Authors in This Issue
“More than a B-Lister” by Robert Greer
Author of thirteen novels and dozens of short stories, Robert Greer received the Colorado Book Award for Fiction and the Chester Himes Black Mystery Writers Award. “More than a B-Lister” introduces his new crime-solving duo, private investigator KC Mandell and his wife, pediatric ICU nurse Jan Seguine. We welcome both sleuths to our pages!
“The Avenger” by Bill Pronzini
Shamus Award winner and MWA Grand Master Bill Pronzini’s most recent book is Tales of the Impossible (Stark House, 2025), a collection of locked-room and impossible-crime stories. He has published prolifically in both the novel and short-story spaces, often in collaboration with his wife, Marcia Muller.
“The Secret” by Sheila Kohler
Princeton professor Sheila Kohler is the author of twelve novels, three collections of short stories, and a memoir. Her work has been translated widely and awarded several prizes, including the O. Henry twice. She was writer-in-residence at the American Library in Paris in 2025, and her recently reissued novel Cracks (Open Road) was developed for film.
“Home” by DK Snyder
DK Snyder makes her EQMM debut here. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthology A Right Cozy Culinary Crime (Scott & Lawson, 2025) and in print and online magazines including Woman’s World, Shotgun Honey, and Cease, Cows. She is a winner of Prime Number Magazine’s fifty-three-word story contest.
“The Best and Sweetest Things” by Gabriela Stiteler
Portland, Maine author and educator Gabriela Stiteler’s debut story appeared in EQMM’s Department of First Stories in 2023 and was nominated for a Robert L. Fish award. Her work has since appeared in AHMM, Rock and a Hard Place, and elsewhere.
“Promise not to Tell” by Wayne J. Gardiner
Wayne J. Gardiner is a former military intelligence officer, private investigator in Chicago, and advertising sales executive. His stories have run in places like Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Mystery Magazine, Mystery Tribune, The Storyteller, Black Cat Weekly, Thriller, and The Saturday Evening Post.
“Every Day Is Your Last” by Kai Lovelace
Kai Lovelace’s debut story, published in EQMM’s September/October 2024 issue, was nominated for the Robert L. Fish Memorial Award at the 2025 Edgars. His work has also appeared in Murderous Ink Press’ Crimeucopia anthologies and The Mysterious Bookshop’s Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2024.
“Spindrift” by Marjorie Eccles
Marjorie Eccles is the prolific U.K. author of romance and mysteries including the Herbert Reardon and Gil Mayo series—the latter of which was adapted for television by the BBC. Her latest novel at the time of our publication is A Fatal Necessity (Severn House). She spent much of her childhood on the Northumbrian coast.
“Closing the Case” by S.B. Watson
2025 Shamus Award finalist S.B. Watson tells us he lives near the coastline of rainy Oregon with his wife, five children, three cats, and one rather large dog. He is interested in stories that feature oddball puzzles and problems, frequently bordering on the impossible. This one marks his EQMM debut.
“A Regular Guy” by Chris L. Robinson
Chicago author and U.S. Army veteran Chris L. Robinson has stories published or forthcoming in Dark Yonder, Mystery Tribune, Shotgun Honey, Guilty Crime Story Magazine, Punk Noir, and other publications. You can find him at www.chrislrobinson.com.
“The Defixio Murders” by Herbert DePaepe
Herbert De Paepe is a journalist and fiction writer who lives and works in Ghent, Belgium. He is currently working on his ninth crime novel. His short stories have appeared here, in the short story collection Dutch Treats, and in In Tenebris, a Belgian fantasy-fiction magazine.
“The Mystery of Sea and Sky” by Charles John Harper
Charles John Harper’s short fiction appears in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and The Best American Mystery Stories 2017. In 2023, his story entitled “Backstory” was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Short Story by the Mystery Writers of America. That same story was also featured on Rabia Chaudry Presents The Mystery Hour.
“Baby Bird” by Derek Alan Jones
Derek Alan Jones “spends most of his time working in a warehouse in Kansas and the rest of it writing short fiction.” His work has appeared in places like The Saturday Evening Post, Apex, Stone’s Throw, and Tales to Terrify. Find out more at www.derekalanjones.com.
“Fried French” by Anne Swardson
Anne Swardson is a former journalist and has lived in Paris for 27 years. Her work has appeared in EQMM, Mystery Tribune, Black Cat Weekly, Thrill Ride, and elsewhere. She is a winner of Noir Nation’s 2017 Golden Fedora Award.
“The Whale Pavilion” by D.S. Burton
D.S. Burton is a Canadian horror and weird-fiction writer studying creative writing at the University of New Brunswick. He is a 2024 Currie Scholar, 2024 ArtsNL Scholar, and an editor for The Brunswickan.
“The Preparation of a Galactic Beacon” by Scott M. Brents
Scott M. Brents tells us he subsists in Texas, but his heart is entombed at an obscure location in the Ozark Mountains. He recently appeared in Blink-Ink Issue #62, which is preserved at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale.
“A Better Place” by C.J. Neale
As he tells EQMM, “obsessed with storytelling from a young age,” C.J. Neale is studying for a Bachelor of Arts in English at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. He recalls one day stumbling upon the torn corner of a letter on the ground. From there, this story was born, marking his published-fiction debut.
“Speed Trap Camera” by James D.F. Hannah
James D.F. Hannah is the author of the Shamus Award-winning Henry Malone series of novels. His short story “Twenty Centuries” (EQMM, November/December 2023) was nominated for an Anthony Award in 2024, and his short story “Road to Nowhere” from the anthology Burning Down the House was included in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2025. His work has also appeared in Playing Games, Under the Thumb: Stories of Police Oppression, Vautrin, Rock and a Hard Place, and elsewhere. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky, “where all the bourbon is.”