2006 Derringer Award Results

The Short Mystery Fiction Society's 2006 Derringer Awards results were determined by a vote of the membership at large after member-volunteer judges narrowed the submissions to finalists. Winners bolded:

Best Flash (Up to 500 words)

• "Secondhand Shoe" by Patricia Harrington (A Flasher’s Dozen, Winter 2005)
• "Hell Hath No Fury" by BJ Bourg (Mysterical-E, March 2005)
• "Word Power" by Michelle Mach (Flashshot, March 2005)
• "No Atheists in Foxholes" by Stephen D. Rogers (Kwickee, May 2005)
• "The Last Journey" by Mary Schenten (Flashshot, July 2005)

Best Short Short (501–2,000 words)

• "Zipped" by Stephen D. Rogers (Windchill: Crime Stories by New England Writers, Level Best Books, November 2005)
• "Hangman's Tree" by Deanne Boast (Crime and Suspense, December 2005)
• "The Day the Bad Men Came" by Andy Henion (Thieves Jargon, January 2005)
• "Roses at His Feet" by Todd Robinson (writing as Dana Frittersmash, Thuglit, December 2005)
• "Twilight of the Fireflies" by John Weagly (Big Muddy: Journal of the Mississippi River Valley, December 2005)

Best Mid-Length Short Story (2,001–6,000 words)

• "One Step Closer" by Iain Rowan (Hardluck Stories, Spring 2005)
• "Best Wishes" by JR Chabot (Futures, September 2005)
• "The Spare" by Woody Hanstein (Windchill: Crime Stories by New England Writers, Level Best Books, November 2005)
• "Johnny Cash is Dead" by Jordan Harper (Thuglit, October 2005)
• "A Death in Ueno" by Mike Wiecek (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, March 2005)

Best Longer Short Story (6,001–15,000 words)

• "The Safest Place on Earth" by Mark Best (The Thrilling Detective Web Site, Spring 2005)
• "Monday, Sweet Monday" by John F. Dobbyn (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, June 2005)
• "Fish" by Stephen Johnston (Web Mystery Magazine, Fall 2005)
• "The Cherries of Lucullus" by Steven Saylor (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May 2005)
• "Good Shepherd" by Frank Zafiro (Ascent Aspirations Magazine, May 2005)

2005 Derringer Award Results

The Short Mystery Fiction Society's 2005 Derringer Awards results were determined by a vote of the membership at large after member-volunteer judges narrowed the submissions to finalists. Winners bolded:

Best Flash (Up to 500 words)

• "The Big Guys" by JA Konrath (Small Bites, Coscom Entertainment, September 2004)
• "Sand Scam" by Nick Andreychuk (Crimestalker Casebook, Fall 2004)
• "Theda" by Beverly Brackett (Flash Fantastic, November 2004)
• "Housesitter" by J.K. Cummins (Futures, Summer 2004)
• "Widow’s Peak" by S.A. Daynard (Riptide: Crime Stories by New England Writers, Level Best Books, November 2004)

Best Short Short (501–2,000 words)

• "The Test" by Mike Wiecek (Woman's World, November 20, 2004)
• "Up in Smoke" by Jan Christensen (Futures, January 2004)
• "Experience Required" by Michael Giorgio (Lunatic Chameleon Print Edition, March 2004)
• "Sweet Smell of Success" by Beverle Graves Myers (Who Died in Here?: 25 Mystery Stories of Crimes and Bathrooms, Penury Press, January 2004)
• "The Big Store" by Stephen D. Rogers (Hardluck Stories, Spring 2004)

Best Mid-Length Short Story (2,001–6,000 words)

• "Viscery" by Sandy Balzo (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, December 2004)
• "Phillie's Last Dance" by Ray Banks (Shots Magazine UK, March 2004)
• "Brethren of The Sea" by Joan Druett (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, November 2004)
• "Hilly Palmer’s Last Case" by Duane Swierczynski (Plots with Guns, September/October 2004)
• "Freddie Swings In" by David Terrenoire (Fedora III, Wildside Press, November 2004)

