved San Francisco Drag Queen
Author/readers: Paul Bradley Carr, John Copenhaver, James D.F. Hannah, Audrey Lee, Karen Odden, Rob Osler, Gigi Pandian, Gary Phillips, Faye Snowden


Advertising in the Program Book

Attention Authors! We’ve just made it easier than ever to pay for ads, with a QR code and link to pay with a credit card, or email us to pay by Venmo or PayPal, and you can still mail a check! 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 December 31, 2025.
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.

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 books for distribution to attendees in our book bags. There is no charge, but you will need to ship the books to arrive in San Francisco by to arrive by February 15, 2026. Please email Lucinda Surber if you are interested in learning more about donating  books for our book bags.


Iconic Eats!

by Ana Manwaring

We all have to eat dinner. Why not try one of San Francisco’s most iconic restaurants?

No self-respecting crime lover could open an article on iconic San Francisco eats with anywhere other than John’s Grill, located at 63 Ellis Street. The first restaurant to open after the earthquake and fire in 1908, it’s still the downtown gathering place for those who run, or want to run, The City. John’s Grill serves steak, salad, pasta, seafood, and sandwiches at reasonable prices. But the real reason to go? It’s a setting in Hammett’s The Maltase Falcon!
https://www.johnsgrill.com/

The original Original Joe’s was opened in 1937 by Tony Rodin in the Tenderloin. My parents' favorite pre-theater dining, I remember many scrumptious plates of veal parmesan (until I learned how they produce veal), fresh salads, friendly waiters, and comfy leather booths. Mom and I saw West Side Story around the corner the last time we dined at Joe’s. Now it’s located at 601 Union Street in North Beach, a short walk from Club Fugazi on Green Street and the Cirque-like extravaganza, Dear San Francisco. It’s the best tour of The City through the decades. I loved it! Make it a night.
https://www.originaljoes.com/north-beach

Want more Italian? Da Flora is a cozy (read tiny) Venetian inspired osteria on the corner of Columbus and Filbert in the heart of North Beach. They only take reservations by phone (415) 981-4664, but the Risotto with Slow Braised Duck Leg Sugo Wilted Radicchio and Pecorino Fresco served under a Murano glass chandelier is to die for.
https://daflora.com/

Located at 240 California Street in the city’s Financial District, Tadich Grill calls itself the oldest, continuously run restaurant in California. Named among the 150 “legendary” restaurants in the world, it first opened as a coffee stand in San Francisco in 1849. The menu features classics such as filet mignon and pot roast, as well as specials like seafood cioppino. You can stroll the three+ blocks from the Hyatt Regency.
https://tadichgrillsf.com/

A modern classic since 1979, Greens serves delicious, creative, and diverse vegetarian and vegan dishes in a lovely ambience At Fort Mason overlooking the marina and Golden Gate Bridge. Originally opened as part of the San Francisco Zen Center, it has “brought vegetarian cuisine out from sprout-infested health food stores and established it as a cuisine in America.” I still cook from the first Greens cookbook. Try the spinach lasagna. MMMMMM!
https://www.greensrestaurant.com/

Love a good cafeteria-style restaurant? Top your list at Tommy’s Joynt with hearty, homemade meals (takeout, too). Try a Turkey Sloppy Joe and a local craft beer for $18.25! That’s not all they have, and everything is fresh on site. It’s been a local favorite since 1947. 1101 Geary Blvd at Van Ness Avenue
https://tommysjoynt.com/

For the BEST cioppino and local salmon, our family loved dining at Scoma’s. We’d  dine there after going to the first Cost Plus World Market to shop. Located on Pier 47, it’s San Francisco’s iconic waterfront dining at Fisherman’s Wharf. Scoma’s opened in 1965 and is currently celebration its 60th birthday.
https://scomas.com/

I’ve saved my favorite for last. As a tot, my dad took me to The Tonga Room, now the Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar, on top of the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill at 950 Mason Street. The tables circle a 1920s indoor swimming pool and every night a rainstorm blew in. I begged to go! Known for its Pan-Asian food and the best Mai Tai around, its nostalgic atmosphere is sure to delight all ages — not just five-year-olds! 
https://www.fairmont-san-francisco.com/dine/tonga-room-hurricane-bar/

Enjoy your dinners, everyone!


A Cabaret of Crime

Get ready for a unique live entertainment when a four-person ensemble performs songs of crime, murder, and detection — and what it takes to write about them! 

Meet the Performers

  • Hal Glatzer is the author of mysteries, historical and contemporary, both in print and in audio. But he’s also an entertainer, best known in the U.S. and Europe for performing the “Great American Songbook" from Tin Pan Alley and Broadway.
  • Scrumbly Koldewyn, founding member of the sexual outlaws, Cockettes, performed and wrote songs with them, and has been writing and performing in Cabaret and ‘legit’ theater for the past 55 years. He is depicted in a star role in the new headed-for-Broadway musical, Midnight at the Palace.
  • Bonni Suval began performing onstage at the ripe age of 4. Since that time they have acted, sung, danced, choreographed, performance-arted, dark-burlesqued, stripped, written, and played drums in various theatre groups/bands/states/cities/situations. Wherever there is stage light and an audience to connect with, Bonni will be there.
  • Kathy Frankovic returned to singing and performing after 32 years as Director of Surveys and Producer at CBS News. Now it’s theater (and Gilbert & Sullivan) in Hawaii, cabaret New York, and just singing wherever she goes.

A Cabaret of Crime will take place on Thursday evening from 8:30-9:30 PM.


San Francisco Schemin’ Souvenirs

Planning ahead for the cool nights in San Francisco? Visit the LCC 2026 store at Cafe Press to order your San Francisco Schemin’ sweatshirt or other souvenir LCC 2026 logo items.
 


Left Coast Crime 2027: The Big Chile Rides Again

The Big Chile Rides Again, the 37th Left Coast Crime convention, will be held April 1–4, 2027, at the Eldorado Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Santa Fe was recently selected as the #1 city in the U.S. in Travel + Leisure's 2025 World’s Best Awards and placed #2 in Condé Nast Traveler's 2025 Best Small Cities in the U.S.

We are thrilled to announce our Special Guests for LCC 2027. 


More information can be found on The Big Chile Rides Again website. Registration will open soon.