Tag Archives: Derringer Awards

Crime Fiction Awards News for April 2025 — No Foolin’

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The Lefty Award winners, the Derringer Award finalists, the Dove Award, and Nero Award winners have all been announced.

LEFTY AWARDS

The Lefty Awards were presented at Left Coast Crime 2025 on March 15.

BEST HUMOROUS MYSTERY NOVEL

  • Rob Osler, Cirque du Slay (Crooked Lane Books)

BEST HISTORICAL MYSTERY NOVEL
(Bill Gottfried Memorial) for books covering events before 1970

  • John Copenhaver, Hall of Mirrors (Pegasus Crime)

BEST DEBUT MYSTERY NOVEL

  • Jennifer K. Morita, Ghosts of Waikiki (Crooked Lane Books)

BEST MYSTERY NOVEL
(not in other categories)

  • James L’Etoile, Served Cold (Level Best Books)

DERRINGER AWARDS

The Short Mystery Fiction Society revealed the 2025 Derringer Award finalists on April 1. The winners will be posted on May 1.

FLASH

SHORT STORY 

  • “Skeeter’s Bar and Grill” by Julie Hastrup; (Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, Superior Shores Press)
  • “The Wind Phone” by Josh Pachter; (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, September/October 2024)
  • “The Heist” by Bill Pronzini; (Shamus and Anthony Commit Capers: Ten Tales of Criminals, Crooks, and Culprits, Level Best Books)
  • “The Last Chance Coalition” by Judy Penz Sheluk; (Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, Superior Shores Press)
  • “The Kratz Gambit” by Mark Thielman; (Private Dicks and Disco Balls: Private Eyes in the Dyn-O-Mite Seventies, Down & Out Books)

LONG STORY

  • “How Mary’s Garden Grew” by Elizabeth Elwood; (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, January/February 2024)
  • “Heart of Darkness” by Tammy Euliano; (Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House, Down & Out Books)
  • “Putting Things Right” by Peter W. J. Hayes; (Thrill Ride – The Magazine, December 21, 2024)
  • “Motive Factor X” by Joseph Andre Thomas; (Howls from the Scene of the Crime: A Crime Horror Anthology, Howl Society Press)
  • “Cold Comfort” by Andrew Welsh-Huggins; (Private Dicks and Disco Balls: Private Eyes in the Dyn-O-Mite Seventies, Down & Out Books)

 NOVELETTE

  • “A Band of Scheming Women” by Joslyn Chase; (Thrill Ride – The Magazine, March 21, 2024)
  • “Christmas Dinner” by Robert Lopresti; (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, November/December 2024)
  • “Barracuda Backfire” by Tom Milani; (Chop Shop Episode 4, Down & Out Books, April 1, 2024)
  • “Her Dangerously Clever Hands” by Karen Odden; (Crimeucopia – Through the Past Darkly, Murderous Ink Press)
  • “The Cadillac Job” by Stacy Woodson (Chop Shop Episode 1, Down & Out Books, January 1, 2024)

ANTHOLOGY

  • Devil’s Snare: Best New England Crime Stories 2024, Edited by Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, Leslie Wheeler, Crime Spell Books
  • Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead, Edited by Josh Pachter, Down & Out Books
  • Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk, Superior Shores Press
  • Murder, Neat: A SleuthSayers Anthology; Edited by Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman, Level Best Books
  • New York State of Crime: Murder New York Style 6, Edited by D.M. Barr and Joseph R.G. De Marco, Down & Out Books
  • The 13th Letter, Edited by Donna Carrick, Carrick Publishing

DOVE AWARD

The Detective/Mystery Caucus of the Popular Culture Assocation has named the 2025 Dove Award recipient. The Dove Award is named for mystery-fiction scholar George N. Dove and given to “individuals who have contributed to the serious study of mystery, detective, and crime fiction.”

Dove Awardee: David Geherin, professor emeritus of English at Eastern Michigan University, who is an Edgar nominee in the Best Critical/Biographical category this year for Organized Crime on Page and Screen: Portrayals in Hit Novels, Films, and Television Shows. He received earlier Edgar nominations for The Crime World of Michael Connelly: A Study of His Works and Their Adaptations (2022), Scene of the Crime: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction (2008; also nominated for a Macavity Award), and The American Private Eye: The Image in Fiction (1985). His other books include Carl Hiaasen: Sunshine State Satirist (2019), Funny Thing About Murder: Modes of Humor in Crime Fiction and Films (2017), Small Towns in Recent American Crime Fiction (2015), and Elmore Leonard (1989).   

NERO AWARD

In December, The Wolfe Pack announced the Nero Award and Black Orchid Novella Award winners.

Nero Award for the best American Mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories: 

  • Ariel Lawhon — The Frozen River

The Black Orchid Novella Award, presented jointly by The Wolfe Pack and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, celebrates the novella format popularized by Stout

  • T. M. Bradshaw: “Double Take.” It will be published in the July 2025 issue of AHMM. 

Honorable mentions for the Black Orchid Novella Award include Peter Hoppock’s “Precipice”; Andrew Kass’s “Deadline”; Jenny Ramaley’s “Workplace Rules for a Fire-Breathing Dragon”; and Ella Rutledge’s “Murder at the Y.T.D.”

Crime Fiction Awards News for Groundhog Day

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The Short Mystery Fiction Society, Crime Writers Association, and Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival all have come out of their holes long enough to share some news.

INAUGURAL DERRINGER AWARD FOR BEST ANTHOLOGY FINALISTS

The Short Mystery Fiction Society has announced the finalists for the inaugural Derringer Award for Best Anthology.

  • Devil’s Snare: Best New England Crime Stories 2024, edited by Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and Leslie Wheeler
  • Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead, edited by Josh Pachter 
  • Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, edited by Judy Penz Sheluk 
  • Murder, Neat: A SleuthSayers Anthology, edited by Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman 
  • New York State of Crime: Murder New York Style 6, edited by D.M. Barr and Joseph R.G. De Marco 
  • The 13th Letter, edited by Donna Carrick

DIAMOND DAGGER

The Crime Writers Association have selected Mick Herron as the 2025 recipient of the Diamond Dagger lifetime achievement award

The award recognizes authors whose crime writing careers have been marked by sustained excellence, and who have made a significant contribution to the genre. 

His first novel, Down Cemetery Road, was published in 2003. This was the start of Herron’s Zoë Boehm series.

In 2008, inspired by world events, he began writing the Slough House series, featuring MI5 agents who have been exiled from the mainstream for various offences. The first novel, Slow Horses, was published in 2010. Some years later, it was hailed by the Daily Telegraph as one of “the twenty greatest spy novels of all time.”

THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL

The Special Guest headliners have been named for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, a celebration of crime fiction taking place July 17-20 in Harrogate.

Lee and Andrew Child, Irvine Welsh, Attica Locke, Kate Atkinson, Paula Hawkins, Kate Mosse, Steph McGovern, Val McDermid and Mark Billingham feature in a stellar line up of crime writing icons, TV talent and reader favourites on a programme curated by 2025 Festival Programming Chair and ‘Slow Horses’ creator Mick Herron.    

Headline events include: 

  • International bestseller Irvine Welsh makes his Festival debut talking about Resolution, the final instalment in his ‘Crime’ trilogy, now a hit TV series, starring Dougray Scott.  
  • Multi-million copy bestselling writing duo Lee and Andrew Child discuss their latest Jack Reacher thriller In Too Deep – and offer an exclusive preview of the 30th Reacher novel Exit Strategy.
  • ‘Queen of Crime’ Val McDermid teams up with TV presenter Steph McGovern,wholaunches her debut Deadline at the Festival.
  • Leading US crime writer Attica Locke showcases her hard-hitting, topical novel Guide Me Home.
  • Fan favourites Kate Atkinson, Kate Mosse, Mark Billingham and Paula Hawkins return to the Festival tointroduce their latest bestsellers, with Mark Billingham celebrating his twenty-fifth book What The Night Brings.

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is the epicentre of the global crime fiction community offering readers from around the world an unmissable opportunity to meet the superstar writers of today and discover the bestsellers of tomorrow.   [Based on a press release.]

2024 Derringer Awards

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Congratulations to Kristine Kathryn Rusch who is among the 2024 Derringer Award winners announced by the Short Mystery Fiction Society on May 1.

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)

 EDWARD D. HOCH MEMORIAL GOLDEN DERRINGER

  • Barb Goffman

 HALL OF FAME

  • Rex Stout

Crime Fiction Awards – No Fooling

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DERRINGER AWARDS SHORTLIST

Congratulations to Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Michael Bracken who are among the 2024 Derringer Awards finalists unveiled by The Short Mystery Fiction Society on April 1.

