Short Stuff

The Short Mystery Fiction Society today announced its list of finalists for the 2013 Derringer Awards, in four categories. According to a press release, “Derringer winners will be determined by a March 1-30 poll of eligible SMFS members and will be announced March 31.” The nominees this year are:

Best Flash Story (up to 1,000 words):

• “An Old-Fashioned Villain,” by Nick Andreychuk (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, May 2012)
• “The Cable Job,” by Randy DeWitt (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine [AHMM], September 2012)
• “Dead Man,” by A.J. Hayes (from Off the Record 2: At the Movies, edited by Luca Veste and Paul D. Brazill; Guilty Conscience)

• “’Twas the Knife Before Christmas,” by Allan Leverone (Shotgun Honey, December 24, 2012)
• “Daddy’s Girl,” by Nicola Kennington (The Flash Fiction Offensive, July 22, 2012)

Best Short Story (1,001-4,000 words):

• “Getting Out of the Box,” by Michael Bracken (from Crime Square, edited by Robert J. Randisi; Vantage Point)
• “A Special Kind of Hell,” by Hilary Davidson (from Beat to a Pulp: Round Two, edited by David Cramer and Matthew P. Mayo;
Beat to a Pulp)
• “Dead Weight,” by Allan Leverone (from Burning Bridges: A Renegade Fiction Anthology, edited by Benjamin Sobieck, Heath Lowrance, and McDroll; e-book)
• “Nain Rouge,” by Barbara Nadel (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], August 2012)
• “Baby Boy,” by Todd Robinson (from Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT, edited by Thomas Pluck; Goombah Gumbo Press)

Best Long Story (4,001-8,000 words):

• “The Pot Hunters,” by David Hagerty (AHMM, June 2012)
• “A Regular Story,” by Peggy McFarland (from Best New England Crime Stories 2013: Blood Moon, edited by Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Barbara Ross, and Leslie Wheeler; Level Best Books)
• “Peaches,” by Todd Robinson (Grift Magazine, April 2012)
• “When Duty Calls,” by Art Taylor (from Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley; Wildside Press)
• “Double Wedding” Mo Walsh (from Best New England Crime Stories 2013: Blood Moon)

Best Novelette (8,001 – 20,000 words):

• “Wood-Smoke Boys,” by Doug Allyn (EQMM, March/April 2012)
• “Iphigenia in Aulis,” by Mike Carey (from An Apple for the Creature, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner; Ace)

• “Mariel,” by David Dean (EQMM, December 2012)
• “Pirate Dave and the Captain’s Ghost,” by Toni L.P. Kelner (from An Apple for the Creature)
• “The Sunny South,” by Chris Muessig (AHMM, March/April 2012)