The Left Coast Crime Awards (or “Leftys”) are presented annually in conjunction with the Left Coast Crime convention. The convention is held somewhere in “Western North America,” with past locations ranging from Anchorage to El Paso and Denver to Hawaii. Established in 1996, the awards celebrate excellence in mystery, crime, and thriller fiction.
Each year, Lefty Awards are presented for Best Humorous Mystery, Best Historical Mystery (the Bill Gottfried Memorial Award), Best Debut Mystery, and Best Mystery Novel. Eligible titles include books published in the United States or Canada during the previous year, in either print or e-book format.
Over the years, the Left Coast Crime Awards have experimented with a variety of special honors, often tailored to match the theme or location of that year’s convention. The awards began simply, with a single prize – the “Lefty Award for Most Humorous Mystery.”
As the convention grew, organizers introduced a rotating lineup of creative awards. In 2004, the “Otter Award” recognized the best mystery set in the Left Coast Crime region, which was renamed the “Calavera Award” the following year. After a short hiatus, the regional honor returned in 2008 as the “Rocky Award.”
Some years featured one-time awards inspired by the host city. In 2008, the “Arty Award” celebrated the best cover art, while the 2009 “Hawaii Five-O Award” honored the best police procedural, fittingly given out in Waikoloa, Hawaii. The 2010 convention in Los Angeles saw the debut of the “Panik Award,” dedicated to the late Paul Anik and presented to the best Los Angeles noir novel.
In 2011, when the convention traveled to Santa Fe, the “Hillerman Sky Award” was introduced in honor of Tony Hillerman, recognizing the mystery that best captured the spirit of the Southwestern landscape. That same year also featured a whimsical “Watson Award” for the genre’s best sidekick. The 2012 Sacramento convention kept the local flair going with the “Golden Nugget Award” for best mystery set in California, and renamed the Best First Mystery prize the “Eureka! Award.”
One of the more enduring honors to emerge was the Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery Award, first introduced in 2004 for the best historical mystery. Originally limited to works set before 1950, the cutoff date was later extended to 1960 in 2012, and again to 1970 in 2020.
In 2006, the convention crossed the Atlantic for a special event in Bristol, England – the first time the Left Coast Crime convention had been held outside North America. Appropriately, the awards that year took on a distinctly British flavor, reflecting the transatlantic spirit of mystery writing.
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