EQMM 2018 Readers Award

Picture courtesy of Stacy Woodson

The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: May/June 2019 issue not only features stories from several SMFS members as previously announced, it also contains the announcement of the 2018 EQMM Readers Award. This year, eight of the thirteen recognized authors are SMFS members. Our SMFS members and here they placed are as follows:

1^St Place--Stacy Woodson for “Duty, Honor, Hammett” in the November/December 2018 issue.  

2^nd Place--Josh Pachter for “50” in the November/December 2018 issue.

3^rd Place--David Dean for “Sofee” in the March/April 2018 issue.

7^th Place--Art Taylor for “English 398: Fiction Workshop” in the July/August 2018 issue.

8^th Place--Tie

Barb Goffman for “Bug Appétit” in the November/December 2018 issue.

William Dylan Powell for “The Lighthouse and the Lamp” in the January/February 2018 issue.

Dave Zeltserman for “Archie For Hire” in the November/December 2018 issue.

9^th Place--Mr. Dean with his story, “The Mercy of Thaddeus Burke” in the July/August 2018 issue.

10^th Place--Tie

Craig Faustus Buck with “Race To Judgement” in the November/December 2018 issue.

For the complete listing of all the authors/stories that make up the top ten list as well as the backgrounds of the top three stories and their authors, see the news on Page 158 of the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: May/June 2019 issue.

SMFS Members Published in Mystery Weekly Magazine: May 2019

SMFS list members have works appearing in Mystery Weekly Magazine: May 2019. The read is available from the publisher in both print and digital formats as well as Amazon and other vendors. The SMFS members in this issue are:

Paul D. Marks with “The Box.”

Thomas Millstead with “Hi! I’m Heather.”

Synopsis:

At the cutting edge of crime fiction, Mystery Weekly Magazine presents original short stories by the world’s best-known and emerging mystery writers. 

The stories we feature in our monthly issues span every imaginable subgenre, including cozy, police procedural, noir, whodunit, supernatural, hardboiled, humor, and historical mysteries. Evocative writing and a compelling story are the only certainty.

Get ready to be surprised, challenged, and entertained--whether you enjoy the style of the Golden Age of mystery (e.g., Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle), the glorious pulp digests of the early twentieth century (e.g., Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler), or contemporary masters of mystery.

In our cover feature, “The Box” by Paul D. Marks, find out what happens when a cop gets tunnel vision and only sees one suspect: You.

“Storey” by Eric Cline: Great artists sometimes have messy personal lives. But what if it becomes impossible to separate the art from its creator?

In “Evidence” by Dennis Palumbo a Crime Scene tech steals incriminating evidence from a crime scene, then uses it to blackmail the criminal.

In “Sergeant Spinge And The Locked-Room Mystery” by Rob Nisbet, Sergeant Spinge is the sole policeman in a town of gnomes. He longs to solve a traditional 'locked-room mystery' but first he must cope with a series of impossible thefts.

“Hi! I'm Heather” by Thomas Millstead, follows Sergeant Hagen on his second day with the Computer Crimes Unit, when a disturbing email propels him into a journey to the painful past—and a murder on Skeleton Hill.

“Gold, Jewels, Art, My Father” by David Rachels: David's father has hinted at family treasure buried in the backyard … After David’s father dies, he returns home to dig.

In “The Search For Doctor Vane” by Jeffery Scott Sims, Doctor Vane ventured to Ironfang Island seeking pirate treasure and archaeological lore. Now Professor Vorchek has gone in search of him. What he finds justifies the infamous island's reputation.

What Editors Want You To Know: John Floyd

What Editors Want You To Know: John Floyd

SMFS Member Publication News: Joseph Benedeto

SMFS list member Joseph Benedetto shared today that his short story, “Interception in the Desert” appears in the anthology, The Odds Are Against Us. The anthology of military fiction was published by Liberty Island Media, edited by Oren Litwin, and is available in print and digital formats from Amazon and other vendors. He officially joins John M. Floyd as the second SMFS member in the anthology announced last March.

Synopsis:

When victory seems impossible…
…Heroism is the only option. 


To survive on the battlefield, you must go far beyond what you ever imagined possible.

From a Marine in Vietnam trying to get back home, to Roman soldiers facing an Iceni rebellion; from cynical mercenaries in the harsh Chadian desert, to a Yazidi girl fighting for her freedom; from Soviet conscripts trying to survive war in Afghanistan, to American bomber pilots lost at sea.
Experience the triumph of the human spirit even in the face of death.
Includes eight short stories of military fiction from from skilled authors, some of whom are veterans themselves.

With works from...

Joseph Benedetto
Ron Farina
John Floyd
Jake Lithua
Sophie Michaels
Frank Scalise
Janis Snepsts
Jim Wilsky

Little Big Crimes Review: Our Man in Basingstoke by Sabrina Case

Little Big Crimes: Our Man in Basingstoke, by Sabrina Case: "Our Man in Basingstoke," by Sabrina Case, in Fiction River: Spies,  2019. Pity Sir Almsley.  He gave his estate to the War Of...

International Short Story Month: Diana Deverell

StoryADay.org proclaimed May International Short Story Month back in 2013. As the short story, in the mystery genre is the reason why the Short Mystery Fiction Society exists, we join in the celebration each year.

The SMFS spin on festivities is to highlight one or more members' online stories per day. Today, Diana Deverell shares “Spokane Sting: Mystery Short Story” published last August at Kings River Life Magazine. The story can be read online for free here.

If you'd like to be included and are an SMFS list member, email the link to your story to KevinRTipple  at Verizon dot net.

2019 Derringer Award Winners Announced

Photo by Melodie Campbell

Relayed to the SMFS Yahoo! Group from Awards Coordinator Anthony Rudzki:

The 2019 Derringer Awards have been voted upon and the winners are:

Best Flash Story (ranges up to 1,000 words): James Blakey, "The Bicycle Thief", The Norwegian American, September 21, 2018

Best Short Story (ranges 1,001–4,000 words): Alan Orloff, "Dying in Dokesville", Malice Domestic 13: Mystery Most Geographical, Wildside Press, April 2018

Best Long Story (ranges 4,001–8,000 words): Leslie Budewitz, "With My Eyes", Suspense Magazine, January/February 2018

Best Novelette (ranges 8,001–20,000 words): Gigi Pandian, "The Cambodian Curse", Henery Press, October 2018


The results from the final vote:

FLASH
Listen Up 12.77%
Don't Text and Drive 10.64%
The Bicycle Thief 31.91%
A Misunderstanding 27.66%
Sonny The Wonder Beast 17.02%

SHORT
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Murder 18.00%
The Cabin In The Woods 16.00%
The Crucial Game 22.00%
The Belle Hope 20.00
Dying In Dokesville 24.00%

LONG
With My Eyes 31.11%
The Case Of The Missing Pot Roast 17.78%
Mercy Find Me 24.44%
The Vanishing Volume 15.56%
Till Murder Do Us Part 11.11%

NOVELETTE
Three-Star Sushi 4.88%
The Cambodian Curse 46.34%
Oil Down 14.63%
The Adventure Of The Manhunting Marshal 21.95%
I've Got To Get Me A Gun 12.20%


Congratulations to all the winners, as well as all of the finalists for being selected. Keep up the good work authors, and hopefully your work will be on this list next year! —Tony Rudzki

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:

Doug Allyn


The Derringer medal presentation may be during Bouchercon in Dallas, Texas this Fall. Scheduling remains very fluid. Winners unable to attend can receive their medals by mail.