Short Comings

The Short Mystery Fiction Society (SMFS) today announced its nominees for the 2016 Derringer Awards, as follows.

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

• “The Hard Screw,” by Jack Bates (Near to the Knuckle,
August 6, 2015)

• “Heavy Debt,” by Craig Faustus Buck (“Mondays Are Murder,” Akashic, August 10, 2015)

• “The Wrong Girl,” by Barb Goffman (from Flash and Bang: A Short Mystery Fiction Society Anthology, edited by J. Alan Hartman;
Untreed Reads)

• “Hero,” by Vy Kava (from Red Dawn: Best New England Crime Stories 2016, edited by Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Barbara Ross, and Leslie Wheeler; Level Best)

• “Trash Pick-Up,” by John Weagly (Near to the Knuckle,
September 24, 2015)

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

• “Words Can Kill,” by Shelly Dickson Carr (from Red Dawn: Best New England Crime Stories 2016)

• “Joe Park’s Little Girl,” by Nikki Dolson (Mystery Weekly,
September 7, 2015)

• “Kill Switch,” by Chris Knopf (from Red Dawn: Best New England Crime Stories 2016)

• “Pompo’s Disguise,” by William Burton McCormick (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], March/April 2015)

• “Twilight Ladies,” by Meg Opperman (EQMM, March/April 2015)

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

• “The White Game,” by Ron Collins (from Fiction River: Hidden in Crime, edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch; WMG)

• “Dentonville,” by John M. Floyd (EQMM, November 2015)

• “The Orchid Grower,” by Katia Lief (EQMM, November 2015)

• “Shooting at Firemen,” by Robert Lopresti (Alfred Hitchcocks Mystery Magazine [AHMM]), July/August 2015)

• “The Man in the Dick Tracy Hat,” by Elizabeth Zelvin (AHMM,
June 2015)

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

• “Driver,” by John M. Floyd (The Strand Magazine,
February-May 2015)

• “Crazy Cat Ladies,” by Jane Haddam (EQMM, February 2015)

• “Shooting Stars,” by Richard Helms (EQMM,
September/October 2015)

• “Jack Daniels and Associates: The Whiplash Brokers,” by Gordon Hopkins (Kindle Worlds, March 2015)

• “Quack and Dwight,” by Travis Richardson (from Jewish Noir: Contemporary Tales of Crime and Other Dark Deeds, edited by Kenneth Wishnia; PM Press)

As the SMFS explains, “Group voting to determine the winner in each category runs March 1–30. Winners announced March 31.” Congratulations to all of the contenders!