FLASH

  • SLEEP ROUGH by Brandon Barrows (Shotgun Honey, September 19, 2023)
  • THE REFEREE by C. W. Blackwell (Shotgun Honey, October 12, 2023)
  • TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN by Serena Jayne (Shotgun Honey, January 9, 2023)
  • TEDDY’S FAVORITE THING by Paul Ryan O’Connor (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Sept/Oct 2023)
  • SUPPLY CHAINS by Andrew Welsh-Huggins (Black Cat Weekly #89)

SHORT STORY 

  • DENIM MINING by Michael Bracken (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, May/June 2023)
  • DOGS OF WAR by Michael Bracken & Stacy Woodson (Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir Volume Four, Down & Out Books)
  • LAST DAY AT THE JACKRABBIT by John Floyd (The Strand, May 2023)
  • I DON’T LIKE MONDAYS by Josh Pachter (Mystery Magazine, July 2023)
  • JUDGE NOT by Twist Phelan (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, May/June 2023)
  • A TAIL OF JUSTICE by Shannon Taft (Black Cat Weekly #114)

LONG STORY

  • HARD RAIN ON BEACH STREET by C. W. Blackwell (Killin’ Time in San Diego, Down & Out Books)
  • REVERSION by Marcelle Dubé (Mystery Magazine, April 2023)
  • BACK TO HELL HOUSE by Nick Kolakowski (Vautrin, Fall 2023)
  • TROUBLED WATER by donalee Moulton (Black Cat Weekly #75)
  • IT’S NOT EVEN PAST by Anna Scotti (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Sept/Oct 2023)
  • GOOD DEED FOR THE DAY by Bonnar Spring (Wolfsbane: Best New England Crime Stories, Crime Spell Books)
  • IGNATIUS RUM-AND-COLA by Andrew Welsh-Huggins (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Jan/Feb 2023)

NOVELETTE

  • VENGEANCE WEAPON by James R. Benn (The Refusal Camp: Stories by James R. Benn, Soho Press)
  • MRS. HYDE by David Dean (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, March/April 2023)
  • THE CASE OF THE BOGUS CINDERELLAS by Jacqueline Freimor (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, July/Aug 2023)
  • MADAM TOMAHAWK by Nick Kolakowski (A Grifter’s Song, Down & Out Books, 2023)
  • CATHERINE THE GREAT by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (WMG 2023 Holiday Spectacular Calendar of Stories)

GLENCAIRN GLASS CRIME SHORT STORY COMPETITION WINNERS

High contrast image of a bloody crime scene with knife and evidence markers on the floor

A sinister story involving a Scottish recipe for ‘stovies’ and a grisly tale about the strange sheep of Greshornish have been chosen as the winning and runner-up stories in The Glencairn Glass crime short story competition this year.

Over 140 stories were entered into the 2023/24 competition and the winner and runner-up were selected by a panel of three judges including Callum McSorley, a Glasgow based writer whose debut novel Squeaky Clean won this year’s Bloody Scotland McIlvanney Prize for the Scottish Crime Book of the Year. He was joined by Kate Foster; the Edinburgh based national newspaper journalist and author, whose debut novel The Maiden won this year’s Bloody Scotland’s Debut Prize. The third judge was Glencairn Crystal’s marketing director and experienced crime writer Gordon Brown.

WINNER 

  • “A Recipe For Stovies” by Philip Wilson

RUNNER-UP

  • “The Strange Sheep of Greshornish” by Elisabeth Ingram Wallace

The first prize of £1,000 goes to Philip Wilson and runner up Elisabeth Ingram Wallace receives £500. Both writers also receive a set of six bespoke engraved Glencairn Glasses. The winning story will be published in the May issue of Scottish Field Magazine (on shelf from 5th April) and the runner up story will then be published on Scottish Field Magazine’s website; www.scottishfield.co.uk. Both stories will also be available to read on the Glencairn Glass website: www.whiskyglass.com.

2023 Derringer Awards

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The Short Mystery Fiction Society unveiled the 2023 Derringer Award winners on May 1. 

The awards – named after the popular pocket pistol — have been presented annually since 1998 to outstanding published stories. 

FLASH FICTION

SHORT STORY

  • Melissa Yi for “My Two-Legs.” (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine: September/October 2022)

LONG STORY

  • Bobby Mathews for “Negative Tilt.” (Rock and a Hard Place issue 7)

NOVELETTE

  • Adam Meyer for Two Shrimp Tacos and a .22 Ruger by Adam Meyer (Guns & Tacos, Down & Out Books)

EDWARD D. HOCH MEMORIAL GOLDEN DERRINGER FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

  • Martin Edwards

2022 Derringer Awards

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The Short Mystery Fiction Society unveiled the 2022 Derringer Award winners on May 1. 

