2011 Derringer Awards Submission Instructions

The period to submit stories for the Derringer Awards will open Saturday, Jan.1, 2011, at 12:00 p.m. (noon), Eastern Standard Time. The following link will take you to the blog page which details the complete rules and guidelines for the Derringer process. http://shortmystery.blogspot.com/2008/08/smfs-derringer-awards-procedure.html

1.) Who can submit: Members of SMFS as of Dec. 31, 2010 or editors of publications (print or online; see link above to read qualifications for 'publication') that feature short mystery fiction.

2.) Submission limits: Each member of SMFS may submit up to two (2)stories, your own or someone else's. Please note that a story's author need not be a member of SMFS, but the submission must be made by either a member or the editor of the publication in which the story first appeared in 2010. Submission limits for editors are detailed below, from the blog page:If the publication contains up to 25 stories first appearing in 2010, up to 3 of these may be submitted by the editor for Derringer consideration in 2011." 26 to 50 stories first appearing in 2010, up to 4 of these may be submitted by the editor for Derringer consideration in 2011." 51 to 75 stories first appearing in 2010, up to 5 of these may be submitted by the editor for Derringer consideration in 2011." more than 75 stories first appearing in 2010, up to 6 of these may be submitted by the editor for Derringer consideration in 2011.By the way, editors who are also SMFS members still have their two-story quota as members, in addition to the number allowed for their magazines.

3.) Publication date: Only stories first published in English in 2010are eligible for the 2011 awards. If a story appeared, for example, in a"Winter 2009-2010" issue, or a "December 2009-January 2010" issue of a publication, it would be eligible for consideration this year. On the other hand, one appearing in such issues for 2010-2011 would be eligible for consideration in the 2012 award cycle.

4.) Submission format: Please submit each story, with its author and publication data, to me at lwchavis @ bellsouth.net in Rich Text Format(*.rtf). I will check the story's eligibility and strip identifying data from it before sending it on to the appropriate judges. The subject line of your email should read: Derringer - Story Title - Category

The Categories are:

Best Flash Story - up to 1000 words
Best Short Story - 1001 to 4000 words
Best Long story - 4001 to 8000 words
Best Novelette - 8001 - 17,500 words

PLEASE NOTE: Again, submissions begin at 12:00 EST Saturday, Jan. 1. Please don't send anything before that time, as it will be discarded.

Larry Chavis
Derringer Coordinator 2011