Left Coast Crime is an annual conference organised by mystery fiction fans for mystery fiction fans, first held in San Francisco in 1991. It is concerned with western North American region mysteries, but the conference itself travels worldwide, having been held in Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as different parts of the United States. The conference enables fans to mix with authors. A prominent author of western mystery fiction is invited to be guest speaker.[1] [2]
In December 2019 Mystery Writers of America awarded the convention organization the 2020 Raven Award for "outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing."[3]
Conference participants have voted on an award for the most humorous mystery novel since 1996.
| 1996 | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who in Hell Is Wanda Fuca? | Finalist | |||
| God Bless John Wayne | Finalist | |||
| Movie | Finalist | |||
| Miracles in Maggody | Finalist | |||
| If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him | Finalist | |||
| 1997 | No award presented | |||
| 1998 | Three to Get Deadly | Winner | ||
| Dead Men Don't Dance | Finalist | |||
| Scam | Finalist | |||
| I Still Miss My Man But My Aim Is Getting Better | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| 1999 | Four to Score | Winner | ||
| 2000 | Murder With Peacocks | Winner | ||
| Big Trouble | Finalist | |||
| High Five | Finalist | |||
| Immaculate Reception | Finalist | |||
| Murder Shoots the Bull | Finalist | |||
| 2001 | No award presented | |||
| 2002 | Dim Sum Dead | Winner | ||
| Fender Benders | Winner | |||
| Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos | Finalist | |||
| Murder Can Upset Your Mother | Finalist | |||
| Long Time No See | Finalist | |||
| 2003 | Winner | |||
| Pipsqueak | Winner | |||
| Hard Eight | Finalist | |||
| This Pen for Hire | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Buck Fever | Finalist | |||
| 2004 | Mumbo Gumbo | Winner | ||
| Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon | Finalist | |||
| Shop Till You Drop | Finalist | |||
| 2005 | We'll Always Have Parrots | Winner | ||
| Carnage on the Committee | Finalist | |||
| Holy Guacamole | Finalist | |||
| Perfect Sax | Finalist | |||
| Blue Blood | Finalist | |||
| 2006 | Cast Adrift | Winner | ||
| Cue the Easter Bunny | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Highway 61 Resurfaced | Finalist | |||
| Fags and Lager | Finalist | |||
| 2007 | Go to Helena Handbasket | Winner | ||
| No Nest for the Wicket | Finalist | |||
| Monkey Man | Finalist | |||
| 47 Rules of Highly Effective Bank Robbers | Finalist | |||
| Murder Unleashed | Finalist | |||
| 2008 | Murder with Reservations | Winner | ||
| Finalist | ||||
| Stuff To Die For | Finalist | |||
| Some Like It Hot-Buttered | Finalist | |||
| Knee High by the Fourth of July | Finalist | |||
| 2009 | Greasing the Piñata | Winner | ||
| Six Geese A-Slaying | Finalist | |||
| It Happened One Knife | Finalist | |||
| Thugs & Kisses | Finalist | |||
| Murder at the Bad Girl's Bar and Grill | Finalist | |||
| Getting Old Is To Die For | Finalist | |||
| 2010 | Getting Old Is a Disaster | Winner | ||
| Swan for the Money | Finalist | |||
| Living with Your Kids Is Murder | Finalist | |||
| Strangle a Loaf of Italian Bread | Finalist | |||
| High Crimes on the Magical Plane | Finalist | |||
| 2011 | Winner | |||
| Stork Raving Mad | Finalist | |||
| Swift Justice | Finalist | |||
| Old Dogs | Finalist | |||
| Revenge for Old Times’ Sake | Finalist | |||
| 2012 | Winner | |||
| Getting Old Can Kill You | Finalist | [7] | ||
| October Fest | Finalist | |||
| Magical Alienation | Finalist | |||
| Dying for a Dance | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| 2013 | Winner | [8] | ||
| Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder | Finalist | |||
| Swift Run | Finalist | |||
| December Dread | Finalist | |||
| Trail of the Spellmans | Finalist | |||
| Fit to Be Dead | Finalist | |||
| 2014 | Winner | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Dying for a Daiquiri | Finalist | |||
