SMFS Official Announcement: 2025 Derringer Award Finalists

Since 1998, the Short Mystery Fiction Society has awarded the annual Derringers—named after the popular pocket pistol—to outstanding published stories. The awards recognize outstanding stories published during 2024. Results of membership voting are scheduled to be posted on May 1, 2025.

The full listing of our nominees and the markets that published the finalist stories has been compiled and supplied by Derringer Coordinator Paula Messina.

 

FLASH

 

Sweet Red Cherries by C.W. Blackwell

(Punk Noir Magazine, November 28, 2024)

 

Mob Mentality by James Patrick Focarile

(Shotgun Honey, June 20, 2024)

 

La Petite Mort by Susan Hatters Friedman

(Bristol Noir, February 16, 2024)

 

Kargin the Necromancer by Mike McHone

(Mystery Tribune, December 15, 2024)

 

Lockerbie, 1988 by Mary Thorson

(Cotton Xenomorph, October 13, 2024)

 

 

SHORT STORY 

 

"Skeeter's Bar and Grill" by Julie Hastrup

(Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, Superior Shores Press)

 

"The Wind Phone" by Josh Pachter

(Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, September/October 2024)

 

"The Heist" by Bill Pronzini

(Shamus and Anthony Commit Capers: Ten Tales of Criminals, Crooks, and Culprits, Level Best Books)

 

"The Last Chance Coalition" by Judy Penz Sheluk

(Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, Superior Shores Press)

 

"The Kratz Gambit" by Mark Thielman

(Private Dicks and Disco Balls: Private Eyes in the Dyn-O-Mite Seventies, Down & Out Books)

 

LONG STORY

 

"How Mary’s Garden Grew" by Elizabeth Elwood

(Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, January/February 2024)

 

"Heart of Darkness" by Tammy Euliano

(Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House, Down & Out Books)

 

"Putting Things Right" by Peter W. J. Hayes

(Thrill Ride - The Magazine, December 21, 2024)

 

"Motive Factor X" by Joseph Andre Thomas

(Howls from the Scene of the Crime: A Crime Horror Anthology, Howl Society Press)

 

"Cold Comfort" by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

(Private Dicks and Disco Balls: Private Eyes in the Dyn-O-Mite Seventies, Down & Out Books)

  

NOVELETTE

 

"A Band of Scheming Women" by Joslyn Chase

(Thrill Ride - The Magazine, March 21, 2024)

 

"Christmas Dinner" by Robert Lopresti

(Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, November/December 2024)

 

"Barracuda Backfire" by Tom Milani

(Chop Shop Episode 4, Down & Out Books, April 1, 2024)

 

"Her Dangerously Clever Hands" by Karen Odden

(Crimeucopia - Through the Past Darkly, Murderous Ink Press)

 

"The Cadillac Job" by Stacy Woodson

(Chop Shop Episode 1, Down & Out Books, January 1, 2024)

ANTHOLOGY

(Previously Announced)

Devil's Snare: Best New England Crime Stories 2024

Edited by Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, Leslie Wheeler, Crime Spell Books

Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead

Edited by Josh Pachter, Down & Out Books

Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense

Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk, Superior Shores Press

Murder, Neat: A SleuthSayers Anthology

Edited by Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman, Level Best Books

New York State of Crime: Murder New York Style 6

Edited by D.M. Barr and Joseph R.G. De Marco, Down & Out Books

The 13th Letter

Edited by Donna Carrick, Carrick Publishing

March News from the Short Mystery Fiction Society

 March of 2025 was another exciting and productive month for the writers belonging to the Short Mystery Fiction Society!  Readers looking for the best crime and mystery short stories being published today had a lot to choose from.  Let's take a look at some of the highlights!

It's been a fantastic month for anthologies!  First up, from White City Press, we have A KILLING AT THE COPA: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE MUSIC OF BARRY MANILOW, edited by J. Alan Hartman and featuring a range of terrific writers including SMFS Vice President Linda Kay Hardie and such members as John Floyd, Christine Verstraete, Shari Held and Karen Keeley.  Manilow may be filed under "easy listening," but this collection provides 13 hard-hitting tales of love, life, relationships, and other situations gone horribly wrong.  He writes the songs, SMFS writes the thrills!

Stephen Sondheim might seem like an even less likely inspiration for crime fiction than Manilow--until you remember that he cowrote a classic film whodunit (The Last of Sheila) and that many of his musicals revolve around murder.  In EVERY DAY A LITTLE DEATH: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF STEPHEN SONDHEIM, edited by Golden Derringer winner Josh Pachter for Level Best Books, one song from each Sondheim musical becomes the basis for a masterful tale, some by the best crime writers working today and some from Broadway insiders.  SMFS members in the cast list include Pachter, President Joseph S. Walker, Jeffrey Marks, John Floyd, and Marcia Talley.  Josh says there are literally hundreds of Easter eggs here for dedicated Sondheim fans--how many can you find?

Two terrific music-based anthologies not enough for you?  You're in luck!  The hits just keep on coming, as Down & Out Books is proud to present IN TOO DEEP: CRIME STORIES INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF GENESIS, edited by SMFS's own Adam Meyer.  The seventeen stories presented here span the whole history of this iconic group, from prog rock to pop, Peter Gabriel to Phil Collins.  And once again, SMFS members are well represented, with standout stories from our own stars--including Barb Goffman, Michael Bracken, Joseph S. Walker, Tom Milani, Alan Orloff, Josh Pachter and Stacy Woodson.

Of course, not every collection of stories has to be based on music!  March also saw the release of ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR MARPLE, a special issue of The MockingOwl with seven fabulously fun cozy shorts for your reading pleasure, including SMFS members donalee Moulton and Arthur Vidro.  Classic mystery never goes out of style!

donalee Moulton is also among the SMFS members represented in CRIMEUCOPIA: CHICKA-CHICKA BOOMBA!, a special edition of the regular anthology series celebrating four years of publication with an all-women lineup of nineteen fabulous Countesses of Crime.  Let these talented scribes, including N. M. Cedeno, Vera Brook, Denise Johnson, Ruth Morgan, and many more, take you on a tour of every corner of today's mystery landscape!

The anthology THUGGISH ITCH: SCHOOL collects stories set in the world of school, and Robert Petyo's "Endless Recess," about a teacher who finds a strange little boy on the playground, would be a standout in any volume.  Don't miss it!

Looking for a good listen?  Check out the Mysteries to Die For podcast, in which listeners are challenged to beat the detective to the solution of a devilishly complicated case.  In the episode "Clipped," from Robert J. Binney, Henri Beauchamp, hairdresser extraordinaire, is forced to play sleuth when a wedding is burglarized.  Can you solve the case before Henri?

Meanwhile, the online magazine BULL hosts M. E. Proctor's "Back Seat Surprise," in which a hitman makes a discovery that changes everything.  Not for the faint of heart!

Over in SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY MAGAZINE #34, globetrotting Josh Pachter gives us "X Marks the Spot," in which a Kansas police chief has to grapple with the kidnapping of his own wife.  With this story's release, Josh has officially published stories with titles starting with every letter of the alphabet.  Time to dive into titles that start with numbers, Josh!

GUILTY plays host to "Yellow Bird," by Zakariah Johnson, a flash piece about a man who decides that robbing his employer sounds like more fun than working for him.  Not many words, but plenty of power!

"Taking the Plunge," by the prolific Steve Liskow, is the cover story for BLACK CAT WEEKLY #186.  In this story, PI Tatiana Kova wonders what reason a handsome, wealthy, and healthy man would kill himself just before his wedding to a supermodel.  You won't soon forget the answer!  And hey, it's worth noting that BCW is closing in on 200 issues of the providing the best crime, sf and pulp reading you could ask for at a bargain price.  Why not reward them, and support the writers and genres you love, with a subscription?

TOUGH is another venue regularly turning out great work for anyone who loves crime fiction.  In Vinnie Hansen's "Justice Served," they offer the chance to see how a long-ago LSD trip plays out today.

Finally, SMFS members don't just write fiction--they review it, too.  You'll find even more great reading through the regular reviews published on the invaluable blog Kevin's Corner by Kevin Tipple and his guests, like this take on Leo Bruce's "Our Jubilee is Death" by SMFS Derringer Coordinator Paula Messina.

That's just a sampling of what the SMFS had to offer in March!  If you're looking for more, remember that membership is free and offers a host of benefits, including the chance to rub (virtual) elbows with some legends of mystery writing.  April promises to be another fantastic month, so don't miss out!