Crooked, Corrupt, and Concise

The Short Mystery Fiction Society has announced the recipients of its 2023 Derringer Awards, named for the storied Derringer handgun. These prizes honor standout stories published in 2022. Winners will be selected by a vote of SMFS members.

Best Flash Fiction (up to 1,000 words): “Acknowledgments,” by Karen Harrington (Guilty Crime Story Magazine, April 2022)

Also nominated: “Catch and Release,” by April Kelly (Mystery Magazine, May 2022); “Easter Spam,” by John Weagly (Shotgun Honey); “The Final Chapter,” by James Blakey (Yellow Mama, October 2022); and “Where Palms Sway and the Surf Pounds,” by Curtis Ippolito (Shotgun Honey)

Best Short Story (1,001-4,000 words): “My Two-Legs,” by Melissa Yuan-Innes (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine [AHMM], September/October 2022 [published under the byline “Melissa Yi”])

Also nominated: “Double Trouble,” by M.E. Proctor (Bristol Noir, March 2022); “Hiding Out in Cedar Key,” by Sharon Marchisello (White Cat Publications, April 2022); “The Shape of Australia,” by Christine Poulson (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], July/August 2022); and “Digging In,” by Andrew Welsh-Huggins (Black Cat Weekly #40)

Best Long Story (4,001-8,000 words): “Negative Tilt,” by Bobby Mathews (from Rock and a Hard Place, Issue VII, edited by Nokes, Butkowski, Tucher, Cudmore, Sullivan, and Garth; ‎ Rock & a Hard Place Press)

Also nominated: “The Vigil,” by Toni Goodyear (from Carolina Crimes: Rock, Roll and Ruin, edited by Karen Pullen; Down & Out); “Tethered,” by Marcelle Dubé (from Crime Wave: Women of a Certain Age; Sisters in Crime-Canada West); “The White Calf and the Wind,” by Mike Adamson (Black Cat Mystery Magazine #11); “The Donovan Gang,” by John M. Floyd (AHMM, September/October 2022); and “Something Blue,” by G.M. Malliet (EQMM, November/December 2022)

Best Novelette (8,001-20,000 words): “Two Shrimp Tacos and a .22 Ruger,” by Adam Meyer (Guns & Tacos; Down & Out)

Also nominated: “The Wraith of Bunker Hill,” by Paul D. Marks (EQMM, September/October 2022); “Dead Men Tell No Tales,” by Liz Filleul (The People’s Friend, Issue 225); “The Refusal Camp,” by James R. Benn (AHMM, Sept/Oct 2022); and “Ripen” by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier (Black Cat Weekly #48)

Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement: Martin Edwards

Congratulations to all of this year’s contenders!