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.

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.

Edwards receives 2023 Dove Award.

The latest recipient of the George N. Dove Award of the Popular Culture Assn's Detective/Mystery Caucus is British novelist and Detection Club president Martin Edwards (Edgar nominee, The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators). The award is presented for contributions to the serious study of mystery and crime fiction. Past recipients include Frankie Y. Bailey, Douglas G. Greene, Christine Jackson, P. D. James, H. R. F. Keating, Margaret Kinsman, Maureen Reddy, John M. Reilly, Janet Rudolph, J. K. Van Dover, and yours truly.

Championing Asimov's mysteries.

Isaac Asimov. LOC,
Prints & Photos Div.

On April 18 at 11:30 am, I'm delivering the paper "'A Necessary Clue': The Mysteries of Isaac Asimov" at the Popular Culture Assn conference in Washington, DC, which attempts to refute the perception of Asimov as merely a purveyor of gimmicks in his mysteries and stumps for his neglected mainstream mystery debut, The Death Dealers (aka A Whiff of Death, 1958).  (This new piece on Sherlock Holmes and SF mentions Asimov, who was a Baker Street Irregular.)

My fellow presenters are Kim Sherwood (University of the West of England and author of Testament), Elizabeth Cuddy (Hampton University), and Christine A. Jackson (Nova Southeastern University).  Read the conference program (guest passes can be purchased onsite for $50 per day for those who would like to attend for a day or two).

Abstract portal opens, 2019 Popular Culture Assn conference.

The next Popular Culture Association conference will take place on April 17–20, 2019, at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC. The portal for abstract submissions is now open through October 1, 2018 (must register for an account to access the portal). The PCA's Mystery and Detective Fiction Area has always been very active; first-time presenters are eligible for the Earl Bargainnier Award (named for a distinguished mystery scholar). Please encourage undergraduate and graduate students to submit paper proposals; members of the Mystery/Detective Fiction Area always have been interested in nurturing the next generation of mystery scholars.

Can't make it to DC? Check out the regional Popular Culture Association conferences.

Jackson receives Dove Award.

The latest recipient of the George N. Dove Award of the PCA's Detective/ Mystery Caucus is Christine Jackson (Nova Southeastern University, FL). The award is presented for contributions to the serious study of mystery and crime fiction. Jackson's publications include The Tell-Tale Art: Poe in Modern Popular Culture; she also has an article in the latest issue of Clues on Tana French.

Reddy receives 2013 Dove Award.

Maureen Reddy (Rhode Island College) is this year's recipient of the George N. Dove Award from the Detective/Mystery Caucus of the Popular Culture Association for contributions to the serious study of mystery/crime fiction. Reddy is the author of Traces, Codes, and Clues: Reading Race in Crime Fiction and Sisters in Crime: Feminism and the Crime Novel, among other works. Past recipients of the Dove Award include Frankie Y. Bailey, Douglas G. Greene, the late H. R. F. Keating, P. D. James, Catherine Ross Nickerson, and yours truly.

Jurispeepidence.

"Crime and Peepishment" by Diane H. Esher
2010 Peeps in Law, Pt Deux, ABA Journal

The ABA Journal gets into the Marshmallow Peeps act by holding its third contest with legally related Peeps dioramas; submission deadline is April 5. There's an in-progress gallery of this year's entries; 2010 entries are here.

Graphic arts picks from the Seminary Co-op.

Staff from Chicago's Seminary Co-op Bookstore pick their favorite graphic works (listed here and here), such as Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives (vol. 1), The Cartoon Introduction to Economics (if only this had been published before I suffered through my micro-macro econ course),  and Donald Westlake's and Darwyn Cooke's Parker: The Hunter. My favorite is Action Philosophers ("Plato! Wrestling Superstar of Ancient Greece!").
(Thanks to UChiBLOGo)

Ray Browne, 1922–2009.

As first reported by the Gumshoe site and the Rap Sheet, Ray Browne died on October 22nd from congestive heart failure at the age of 87. He did much to nurture scholarship in popular culture, such as founding the first U.S. popular culture department at Bowling Green State University, the Popular Culture Association, and Popular Press. The latter first published Clues: A Journal of Detection, which was originally edited by Ray's wife, Pat, and is now edited by Margaret Kinsman (London South Bank University, UK) and me. Donations in Ray's memory may be made to the Ray and Pat Browne Popular Culture Library at BGSU, one of the foremost popular culture collections in the country.