Category Archives: History

“Don Quixote as the First Crime Novel” (by Sheila Kohler)

Posted on July 15, 2020 by

Sheila Kohler, who has written two previous posts here, is an acclaimed novelist and winner of the O’Henry Prize, the Open Fiction Award, the Willa Cather Prize, and the Smart Family Foundation Prize. She is the author of over a dozen … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Books, Characters, Fiction, Genre, Guest, History, International, Novels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Forgotten Women” (by Kevin Mims)

Posted on July 8, 2020 by

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began keeping us inside, readers have been seeking alternatives to in-store browsing for their literary needs. Essayist, short-story writer, and prolific reader Kevin Mims (who has written for this blog many times on the subject of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookshops, Characters, Guest, History, Pop Culture, Story, Thrillers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Reading, Writing, and the Making of a Serial Killer” (by Jacqueline Freimor)

Posted on July 1, 2020 by

Jacqueline Freimor made a distinguished debut as a fiction writer in 1995 when she won the Mystery Writer’s of America’s Fiftieth Anniversary Short Short Story Contest in the new writers category. The story was subsequently published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Books, Characters, Editing, Fiction, Genre, Guest, History, mystery fiction, Writers, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Predicting a Pandemic” (by Kevin Mims)

Posted on June 10, 2020 by

Last week on this site I expressed the opinion that most readers are not yet ready to read stories about COVID-19 for entertainment. But as Kevin Mims notes in the following essay, a number of publications, including the New York … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Characters, Criticism, Fiction, Genre, Guest, History, Suspense, Thrillers | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

READING IN A TIME OF CRISIS

Posted on June 3, 2020 by

Some years ago, my colleague Linda Landrigan, editor of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, gave me a copy of Good Poems for Hard Times, edited by Garrison Keillor. That may have been during the Great Recession, because I recall thinking, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History, Story | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

“Whodunit and Whoateit: A Perfect Pairing” (by Katherine Hall Page)

Posted on May 20, 2020 by

When it comes to the connection between cooking and mysteries, we can’t think of a more knowledgable author than Katherine Hall Page. She is often cited as one of the foremost writers in the culinary crime genre, and she is … Continue reading →

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“The First and the Last: In the Shadow of the Uncanny” (by R.T. Raichev)

Posted on May 13, 2020 by

A look at the first published short story by Agatha Christie—and at her last Raicho Raichev’s story “Rassendyll’s Grave” appears in EQMM’s current issue, May/June 2020. A Golden-Age style mystery of the country-house variety, the story incorporates a fascinating twist … Continue reading →

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“Frogs, Castles and Crime Writers” (by Jim Weikart)

Posted on April 29, 2020 by

Longtime treasurer of the International Association of Crime Writers, Jim Weikart is as knowledgable as anyone about that organization’s history and function. In this post, he gives us a personal perspective on the organization and what it’s meant to his … Continue reading →

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“Emil and the Detectives” (by Wynn Quon)

Posted on April 22, 2020 by

Making his debut in EQMM’s May/June 2020 issue (on sale yesterday!) with the story “Art in Pieces” is Canadian writer Wynn Quon, whose previous literary credits are for short film and theater. The Ottowa resident’s short stories have won the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Characters, Guest, History | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

“What True Crime Podcasts Can Teach Us About Writing Mysteries” (by Matt Coleman)

Posted on November 20, 2019 by

Matt Coleman is a writer of mystery and comedy who makes his Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine debut in our current issue (November/December 2019) with the story “Stray Dogs.” He is not a newcomer to the mystery scene, however.  His debut … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, crime, Fiction, Genre, Guest, History, Real Crime, Stranger Than Fiction, Writers, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment