Member Publication News: Travis Richardson

 

Shotgun Honey has published Travis Richardson's story "Job Dine Wrong."  Read it for free here.

Award News: Derringer Award Video

The Derringer Awards were supposed to be formally presented at Bouchercon.  Since that event was cancelled the organizers asked Society president Robert Lopresti to make a video announcing the awards.  It is now available here. 

SMFS Official Announcement: 2021 Derringer Award Winners

 

Since 1998, the Short Mystery Fiction Society has awarded the annual Derringers—named for  the popular pocket pistol—to outstanding published stories. The current awards recognize outstanding stories published during 2020. 

These are the official 2021 Derringer Award Winners:

FLASH (ranges up to 1,000 words)

 

TIE:

Blackwell, C.W. “Memories of Fire.” Pulp Modern Flash. August 3, 2020.

 

Richardson, Travis. “War Words.” Punk Noir Magazine. December 3, 2020.

SHORT (ranges from 1,001 to 4,000 words) 

 

TIE:  

 

Jones, Eleanor Cawood. “The Great Bedbug Incident and the Invitation of Doom." Chesapeake Crimes: Invitation to Murder.    

 

Woodson, Stacy. “River.” The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell.

LONG (ranges from 4,001 to 8,000 words)

Chen, Sarah M. “Hotelin’.” Shotgun Honey: Volume #4: Recoil.

NOVELETTE (ranges from 8,001 to 20,000 words)

Taylor, Art. “The Boy Detective and the Summer of ’74.” Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. January/February 2020.

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. This year's recipient:

Brendan DuBois.

 

The full list of the finalists for this year can be found here. 

 
Due to the pandemic we can't predict yet whether there will be a Derringer ceremony at Bouchercon in New Orleans in August.  If not the winners will receive their medals through the mail. Congratulations to all!

SMFS Member Publishing News: Travis Richardson

 

 

SMFS list member Travis Richardson’s short story, “War Words” appears online today at Punk Noir Magazine. The story is online and can be read for free here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Travis Richardson

SMFS list member Travis Richardson’s short story, “Lee Marvin” appears in the recently released anthology, Trouble & Strife: Crime Stories Inspired by Cockney Rhyming Slang. Edited by Simon Wood, the read is published by Down & Out Books. The read is available in both eBook and print format from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

Synopsis:

Welcome to the world of Cockney rhyming slang, where what is said means something completely different than how it sounds. Originally, it was a coded language created by criminals for deceiving undercover police officers during Victorian times. Common phrases like septic tank, holy water, brown bread, tomfoolery and mince pies don’t mean what you think they mean. Others, like Barnaby Rudge, gypsy’s kiss, smash and grab, butcher’s hook, kick and prance and bubble and squeak paint a picture.

There are stories to be written about these phrases and in Trouble & Strife, the coded and colorful phrases of Cockney rhyming slang became the inspiration for eleven killer crimes stories from writers on both sides of the pond. A few choice words include:

Babbling Brook is a talkative inmate at the state penitentiary.
A hairdresser has to pay his dues for a crime that took place at Barnet Fair.
And you never want to meet a Lady from Bristol.

You don’t have to understand rhyming slang to enjoy this book. You just have to enjoy a damn good story. To see what the authors have come up with you'll have to turn the page and have a butcher’s.

Edited by Simon Wood with stories by Steve Brewer, Susanna Calkins, Colin Campbell, Angel Luis Colón, Robert Dugoni, Paul Finch, Catriona McPherson, Travis Richardson, Johnny Shaw, Jay Stringer, and Sam Wiebe.

SleuthSayers Blog: Trouble and Strife - Cockney Rhyming Slang by Travis Richardson

SleuthSayers: Trouble and Strife - Cockney Rhyming Slang: Several months ago author Simon Woods asked me if I could write a story for an upcoming collection of stories, Trouble and Strife. The conc...

SleuthSayers: Extreme Editing by Travis Richardson

SleuthSayers: Extreme Editing: On October 15, I finally finished a short story that had been plaguing me for months. I started the story on July 10 after some research. I...

Little Big Crimes Review: I'll Be You by Travis Richardson

Little Big Crimes: I'll Be You, by Travis Richardson: "I'll Be You," by Travis Richardson, in The Desperate and the Damned, edited by Sandra Ruttan, Toe Six Press, 2019. Third...

SleuthSayers: The Pitfalls of Being First by Travis Richardson

SleuthSayers: The Pitfalls of Being First: by Travis Richardson  Today I am going to leap into the shark-infested waters of controversy. I’m crossing my fingers (which m...

SleuthSayers: Loss and Gratitude by Travis Richardson

SleuthSayers: Loss and Gratitude: by Travis Richardson On May 23 crime fiction lost an angel when author and short story advocate Sandra Seamans passed away. For short st...

Gerald So Interviews 2019 Derringer Finalist Travis Richardson

Gerald So Interviews 2019 Derringer Finalist Travis Richardson

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Travis Richardson

Back in May SMFS celebrated, as we do each year, International Short Story Month. The celebration led to the creation of the weekly short story segment SMFS Short Story Saturdays. Each Saturday we feature a SMFS list member whose work can be read online for free. These short stories are at least a year old and were not previously linked to during the May 2018 Short Story Month event.

For SMFS Short Story Saturdays today, list member Travis Richardson shares the short story, “Here's To Bad Decisions: Red's Longneck Hooch” archived at Shotgun Honey. The tale first appeared in May 2015.

