Shorts to Triumph in the Long Run

The Short Mystery Fiction Society (SMFS) today announced its nominees for the 2017 Derringer Awards in four categories:

Best Flash Story (up to 1,000 words):
• “Aftermath,” by Craig Faustus Buck (Flash Bang Mysteries,
Spring 2016)
• “The Phone Call,” by Herschel Cozine (Flash Bang Mysteries,
Summer 2016)
• “A Just Reward,” by O’Neil de Noux (Flash Bang Mysteries,
Winter 2016)
• “The Orphan,” by Billy Kring (Shotgun Honey, March 18, 2016)
• “An Ill Wind,” by R.T. Lawton (Flash Bang Mysteries, Spring 2016)

Best Short Story (1,001-4,000 words):
• “Beks and the Second Note,” by Bruce Arthurs (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine [AHMM], December 2016)
• “The Way They Do It in Boston,” by Linda Barnes (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], September/October 2016)
• “YOLO,” by Libby Cudmore (Beat to a Pulp, May 2016)
• “The Woman in the Briefcase,” by Joseph D’Agnese (EQMM, March/April 2016)
• “The Lighthouse,” by Hilde Vandermeeren (EQMM, March/April 2016)

Best Long Story (4,001-8,000 words):
• “Swan Song,” by Hilary Davidson (from Unloaded: Crime Writers Writing Without Guns, edited by Eric Beetner; Down & Out)
• “Effect on Men,” by O’Neil De Noux, (The Strand Magazine, February-May 2016)
• “The Cumberland Package,” by Robert Mangeot (AHMM, May 2016)
• “Murder Under the Baobab,” by Meg Opperman (EQMM,
November 2016)
• “Breadcrumbs,” by Victoria Weisfeld (Betty Fedora, Issue Three, September 2016)

Best Novelette (8,000-20,000 words):
• “Coup de Grace,” by Doug Allyn (EQMM, September/October 2016)
• “The Chemistry of Heroes,” by Catherine Dilts (AHMM, May 2016)
• “Inquiry and Assistance,” by Terrie Farley Moran (AHMM, January/February 2016)
• “The Educator,” by Travis Richardson (44 Caliber Funk: Tales of Crime, Soul, and Payback, edited by Gary Phillips and Robert J. Randisi; Moonstone)
• “The Last Blue Glass,” by B.K. Stevens (AHMM, April 2016)

Winners will be chosen through an online vote among eligible SMFS members (polls to remain open through April 29), with the names of this year’s four award recipients to be declared on May 1. Congratulations to all of the contenders!