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, and many more.

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 the next 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!