If you would like to be included and are a member of the SMFS list at yahoo groups, email the link to your story to KevinRTipple at Verizon dot net. If you are not a member, this would be a good time to check us out at Yahoo Groups.

SMFS Member Publication News: Travis Richardson

SMFS list member Travis Richardson reports publication news of the short story collection, Bloodshot and Bruised: Crime Stories from the South and West. The book is available in print and digital formats at Amazon.

Amazon Synopsis:

A boy makes a series of bad decisions after his father bans him from reading books. A Jewish family is forever changed when a boy with a Neo-Nazi background is thrust into their lives. A man’s epic downfall is narrated through a beer ad. An arthritic grandmother hopes to serve justice to an untouchable, evil sheriff. A heavy-metal rocker’s life takes a radical turn during the 1992 LA riots.

These are a few stories in BLOODSHOT AND BRUISED, a blistering collection of crime, retribution, and the fragile humanity that survives. Settings range from excessive mansions and freeway gridlock of California to clapboard houses and frozen hunting grounds of the South. Pathos and humor mix to create a complex portrait of Americans under pressure. Acclaimed author Travis Richardson presents this collection of sixteen stories including Anthony, Macavity, and Derringer Award finalists. These original tales divided between the South and West will leave an indelible impression on any reader.

“Travis Richardson brings us a collection of two-fisted tales—one fist stained with meth and tobacco juice, the other one with dabs of avocado and blood—in this outstanding collection of funny, dark and thrilling crime stories from both the West Coast and the South.”— Jordan Harper, author of Edgar Award-winning SHE RIDES SHOTGUN

“Steeped in blood and grit, BLOODSHOT AND BRUISED is taut, twisted, and thrilling. Travis Richardson has an exceptional talent for bringing shady characters to life in all of their vengeful, double-crossing glory. His stories represent the dark side of the American Dream, and they are unforgettable.”— Hilary Davidson, Anthony Award–winning author of ONE SMALL SACRIFICE

"Travis Richardson proves, yet again, that his name belongs at the top of the list of master short storytellers. BLOODSHOT AND BRUISED collects prose both sharp and serrated, then gives rise to a voice that is bleak, uncompromising, and funny. You won't be able to put it down."— Eryk Pruitt, author of WHAT WE RECKON and THE LONG DANCE podcast.

Do Some Damage: Travis Richardson on Writing Short Fiction

Do Some Damage: Travis Richardson on Writing Short Fiction: Dear DSD Community, I am honored that Scott Adlerberg graciously asked if I could write an article for him for today’s Do Some Damage. ...

Little Big Crimes Review: Plan Z by Travis Richardson

Little Big Crimes Review: Plan Z by Travis Richardson: "Plan Z," by Travis Richardson, in  Deadlines: A Tribute to William E. Wallace,  edited by Chris Rhatigan and Ron Earl Phillips,...

SMFS Members Published in Deadlines: A Tribute to William E. Wallace

Several SMFS list members have short stories in Deadlines: A Tribute to William E. Wallace. Published by Down & Out Books and Shotgun Honey, the book is available in both print and eBook from Amazon and other vendors. The SMFS members that have reported their publication news are:

Patricia Abbott with “Snow White Face.”

Sarah M. Chen with “Strangers on the Run.”

Gary Phillips with “No Sure Thing.”

Travis Richardson with “Plan Z.”

Amazon Synopsis:

Deadlines is a tribute anthology dedicated to the memory of writer and crime fiction enthusiast, William E. Wallace. A career journalist, Wallace got a first-hand look at the darker side of humanity working at various papers in California before settling at the San Francisco Chronicle. Upon retiring, Wallace engaged fully into the crime fiction community connecting with writers and readers not only to promote his own writing, but to promote other writers he enjoyed. 

It is through William E. Wallace’s career and his stories that the contributors to this anthology take inspiration. These stories are presented with appreciation to his unselfish contribution to our community and our publications. 

All proceeds of this publication will be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in the name of William E. Wallace. 

Learn more about the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund at cbldf.org. 

And read William E. Wallace’s blog at PulpHackConfessions.com. 

Thank you to those who contributed their time and stories: Preston Lang, Jen Conley, Joe Clifford, Will Viharo, Paul D. Brazill, Patricia Abbott, Rob Pierce, Sean Craven, Eric Beetner, Sarah M. Chen, Nick Kolakowski, S.W. Lauden, Scott Adlerberg, Gary Phillips, Renee Asher Pickup, Eryk Pruitt, Todd Morr, Travis Richardson, Anonymous-9, Sean Lynch, Alec Cizak, Greg B

SMFS Members in Low Down Dirty Vote: A Crime Fiction Anthology

Edited by SMFS list member Mysti Berry, Low Down Dirty Vote: A Crime Fiction Anthology has been released. SMFS list member Travis Richardson is one of the eleven authors in the book with the tale “Another Statistic.” Published by Berry Content Corporation, proceeds from book will go to the ACLU to fight voter suppression. The book is available in print and eBook formats at Amazon and other vendors.

SMFS Member Publication News: Travis Richardson

SMFS Member Travis Richardson has a new story at Shotgun Honey. The satirical short story “Safer Campuses” can be read here.

SMFS Member Publication News: Travis Richardson

SMFS Member Travis Richardson has a new story just out at Out Of The Gutter Online in their Flash Fiction Offensive section. “A Misunderstanding” can be read here.

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Travis Richardson

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Travis Richardson