2018 Derringer Awards

April 16–May 15, 2018, all present Shortmystery members were eligible to vote for the Derringer Award winners from five finalists in each category, previously nominated by SMFS-member volunteer judges.

In this official announcement, the winners appear first and in bold and the finalists follow, alphabetized by author's last name.


Best Flash (Up to 1,000 words)

• "Fishing for an Alibi" by Earl Staggs, Flash Bang Mysteries ed. Brandon Bourg (Fall 2017)

Finalists:

• "Cold Turkey" by Patricia Dusenbury, Flash Bang Mysteries ed. Brandon Bourg (Summer 2017)
• "Happy Birthday" by Alan Orloff, Shotgun Honey ed. Jen Conley, Angel Luis Colón, and Nick Kolakowski (June 15, 2017)
• "Final Testimony" by Travis Richardson, Flash Fiction Offensive ed, Hector Duarte Jr. and Rob Pierce (July 10, 2017)
• "Flash Point" by Elizabeth Zelvin, A Twist of Noir ed. Christopher Grant (March 20, 2017)

Best Short Story (1,001-4,000 words)

• "The Cop Who Liked Gilbert and Sullivan" by Robert Lopresti, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #23, ed. Marvin Kaye, Wildside Press (October 2017)

Finalists:

• "The Kids Keep Coming" by David H. Hendrickson, Fiction River: Tavern Tales ed. Kerrie L. Hughes, WMG Publishing Inc. (January 2017)
• "The New Score" by Alison McMahan, Fish Out of Water: A Guppy Anthology ed. Ramona DeFelice Long, Wildside Press (March 2017)
• "The Bank Job" by Stephen D. Rogers, Trigger Warning Short Fiction with Pictures ed. Eric Lindbom and John Skewes (March 16, 2017)
• "Every Picture Tells a Story" by Cathi Stoler, Where Crime Never Sleeps: Murder New York Style 4 ed. Elizabeth Zelvin, Level Best Books (September 2017)

Best Long Story (4,001-8,000 words)

• "Death in the Serengeti" by David H. Hendrickson, Fiction River: Pulse Pounders: Andrenaline ed. Kevin J. Anderson, WMG Publishing, Inc. (July 2017)

Finalists:

• "El Asesino" by Rusty Barnes, BULL ed. Ben Drevlow (May 22, 2017)
• "The #2 Pencil" by Matt Coyle, Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea ed. Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks, Down & Out Books (January 2017)
• "Matricide and Ice Cream" by William Burton McCormick, The CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery Tour ed. Martin Edwards, Orenda Books (November 2017)
• "The Drive-by" by Alison McMahan, Busted: Arresting Stories from the Beat ed. Verena Rose, Harriette Sackler, and Shawn Reilly Simmons, Level Best Books (April 2017)

Best Novelette (8,001-20,000 words)

• "Flowing Waters" by Brendan DuBois, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ed. Janet Hutchings, January/February 2017

Finalists:

• "Windward" by Paul D. Marks, Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea ed. Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks, Down & Out Books (January 2017)
• "King's Quarter" by Andrew McAleer, Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea ed. Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks, Down & Out Books (January 2017)
• "Kill My Wife, Please" by Robert J. Randisi, Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea ed. Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks, Down & Out Books (January 2017)
• "Trouble Like a Freight Train Coming" by Tina Whittle, Lowcountry Crime: Four Novellas ed. James M. Jackson and Jan Rubens, Wolf's Echo Press (February 2017)

The Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement is annually awarded to an outstanding living writer of short mysteries, selected by a five-member panel of the SMFS President, Vice President, and Awards Coordinator, and two regular members. This year's recipient:

• John M. Floyd -

"I’d like to express my sincere appreciation to all or you at the Short Mystery Fiction Society for this great honor. SMFS is an always supportive, always informative group, and I’m truly pleased and humbled to have been given this award. Thank you so very much!"

Congratulations to the Derringer winners and Golden Derringer recipient. The Derringer medal presentation will take place during Bouchercon 2018 opening ceremonies, September 6 in St. Petersburg, Florida.