Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mystery 1891 and 1892
Edited by Richard T. Ryan
“‘You crossed my path on the 4th of January,’ said he. ‘On the 23rd you incommoded me; by the middle of February I was seriously inconvenienced by you; at the end of March I was absolutely hampered in my plans; and now, at the close of April, I find myself placed in such a position through your continual persecution that I am in positive danger of losing my liberty. The situation is becoming an impossible one.’
Synopsis from the editor: The Year of Mystery series reaches its trickiest point for authors, the time of The Great hiatus when the world believed Sherlock Holmes to be deceased.
Stories from January – April, 1891 may be traditional Sherlock Holmes stories. From May, 1891 through all of 1892, stories must focus on other characters in the Canon. Consider penning a story in which Dr. Watson, Wiggins, Mrs. Hudson, Mycroft or any of the Scotland Yard inspectors take center stage. There might even be a story told from Colonel Moran’s perspective.
The story can be related to and then told by Watson, or the character you choose can tell it in the first person.
After May of 1891, I will also consider one story each year of the Great Hiatus that is a recollection from the journals of Holmes during his travels. These can be set in any of the countries mentioned, and they could even be extracted from the records of Sigerson.
As for the passage above, the stories in the first four months of 1891 could be derived from the quote in which we learn how Holmes crossed Moriarty’s path in January and incommoded the professor later in the month. February might reveal how the professor was inconvenienced while March might reveal how how Holmes hampered his enemy’s plans. April is vague, but then that’s why we are writers. If you choose one of those months, I think you at must acknowledge in some way the threat posed by Moriarty and some sort of action taken by Holmes.
Given these restrictions, I’m going to ask for detailed pitches to avoid any type of duplication. I would prefer not to have any canonical character except perhaps Watson featured in more than one story per year, and I’m arbitrarily limiting Watson to two.
Submission Guidelines: The stories must meet the above criteria and fit with the timeline. Holmes and Watson should act like they do in the original stories.
Authors interested in participating should first send a synopsis of their adventure and the month of the year they wish it to take place. If your story does not need a specific month (i.e. it takes place in autumn and could be in September, October, or November) please let me know that as well. Once your synopsis has been accepted, you should begin drafting the story.
Submission length: 5,000 – 10,0000 words (it is okay to go over some).
Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of 125 dollars and a complimentary copy of the paperback edition of the book.
Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication.
Submission deadline for proposals is May 31, 2026. Submission deadline for stories is July 31, 2026.
Publication: Fall, 2026
Send proposals and submissions in a word document that is double spaced, in Times New Roman, and in 14 point font to rich.ryan52@gmail.comwith the heading ATTN: SHERLOCK HOLMES A YEAR OF MYSTERY 1891 or ATTN: SHERLOCK HOLMES A YEAR OF MYSTERY 1892
