A Plethora of Pulse-Pounding Pages as the Short Mystery Fiction Society Enters a New Age!

As we turn the corner into the final quarter of 2026, the multi-talented writers of the Short Mystery Fiction Society are continuing to give readers their best. Check out these fantastic recent releases!

• SMFS recently celebrated its thirtieth anniversary, so what better way to start our next thirty than with the launch of SMFS Mystery Magazine? The first issue is available now, from editor John Connor and Murderous Ink Press. Get in on the ground floor of this exciting new publication, with stories, interviews and essays from SMFS members like Ginny Swart, Mat Coward, Eve Fisher, S. B. Watson, Gerald Elias, Jim Guigli, Ed Teja, N. M. Cedeňo, Kevin R. Tipple, Me. Proctor, June Lorraine Roberts, Vinnie Hansen, and Nikki Knight. A powerhouse gang of scribes, and look for more issues coming in 2027!
  
  
  
  
• It's that time of year again, with the release of The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2026--and as always, SMFS is well represented, with stories from Richard Helms ("The Twenty-Fourth Canterbury"), Christina Hoag ("No Evidence"), Billie Livingston ("The Headache"), and Tom Milani ("Mill Mountain"). As always, not to be missed!
  
  
  
• From Level Best Books, editors Peter W. J. Hayes and Deborah Well bring us Crime Before Our Time: Crime Fiction and Mystery Inspired by History, with stories ranging across thousands of years and multiple cultures. Among the SMFS stalwarts on hand are Shari Held ("Women's Rites"), Robert Lopresti ("The Crossing"), Roberta Gibson ("On the Road to Honzhou") donalee Moulton ("Le Pain"), and K. C. Selby ("An Apprentice in Paris"). Forget the woes of the present in these yarns of the past!
  
  
  
• If you like crime stories based on history, you'll love crime stories based on urban legends (they're sort of history, right?)! That's what you'll find in Hooked on Urban Legends--and Murder! from editors Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley. We all know urban legends--those things that happened to a cousin's best friend's roommate, we swear! Here they're turned into riveting stories of crime and suspense by authors including SMFS's Joseph S. Walker ("The Things We Remember"), Jane Limprecht ("Every Dog Has Her Day"), Alan Orloff ("Face to Face"), Shari Held ("The House of Blue Lights Revisited"), Shannon Taft ("The Cave Man"), Kathryn Holland ("A Knocking at Fairweather Hall") and Barb Goffman ("Into the Woods"). Leave the lights on for this one!
  
  
  
• For years, Black Cat Weekly has given lovers of crime, sci fi, and pulp hundreds of pages of new and classic stories every week. The magazine is its final stretch (though look for news of the new Black Cat Mysteries coming soon!), but there's still time to check out what you've been missing, including stellar recent contributions from the likes of Marcelle Dube, Shari Held, and John Floyd. They'll be talking about BCW's legendary run for years, so don't miss out!
  
  
  
• And of course, SMFS writers continue to dazzle in magazines and websites every single month. Looking for examples? The latest issue of Thrill Ride Magazine features fast-paced stories of capers, including "Lay Down your Money, Play Your Part" from SMFS's Robert J. Binney!
  
  
  
• Woman's World proves every week that short mysteries can pack a powerful punch, most recently with K. C. Selby's "The Blank Space"!
  
  
  
• Kings River Life brings us Stephen M. Pierce's "Rattle the Gates of Your Cell!"
  
  
  
• Neon and Smoke offers Raymond J' Brash's "Flower Girl"!
  
  
  
• Literary Garage has M. E.Proctor's "A Drive in Marion County"!
  
  
  
• New Myths hosts "Jumpin' Jack" from the modern master of the mystery short, John M. Floyd!
  
  
  
• House of Long Shadows is where you'll find S. B. Watson's "Don Cosme's Gold," an unforgettable story of greed and curses!
  
  
  
• And finally, for those who like their thrills in audio form, the podcast Mysteries to Die For has fair-play fun with Robert J. Binney's "Ping"!
  

That wraps up another exciting month! Remember, the Short Mystery Fiction Society is always free to join, and welcomes writers, readers, editors, and anyone else who loves mysteries and the short story form. We're saving a place for you!