This issue, we feature the remarkable results of our first short story contest. We asked for submissions based around a painting by Ron Miller (featured on the cover), and we received more than a hundred entries, most of which were terrific. We had to make some painful choices to pare down the list, and we finally came up with a list of winners and runners-up. Here are the results:

FIRST PLACE

“Kat’s Ninth Life,” by Pam Barnsley

SECOND PLACE

“La Minette,” by Michael Gorman

THIRD PLACE (tie)

“Passport,” by Darren O. Godfrey

“The Case of the Impaled Artist,” by Wayne Carey

HONORABLE MENTION

Viviana De Cecco · Teel James Glenn · Nancy Hansen
Phyllis Ann Karr · donalee Moulton · Alan Orloff
Stephen D. Rogers · R.D. Simmons · Al Sirois
H.K. Slade · Janice Law · Elysia Whisler

This is, quite obviously, more than we fit into a typical issue of Black Cat Weekly—almost double, in fact—so we are splitting the stories up and running them in two issues. The second volume will appear in a couple of weeks with the remainder of the stories.

Rounding out this issue are a mystery novel by Swedish writer and journalist Julius Regis Petersson (1889–1925), who wrote as Julius Regis, and a solve-it-yourself puzzler by Hal Charles. Hal Charles has appeared in every issue since #1 so had to appear here, too!

This is the complete lineup—

All Artwork by Ron Miller

NOVEL

The Copper House, by Julius Regis

A strange metal house hides murder, rumor, and a reporter’s trap.

SOLVE-IT-YOURSELF MYSTERY

“The Unlocked Home Mystery,” by Hal Charles

Can you solve the mystery before the detective? All the clues are there!

SHORT STORIES

“Kat’s Ninth Life,” by Pam Barnsley

The director has a script. The lead actress has claws and a different plan.

“Passport,” by Darren O. Godfrey

A forbidden magazine becomes a portal to impossible worlds...

“Sea Turtles All Over Again,” by R.D. Simmons

A dashing sea yarn of cat pirates, bad choices—and homefront fury!

“Mystery of the Pirate Tigress,” by Stephen D. Rogers

A pirate, a password—and a puzzle worth millions.

“Catalina’s Storm,” by Elysia Whisler

On a storm-lashed bay, a brother hunts a collector of lost women...

“Captain Fluffy Sails Again!” by Alan Orloff

A swashbuckling tale of cats, dogs, and the ultimate pirate showdown!

“The Cat’s Last Cry,” by Viviana De Cecco

A threatening photo. A dead star. Can Detective Armandi find the killer?

“Starblood,” by A.L. Sirois

A grifter must help a cursed cat-woman steal from the Starblood...