| 2015 | Herbie's Game | Winner | [9] | |
| Finalist | ||||
| January Thaw | Finalist | |||
| Dying for a Dude | Finalist | |||
| Suede to Rest | Finalist | |||
| 2016 | Lord of the Wings | Winner | ||
| Plantation Shudders | Finalist | |||
| February Fever | Finalist | |||
| Dying for a Donut | Finalist | |||
| Crushed Velvet | Finalist | |||
| 2017 | Body on the Bayou | Winner | ||
| Die Like an Eagle | Finalist | [10] | ||
| Fields Where They Lay | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Floodgate | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| 2018 | Winner | [11] | ||
| Gone Gull | Finalist | |||
| Dying on the Vine | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Dying for a Diamond | Finalist | |||
| 2019 | Scot Free | Winner | [12] | |
| Mardi Gras Murder | Finalist | [13] | ||
| Hollywood Ending | Finalist | |||
| Nighttown | Finalist | |||
| Death al Fresco | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| 2020 | Scot & Soda | Winner | [14] | |
| Fatal Cajun Festival | Finalist | |||
| Murder from Scratch | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Drowned Under | Finalist | |||
| 2021 | Murder in the Bayou Boneyard | Winner | [15] | |
| Mimi Lee Gets a Clue | Finalist | [16] [17] | ||
| Squeeze Me | Finalist | |||
| The Study of Secrets | Finalist | |||
| The Pot Thief Who Studied the Woman at Otowi Crossing | Finalist | |||
| Skin Deep | Finalist | |||
| 2022 | Mango, Mambo, and Murder | Winner | [18] | |
| Cajun Kiss of Death | Finalist | [19] [20] | ||
| Mimi Lee Cracks the Code | Finalist | |||
| Finlay Donovan Is Killing It | Finalist | |||
| How To Book a Murder | Finalist | |||
| Fogged Off | Finalist | |||
The Best Historical Mystery Novel Award, also known as the Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award, established in 2004, is presented "to mystery novels covering events before 1960."[21]
| 2004 | For the Love of Mike | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Lies | Finalist | |||
| and Eric Mayer | Four for a Boy | Finalist | ||
| 2005 | Winner | |||
| and Eric Mayer | Five for Silver | Finalist | ||
| Tyrant of the Mind | Finalist | |||
| Murder on Marble Row | Finalist | |||
| Birds of a Feather | Finalist | |||
| 2006 | Spectres in the Smoke | Winner | ||
| Night's Child | Finalist | |||
| Pardonable Lies | Finalist | |||
| 2007 | No award presented | |||
| 2008 | No award presented | |||
| 2009 | Nox Dormienda, A Long Night for Sleeping | Winner | ||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Tell Me, Pretty Maiden | Finalist | |||
| Touchstone | Finalist | |||
| 2010 | Winner | |||
| Tears of Pearl | Finalist | |||
| In a Gilded Cage | Finalist | |||
| Freedom's Flight | Finalist | |||
| Serpent in the Thorns | Finalist | |||
| 2011 | Winner | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Murder for Greenhorns | Finalist | |||
| City of Dragons | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| 2012 | Mercury's Rise | Winner | ||
| Naughty in Nice | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Troubled Bones | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| 2013 | Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder | Winner | [22] | |
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Live by Night | Finalist | |||
| Elegy for Eddie | Finalist | |||
| 2014 | Dandy Gilver and a Bothersome Number of Corpses | Winner | ||
| Heirs and Graces | Finalist | |||
| His Majesty's Hope | Finalist | |||
| Murder as a Fine Art | Finalist | |||
| Covenant with Hell | Finalist | |||
| Leaving Everything Most Loved | Finalist | |||
| 2015 | Winner | |||
| Queen of Hearts | Finalist | |||
| From the Charred Remains | Finalist | |||
| City of Ghosts | Finalist | |||
| Cup of Blood | Finalist | |||
| 2016 | Malice at the Palace | Winner | ||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Dreaming Spies | Finalist | |||
| Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante | Finalist | |||
| 2017 | Winner | |||
| Crowned and Dangerous | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| What Gold Buys | Finalist | |||
