Deciding on the Derringers

Capping off what was already an accolades-filled week (see here, here, and here), the Short Mystery Fiction Society today announced the winners of its 2022 Derringer Awards.

Best Flash Story (up to 1,000 words): “Tourist Trap, by John M. Floyd (Pulp Modern Flash, March)

Also nominated: “Smoke and Consequences,” by C.W. Blackwell (Mystery Tribune, January 2021); “An Unexpected Reunion, by Wil A. Emerson (BOULD Awards 2021 Short Story Anthology, Vol 1, edited by Jake Devlin; independently published); “Millicent,” by Scott Von Doviak (Shotgun Honey, June 2021); and “Why Are You Just Sitting There?” by Robert Weibezahl (Yellow Mama, December 2021)

Best Short Story (1,001 to 4,000 words): “Yelena Tried to Kill Me,” by Trey Dowell (Mystery Weekly Magazine, August 2021)

Also nominated: “The Right to Hang, by Brandon Barrows (On the Premises, October 2021); “Tokyo Stranger,” by Tina Debellegarde (from When a Stranger Comes to Town, edited by Michael Koryta; Hanover Square Press); “The Thanksgiving Ragamuffin,” by Kathleen Marple Kalb (from Justice for All: Murder New York Style, edited by D.M. Barr and Joseph R.G. De Marco; Level Best); and “Burnt Ends,” by Gabriel Valjan (from This Time For Sure: Bouchercon Anthology 2021, edited by Hank Phillippi Ryan; Down & Out)

Best Long Story (4,001 to 8,000 words): “The Downeaster Alexa,” by Michael Bracken (from Only the Good Die Young: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Billy Joel, edited by Josh Pachter; Untreed Reads)

Also nominated: “Chicken Coops and Bread Pudding,” by K.L. Abrahamson (from Moonlight & Misadventure: 20 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, edited by Judy Penz Sheluk; Superior Shores Press); “A Study of Death,” by Teel James Glenn (Mystery Weekly Magazine, October 2021); “Missing Carolyn,” by Annie Reed (from Fiction River: Dark & Deadly Passions, edited by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch; Fiction River); and “Burnin’ Butt, Texas,” by Mark Troy (Black Cat Mystery Magazine, November 2021)

Best Novelette (8,001 to 20,000 words): “Two Tamales, One Tokarev, and a Lifetime of Broken Promises,” by Stacy Woodson (Guns + Tacos: Season Three, Episode 14)

Also nominated: “Glass,” by James R. Benn (Alfred Hitchcock
Mystery Magazine, September/October 2021); “Aloha Boys,” Michael Bracken (from Hallmarks of the Job / Aloha Boys: A P.I. Tales Double Feature; P.I. Tales); “A Tale of Two Sisters,” by Barb Goffman (from Murder on the Beach; ‎ Destination Murders); and “Little City Blues,” by Annie Reed (from Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Long Ago; independently published)

Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement: S.J. Rozan

Hall of Fame: G.K. Chesterton

If the SMFS holds with tradition, these prizes will be handed out during the 2022 Bouchercon (September 8-11) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

(Hat tip to In Reference to Murder.)