Best Flash (Up to 500 words)
- "Secondhand Shoe" by Patricia Harrington (A Flasher’s Dozen, Winter 2005)
- "Hell Hath No Fury" by BJ Bourg (Mysterical-E, March 2005)
- "Word Power" by Michelle Mach (Flashshot, March 2005)
- "No Atheists in Foxholes" by Stephen D. Rogers (Kwickee, May 2005)
- "The Last Journey" by Mary Schenten (Flashshot, July 2005)
Best Short Short (501–2,000 words)
- "Zipped" by Stephen D. Rogers (Windchill: Crime Stories by New England Writers, Level Best Books, November 2005)
- "Hangman's Tree" by Deanne Boast (Crime and Suspense, December 2005)
- "The Day the Bad Men Came" by Andy Henion (Thieves Jargon, January 2005)
- "Roses at His Feet" by Todd Robinson (writing as Dana Frittersmash, Thuglit, December 2005)
- "Twilight of the Fireflies" by John Weagly (Big Muddy: Journal of the Mississippi River Valley, December 2005)
Best Mid-Length Short Story (2,001–6,000 words)
- "One Step Closer" by Iain Rowan (Hardluck Stories, Spring 2005)
- "Best Wishes" by JR Chabot (Futures, September 2005)
- "The Spare" by Woody Hanstein (Windchill: Crime Stories by New England Writers, Level Best Books, November 2005)
- "Johnny Cash is Dead" by Jordan Harper (Thuglit, October 2005)
- "A Death in Ueno" by Mike Wiecek (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, March 2005)
Best Longer Short Story (6,001–15,000 words)
- "The Safest Place on Earth" by Mark Best (The Thrilling Detective Web Site, Spring 2005)
- "Monday, Sweet Monday" by John F. Dobbyn (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, June 2005)
- "Fish" by Stephen Johnston (Web Mystery Magazine, Fall 2005)
- "The Cherries of Lucullus" by Steven Saylor (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May 2005)
- "Good Shepherd" by Frank Zafiro (Ascent Aspirations Magazine, May 2005)