| 2018 | In Farleigh Field | Winner | ||
| Finalist | ||||
| Dangerous To Know | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Season of Blood | Finalist | |||
| 2019 | Winner | |||
| Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Island of the Mad | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| It Begins in Betrayal | Finalist | |||
| 2020 | Winner | |||
| Murder Knocks Twice | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| 2021 | Winner | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder | Finalist | |||
| Riviera Gold | Finalist | |||
| Mortal Music | Finalist | |||
| Turn to Stone | Finalist | |||
| 2022 | Clark and Division | Winner | ||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Death at Greenway | Finalist | |||
| 2017 | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Fissures | Finalist | |||
| Michelangelo's Ghost | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Heart of Stone | Finalist | |||
| 2018 | Sulfur Springs | Winner | ||
| Blood Truth | Finalist | |||
| Glass Houses | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Cast the First Stone | Finalist | |||
| 2019 | November Road | Winner | ||
| Wrong Light | Finalist | |||
| Kingdom of the Blind | Finalist | |||
| Under a Dark Sky | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| 2020 | Lost Tomorrows | Winner | ||
| Your House Will Pay | Finalist | |||
| Borrowed Time | Finalist | |||
| They All Fall Down | Finalist | |||
| Heaven, My Home | Finalist | |||
| 2021 | All the Devils Are Here | Winner | ||
| What You Don't See | Finalist | |||
| Blacktop Wasteland | Finalist | |||
| Blind Vigil | Finalist | |||
| And Now She's Gone | Finalist | |||
| 2022 | Lightning Strike | Winner | ||
| Runner | Finalist | |||
| Razorblade Tears | Finalist | |||
| Last Redemption | Finalist | |||
| Bath Haus | Finalist |
The Lefty for Best Debut Mystery has gone by many names, include the Eureka! Award (2012), the Rosebud Award (2015), and finally, the Left for Best Debut Mystery.
| 2012 | Nazareth Child | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who Do, Voodoo? | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Dead Man's Switch | Finalist | |||
| 2015 | Winner | |||
| Kilmoon | Finalist | |||
| Ice Shear | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Mistress of Fortune | Finalist | |||
| 2017 | Murder in G Major | Winner | ||
| Cleaning Up Finn | Finalist | |||
| Terror in Taffeta | Finalist | |||
| Decanting a Murder | Finalist | |||
| Design for Dying | Finalist | |||
| 2018 | Hollywood Homicide | Winner | ||
| Finalist | ||||
| Lost Luggage | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Protocol | Finalist | |||
| 2019 | Winner | |||
| Broken Places | Finalist | |||
| Cobra Clutch | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| What Doesn't Kill You | Finalist | |||
| Deadly Solution | Finalist | |||
| Give Out Creek | Finalist | |||
| 2020 | Murderabilia | Winner | ||
| Finalist | ||||
| Miracle Creek | Finalist | |||
| One Night Gone | Finalist | |||
| Three-Fifths | Finalist | |||
| 2021 | Winter Counts | Winner | ||
| Murder Goes to Market | Finalist | |||
| Derailed | Finalist | |||
| Murder at the Mena House | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| 2022 | All Her Little Secrets | Winner | ||
| Who Is Maud Dixon | Finalist | |||
| Blackout | Finalist | |||
| Finalist | ||||
| Arsenic and Adobo | Finalist |
In addition to regular Lefty Awards, wildcard awards have occasionally been presented. One regularly occurring wild card award is based on geographical location, with its name changing depending upon the location of the convention, such as the Otter (Monterey, 2004), the Calavera (El Paso, 2005), the Rocky (Denver, 2008; Colorado Springs, 2013), and the Rose (Portland, 2015). Left Coast Crime has also presented awards according to other geographic regions, such as the Hillerman Sky (Southwest settings, 2011), the Golden Nugget (California settings, 2012), the Squid (US settings, 2014), and the Calamari (non-US settings, 2014).
