SMFS OFFICERS (2012-2014)
THE DERRINGER AWARDS
SHORT MYSTERY FICTION HALL OF FAME
JOINING / MEMBER BENEFITS
To become a member of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, simply subscribe to the free Shortmystery Yahoo! Group.
Membership allows you to receive and post discussion list messages, to help determine the Derringer Awards honoring excellence in short mystery fiction, and to vote on all matters of SMFS business.
If you choose to join, you may display the SMFS logo on your Web site.
SMFS logo lapel pins are available from Pattie Tierney. T-shirts and other items are available from CafePress. According to our agreement with the logo designer, the SMFS does not profit from items featuring the logo. All items are sold at cost.
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SMFS OFFICERS (2012-2014)
President - Tom Sweeney
Email TOM-SWEENEY at COMCAST dot NET
Vice President - Gerald So
Email G_SO at YAHOO dot COM
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THE DERRINGER AWARDS
Awards Coordinator - Anthony Rudzki (2013)
Email TONY dot RUDZKI at GMAIL dot COM
Anthony is a short story writer from southwest Pennsylvania. Although he enjoyes reading and writing short mystery, his published credits are in the fantasy genre. You can find a couple of his flash shorts in 365 Days of Flash Fiction by Pill Hill Press and "Grandpa's Trunk" in Winter's Digest 2. He also 2012 Derringer judge.
The Derringer Awards were established by the Short Mystery Fiction Society (SMFS) in 1997 to honor excellence in short mystery fiction. The name "Derringer", after the palm-sized handgun (represented in our group logo), was chosen as a metaphor for a short mystery or crime story.
The Derringers are presented every March, recognizing the best stories published in the previous year. To be eligible to submit and vote for the 2014 Derringers, join Shortmystery by December 31, 2013.
Derringer winners receive award certificates shortly after the Awards Coordinator's official announcement:
In July 2008, with permission from Patricia Hoch, the SMFS voted to rename its Golden Derringer Award for Lifetime Achievement in honor of her late husband, Edward D. Hoch. With more than nine hundred published stories at the time of his death, Hoch was considered the most prolific writer of short mystery fiction ever. Reserved for living writers, the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer has since been presented to Clark Howard (2009) and Lawrence Block (2010).
In addition, Vice President Jim Doherty presented award plaques to the 2009 and 2010 honorees at Bouchercon, the annual World Mystery Convention:
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| L to R: 2009 Golden Derringer recipient Clark Howard, 2009 Derringer winner for Best Flash Story Ruth McCarty, editors Linda Landrigan and Janet Hutchings, and Jim Doherty at Bouchercon 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo courtesy of Ruth McCarty) |
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| 2010 Derringer winner for Best Short Story Anita Page (L) and Jim Doherty at Bouchercon 2010 in San Francisco, California (Photo by Terrie Farley Moran) |
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| Editor Janet Hutchings of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (L) accepts on behalf of 2010 Derringer winner for Best Long Story Doug Allyn (Photo by Robert S. Levinson) |
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| Past SMFS VP Jim Doherty presented the Derringer Awards from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during Bouchercon 2012 in Cleveland, OH (Photo by Toni L.P. Kelner) |
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| Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine editor Janet Hutchings accepted 2012 Derringer Awards on behalf of winners Karen Pullen and Art Taylor (Photo by Toni L.P. Kelner) |
As of 2010, Derringer finalists receive achievement certificates:
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SHORT MYSTERY FICTION HALL OF FAME
On June 26, 2010, the SMFS established a Short Mystery Fiction Hall of Fame to honor significant writers posthumously.
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