Left Ahead

It seems like just a couple of months ago that I attended the 2007 Left Coast Crime convention in Seattle. Yet already we’re approaching the opening of the 2008 event, to be held in Denver, Colorado, in early March. And already we have the nominees for awards to be given out during that convocation:

The Lefty (for the most humorous mystery published in 2007)
• The Penguin Who Knew Too Much, by Donna Andrews (St. Martin’s Minotaur)
• Stuff to Die For, by Don Bruns (Oceanview Publishing)
• Some Like It Hot-Buttered, by Jeff Cohen (Berkley)
• Knee High by the Fourth of July, by Jess Lourey (Midnight Ink)
• Murder with Reservations, by Elaine Viets (NAL)

The Rocky (for best mystery set in the Left Coast Crime geographical region in 2007)
• Free Fire, by C.J. Box (Putnam)
• Lost Dog, by Bill Cameron (Midnight Ink)
• The Girl with Braided Hair, by Margaret Coel (Berkley)
• Stealing the Dragon, by Tim Maleeny (Midnight Ink)
• False Fortune, by Twist Phelan (Poisoned Pen Press)

The Arty (for best cover art on a mystery novel published in 2007)
• Queenpin, By Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
• Isabella Moon, by Laura Benedict (Ballantine)
• Her Royal Spyness, by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
• Silent Counsel, by Ken Issacson (Windermere Press)
• Stealing the Dragon, by Tim Maleeny (Midnight Ink)

In addition to those, the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association will give out the Dilys Award for the mystery that IMBA members most enjoyed selling in 2007.

For more information about Left Coast Crime 2008, click here.

(Hat tip to Jack Getze.)