Enter Stage Left

Organizers of this year’s Left Coast Crime convention--which is scheduled to take place in Sacramento, California, from March 29 through April 1--have announced the nominees in four awards categories. According to a press release, “The awards will be voted on at the convention and presented at a banquet on Saturday, March 31, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel.” The first two prizes are given out annually; the latter pair--the Golden Nugget Award and Eureka!--are special to this Sacramento gathering.

Here’s the rundown of contenders:

The Lefty Award (for best humorous mystery):
• The Real Macaw, by Donna Andrews (Minotaur)
• Getting Old Can Kill You, by Rita Lakin (Dell)
• October Fest, by Jess Lourey (Midnight Ink)
• Magical Alienation, by Kris Neri (Red Coyote Press)
• Dying for a Dance, by Cindy Sample (L&L Dreamspell)
• The Albuquerque Turkey, by John Vorhaus (Crown)

The Bruce Alexander Award
(for best historical mystery set before 1960):
• Naughty in Nice, by Rhys Bowen (Berkley Prime Crime)
• A Game of Lies, by Rebecca Cantrell (Forge)
• Mercury’s Rise, by Ann Parker (Poisoned Pen Press)
• A Killing Season, by Priscilla Royal (Poisoned Pen Press)
• Troubled Bones, by Jeri Westerson (Minotaur)
• A Lesson in Secrets, by Jacqueline Winspear (Harper)

The Golden Nugget Award
(for the best mystery set in California, in recognition of the
location of this year’s convention):
• Disturbance, by Jan Burke (Simon & Schuster)
• The Drop, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
• Bit Player, by Janet Dawson (Perseverance Press)
• V Is for Vengeance, by Sue Grafton (Putnam)
• City of Secrets, by Kelli Stanley (Minotaur)

Eureka! (for the best first mystery novel):
• The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper, by Sally Carpenter (Oak Tree Press)
• Nazareth Child, by Darrell James (Midnight Ink)
• Dead Man’s Switch, by Tammy Kaehler (Poisoned Pen Press)
• Who Do, Voodoo?, by Rochelle Staab (Berkley Prime Crime)

The Guests of Honor this year will be John Lescroart and Jacqueline Winspear. James Rollins has been selected as the Special Guest, while Noemi Levine is lined up as the Fan Guest of Honor. Oh, and author Harley Jane Kozak has been tapped as Toastmaster.