The Short Mystery Fiction Society announced the winners of the 2021 Derringer Awards in four categories—honoring works published in 2020—and I’m thrilled that my story “The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74” won the prize for Best Novelette! Originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, the story is now the title tale of my short fiction collection from Crippen & Landru.
Congratulations to all of the other finalists, listed below, and to Brendan DuBois for winning the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement—so richly deserved!
FLASH (ranges up to 1,000 words) TIE:
Blackwell, C.W. “Memories of Fire.” Pulp Modern Flash. August 3, 2020.
Richardson, Travis. “War Words.” Punk Noir Magazine. December 3, 2020.
SHORT (ranges from 1,001 to 4,000 words)
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 (ranges from 4,001 to 8,000 words)
Chen, Sarah M. “Hotelin’.” Shotgun Honey: Volume #4: Recoil.
NOVELETTE (ranges from 8,001 to 20,000 words)
Taylor, Art. “The Boy Detective and the Summer of ’74.” Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. January/February 2020.
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. This year’s recipient: Brendan DuBois.