Loading Up the Derringers

The Short Mystery Fiction Society today announced its nominees for the 2015 Derringer Awards, as follows.

Best Flash Fiction (up to 1,000 words):
• “Because,” by Melissa Yi (Fiction River Special Edition: Crime)
• “Sweet Smells,” by Jed Power (Shotgun Honey)
• “How Lil Jimmie Beat the Big C,” by Joseph D’Agnese (Shotgun Honey)
• “Foodies,” by Rob Hart (Shotgun Honey)
• “Knockout,” by Eryk Pruitt (Out of the Gutter)

Best Short Story (1,001-4,000 words):
• “The Least of These,” by B.V. Lawson (Plan B Magazine, Vol. III)
• “Killing Sam Clemens,” by William Burton McCormick (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine)
• “A Friend in Brown,” by Mary E. Stiba (from Best New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave, edited by Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Barbara Ross, and Leslie Wheeler; Level Best)
• “The Bad Son,” by Britni Patterson (from Carolina Crimes: Nineteen Tales of Lust, Love, and Longing, edited by Karen Pullen; Wildside Press)
• “The Kaluki Kings of Queens,” by Cathi Stoler (from Murder New York Style: Family Matters, edited by Anita Page; Glenmere Press)

Best Long Story (4,001-8,000 words):
• “A Hopeless Case,” by Hilary Davidson (from All Due Respect, Issue #4, edited by Chris Rhatigan and Mike Monson)
• “Separation Anxiety,” by Angel Luis Colón (from All Due Respect, Issue #5, edited by Chris Rhatigan and Mike Monson)
• “The Ultimate Mystery,” by M.H. Callway (World Enough and Crime, edited by Donna and Alex Carrick; Carrick Publishing)
• “The Missing Money,” by James T. Shannon (from Best New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave)
• “Dead Men Tell No Tales,” by Cathy Wiley (from Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays, edited by Barb Goffman and Marcia Talley; Wildside Press)

Best Novelette (8,001-20,000 words):
• “Hitler’s Dogs,” by Doug Allyn (Fiction River Special Edition: Crime)
• “The Snow Angel,” by Doug Allyn (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January 2014)
• “Infernal,” by Trey Dowell (Untreed Reads)
• “Busting Red Heads,” by Richard Helms (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March 2014)
• Juba Good, by Vicki Delany (Orca Books Rapid Reads)

Congratulations to all of the contenders!

(Hat tip to My Little Corner.)

UPDATE I: On Wednesday, March 4, the following note appeared in The Short Mystery Fiction Society blog:

An eligibility issue was discovered with one of the finalists in our March 1 announcement, delaying the group vote to determine the winners which was to begin March 1. The blog announcement of the finalists has been taken down pending an official decision on the story or its replacement to be posted on Shortmystery and reflected here.

The SMFS has not made clear which of the many stories is under scrutiny here, but once a determination of its eligibility is made, we’ll modify this post accordingly.

UPDATE II: A slightly revised rundown of 2015 Derringer Award nominees was posted on March 10. The above list of contenders has now been edited to reflect the change.