FLASH FICTION

  • John M. Floyd. “Tourist Trap.” Pulp Modern Flash.

SHORT STORIES

  • Trey Dowell. “Yelena Tried to Kill Me.” Mystery Weekly Magazine. August 2021.

LONG STORIES

  • Michael Bracken. “The Downeaster Alexa.” Only the Good Die Young.

NOVELLETTES

  • Stacy Woodson. “Two Tamales, One Tokarev, and a Lifetime of Broken Promises.” Guns + Tacos: Season Three.

EDWARD D. HOCH MEMORIAL GOLDEN DERRINGER FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

  • S.J. Rozan 

HALL OF FAME

  • G.K. Chesterton

Crime Fiction Awards Headlines

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Another pair of crime fiction awards have announced their shortlists in the past few weeks.

DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

The finalists for the 2021 Dashiell Hammett Award for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing have been named by the International Association of Crime Writers (North American Branch). The award is given to a book, originally published in the English language in the United States or Canada, “that best represents the conception of literary excellence in crime writing.”

The finalists are:

  • Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby, Flatiron Books
  • Stung by William Deverell, ECW Press
  • Five Decembers by James Kestrel, Hard Case Crime 
  • Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, Doubleday
  • The Sacrifice of Lester Yates by Robin Yocum, Arcade Crime Wave

DERRINGER AWARDS

The 2022 Derringer Awards finalists were unveiled by The Short Mystery Fiction Society on April 1.

FLASH FICTION

  • C.W. Blackwell.  “Smoke and Consequences.” Mystery Tribune.
  • Wil A. Emerson. “An Unexpected Reunion.” BOULD Awards 2021 Short Story Anthology Vol 1.
  • John M. Floyd. “Tourist Trap.” Pulp Modern Flash.
  • Scott Von Doviak. “Millicent.” Shotgun Honey.
  • Robert Weibezahl. “Why Are You Just Sitting There?” Yellow Mama.

SHORT STORIES

  • Brandon Barrows. “The Right to Hang.” On the Premises. October 2021.
  • Tina Debellegarde. “Tokyo Stranger.” A Stranger Comes to Town.
  • Trey Dowell. “Yelena Tried to Kill Me.” Mystery Weekly Magazine. August 2021.
  • Kathleen Marple Kalb. “The Thanksgiving Ragamuffin.” Justice For All.
  • Gabriel Valjan. “Burnt Ends.” This Time for Sure.

LONG STORIES

  • K.L. Abrahamson. “Chicken Coops and Bread Pudding.” Moonlight and Misadventure.
  • Michael Bracken. “The Downeaster Alexa.” Only the Good Die Young.
  • Teel James Glenn. “A Study of Death.” Mystery Weekly Magazine. October 2021.
  • Annie Reed. “Missing Carolyn.” Fiction River: Dark & Deadly Passions.
  • Mark Troy. “Burnin Butt, Texas.” Black Cat Mystery Magazine. Issue 10.

NOVELLETTES

  • Jim Benn. “Glass.” Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. September/October 2021.
  • Michael Bracken. “Aloha Boys.” Hallmarks of the Job / Aloha Boys.
  • Barb Goffman. “A Tale of Two Sisters.” Murder on the Beach.
  • Annie Reed. “Little City Blues.” Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Long Ago.
  • Stacy Woodson. “Two Tamales, One Tokarev, and a Lifetime of Broken Promises.” Guns + Tacos: Season Three.

2021 Derringer Awards

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The Short Mystery Society unveiled the 2021 Derringer Award winners on May 1. 

And congratulations to Brendan DuBois, winner of the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement!

2021 Derringer Awards 

FLASH 

[Tie]

  • Blackwell, C.W. “Memories of Fire.” Pulp Modern 
  • Richardson, Travis. “War Words.” Punk Noir 

SHORT 

[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

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

NOVELETTE 

  • Taylor, Art. “The Boy Detective and the Summer of ’74.” AHMM: January/February 2020 

THE EDWARD D. HOCH MEMORIAL GOLDEN DERRINGER FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT — Annually awarded to an outstanding living writer of short mysteries.

  • Brendan DuBois

More 2021 Crime Fiction Awards and Shortlists

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Many crime fiction award announcements have been posted in the past few weeks.

Friends of Mystery logo

SPOTTED OWL

The winner of the 2021 Spotted Owl Award was announced on March 25. The award is for a mystery published during the previous calendar year by an author whose primary residence is Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho or the Province of British Columbia. The complete list of finalists is here.

