2022 Darrell Awards Winners Announced

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Tim Gatewood

On Saturday March 26, 2022, at the Banquet at MidSouthCon 38, the following 2022 Darrell Awards were presented.

Coger Memorial Hall of Fame Award: Sheree Renée Thomas for her extraordinary contributions to literacy in the Midsouth and the world.

Sheree Renée Thomas –
Hall of Fame Award

Best Midsouth Novel:

Winner: Serpent’s Mark by Beth Alvarez
First Runner-up: The Girl Who Had No Shadows by John and Victoria Babb
Additional Finalists: The Ferryman by John E. Siers and The Dragons of Styx by John E. Siers

Best Midsouth Novella

Winner: Madam and The Map: A Journey in Five Movements by Sheree Renée Thomas (in Nine Bar Blues collection)
First Runner-up: Shadows Before Sunrise by Melissa Olthoff (in It Takes All Kinds anthology)

Best Midsouth Short Story

Winner: Five-Six-Seven-Eight by James Paavola (in Lies Along the Mississippi anthology)
First Runner-up: Well Being by Elden Lee
Additional Finalists:
Dead Man’s Hand by Phyllis Appleby (in Lies Along the Mississippi)
The Orisha’s Handmaiden by Angelyn Sherrod (in Lies Along the Mississippi)
Never Alone by Angelyn Sherrod (in Lies Along the Mississippi)
Shanequa’s Blues — Or Another Shotgun Lullaby by Sheree Renée Thomas (in Nine Bar Blues)

Congratulations to all the Winners, First Runners-up, and additional Finalists.

All of the honorees were present at the Awards ceremony except the Babbs and Ms Olthoff. The certificates for those 2 will be mailed to them in protective sleeves.

Please check back here shortly for a major update on the Darrell Awards. (If you were present at the Banquet, you already know what this news is. )

2020 Darrell Awards Winners Announced

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Tim Gatewood

The 2020 Darrell Awards Jury is pleased to announce the results of our deliberations and to present our Finalists, First Runners-Up, and Winners.

By Category:

Novels:

First Runner-Up — Carl Perkins Cadillac by John G. Hartness

Winner — Above the Ether by Eric Barnes

Young Adult:

First Runner-Up — The Diminished and The Enchanted by Kaitlyn Sage Patterson

Winner — House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Novella: Winner — Shoot First by Larry Hoy and William Alan Webb

Short Story:

First Runner-Up — The Game by H. David Blalock (as published in Tales of the Interstellar Bartenders Guild)

Winner — Killing Him by Carolyn McSparren (as published in Mayhem in Memphis)

Additional Short Story Finalists:

Robert J. Krog for Roxy Socksy and Herika Raymer for Critters (both published in Tales of the Interstellar Bartenders Guild)

(Note: We chose not to mention Larry Hoy in previous announcements about the Finalists in order to maintain a bit of a surprise about the Novella win. His name appears first on the plaque and we will send the plaque to him if we have or can find his address.)

Here are the Finalists in alphabetical order, in case that is easier for anyone.

Eric Barnes — Novel — Above the Ether (Winner)

H. David Blalock — Short Story — The Game (First Runner-Up)

Erin A. Craig – Young Adult Work – The House of Salt and Sorrows (Winner)

John G. Hartness – Novel — Carl Perkins Cadillac (First Runner-Up)

Robert J. Krog — Short Story — Roxy Socksy (published in Tales of the Interstellar Bartenders Guild)

Carolyn McSparren — Short Story — Killing Him (published in Mayhem in Memphis) (Winner)

Kaitlyn Sage Patterson — Young Adult Work — The Diminished and The Enchanted (2 book series) (First Runner-Up)

Herika Raymer — Short Story – Critters (published in Tales of the Interstellar Bartenders Guild)

William Alan Webb and Larry Hoy — Novella — Shoot First (Winner)

As previously announced, our 2020 Hall of Fame winner is Rachel E. Carr.

Due to the pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 editions of MidSouthCon were canceled.

So, please consider this announcement to be the presentation of the 2020 Darrell Awards.

We plan to present the 2021-2022 Darrell Awards at MidSouthCon in March of 2022, and we hope that circumstances will allow us to do so.

Please see the latest news on the convention on their website: MidSouthCon.org

As there won’t be a gathering of fans in 2021, we are going with our backup plan. That means that IF we have (or are able to find) an address for each Finalist, Runner-Up, or Winner, we will ship their plaque or certificate to them. For those whom we cannot locate, we will hold onto the plaques and certificates until we are able to present them in person or otherwise.

Congratulations to all of the Finalists, Runners-Up, and Winners.

Please check back here in February for news about the 2021-2022 Darrell Awards.

2020 Darrell Awards Nominations Are Open

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Tim Gatewood

The 2020 Darrell Awards Jury met on Sunday, September 8, 2019, and rapidly got its business done. What that means is:

THE 2020 DARRELL AWARDS NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN !!!

You can nominate using the form in any of the following formats:

2020-Nomination-Form-with-Rules-pdf,

2020-Nomination-Form-with-Rules-doc,

2020-Nomination-Form-with-Rules-docx, or

2020-Nomination-Form-with-Rules-odt.

If you need it in a different format, please let us know and we will see what we can do.

As in previous years, the Rules are attached to the Nomination Form, but you do not need to send those pages back to us — just complete the form, save page 1, and send that page back.

Please check back here for further news as it develops.

If you live in the Memphis area and would like to participate as a member of the Jury or as an Official Reader, please contact us, as we are pleased to welcome new voluteers to our ranks. (Please see our About the Darrell Awards page for email and other methods of contacting us.)