Best Longer Short Story (6,001–15,000 words)

• "Secondhand Heart" by Doug Allyn (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January/February 2004)
• "A Sunday in Ordinary Time" by Terence Faherty (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, August 2004)
• "The Girl in Apartment 2A" by G. Miki Hayden (Dime, Quiet Storm, 2004)
• "The Franklin Fiasco" by Beverle Graves Myers (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, September 2004)
• "God's Dice" by David White (The Thrilling Detective Web Site, Spring 2004)

2004 Derringer Award Results

The Short Mystery Fiction Society's 2004 Derringer Awards results were determined by a vote of the membership at large after member-volunteer judges narrowed the submissions to finalists. Winners bolded:

Best Flash (Up to 500 words)

• "All My Yesterdays" by Michael Bracken (Suddenly V, Stone River Press, 2003)
• "Patience" by Nick Andreychuk (Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, Fall 2003)
• "Motive For Murder" by Guy Belleranti (Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, Spring 2003)
• "How to Become a Rodeo Queen" by Michelle Mach (Mslexia, October 2003)
• "At Thirty Paces" by Graydon Miller (The Havana Brotherhood, Sol y Luna, 2003)

Best Short Short (501–2,000 words)

• "Nailbiter" by Rob Lopresti (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, September 2003)
• "Coyotes Find" by Gay T. Kinman (Detective Mystery Stories, February 2003)
• "Waiter, There's a Clue in My Soup" by Camille LaGuire (Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, Spring 2003)
• "Children Seen and Heard" by K. G. McAbee (EWG Presents: Without a Clue, July 2003)
• "Packy Run" by Stephen D. Rogers (Hardluck Stories, Spring 2003)
• "Silky's Getaway" by Earl Staggs (Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, Summer 2003)

Best Mid-Length Short Story (2,001–6,000 words)

• "Notions of the Real World" by Dorothy Rellas (Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, Summer 2003)
• "A Mother Scorned" by Michele R. Bardsley (Writer's Digest, November 2003)
  
• "Big Winner" by Terry Black (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, November 2003)
  
• "Sara Morningsky" by Lee Driver (A Mystery in Mind, March 2003)
• "Wanda Wilcox is Trapped" by Eddie Muller (Plots With Guns, September/October 2003)

Best Long Short Story (6,001–15,000 words)

• "The Mask of Peter" by Clark Howard (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, April 2003)
• "Bombshell" by Loren D. Estleman (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, August 2003)
• "The Windsor Ballet" by Deborah Morgan (Flesh and Blood: Guilty as Sin, Mysterious Press, April 2003)
• "Henry and the Idiots" by Robert J. Randisi (High Stakes: 8 Sure-Bet Stories of Gambling and Crime, Signet, September 2003)
"Amazing Grace" by Harriet Rzetelny (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, February 2003)

The 2004 Derringer winners were announced at Pennwriters Conference in Grantville, PA on May 15, which was proclaimed Short Mystery Fiction Day in Pennsylvania by Governor Ed Rendell. Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine editor Linda Landrigan also gave the following remembrance:

I would like to take a moment to remember three accomplished short story writers who were great practitioners of the form, who have all passed away recently. They were all members of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and I am proud to say that we published each in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

Henry Slesar wrote hundreds of stories in the course of his long career. His first story for Hitchcock appeared in our second issue, in 1957, and in many ways he exemplified what came to be known as "the Hitchcock sensibility".

Dan Sontup was a regular contributor not only to our magazine, but also to Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, as well as many of the pulps that are no longer in existence. His first Hitchcock story appeared in 1962; his last story nearly forty years later. Dan once said that he enjoyed the particular challenges of the short story: building character and plot and evoking a response in the reader in a very short span of time.

Their younger collegue and your neighbor, David K. Harford, wrote in a variety of styles and lengths, but his two series--one set in Vietnam and one set in rural Pennsylvania--particularly resonated with readers. His 1998 novella "A Death on the Ho Chi Minh Trail" was chosen for the 1999 Best American Mystery Stories.

