The Shilling Squad

Like the more famous tenant of 221B Baker Street, the bearskin rug at that address also has his operatives, I discovered last month. One of the bearskin rug’s agents sent me a dozen shillings that the bearskin had cached away over the years — it seems Sherlock Holmes was a bit careless with his loose change, and often dropped a bit of it into the thick fur of the hearthrug at 221B.

“Put it to good use,” was the message that the bearskin rug sent along with the shillings, forcing me to come up with a plan that would benefit Sherlock-kind and use only a dozen shillings. So here it is:

The granddaddy of all Sherlockian journals, The Baker Street Journal, has been looking for material of late. They’ve come up with some pretty good enticements to lure Sherlockian writers, but submitting an article to the Journal is still a pretty intimidating thing for some of the newer members of our avocation. So I’ve decided to offer one of the bearskin’s 221B shillings to those who make the attempt, just to help bolster their courage. Whether their articles are accepted or rejected by the Journal, they still get the shilling, just for trying. The official rules run like this:

Send a copy of your notification of acceptance or rejection (dated after Nov. 1, 1997) from The Baker Street Journal to me here at The Holmes & Watson Report. If your article was rejected by the BSJ, you can send it along, too. If it’s not horribly offensive or totally unpublishable, we’ll include it in an upcoming issue of this publication. Either way, you get published, and either way, you get a Victorian shilling just for trying to get an article in The Baker Street Journal.

This offer is for Holmes & Watson Report subscribers only, limited to the first twelve to respond (for the moment — the rug might send more shillings). Investitured Baker Street Irregulars need not apply (you’ve already got your shillings; send your club journal an article!). Shilling winners will have their names forever enshrined in upcoming issues as the Bearskin Rug’s Shilling Squad.

Give it a shot, this is one contest you can’t lose.

— The Editor