  • WINNER: The Last Agent, by Robert Dugoni (Thomas & Mercer)

Dugoni has won the Spotted Owl twice before—in 2020 for The Eighth Sister, and in 2017 for The 7th Canon.

PINCKLEY PRIZES

The 2020 Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction, awarded by the Women’s National Book Association of New Orleans, honor three women writers. The winners receive a financial award of $2,500 and a trip to New Orleans to accept their prizes at a ceremony at the 2021 Bouchercon.

Pinckley Prize for Distinguished Body of Work

  • C.S. Harris  

Pinckley Prize for Debut Fiction

  • Miracle Creek by Angie Kim is the winner of the

Pinckley Prize for True Crime Writing

  • Emma Copley Eisenberg  

HAMMETT PRIZE

The shortlist for the 2020 Dashiell Hammett Award for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing, which is handed out by the International Association of Crime Writers (North American Branch), has been announced. The award is given to a book, originally published in the English language in the United States or Canada, “that best represents the conception of literary excellence in crime writing.”

The finalists are:

• Murder in Old Bombay, by Nev March (Minotaur)
• The Mountains Wild, by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Minotaur)
• Three Hours in Paris, by Cara Black (Soho Crime)
• When These Mountains Burn, by David Joy (Putnam)
• Winter Counts, by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Ecco)

CRIMEFEST AWARDS

CrimeFest, a crime fiction con in Bristol UK, has announced the finalists for their various awards.

Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award

• The Creak on the Stairs, by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir (Orenda)
• Summer of Reckoning, by Marion Brunet (Bitter Lemon Press)
• The Wreckage, by Robin Morgan-Bentley (Trapeze)
• The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman (Viking)
• City of Spies, by Mara Timon (Zaffre)
• The Man on the Street, by Trevor Wood (Quercus)

Audible Sounds of Crime Award

• The Sentinel, by Lee Child and Andrew Child, read by Jeff
Harding (Transworld)
• The Guest List, by Lucy Foley, read by Olivia Dowd, Aoife McMahon, Chloe Massey, Sarah Ovens, Rich Keeble, and Jot Davies (HarperFiction)
• Troubled Blood, by Robert Galbraith, read by Robert Glenister
(Little, Brown)
• Moonflower Murders, by Anthony Horowitz, read by Lesley Manville and Allan Corduner (Penguin Random House Audio)
• Find Them Dead, by Peter James, read by Daniel Weyman (Pan)
• The Invisible Girl, by Lisa Jewell, read by Rebekah Staton (Penguin Random House Audio)
• Buried, by Lynda La Plante, read by Alex Hassell and Annie
Aldington (Zaffre)
• The Catch, by T.M. Logan, read by Philip Stevens (Zaffre)
• The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman, read by Lesley Manville (Viking)
• A Song for the Dark Times, by Ian Rankin, read by James
Macpherson (Orion)

Courtesy of sponsor Audible UK, the winning author and audiobook reader(s) share the £1,000 prize equally and each receives a Bristol Blue Glass commemorative award.

H.R.F. Keating Award

• Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World, by Mark Aldridge (HarperCollins)
• Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club, edited by Martin Edwards (Collins Crime Club)
• Cover Me: The Vintage Art of Pan Books: 1950-1965,
by Colin Larkin (Telos)
• Conan Doyle’s Wide World, by Andrew Lycett (Tauris Parke)
• The Reacher Guy, by Heather Martin (Little, Brown)
• H.R.F. Keating: A Life of Crime, by Sheila Mitchell (Level Best)
• Southern Cross Crime: The Pocket Essential Guide to the Crime Fiction, Film & TV of Australia and New Zealand,
by Craig Sisterson (Oldcastle)
• The Red Hand: Stories, Reflections and the Last Appearance of Jack Irish, by Peter Temple (Riverrun)

Last Laugh Award

• False Value, by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz)
• Bryant & May: Oranges and Lemons, by Christopher
Fowler (Doubleday)
• The Postscript Murders, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
• Squeeze Me, by Carl Hiaasen (Little, Brown)
• The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman (Viking)
• The Corpse in the Garden of Perfect Brightness, by Malcolm
Pryce (Bloomsbury)
• Ride or Die, by Khurrum Rahman (HQ)
• Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Vampire Menace, by Olga
Wojtas (Contraband)

eDunnit Award

• The Hunted, by Gabriel Bergmoser (Faber)
• The Split, by Sharon Bolton (Trapeze)
• Little Boy Lost, by J.P. Carter (Avon)
• Fifty-Fifty, by Steve Cavanagh (Orion)
• Fair Warning, by Michael Connelly (Orion)
• A Private Cathedral, by James Lee Burke (Orion)
• A Song for the Dark Times, by Ian Rankin (Orion)
• The Dead Line, by Holly Watt (Raven)