Three writers--inspirations all.

2003 Derringer Award Results

The Short Mystery Fiction Society's 2003 Derringer Awards results were determined by a vote of the membership at large after member-volunteer judges narrowed the submissions to finalists. Winners bolded:

Best Short Short (Up to 1,500 words)

• "A Cut Above" by Del Tinsley (Hardluck Stories, Fall 2002)
• "Sending Out an S.O.S." by Nick Andreychuk (Futures, April 2002)
• "Jumping the Fence" by Stephen D. Rogers (Hardluck Stories, Fall 2002)
• "What A Day" by Seymour Shubin (Futures, January 2002)
• "Shark Infested Pudding" by John Weagly (Judas Ezine, November 2002)

Best Short Story (1,501–6,000 words)

• "Closure" by Dave White (The Thrilling Detective Web Site, Fall 2002)
• "Top of the World" by Bill Crider (Flesh and Blood: Dark Desires, Mysterious Press, May 2002)
• "Just Looking" by Bill Pronzini (Flesh and Blood: Dark Desires, Mysterious Press, May 2002)
• "Mexican Gatsby" by Raymond Steiber (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March 2002)
• "More Than a Scam" by Dave Zeltserman (Mysterical-E, 2002)

Best Long Short Story (More than 6,000 words)

• "The Murder Ballads" by Doug Allyn (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 2002)
• "Medicine Water" by David Edgerly Gates (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, September 2002)
• "To Live and Die in Midland, Texas" by Clark Howard (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September-October 2002)
• "Painter of the Seven-Eyed Beast" by Catherine Mambretti (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, November 2002)
• "Henry's Power" by Bob Stevens (HandHeldCrime, March 2002)

2002 Derringer Award Results

The Short Mystery Fiction Society's 2002 Derringer Awards results were determined by a vote of the membership at large after member-volunteer judges narrowed the submissions to finalists. Winners bolded:

Best Short Short (Up to 1,500 words)

• "In the Heat of the Moment" by Nick Andreychuk (Futures, February 2001)
• "Greenhouse Pest" by Tim Myers (Futures, November 2001)
• "A Matter of Interest" by Stephen D. Rogers (HandHeldCrime, September 2001)
• "Lucrezia and The Thief" by Henry Slesar (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, April 2001)

Best Short Story (1,501–6,000 words)

• "All The Fine Actors" by Earl Staggs (EWG Presents Without A Clue, April 2001)
• "Cuts Like A Knife" by Michael Bracken (Fedora: Private Eyes and Tough Guys, Wildside Press, July 2001)
• "Smoky Didn't Send Me" by Charles Cutter (Alfred Hitchock's Mystery Magazine, December 2001)
• "Tunnel of Malice" by Margaret DiCanio (Futures, October 2001)
• "The Last Letter" by Mike Wiecek (Alfred Hitchock's Mystery Magazine, January 2002)

Best Longer Story (More than 6,000 words)

• "Early Morning Rain" by Jean McCord (Futures, October/November 2001)
• "Lesser-Included Offense" by Jeffery Deaver (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May 2001)
• "Harry's Lament" by Bentley Dadmun (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, June 2001)
• "The Mondo Whammy" by David Handler (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September/October 2001)
• "Avenging Miriam" by Peter Sellers (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, December 2001)

A Silver Derringer was posthumously awarded to Cathleen Jordan, saluting her years as editor of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (1981–2002).

