SMFS Official Announcement: 2025 Hall of Fame

The Short Mystery Fiction Society is pleased to announce the 2025 Hall of Fame inductee.

HALL OF FAME

O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)

This year’s inductee to the Hall of Fame is O. Henry (1862-1910), real name William Sydney Porter.  Though best remembered today for the Christmas story “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry’s hundreds of published short stories also include a huge number of influential crime narratives, including “The Ransom of Red Chief,” “The Cop and the Anthem,” and “A Retrieved Reformation.”  A master of plotting and effective twist endings, O. Henry exemplified the depth, range and flexibility of the short story.

SMFS Official Announcement: 2024 Derringer Award Winners

Since 1998, the Short Mystery Fiction Society has awarded the annual Derringers—after the popular pocket pistol—to outstanding published stories. The Short Mystery Fiction Society is proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Derringer Awards for works published in 2023.

 

As reported by Derringer Coordinator Joseph S. Walker…. 

 

FLASH

 

THE REFEREE by C. W. Blackwell

(Shotgun Honey, October 12, 2023)

 

 

SHORT STORY

 

LAST DAY AT THE JACKRABBIT by John Floyd

(The Strand, May 2023)

 

LONG STORY

 

GOOD DEED FOR THE DAY by Bonnar Spring

(Wolfsbane: Best New England Crime Stories, Crime Spell Books)

 

 

NOVELETTE (TIE)

 

MRS. HYDE by David Dean

(Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, March/April 2023)

 

CATHERINE THE GREAT by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

(WMG 2023 Holiday Spectacular Calendar of Stories)

 

The complete list of finalists can be found here.

EDWARD D. HOCH MEMORIAL GOLDEN DERRINGER

 

Barb Goffman

 

HALL OF FAME

 

Rex Stout