Other wildcard awards "include the Watson, for the mystery with the best sidekick (Santa Fe 2011 & Colorado Springs 2013), and the Hawaii Five-O, for best law enforcement or police procedural (Waikoloa, Hawaii 2009). The Panik award was given in memory of Paul Anik for best LA noir (Los Angeles 2010). Cover art was recognized with the Arty (Denver 2008)."
| Otter Award | 2004 | More Than You Know | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragonfly Bones | Finalist | ||||
| Murder Pans Out | Finalist | ||||
| Calavera Award | 2005 | Grave Endings | Winner | ||
| Snap Shot | Finalist | ||||
| Shadow Play | Finalist | ||||
| What Others Know | Finalist | ||||
| Family Claims | Finalist | ||||
| Arty Award | 2008 | Her Royal Spyness | Winner | ||
| Queenpin | Finalist | ||||
| Isabella Moon | Finalist | ||||
| Silent Counsel | Finalist | ||||
| Stealing the Dragon | Finalist | ||||
| Rocky Award | Winner | ||||
| Free Fire | Finalist | ||||
| Lost Dog | Finalist | ||||
| Stealing the Dragon | Finalist | ||||
| False Fortune | Finalist | ||||
| Hawaii Five-O | 2009 | Mahu Fire | Winner | ||
| Angels Fall | Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | |||||
| Finalist | |||||
| Death of a Cozy Writer | Finalist | ||||
| Fractured | Finalist | ||||
| The Panik | 2010 | Death Was in the Picture | Winner | ||
| Cemetery Road | Finalist | ||||
| Trust No One | Finalist | ||||
| Boulevard | Finalist | ||||
| Hillerman Sky Award | 2011 | Winner | |||
| Wild Penance | Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | |||||
| Snare | Finalist | ||||
| Watson Award | Junkyard Dogs | Winner | |||
| Wild Penance | Finalist | ||||
| Dead Lift | Finalist | ||||
| Rolling Thunder | Finalist | ||||
| To Fetch a Thief | Finalist | ||||
| Golden Nugget Award | 2012 | City of Secrets | Winner | ||
| Disturbance | Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | |||||
| Bit Player | Finalist | ||||
| V Is for Vengeance | Finalist | ||||
| Rocky Award | 2013 | As the Crow Flies | Winner | ||
| Buffalo Bill's Dead Now | Finalist | ||||
| Hush Money | Finalist | ||||
| Wicked Eddies | Finalist | ||||
| Sonora Crossing | Finalist | ||||
| Watson Award | Bruja Brouhaha | Winner | |||
| In a Witch's Wardrobe | Finalist | ||||
| Taken | Finalist | ||||
| Fun House | Finalist | ||||
| When the Past Haunts You | Finalist | ||||
| The Calamari | 2014 | How the Light Gets In | Winner | ||
| Murder Below Montparnasse | Finalist | ||||
| Hour of the Rat | Finalist | ||||
| As She Left It | Finalist | ||||
| Mykonos After Midnight | Finalist | ||||
| The Squid | Ordinary Grace | Winner | |||
| W Is for Wasted | Finalist | ||||
| Purgatory Key | Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | |||||
| Finalist | |||||
| The Rose | 2015 | Pirate Vishnu | Winner | ||
| One Kick | Finalist | ||||
| Glass Houses | Finalist | ||||
| Deadly Bonds | Finalist | ||||
| Plaster City | Finalist | ||||
| Best LCC Regional Mystery | 2016 | Winner | |||
| Finalist | |||||
| Night Tremors | Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | |||||
| Young Americans | Finalist | ||||
| Best World Mystery | 2016 | Winner | |||
| Finalist | |||||
| Dragon Day | Finalist | ||||
| Finalist | |||||
| Stone Cold Dead | Finalist |