Ready, Aim, Fire Off Derringers

Right on schedule, the Short Mystery Fiction Society (SMFS) has announced the winners of its 2017 Derringer Awards in four categories. Little Big Crimes’ Robert Lopresti brings us the results:

Best Flash Story (up to 1,000 words): “The Phone Call,” by Herschel Cozine (Flash Bang Mysteries, Summer 2016)

Also nominated: “Aftermath,” by Craig Faustus Buck (Flash Bang Mysteries, Spring 2016); “A Just Reward,” by O’Neil de Noux (Flash Bang Mysteries, Winter 2016); “The Orphan,” by Billy Kring (Shotgun Honey, March 18, 2016); and “An Ill Wind,” by R.T. Lawton (Flash Bang Mysteries, Spring 2016)

Best Short Story (1,001-4,000 words): “The Way They Do It in Boston,” by Linda Barnes (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], September/October 2016)

Also nominated: “Beks and the Second Note,” by Bruce Arthurs (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine [AHMM], December 2016); “YOLO,” by Libby Cudmore (Beat to a Pulp, May 2016); “The Woman in the Briefcase,” by Joseph D’Agnese (EQMM, March/April 2016); and “The Lighthouse,” by Hilde Vandermeeren (EQMM, March/April 2016)

Best Long Story (4,001-8,000 words): “Breadcrumbs,” by Victoria Weisfeld (Betty Fedora, Issue Three, September 2016)

Also nominated: “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); and “Murder Under the Baobab,” by Meg Opperman (EQMM, November 2016)

Best Novelette (8,000-20,000 words): “Inquiry and Assistance,” by Terrie Farley Moran (AHMM, January/February 2016)

Also nominated: “Coup de Grace,” by Doug Allyn (EQMM, September/October 2016); “The Chemistry of Heroes,” by Catherine Dilts (AHMM, May 2016); “The Educator,” by Travis Richardson (44 Caliber Funk: Tales of Crime, Soul, and Payback, edited by Gary Phillips and Robert J. Randisi; Moonstone); and “The Last Blue Glass,” by B.K. Stevens (AHMM, April 2016)

In addition, prolific author Robert J. Randisi has been chosen as the latest recipient of the SMFS’ Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for lifetime achievement.

Winners will be presented with their prizes during Bouchercon 2017, to be held from October 12 to 15 in Toronto, Ontario.