LEFT COAST CRIME BYLAWS The "Left Coast Crime Convention," the "Western Regional Mystery Conference" hereto referred to as "LCC," is an event sponsored by fans of Mystery Literature, for fans of Mystery Literature. LCC is an annual convention. The intent is to provide an event where fans of the Mystery genre can gather in convivial surroundings to pursue their interests in the genre. LCC is a non-profit enterprise which must be incorporated locally by each LCC volunteer-based committee for the duration of the event. Sponsorship by existing non-profit organizations is encouraged as long as they adhere to LCC bylaws. Past, present and future LCC are not responsible for the debts incurred by any previous or subsequent LCC events. LCC will feature a Guest(s) of Honour (GoH), who is to be treated as a literary treasure. All expenses within reason incurred by the the GoH will be the responsibility of that year's LCC. In the event that LCC has more than one GoH, at least one GoH must reside or have novels set in the Western Region. Fan Guest(s) of Honour are to be treated in the same manner as author GoHs. Any LCC may create any new guest designation other than Lifetime Achievement. LCC will do its best to extend hospitality to its entire membership. A standing committee shall be established to:
LCC is the "Western North American Regional Mystery Conference" as defined by the Mountain Time Zone and all time zones westward to Hawaii. The LCC rotates north to south on an annual basis. Conventions held in the Northern Region are held in even-numbered years, Southern Region in odd-numbered years. Regions defined as follows: Northern Region Canada: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon Southern Region United States: New Mexico, Arizona, Texas (El Paso only), Hawaii, Nevada (south of Lake Tahoe), California (Santa Clara county and southward) LCC will held in the first quarter of the calendar year. LCC will not be held for more than two consecutive years in the same region if at all possible. Bids for Future Left Coast Crime Conventions Local Committees that wish to host a Left Coast Crime Convention must submit a bid to the Bid Committee by January 15th to have the bid considered that year. Bids may be submitted for any year not yet listed as filled on the LCC website. Bids may be submitted by email to LCC-Bids@leftcoastcrime.org. The Bid Committee will work with you to complete your bid for presentation to the Standing Committee at the next LCC. Bids must include:
Bids approved by the Bid Committee shall be presented to the Standing Committee at the next Left Coast Crime Convention for final approval. The awarding of LCC locations to a bidding committee shall be made by majority vote of the standing committee. Note: Preference will be given to bids for sites in the Northern region in even numbered years, and the Southern region in odd numbered years. Northern Region Southern Region LCC Committee Support The current LCC committee will provide the LCC in the immediate year following the minimum by way of support:
Name Badges It is the intention of LCC to be an egalitarian gathering of mystery fans that does not create a distinction between fans of the mystery genre professional and otherwise. Therefore:
Authors Dealers and Exhibitors A space (bookroom) must be made available for the sale and display of goods of interest (books) to the membership of LCC. Acceptance to the book room is based on seniority. Acceptance of other dealers is at the discretion of current committee after obigations to Legacy Dealers have been taken care of. (A Legacy Dealer is someone who has done 7 of the last 10 LCCs.) Hours: The dealers' room will open to the membership no earlier than 9 AM local time. The room will be open a minimum of twenty hours over the course of the event. A dealers' room contains more than one bookseller or exhibitor. Each exhibition space will include a membership to the event. LCC must receive a hold harmless agreement from exhibitor in order to participate in LCC. Tables for non-profit literary fan groups should be provided free of charge, if possible. Awards The Lefty, an award for the best humorous mystery, is to be awarded at each Left Coast Crime. Books eligible for the award must have been published for the first time in the United States or Canada in the calendar year preceding the convention. Books which appeared in other countries in earlier years are still eligible as long as they meet the American publication requirement. Beginning on January 1 of the year in which the convention is held, nominations are to be solicited from registered members of the convention and registered members of the prior convention. The short list shall consist of the five books receiving the most nominations. All registered members of the convention are eligible to vote. Final balloting and tabulation shall be conducted at Left Coast Crime with the winner announced during the convention, preferably at the banquet. The physical properties of the award are left to the discretion of each host Left Coast Crime committee. Furthermore, up to three other awards may be awarded at the discretion of individual Left Coast Crime conventions in categories to be chosen by the current organizing committee. Subsequent committees may but are not required to continue any of these awards. Membership on the Standing Committee shall include: The immediate past year's chair, the current chair and accredited future chairs. To maintain the continuity of LCC, the Standing Committee will contain a maximum of 5 permanent committee whose qualifications are:
Permanent Membership on the standing committee is for the lifetime of LCC or until formal resignation. It is the responsibility of the Permanent Standing Committee to deal with site selection of future LCCs. The permanent members of the standing committee are the court of last resort in disputes arising from site selection. The permanent committee members are the living memory of LCC. They provide a resource and recourse for future LCC committee. (The wheel need not be reinvented.) Member at large: Any person with interest in LCC may submit their name for consideration for membership on the standing committee to the standing committee. If accepted by standing committee, the term is for 3 years. The standing committee will approve new members by a majority vote. The member(s) of at large will be full voting members of the standing committee. The Current LCC Committee:
The Standing Committee:
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