The Black Orchid Novella Award is an international contest for novellas that conform to the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe mystery series. Which is to say, a mystery which focuses on the deductive skills of a sleuth. However, submissions must not use the actual character of Nero Wolfe, or any elements of the Wolfe ‘universe’, but should be original unpublished works of fiction. Stories need to be ‘traditional’ in style and involve a murder in which the killer is known to the victim. No explicit sex or violence. There should be engaging relationships between the characters
