Unloading the Derringers

The Short Mystery Fiction Society has announced the winners of its 2011 Derringer Awards for short mystery fiction. They are as follows:

Best Flash Story (less then 1,001 words): TIE--“The Book Signing,” by Kathy Kencharik (from Thin Ice: Crime Stories By New England Writers, edited by Mark Ammons, Kat Fast, Barbara Ross, and Leslie Wheeler; Level Best Books, 2010), and “The Unknown Substance,” by Jane Hammons (A Twist of Noir, December 27, 2010)

Also nominated: “Blues in the Night,” by Carol Kilgore (Dark Valentine, May 2010); “Homeless,” by Patricia Morin (from Mystery Montage; Top, 2010); and “Stick a Needle in My Eye,” by Julia Madeleine (Powder Burn Flash, No. 302, May 5, 2010)

Best Short Story (1,001-4,000 words): “Pewter Badge,” by Michael J. Solender (Yellow Mama, August 2010)

Also nominated: “My Asshole Brother,” by Eric Beetner (A Twist of Noir, May 7, 2010); “Seventy-two Hours or Less,” by Michael J. Solender (A Twist of Noir, April 23, 2010); “Broken Down on the Bonneville Flats,” by Jack Bates (Beat to a Pulp, October 17, 2010); and “Angel of Mercy,” by David Price (Beat to a Pulp, January 31, 2010)

Best Long Story (4,001-8,000 words): TIE--“Care of the Circumcised Penis,” by Sean Doolittle (ThugLit Presents: Blood, Guts, and Whiskey, edited by Todd Robinson; Kensington, 2010), and “Interpretation of Murder,” by B. K. Stevens (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine [AHMM], December 2010)

Also nominated: “A Tour of the Tower,” by Christine Poulson (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], March/April 2010); “Silicon Kings,” by Richard Helms (The Back Alley Webzine, April 2010); and “The Little Nogai Boy,” by R.T. Lawton (AHMM, September 2010)

Best Novelette (8,001-17,500 words): “Rearview Mirror,” by Art Taylor (EQMM, March 2010)

Also nominated: “Deserters,” by Chris Muessig (AHMM, March 2010); “The Gods for Vengeance Cry,” by Richard Helms (EQMM, November 2010); “The Man with One Eye,” by Stephen Ross (EQMM, December 2010); and “The Scent of Lilacs,” by Doug Allyn (EQMM, September/October 2010)

Congratulations to all of this year’s contenders.

The Derringer Awards will be presented during Bouchercon 2011, which will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, from September 15 to 18.