Derringer Awards

[Sandra Ruttan]

Short mystery/crime stories can be nominated until tomorrow (March 16) midnight by editors for the Derringer Awards. For more information visit this link.

We sent off the Spinetingler nominations last night. I'm a realist in this stuff - I have no clue what chances the stories have, but this is very important for the writers. Should they get a nomination, it's a great thing for them.

I haven't gone to any editor and asked if my story will be submitted, but I encourage all of you who are editors or know editors to spread the word and encourage submissions of great crime stories. In all honesty we pay such little attention to awards if someone hadn't asked us about our nominations, we wouldn't have known about it.

[Valerie]

2006 Derringer Award Winners:

2006 DERRINGER AWARDS
(For Stories Published in 2005)

The Short Mystery Fiction Society recently presented its annual Derringer Awards for excellence in Short Mystery Fiction. The 2006 awards were presented to stories first published in English in 2005. The award recipients are:

BEST FLASH STORY

* "Secondhand Shoe" by Patricia Harrington (2005, A Flasher’s Dozen)
* "The Last Journey" by Mary Schenten (July 2005, Flashshot)
* "Word Power" by Michelle Mach (March 2005, Flashshot)
* "Secondhand Shoe" by Patricia Harrington (Winter 2005, A Flasher's Dozen)
* "Hell Hath No Fury" by BJ Bourg (March 2005, Mysterical-E)
* "No Athiests in Foxholes" by Stephen D. Rogers (May 2005, Kwickee)

BEST SHORT-SHORT STORY

* "Zipped" by Stephen D. Rogers (2005, Windchill: Crime Stories by New England Writers, Level Best Books)
* "Twilight of the Fireflies" by John Weagly (December 2005, Big Muddy: Journal of the Mississippi River Valley)
* "Roses at His Feet" by Todd Robinson (December 2005, Thuglit)
* "The Day the Bad Men Came" by Andy Henion (January 2005, Thieves Jargon)
* "Hangman's Tree" by Deanne Boast (December 2005, Crime and Suspense)

BEST MID-LENGTH SHORT STORY

* "One Step Closer" by Iain Rowan for (2005, Hardluck Stories)
* "Best Wishes" by JR Chabot (September 2005, Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine)
* "The Spare" by Woody Hanstein (October 2005, Level Best Books)
* "Johnny Cash is Dead" by Jordan Harper (October 2005, Thuglit)
* "A Death in Ueno" by Mike Wiecek (March 2005, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)

BEST LONGER SHORT STORY

* "The Safest Place on Earth" by Mark Best (Spring 2005, Thrilling Detective Web Site)
* "Monday, Sweet Monday" by John F. Dobbyn (June 2005, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)
* "Good Shepherd" by Frank Zafiro (May 2005, Ascent Aspirations Magazine)
* "Fish" by Stephen Johnston (Fall 2005, Web Mystery Magazine)
* "The Cherries of Lucullus" by Steven Saylor (May 2005 Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

[Steven Torres]

I just sent off two stories of my own - one 1,600 word story that came out in
CrimeSpree and a 12,500 word story that came out in AHMM. Mr. Quertermous
tells me he nominated another of my stories as well, so I'm down for three. I
sincerely hope for a nod...Either that or I'll set up my own awards...

[Sandra Ruttan]

Best of luck Steven. I didn't know you could nominate your own stories - something I have not done. Still, there are a few great stories we nominated (since there's a limit to how many you can put forward) and I hope to see a nomination for one of those writers, at least. I mean, honestly, I'd love to see all of them get some recognition...

Fingers crossed for them all.

[Daniel Hatadi]

If you're an author, you have to be a member to submit: "Submissions will be accepted only from SMFS members and from Editors and Publishers who publish Mystery and Crime Fiction."

[Sandra Ruttan]

I'm not a member so that gets me off the hook. It was bad enough going over the 2006 stories and narrowing our list.

[Steven Torres]

Membership just means signing up. Members get to submit two stories. Unless, of course, the rules have changed...