In a message dated 5/31/2002 11:50:19 AM Eastern Daylight
Time,
owner-rara-avis@icomm.ca writes:
<<
Speaking of reissues of forgotten stuff, I recently
found
_The Red Right Hand_ by Joel Townsley Rogers (on
Blue
Murder), a very good suspense novel that. Are there
other
Rogers titles worth reissuing?
Regards,
MrT >>
THE STOPPED CLOCK (1958) by Rogers might be of interest. The
British edition was called NEVER LEAVE MY BED. Thinking of
that book, reminded me of the undeservedly forgotten Stanley
Ellin's MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL (1972), which won the
Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere. "Mirror" most certainly
deserves reprinting.
Preparing to move this summer has me digging through boxes,
even though the move is only a couple of miles. All sorts of
things are turning up. The other day I found ten or so novels
by Chandler's old buddy Cleve F. Adams. As I consider myself
an accumulator rather than a collector, I have over the
decades found and held onto all sorts of things. The other
day I came upon some 1933 issues of "The Author &
Journalist" magazine. It's of the
"Writer's Digest" format but seems to be more geared toward
the true professional than sometimes wannabe feel of today's
WD. Anyway, it has a market list in its September 1933
issue.
In that market list, there is a "List A" described as
"General periodicals, standard, literary, household, popular
and non-technical, which ordinarily pay on acceptance at
rates of about 1 cent a word." This list includes mainstream
magazines such as "Esquire" (5c on acc.) and The New Yorker
(Good rates on acc.). Of more interest to us is the listing
for "Black Mask" which I will quote in full:
Black Mask (Warner) 578 Madison Ave, New York, (M-20) Action
detective short stories 4000 to 6000, without the usual crime
and solution motivation, novelettes up to 15,000. Action,
characterization, plausibility emphasized. Joseph T. Shaw.
Good rates. Acc.
The "M-20" means it was a monthly that cost 20 cents an
issue. A few other detective pulps made the list with the
dividing line being at least 1 cent a word and especially
payment on acceptance rather than publication.
Here is another:
Detective Fiction Weekly, (Munsey) 280 Broadway, New York.
(W-10) Detective, crime, underworld, mystery short-stories
2000 to 8000, novelettes 12,000 to 20,000. Howard Bloomfield.
Good rates, Acc. (New Writers, Pub.)
Another was Street & Smith's "Clues"
Clues (S&S) 79 7th Ave, New York (M) Rapid action
detective fiction, horror and weird elements, woman's
interest. Short stories up to 7,500; novelettes 10,000 to
15,000. F. Orlin Tremaine. 1c Acc.
"List B" had this definition: "General periodicals which (a)
pay on publication or (b) pay less than 1 cent a word, or (c)
are chronically overstocked, or (d) offer a very limited
market, or (e) concerning which our information is
indefinite."
Here is where we find:
Dime Detective Magazine, (Popular) 205 E. 42nd St., New York.
(M-10) Mystery and action short-stories 5000 emphasizing
menace and horror; novelettes 10,000 to 15,000. Harry Steeger
1c up. Pub.
And the long-lived magazine that published Hammett's first
story in it's November, 1922 issue:
10 Story Book, 529 S. Clark St. Chicago, (M-25) Iconoclastic,
frank, sex short-stories, satires, odd stories, playlets.
Harry Stephen Keeler, $6 a story, Pub. (Slow.)
The magazine also featured a regular column "Gossip from our
New York representative" Ed Bodin. Readers of Frank Gruber's
fascinating memoir THE PULP JUNGLE will recognize Bodin's
name. In fact it was only a few months after this issue came
out that Gruber moved to New York determined to make it as a
writer.
Richard Moore
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