Thursday Treats: 10/15/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week.

 

Black Cat Weekly #267 is out and again features short stories and more. This issue is dedicated to Halloween and spooky season. You can pick up the issue at the website.

 

Back in September 2023, on the SMFS blog, as SMFS President at the time, I announced the publication day news of the release of Prohibition Peepers: Private Eyes During the Noble Experiment. Editor and fellow SMFS list member Michael Bracken announced on social media that the anthology is back in print with a new publisher. Crimson Gate Books is releasing it on October 19^th and you can pick it up on Amazon now. The SMFS list members that previously annpunced their presence in the book are: Michael Bracken (Cigarette Girl), David Dean (Three Irishmen), Jim Doherty (The Private Untouchable), John M. Floyd (River Road), Nils Gilbertson (Lovely and Useless Things), Richard Helms (West of the Ashley), Hugh Lessig (Cloths of Heaven), Steve Liskow (Peace of Mind Guaranteed), Adam Meyer (The Dance), Joseph S. Walker (Getting Away Clean), and Stacy Woodson (Moonshine Turn).

 

A reminder that SMFS list member Elizabeth Zelvin recently announced that her latest short story collection, Rifts & Reprisals: Collected Stories II, is available in digital form at Amazon. The fifteen tales were previously published between 2017 and 2025 in EQMM, AHMM, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and online at Yellow Mama. This book joins her previously published short story collection, Breaches & Betrayals: Collected Stories, released in 2016 and also available on Kindle Unlimited. You can learn more at her website.

 

A reminder that SMFS list member M. E. Proctor’s new mystery,  The Way You Say My Name: A Declan Shaw Mystery, is now out. will be coming out next week from Shotgun Honey Books. You can pick it up at Amazon and other vendors. This is the 3rd read in the Declan Shaw Mystery series.

SMFS list member John A. Tures announced on the SMFS list that he had a short story podcast up on the Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast. His short story, Kill Your Darlings, is free to listen to at the website.

 

The new issue of the online publication Yellow Mama is now out. Yellow Mama #118 includes short stories by SMFS list members Sandra J. Cady (New Orleans Bound), Pamela Ebel (The Tenth Muse), and Joseph S. Walker (Things That Didn't Happen at a Place That Doesn't Exist). You can read the issue online, and for free, here.

 

Also now out is Black Petals Horror/Science Fiction Magazine #117. Full of short stories and more, you can read the issue online, for free, here.

 

After Claire A. Murray last week announced that her short story, Ned's Bedevilment, placed as an Honorable Mention in the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable 2026 Short Story contest, fellow SMFS list member, Debra H. Goldstein, announced earlier this week that her short story, My Pinball Knight, appears in the new anthology, Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny, and Strange® Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy, published by the same group. The book comes out today and is available at Amazon and other vendors.

 

The Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine: November/December 2026  is now out and includes short stories by SMFS list members. John M. Floyd (Moneyland), Kate Hohl (Advance Obituary), Michael Penncavage (Mr. Muktod Stays For Dinner) and S.B. Watson (Under Pressure) are in the issue. Additionally, SMFS list member Ed Ridgley announced that his short story, A Matter of Culture, won the May/June Mysterious Photograph Contest and is posted in the Nov/Dec issue. Per Mr. Ridgley, “This is my second time winning the contest!” You can pick up the issue at the website and at other vendors.

 

The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: November/December 2026  issue is also now out. “Be Still, Your Heart” by SMFS list member Josh Pachter is in the issue as is “My War 2” by Stephen M. Pierce.  You can pick it up on the website and at other vendors.

 

A reminder that the latest season of podcasts, Stuff That Can Kill You (Mysteries to Die For), is now available in eBook format at Amazon and other vendors. SMFS list member Kathleen Marple Kalb announced on social media her short story, The Current Situation, is in the read of twenty stories. You can get your copy at Amazon and other vendors.

 

The Sisters in Crime Colorado Chapter has announced that their lates anthology, Colorado Mystery Merge: Crime Fiction Collection 2, is coming out later this month. SMFS list members Chris Dreith (The Clueologists Club), and Lisa Harkrader (The Mall Walkers), reported being in the read. The 26 tales are not only complete individual mysteries; they also provide the clues to solve the overarching mystery of the book. Sounds pretty cool to this reader. Learn more at their website. You can also preorder the digital format at Amazon.

 

 

A reminder that coming next week is Tollund Man: Stories by SMFS list member Jeff Esterholm who announced this fact on social media. Published in print format by Cornerstone Press, you can order it now in advance of the October 20^th publication day on Amazon.

 

Finally, at the end of the month, A Fatal Affair: The Murder of Helen Grier by Amanda Capper and Judy Penz Sheluk will be released by Superior Shores Press. This is a true crime read on the case of the death of Helen Grier. Was it murder or something else? You can get it in eBook and print formats at Amazon and other vendors.

 

 

Until  next time….

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026