Short of Length, Long on Talent

For a Sunday, this has been a fairly busy time for mystery-fiction news. First, we received word about which works have been longlisted for the 2018 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. And now comes the list of finalists for this year’s Derringer Awards, to be handed out by the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Best Flash Fiction (up to 1,000 words):

• “Cold Turkey,” by Patricia Dusenbury (Flash Bang Mysteries,
edited by Brandon Bourg, Summer 2017)

• “Happy Birthday,” by Alan Orloff (Shotgun Honey, June 15, 2017)

• “Final Testimony,” by Travis Richardson (Flash Fiction Offensive,
July 10, 2017)

• “Fishing for an Alibi,” by Earl Staggs (Flash Bang Mysteries,
Fall 2017)

• “Flash Point,” by Elizabeth Zelvin (A Twist of Noir, March 20, 2017)

For Best Short Story (1,001-4,000 words):

• “The Kids Keep Coming,” by David H. Hendrickson (from Fiction River: Tavern Tales, edited by Kerrie L. Hughes; WMG)

• “The Cop Who Liked Gilbert and Sullivan,” by Robert Lopresti (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, October 2017)

• “The New Score,” by Alison McMahan (from Fish Out of Water: A Guppy Anthology, edited by Ramona DeFelice Long; Wildside Press)

• “The Bank Job,” by Stephen D. Rogers (Trigger Warning: Short Fiction with Pictures, March 16, 2017)

• “Every Picture Tells a Story,” by Cathi Stoler (from Where Crime Never Sleeps: Murder New York Style 4, edited by Elizabeth
Zelvin; Level Best)

For Best Long Story (4,001-8,000 words):

• “El Asesino,” by Rusty Barnes (Bull, May 22, 2017)

• “The #2 Pencil,” by Matt Coyle (from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks; Down & Out)

• “Death in the Serengeti,” by David H. Hendrickson (from Fiction River: Pulse Pounders: Adrenaline, edited by Kevin J. Anderson; WMG)

• “Matricide and Ice Cream,” by William Burton McCormick (from The CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery Tour, edited by Martin Edwards; Orenda)

• “The Drive-By,” by Alison McMahan (from Busted: Arresting Stories from the Beat, edited by Verena Rose, Harriette Sackler, and Shawn Reilly Simmons; Level Best)

For Best Novelette (8,001-20,000 words):

• “Flowing Waters,” by Brendan DuBois (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January/February 2017)

• “Windward,” by Paul D. Marks (from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks; Down & Out)

• “King's Quarter,” by Andrew McAleer (from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea)

• “Kill My Wife, Please,” by Robert J. Randisi (from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea)

• “Trouble Like a Freight Train Coming,” by Tina Whittle (from Lowcountry Crime: Four Novellas, edited by James M. Jackson and Jan Rubens; Wolf’s Echo Press)

According to the Short Mystery Fiction Society, “a vote of eligible SMFS members will determine the winners, to be announced in May 2018.”

Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees!