Foxwell on unexpected authors in EQMM.

H.G.Wells, ca. 1915–20. Library of 
Congress, Prints and Photographs Div.

Over on the Something Is Going to Happen blog of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, in honor of the magazine's 85th anniversary, I provide in "Behind the Pages: Moonlighting in Mystery" a rundown of some unexpected authors who have appeared in the pages of EQMM, including such writers as Pearl S. Buck and H.G. Wells. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pearl S. Buck, ca. 1932. Library of
Congress, Prints and Photographs Div.

 

"Trouble Is My Business" exhibition, LSUS.

Running through September 30 at Louisiana State University Shreveport's Noel Memorial Library is the exhibition "Trouble Is My Business: Detective Fiction and Its Historical Contexts, which looks at the figure of the detective from Sherlock Holmes to Mike Hammer and how they reflect the culture in which they lived. 

Upcoming presentation on Carter Brown's work.

The State Library of New South Wales in Sydney announced the free online presentation "Cataloguing Carter Brown's Literary Legacy" on 3 Nov 2026 from 11A to noon local time (that would be 8P to 9P EST). The presenter will be Clara Sitbon, a senior lecturer in French and Francophone studies at the University of Sydney who specializes in crime fiction and has investigated the question of what Carter Brown (aka Alan Yates) actually wrote. Yates (1923–85), who emigrated from Britain to Australia, is often credited with writing more than 300 books and 75 novellas in genres such as mystery, western, science fiction, and horror. 

The pioneering Mary Fortune.

Collection of Mary Fortune stories
published by Verse Chorus Press and
coedited by Lucy Sussex and 
Megan Brown

The Nightlife radio program on the Australian Broadcasting Corp. discusses with author Lucy Sussex the pioneering mystery work by Mary Fortune (1833–1911).

New from McFarland: History of Dial M for Murder.

Hot off the presses at McFarland and Co. is Frederick Knott and Dial M for Murder, in which playwright Richard Weill traces the history of the Edgar-winning play. Included are discussions of Knott's great difficulties in writing Dial M, the Alfred Hitchcock and Andrew Davis films, international productions, and other works by Knott such as Wait Until Dark and Write Me a Murder.

Best Part of the Book podcast: Clues: A Journal of Detection.

On McFarland's Best Part of the Book podcast, executive editor Caroline Reitz (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY/CUNY Graduate Center) and I chat with host Mark Perzel about Clues: A Journal of Detection. Topics include the appeal of mysteries, the history of the journal, revelations that first appeared in the journal, and the most recent issue on disability and detective fiction. Those who would like to subscribe to the journal can receive a 25% discount with the coupon code BESTPART (email journals [at] mcfarlandpub.com).

2026 Dove Awardee: Stewart King.

Stewart King's Murder in the 
Multinational State: Crime Fiction
from Spain (Routledge, 2019)

The latest recipient of the Dove Award—which is awarded by the Popular Culture Association's Mystery and Detective Fiction Area and recognizes contributions to the serious study of mystery, detective, and crime fiction—is Stewart King, associate professor of European languages at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia). King, a specialist in Spanish and Catalan crime fiction, has edited or coedited 6 books (e.g., the Cambridge Companion to World Crime Fiction, 2022), produced 35 book chapters and 28 articles, as well as coedits the journal Crime Fiction Studies. He previously served on the editorial board of Clues: A Journal of Detection (I am managing editor of the journal).

The award is named for past PCA president and distinguished mystery scholar George N. Dove (1913–2003). Past recipients of the Dove Award include Frankie Y. Bailey (University at Albany, SUNY), J.C. Bernthal, Martin Edwards, Barry Forshaw, Douglas G. Greene, P. D. James, Christine Jackson, H. R. F. Keating, Margaret Kinsman, Maureen Reddy (Rhode Island College), Janet Rudolph, J. K. Van Dover (Lincoln University), and yours truly.

A 1980s interview with pulp figure Howard Browne.

Noah Beery Jr. (background) and James Garner (foreground) 
in "Sleight of Hand," The Rockford Files (1975)

I came across a post on radio station KPFA of a 1980s interview with sci-fi and mystery pulp author-editor-screenwriter Howard Browne (1908–99) conducted by author Richard A. Lupoff.  A collection of Browne's mysteries with PI Paul Pine is available from Haffner Press. Browne's screen credits include Banacek, Capone (film, 1975), The Fugitive, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Longstreet, Mannix, Mission: Impossible, and 77 Sunset Strip. His novel Thin Air (1954) was adapted three times: as an episode of Climax, as the episode "Sleight of Hand" for The Rockford Files, and as an episode of Simon & Simon.

20 years of The Bunburyist.

The inquiring Elizabeth Foxwell. 

I missed the 20th anniversary of The Bunburyist (which occurred on November 5). I've been very busy as an editor at McFarland and Co., which—although I relish the opportunity to work on many fascinating projects dealing with subjects like women's history and mystery fiction—leaves me less time to devote to social media. I am very grateful for the many visitors who are interested in mystery history and continue to drop by. They might note that lately I've been including posts about mystery-related music (particularly film music), as I tend to find that composers often do not receive much attention for their important work.

The following are the top 10 posts on The Bunburyist based on views, and I should note that my page with links to mystery course syllabi is pretty popular as well. Do you have other favorites?
 

 The Top 10 Posts on The Bunburyist, 2005–25:

10. "Iniquity is catching":  Frank R. Stockton's The Stories of the Three Burglars (1889)

 9. "Security Risk" [TV episode, narrated by Jack Webb, 1963] 

 8. "Iconic Detectives" exhibition at Ohio State

 7. New release, Gerald Fried's crime drama music

 6. Hidden Fear (film, 1957)

 5. McFarland's true crime sale

 4. Upcoming tribute to Rod Serling

 3. "Committed" (TV episode with Alan Ladd, 1954)

 2. "The Grave Grass Quivers," by MacKinlay Kantor (1931)

 1. Dozen Best Detective Stories Ever Written

Rebecca Josephy on magic and detective fiction.

On The Magic Book podcast, Rebecca Josephy (Oakland Univ) talks about the collection she edited, Magic, Magicians and Detective Fiction: Essays on Intersecting Modes of Mystery (McFarland, 2025), on the use of magic and magicians in mysteries, including discussion of impossible crimes and supernatural elements. It analyzes this subgenre's nineteenth-century roots and features reflections on writers such as Canadian-born author Grant Allen (An African Millionaire), Japanese writer Edogawa Ranpo, and American magician-author-editor-illustrator Clayton Rawson. Josephy, a French literature and detective fiction specialist, contributes an essay on gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, created by Maurice Leblanc.

• Review of Magic, Magicians and Detective Fiction in Mythlore, vol. 43, no. 2 (2025). 

• Read about Josephy's earlier Clues article, "A Study in Daniel: Tracing the Biblical Origins of Sherlock Holmes" (38.1, 2020)

2025 Dove Awardee: David Geherin.

The Detective/Mystery Caucus of the Popular Culture Assocation announced its latest Dove Awardee: David Geherin, professor emeritus of English at Eastern Michigan University, who is an Edgar nominee in the Best Critical/Biographical category this year for Organized Crime on Page and Screen. He received earlier Edgar nominations for The Crime World of Michael Connelly: A Study of His Works and Their Adaptations (2022), Scene of the Crime: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction (2008; also nominated for a Macavity Award), and The American Private Eye: The Image in Fiction (1985). His other books include Carl Hiaasen: Sunshine State Satirist (2019), Funny Thing About Murder: Modes of Humor in Crime Fiction and Films (2017), Small Towns in Recent American Crime Fiction (2015), and Elmore Leonard (1989).

The award, given to individuals who have contributed to the serious study of mystery, detective, and crime fiction, honors well-known mystery scholar George N. Dove. The chair of the Dove Award Committee is Rachel Schaffer (Montana State University Billings). Past recipients include Frankie Y. Bailey (University at Albany, SUNY), Martin Edwards, Barry Forshaw, Douglas G. Greene, P.D. James, Christine Jackson, H. R. F. Keating, Margaret Kinsman, Maureen Reddy (Rhode Island College), Janet Rudolph, J. K. Van Dover (Lincoln University), and yours truly.  

• David Geherin reads from Organized Crime on Page and Screen.

J. S. Fletcher on his ouput.

As reported in the February 1933 issue of American Mercury, mystery author J. S. Fletcher (1863–1935) wrote to his publisher, Alfred Knopf, on 7 November 1932 about his output: 

Some controversy having arisen in a literary journal as to whether I have written as many books as Edgar Wallace, I asked the British Museum people to tell me how many books I have published. I have just had their reply—233. 

Awful!

Q. Patrick and radio station WNYC.

Andy Lanset, director of archives at New York Public Radio, discusses how radio station WNYC's signoff played a role in "Death and Canasta" (1950) by mystery author Q. Patrick (aka Hugh Callingham Wheeler).

The neglected Carolyn Wells.

If you missed the OSU Libraries-sponsored presentation by Rebecca Rego Barry on poet, humorist, children's writer, and mystery author Carolyn Wells (1862–1942), the subject of her new book The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells, you now can see the video of the presentation. Wells was the creator of detective Fleming Stone, her mystery The Clue (1909) is on the Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone list of essential mysteries, and her Sherlock Holmes pastiche "The Adventure of the Clothes-line" (1915) is well known in Sherlockian circles. 

Sisters in Crime grants for academic research.

Sisters in Crime is offering grants for up to $500 to buy books to support research projects that contribute to understanding of the role of women or underrepresented groups in crime fiction. Potential candidates must be US citizens or legal residents of the United States or must be conducting research on US authors. The application deadline is April 30, 2024.

2024 Dove awardee: Barry Forshaw.

The 2024 recipient of the George N. Dove Award for contributions to the serious study of mystery, detective, and crime fiction is British author, editor of Crime Time magazine, essayist, journalist, and commentator Barry Forshaw. The Dove Award, named for mystery fiction scholar George N. Dove, is presented by the Detective/Mystery Caucus of the Popular Culture Association; the chair of the Dove Award Committee is Rachel Schaffer (Montana State University Billings). Past Dove recipients include Frankie Y. Bailey (University at Albany, SUNY), Martin Edwards, Douglas G. Greene, P. D. James, Christine Jackson, H. R. F. Keating, Maureen Reddy (Rhode Island College), Janet Rudolph, J. K. Van Dover (Lincoln University), and yours truly.

The legend of Vidocq.

Eugène-François Vidocq. NYPL

Over on the Public Domain Review, Daisy Sainsbury delves into the legend of Eugène-François Vidocq (1775–1857), the head of the Sûreté whose tumultuous life included a criminal past and work in law enforcement, forensics, private investigation, and prison reform. He also achieved literary fame as the author of wildly popular memoirs.

Exhibition: "The Victorian World in Flux."

On display until December 22nd is the exhibition "Detecting an Anxious Gaze: The Victorian World in Flux" in McLennan Library's Rare Books and Special Collections at McGill University. The exhibition is curated by graduate students in the course Enter the Detective. Mystery items include Revelations of a Lady Detective (1884) by William Stephens Hayward.

More on the exhibition here.

McFarland's December sale.

New from McFarland:
God and the Great Detective

If you missed McFarland's November sale, you still can save 25% on all McFarland books (including the McFarland Companions to Mystery Fiction) with the HOLIDAY23 coupon code. It's a good idea to place time-sensitive orders by December 16. Visit the McFarland website. 

 

A new Jury Box columnist for EQMM.

I debut in the July/Aug 2023 Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine as The Jury Box columnist (I am the first woman to write the column--I think I'll be writing one column per year). As someone who grew up reading Jon L. Breen's Jury Box reviews, it's a dream come true. I review classic reprints or short story collections by Anthony Berkeley [Cox], Eleanor A. Blake, J. Harvey Bond [Russell Robert Winterbotham], Mary Fitt [Kathleen Freeman], Elisabeth Sanxay Holding, E. C. R. Lorac [Edith Caroline Rivett], Ellery Queen & Josh Pachter, Jack Ritchie [John George Reitci], and Susan Scarlett [Noel Streatfeild].