2001 Derringer Award Results

The Short Mystery Fiction Society's 2001 Derringer Awards results were determined by a vote of the membership at large after member-volunteer judges narrowed the submissions to finalists. Winners bolded:

Best Flash (Up to 1,200 words) (Tie)

• "Polls Don't Lie" by Earl McGill (Blue Murder, 2000)
• "The New Lawyer" by Mike Wiecek (Crimestalker Casebook, Spring 2000)
• "Accident" by Guy Belleranti (About.com Mysteries)
• "Sunken Dreams" by Tim Myers (Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, December 2000)
• "Lucky Man" by Ali Seay (About.com Mysteries)

For Best Short (1,201–10,000 words)

• "Erie's Last Day" by Steve Hockensmith (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, May 2000)
• "The Disappearance of Miss Sarah Oswald" by Jennifer Ashley (Over My Dead Body, Spring 2000)
• "Amish Butter" by Jacqueline Fiedler (Unholy Orders: Mysteries with a Religious Twist, Intrigue Press, November 2000)
• "The Dark Tower" by Gwen Moffat (Malice Domestic 9, Avon Books, April 2000)
• "Tom Wasp and Anybody's Child" by Amy Myers (Scenes of Crime: CWA Anthology 2000, Constable, September 2000)

Best Novella (More than 10,000 words)

• "Lilacs and Lace" by Lynda Douglas (Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, June 2000)
• "The Death Row Pet Show" by Doug Allyn (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, April 2000)
• "Attitude Thing" by William J. Carroll, Jr., (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, May 2000)
• "Blood Paths" by Clark Howard (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, June 2000)
• "The Sedgemoor Strangler" by Peter Lovesey (Criminal Records, Orion, April 2000)

Best Puzzle Story

(A story of any length that is formatted to require an interactive response from the reader before the solution is revealed)

• "The Cabin Killer" by Henry Slesar (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, July 2000)
• "Happy Acres Homicide" by Richard Ciciarelli (Solve-It #227, MysteryNet.com)
• "Killing the Old Survivors" by Gary Sensening (Solve-It #215, MysteryNet.com)

Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement

• John Lutz:

  I was more than pleased to learn that I was going to receive the Society's Golden Derringer award for lifetime achievement. The news prompted me to learn the identities of the previous winners, writers whose work I've had the highest regard for over the years. I agree with the notion that short fiction writers often get short shrift (though Ed Hoch is going to receive the MWA's Grandmaster Edgar in May -- long overdue). The Short Mystery Fiction Society is a valuable feature of the literary landscape. I've always thought and said that the mystery short story is more demanding than the novel, requiring a more extensive bag of tricks and more adroitness and precision. It's gratifying to know there are others out there who agree. The award is much appreciated, and without question has the neatest name of any award to be won.
  
  I thank you.

Derringer for Reader Support

• Babs Lakey

2000 Derringer Award Results

The Short Mystery Fiction Society's 2000 Derringer Awards results were determined by a vote of the membership at large after member-volunteer judges narrowed the submissions to finalists. Winners bolded:

Our preference is to list month, year, and day of publication where applicable, but some of this information is missing from our older records. Please email me (G_SO at YAHOO dot COM) if you have any information to correct or add.

Best Flash (Up to 1,200 words) (Tie)

• "When in Rome" by Dorothy Francis (Murderous Intent, December 1999/January 2000)
• "Just a Man on the Sidewalk" by Carol Kilgore (TheCase.com, March 12–18, 1999)
• "Blind Justice" by Lynda Douglas (Novel Advice, August 15, 1999)
• "Absent-Minded" by L. C. Mohr (Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, June/July 1999)
• "The Armored Car" by Tim Myers (MysteryNet, August 1999)

Best Short Story (1,201–10,000 words)

• "The Way to a Man's Heart" by Elizabeth Dearl (TheCase.com, February 10, 1999)
• "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" by Chris Huntington (Blue Murder #9)
• "One More Kill" by Matt Hughes (Blue Murder, December 1999)
• "The Bread of Affliction" by Michael Kahn (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 1999)
• "Taking Care of Frank" by Anthony Mann (Crimewave #2, 1999)

Best Novella (10,001–25,000 words)

• "Saint Bobby" by Doug Allyn (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, April 1999)
• "Annie's Dream" by Bentley Dadmun (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, December 1999)
• "Death in the Dales" by C. M. Chan (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January 1999)

Best First Short Story

• "Death in Full Bloom" by Ray Wonderly (Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, August 1999)

Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement

• Henry Slesar

Derringers for Reader Support

• Robert Foster
• Jiro Kimura