And the Short Story Nominees Are . . .

by Paula Gail Benson

It’s awards season and short stories are having a great year! The Leftys (from Left Coast Crime) do not have a short story category, but the nominees for the Edgars (Mystery Writers of America), Agathas (Malice Domestic), and Thrillers (International Thriller Writers) have been announced. In April, we should hear the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer nominations, then later will come the Anthonys (Bouchercon), Macavities (Mystery Readers International), and Silver Falchions (Killer Nashville).

Meanwhile, here are the current lists. It’s interesting that the Edgars had three nominees from Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine while the Thrillers had three from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Barb Goffman, a terrific short story author whose work is always award-worthy, has two different stories nominated. Particularly of note is that Catherine Steadman’s Original Amazon Story was tapped in the Thriller short story category.

Happy reading, everyone!

Edgar Nominees:

Best Short Story

“Red Flag,” by Gregory Falls (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine)

“Backstory,” by Charles John Harper (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine)

“Locked-In,” by William Burton McCormick (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine)

“The Amnesty Box,” by Tim McLoughlin, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (Akashic Books)

“First You Dream, Then You Die,” by Donna Moore, Black is the Night (Titan Books)

Agatha Nominees:

Best Short Story

“Beauty and the Beyotch,” by Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine)

“There Comes a Time,” by Cynthia Kuhn, Malice Domestic Murder Most Diabolical (Wildside Press)

“Fly Me to the Morgue,” by Lisa Q Mathews, Malice Domestic Mystery Most Diabolical (Wildside Press)

“The Minnesota Twins Meet Bigfoot,” by Richie Narvaez, Land of 10,000 Thrills: Bouchercon Anthology (Down & Out Books)

“The Invisible Band,” by Art Taylor, Edgar & Shamus Go Golden (Down & Out Books)

Thriller Nominees:

Best Short Story

“Russian for Beginners,” Dominique Bibeau (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

“The Gift,” Barb Goffman, Land of 10,000 Thrills: Bouchercon Anthology (Down & Out Books)

“Publish or Perish,” Smita Harish Jain (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

“33 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister,” Joyce Carol Oates (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

“Schrödinger, Cat,” Anna Scotti (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

“Stockholm,” Catherine Steadman (Amazon Original Stories)