Just found out this morning that my story “The Pirate’s Debt” is a finalist for a Derringer Award. The Derringers are given by the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Finalists are determined by blind judging by volunteer judges from the SMFS membership. The the members have a month to vote for the winners. This year, the winners will be announced May 1. I’ll be in DC for Malice Domestic, but you can bet I’ll be checking for the announcement frequently.

Congratulations to all the finalists. I’ve listed them all below:

BEST FLASH STORY (Up to 1,000 Words)

“And Here’s To You, Mrs. Edwardson,” by Hamilton Waymire
Published in the webzine *Big Pulp*, November 23, 2009

“Awake” by David Dean
Published in EQMM, July 2009

“Gutterball” by Stephen D. Rogers
Published in Woman’s World Magazine, Sep 7, 2009

“The Right Track” by R.T. Lawton
Published in Woman’s World Magazine, 10/26/09

“Unplanned” by Libby Cudmore
Published in Thrillers, Killers ‘n’ Chillers, August 2009

BEST SHORT STORY (1,001 – 4,000 Words)

“Identity Theft” by Robert Weibezahl
Published in Beat to a Pulp, March 2009

“The Biography of Stoop the Thief” by Steven Torres
Published in Uncage Me!, July 2009

“The Hard Sell” by Jay Stringer
Published in Beat to a Pulp, 2009

“The Right to Remain Silent” by Debbi Mack
Published in Back Alley Webzine, August 2009

“Twas the Night” by Anita Page
Published in The Gift of Murder, 2009

BEST LONG STORY (4,001 – 8,000 Words)

“A Stab in the Heart” by Twist Phelan
Published in EQMM, February

“Famous Last Words” by Doug Allyn
Published in EQMM, November

“Regarding Certain Occurrences in a Cottage at the Garden of Allah” by Robert S. Levinson
Published in AHMM, November

“Snow of Bloedkoppie” by Berhard Jaumann (translated from the German by Mary Tannert)
Published in EQMM, August

“The Shipbreaker” by Mike Wiecek
Published in EQMM, March/April

BEST NOVELETTE (8,001 – 17,500 Words)

“Adjuncts Anonymous” by B.K. Stevens
Published in EQMM, June

“Julius Katz” by Dave Zeltserman
Published in EQMM, September/October

“The Last Drop” by R.W. Kerrigan
Published in EQMM, February

“The Pirate’s Debt” by Toni L.P. Kelner
Published in EQMM, August

“Uncle Brick and Jimmy Kills” by Allan Leverone
Published in Mysterical-E