Best Crime Novel for Children (Ages 8-12)

• Mission Shark Bytes, by Sophie Deen (Walker)
• A Girl Called Justice: The Smugglers’ Secret, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus Children’s Books)
• Nightshade, by Anthony Horowitz (Walker)
• My Headteacher Is an Evil Genius, by Jack Noel (Walker)
• Anisha, Accidental Detective, by Serena Patel (Usborne)
• School’s Cancelled, by Serena Patel (Usborne)
• The Night Bus Hero, by Onjali Q. Rauf for (Orion Children’s Books)
• The Pencil Case, by Dave Shelton (David Fickling)

Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (Ages 12-16)

• Hideous Beauty, by William Hussey (Usborne)
• The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker, by Lauren James (Walker)
• Devil Darling Spy, by Matt Killeen (Usborne)
• Eight Pieces of Silva, by Patrice Lawrence (Hodder Children’s Books)
• Deadfall, by Simon Lelic (Hodder Children’s Books)
• Hacking, Heists & Flaming Arrows, by Robert Muchamore (Hot Key)
• Burn, by Patrick Ness (Walker)
• The Case of the Missing Marquess, by Nancy Springer (Hot Key)

DERRINGER AWARDS

The Short Mystery Society unveiled the finalists for its 2021 Derringer Awards on April 3,

FLASH 

  • Blackwell, C.W. “Memories of Fire.” Pulp Modern 
  • Blakey, James. “Outsourcing.” Shotgun Honey 
  • Mangeot, Robert. “Over Before It Started.” Murder Mondays 
  • Mathews, Bobby. “Quitman County Ambush.” Bristol Noir 
  • Richardson, Travis. “War Words.” Punk Noir 

SHORT 

  • Elwood, Elizabeth. “The Homicidal Understudy.” Ellen Hart Presents Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Theatrical 
  • Freimor, Jacqueline. “That Which is True.” EQMM: July/August 2020 
  • Jones, Eleanor Cawood. “The Great Bedbug Incident and the Invitation of Doom.” Chesapeake Crimes: Invitation to Murder.  
  • Keeline, Kim. “The Crossing.” Crossing Borders
  • Woodson, Stacy. “River.” The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell 

LONG

  • Chen, Sarah M. “Hotelin’.”Shotgun Honey: Volume #4: Recoil 
  • Mangeot, Robert. “Lord, Spare the Bottom Feeders.” AHMM: March/April: 2020 
  • Walker, Joseph S. “Chasing Diamonds.” EQMM: September/October 2020 
  • Walker, Joseph S. “Etta at the End of the World.” AHMM: May/June 2020 
  • Woodson, Stacy. “Mary Poppins Didn’t Have Tattoos.” EQMM: July/August 2020 

NOVELETTE 

  • Cohen, Jeff.  “The Question of the Befuddled Judge.” AHMM: May/June: 2020 
  • Malliet, G.M. “A Murder at Morehead Mews.” EQMM: July/August 2020 
  • Taylor, Art. “The Boy Detective and the Summer of ’74.” AHMM: January/February 2020 
  • Thornton, Brian.  “Suicide Blonde.” Suicide Blonde:Three Novellas 
  • Wilson, Matthew. “The Wretched Strangers.” EQMM: January/February 2020

A vote of the SMFS membership will determine the winner in each category. 

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for the story.]

2020 Derringer Award

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The Short Mystery Fiction Society unveiled the 2020 Derringer Awards winners on May 1. The winners were determined by vote of the SMFS membership.

Best Flash Story (up to 1,000 words)

• “The Two-Body Problem,” by Josh Pachter

Best Short Story (1,001 to 4,000 words)

• “On the Road with Mary Jo,” by John Floyd

Best Long Story (4,001 to 8,000 words)

• “Lucy’s Tree,” by Sandra Murphy

Best Novelette (8,001 to 20,000 words)

• “Her Sister’s Secrets,” by Brendan DuBois

The Society also announced the recipient of its lifetime achievement award.

The Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement

Awarded to an outstanding living writer of short mysteries

  • Josh Pachter