2015 Derringer Finalists Announced

The Short Mystery Fiction Society has posted the finalists for it's coveted Derringer Awards. It's great to see Mystery Playground contributor, Cathi Stoler, among the nominees for her short story, "The Kaluki King of Queens". Congratulations to all who were nominated! 

For Best Flash (Up to 1,000 words) 

• Joseph D'Agnese,"How Lil' Jimmie Beat the Big C" (Shotgun Honey, May 12, 2014) 
• Rob Hart, "Foodies" (Shotgun Honey, May 2, 2014) 
• Jed Power, "Sweet Smells" (Shotgun Honey, July 28, 2014) 
• Eryk Pruitt, "Knockout" (Out of the Gutter Online, August 31, 2014) 
• Travis Richardson, "Because" (Out of the Gutter Online, May 15, 2014)* 
• Melissa Yuan-Innes, "Because" (Fiction River: Crime, March 2014)*

*To offset any judging confusion this rare case of two same-titled stories may have caused, both stories were included as finalists.

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

• B.V. Lawson, "The Least of These" (Plan B Magazine, June 6, 2014) 
• William Burton McCormick, "Killing Sam Clemens" (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #13, July 2014) 
• Britni Patterson, "The Bad Son" (Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Lust, Love, and Longing, March 2014) 
• Mary E. Stibal, "A Friend in Brown" (Best New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave, November 2014) 
• Cathi Stoler, "The Kaluki King of Queens" (Murder New York Style: Family Matters, August 2014)

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

• M.H. Callway, "The Ultimate Mystery" (World Enough and Crime, October 2014) 
• Angel Luis Colon, "Separation Anxiety" (All Due Respect #3, May 2014) 
• Hilary Davidson, "A Hopeless Case" (All Due Respect #4, September 2014) 
• James T. Shannon, "The Missing Money" (Best New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave, November 2014) 
• Cathy Wiley, "Dead Men Tell No Tales" (Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays, October 2014)

For Best Novelette (8,001–20,000 words) 

• Doug Allyn, "Hitler's Dogs" (Fiction River: Crime, March 2014) 
• Vicki Delany, "Juba Good" (Orca Books Rapid Reads, April 2014) 
• Trey Dowell, "Infernal" (Untreed Reads, June 2014) 
• Richard Helms, "Busting Red Heads" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March/April 2014) 
• Kris Nelscott, "The Monster in Our Midst" (Fiction River: Crime, March 2014)

Finalists may obtain certificates for web display and printout by emailing Gerald So (G_SO at YAHOO dot COM).

The group vote to determine the winners takes place March 1–30. Winners will be announced March 31.