The 2026 BSI Weekend – Awards and Honors

by Scott Monty January 12, 2026

“a brief review of what had passed” [THOR]  

In the next episode of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, we'll be covering some of our own personal experiences at the 2026 BSI Weekend that ran from January 7 – 11, 2026, during which some 300+ Sherlockians descended on Midtown Manhattan to celebrate the 172nd birthday of Sherlock Holmes.

For the purposes of this update, we're focused on the accolades from the weekend, which happened over a series of events.

On Thursday, January 8, the ACD Society held its annual meeting at the Mysterious Bookshop, which once again included the running of the Wessex Cup, with 16 entered horses. After seven heats, the winner was Garnet, owned by Karen Ellery.

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Doylean Honors

The ACD Society also had a more august role, which was the conferring of its annual Doylean Honors.

For Lifetime Service:

• Clifford S. Goldfarb, a Toronto lawyer who has had many roles over the years, including Chairman of the Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at the Toronto Reference Library and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the ACD Society; author of The Great Shadow (a book on Arthur Conan Doyle’s Napoleonic War writing), editor of Rodney Stone, wrote the introduction to The Complete Brigadier Gerard; and much more.

For excellence in the "Performing Arts" category:

• Hal Glatzer for the play, “A Musicale in Mrs. Hudson’s Parlor”

For excellence in the "Fiction and Poetry" category:

• Chris Chan for the poetry collection, “Sherlock Poems”
• Margie Deck for the story collection, Sherlock Holmes Into the Fire
• Laurence Trujillo for the short story, “The Statement of James McCarthy, Criminal”

For excellence in the "Visual Arts" category:

•  Carla Coupe for “A. Conan Doyle Egg”
• Jeremiah Schiek for the illustrations in the graphic novel, “Sherlock Holmes: The Phantom Masquerade #1”

For excellence in the "Scholarly Writing" category:

• Richard Fallon and David Hone for the chapter, “Arthur Conan Doyle, Michael Crichton, and the case of palaeontological fiction,” in Palaeontology in Public: Popular science, lost creatures and deep time, edited by Chris Manias (Manchester Univ. Press 2025)
• Andrew Singleton and Matt Tomlinson for “Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Wanderings of a Spiritualist: Missionary work in Australia, 1920-1921,” in their book, Let the Dead Speak: Spiritualism in Australia (UCL Press 2025)

Congratulations to all! A recording of the entire awards ceremony will be available soon via Doings of Doyle.

Susan Rice Mentorship Award

On Friday at the Gillette Luncheon, the assembled diners bore witness to the latest recipient of the Susan Rice Mentorship Award.

The Susan Rice Mentorship Award was established in 2022 to recognize the activities of a member of the Sherlock Holmes community who has been a mentor to others, in the spirit of Susan Rice.

This year's honoree, announced at the William Gillette Luncheon, was our very own Burt Wolder, BSI ("The Third Pillar from the Left").

Burt Wolder accepts the Susan Rice Mentorship Award at Connolly's. Photo credit: Will Walsh

Previous honorees of the Susan Rice Mentorship Award:

• Peter Blau, BSI ("Black Peter") 
• Evy Herzog, BSI ("The Daintiest Thing Under a Bonnet")
• Francine Kitts, BSI ("Lady Trelawney Hope")
• Julie McKuras, BSI ("The Duchess of Devonshire")

Plaudits From the BSI Dinner

As ever, the swirling curiosity and interest are centered on the Baker Street Irregulars annual investitures of new members. But before that, we were greeted with other substantial news.

The Woman

The Woman, an honorific given to the spouse of a Baker Street Irregular was announced at the pre-dinner reception. This year's honoree was Ann Brauer Andriacco, wife of Dan Andriacco, BSI (" St. Saviour’s, Near King’s Cross"). She was toasted and introduced by Robert Sharfman, BSI ("Killer Evans"), who is affectionately known as "Ann's boyfriend." Ann gave her own touching and humorous remarks.

The Morley-Montgomery Award

Each year, one article in the Baker Street Journal (as determined by a panel of judges) is chosen for the Morley-Montgomery Award. 

This year, the award was given to Fabienne Courouge, BSI ("Henri Fournaye ") for her article “Edmond Locard, the Forensic Pioneer Inspired by Sherlock Holmes,” appearing in the Autumn 2025 issue of the BSJ.

The Honours List (Investitures)

And then we arrived at the announcement of the latest investitures into the Baker Street Irregulars. Membership is granted by Michael Kean, BSI ("General Gordon"), who serves at the BSI's "Wiggins." Each member receives an investiture — a phrase from the Sherlock Holmes canon that is significant or in other ways meaningful to that person.

The BSI's Class of 2026 is a large one, and is as follows:

1. Michael Barton - "Baron Von Herling"
2. Matt Hall - "The Earl of Maynooth"
3. Linda Hein - "The Hotel National"
4. Jen Kneeland - "The Haymarket Theatre"
5. Richard Krisciunas - "William Morris"
6. Max Magee - "Cyril Morton"
7. Rusty Mason - "John Mason"
8. Ashley Mayo - "Capital and Counties Bank"
9. Madeline Quiñones - "Sir Joshua Reynolds"
10. George Scheetz - "John Clayton"
11. P.J. Sullivan - "The Ancient Cornish Language"
12. Tom Ue - "London University"

Evelyn Herzog, BSI ("The Daintiest Thing Under a Bonnet") and Denny Dobry, BSI  ("A Single Large Airy Sitting-Room") both received the Two Shilling Award, for service above and beyond.

BSI Class of 2026. Photo credit: Will Walsh

We're particularly pleased to note that listeners of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere will recognize the names Rich Krisciunas and Madeline Quiñones, who have appeared on and contributed to the show. Rich appeared on Episode 236: The Legion of Zoom, and of course Madeline was our special correspondent who reviewed podcasts in her "A Chance of Listening" segment in over 30 episodes.

Transitions

One of the charms of the BSI is it is "one fixed point in a changing age," with traditions of decades that continue apace. This necessarily requires a change in leadership from time to time. While Mike Whelan held onto the title of "Wiggins" for 25 years, Michael Kean decided to pass the torch after six short but very momentous years (having led the organization through the pandemic). 

"Just one more thing..."

In doing so, he named Steve Doyle, BSI ("The Western Morning News") as the new Wiggins, as Kean takes on the mantle of Wiggins Emeritus.

The Two Wigginses

One of the other traditions of the BSI Weekend is the auction in support of the Dr. Watson Fund at the BSI Luncheon Reception. The Watson Fund provides a means of support for those who might not otherwise be able to afford events at the BSI Weekend. It is anonymously administered, and tax-deductible donations are made throughout the year, as well as at the auction and the raffle each year.

This year's raffle prize was donated by Danna Mancini, BSI ("McMurdo") and it was a model of the Bruce-Partington submarine.

But, the real news came after the auction, when Peter Blau decided it was time to hang up his gavel. Except, Peter never used a gavel...

It is difficult to capture all of the activities of the BSI Weekend, due to so many small groups branching out to honor their own traditions, including named events such as ASH Wednesday, Lost in New York with a Bunch of Sherlockians, and the ASH Brunch. Not to mention other events like the Vendors Room, the BSI Reception, and the dozens of planned and unplanned informal gatherings.

A comprehensive report of the events will be in the Spring issue of the Baker Street Journal. Check your subscription to make sure you're on the list. You won't want to miss it.

As ever, the game's afoot!