It is my pleasure to share with you the cover for this exciting anthology celebrating thirty years of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, coming in April 2026 and now up for preorder.
Publication Date: April 7, 2026
Genre: Short Story Crime Fiction Anthology
Format: Print, Digital
Editor Website: joshpachter.com
Book Synopsis
The Short Mystery Fiction Society was founded in 1996 as an online forum for the exchange of thoughts and opinions about short-form crime fiction. Membership is free and is open to writers, editors, publishers, and readers—to anyone with an interest in the subject.
Since 1998, the SMFS has been giving out Derringer Awards in a variety of categories; after ten years of experimentation, those categories settled down in 2008 into four: Best Flash Story (up to 1000 words), Best Short Story (1001-4000 words), Best Long Story (4001-8000 words), and Best Novelette (8001-20,000 words).
To celebrate the Society’s pearl anniversary, this volume collects twenty-eight pearls, one Derringer-winning story from each year the awards have been presented. Included in these pages you’ll find fiction by such masters of the genre as Doug Allyn, Michael Bracken, Bill Crider, John Floyd, BV Lawson, Henry Slesar, Cathi Stoler, Art Taylor, Melissa Yi, Kris Neri, Joyce Holland, Carol Kilgore, Earl Staggs, Dave White, Dorothy Rellas, Sandy Balzo, Patricia Harrington, Richard Helms, Ruth McCarty, Michael J. Solender, Stephen D. Rogers, Meg Opperman, Herschel Cozine, Robert Lopresti, Alan Orloff, Eleanor Cawood Jones, C.W. Blackwell, and Josh Pachter.
Whether you like your crime fiction hardboiled or cozy, lighthearted or dark, you’re sure to find lots here to keep you riveted to your chair … and eagerly looking forward to next year’s crop of Derringer winners.
And if you’d like to have a hand in picking the winners, just Google “join Short Mystery Fiction Society” and sign yourself up. Remember, it’s free!
About the editor
Josh Pachter is an author, editor, and translator of crime fiction. A two-time Derringer winner and the 2020 recipient of the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement, his work has also been a finalist for the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha, Lefty, Macavity, Thriller, Black Orchid Novella, and EQMM Readers awards. Find him online at joshpachter.com.
Congratulations, Josh and all the contributors!
Thanks as always, Dru Ann, for your kind support of short crime fiction in general and the Short Mystery Fiction Society and my projects in particular!
Thank you!
super cover, Josh. This one I’m going to buy in paperback because I know it will be worth the shelf space! Thanks for all your hard work on this behind the scenes. Fab cover.
Great cover! Can’t wait to read!
Such a great project! Thanks for taking this on, Josh!
It’s a great cover. Congrats to Josh and the other authors. Thanks for sharing, Dru!
Great job Josh!
Hilarious cake, and I know the contents will be terrific. Thanks, Josh and Dru!
Great work, Josh. Looking forward to this.
Great cover. Thank you, Dru Ann, for the coverage. Thank you, Josh and Level Best Shorts, for pulling this anthology together.