Re: RARA-AVIS: Jim Doherty's Gems

From: Bill Bowers ( BBowers@one.net)
Date: 02 Oct 2002


>Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2002 16:29:10 -0700 (PDT)
>From: JIM DOHERTY < jimdohertyjr@yahoo.com>
>Subject: Re: RARA-AVIS: Jim Doherty's Gems

I wrote, regarding 'reprinting' Jim's posts):
> > Then again: I just (Saturday) received the first issue of the Kate
> > Stine-edited Mystery Scene. Perhaps she might be interested in a
> > compendium of your posts.... (Don't want it to
> > become "cozy-heavy", after all!)
>
>That would be fine, too. Does she pay? I know
>DAPA-EM would be a freebie, which is okay with me, but
>naturally, I'd prefer to get paid.

Naturally!

This incarnation of Mystery Scene has a full-blown web-page:

http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/

Herewith, excerpts from the "Editorial Guidelines"

[ http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/guidelines.html ]

>Our Contributors
>
>Mystery Scene publishes a broad range of experienced writers -- many of
>them mystery authors. We also receive contributions from editors,
>publishers, agents, TV and film folks, and booksellers. We are, however,
>very open and appreciative of new writers and new viewpoints. Please do be
>familiar with Mystery Scene before you contact us -- we do not publish
>fiction, for example. (See the sidebar at right for information on
>obtaining sample issues.)
>
>Articles
>
>We are interested in articles on a variety of topics within the crime &
>mystery genre. These include: essays on the writing life, appreciations of
>particular books or subgenres, biographical sketches of interesting people
>in the mystery world, opinion pieces, career overviews, and the occasional
>rant. Payment is negotiated with the editor in advance; payment is upon
>publication. Length: 800 to 2,000 words.

There's lot's more on that page, but, yes, they pay -- though probably not enough for you to take early retirement.

So, Jim, send Stine a couple of the posts, and a backstory ... and see what happens. If she is interested, great. Otherwise, my 'offer' stands.

[Actually, several other Avians might try their hand: MS has never had enough H-B stuff, to my taste...]

## By the way, despite the parenthetical quibble up there, I do recommend the magazine to any serious mystery fan/reader. Close to 90 pages each issue, and I end up reading most ... which is not true of most magazines, any more.

The current issue, #76, contains a lengthy Tribute to the incredible Ed Gorman, who co-founded MS, and edited the previous 75 issues.

I'm not sure if Ed was ever in an apa, but he *did* start out as a science fiction fan, and published a number of sf fanzines in the late 50s/early 60s.

I'm not sure of Bill Denton's "inspiration" for starting this list, but, in large degree sf fans "founded" mystery fandom (in some ways, mystery fandom is maybe a decade or two _behind_ sf fandom; this is not, I hasten to add, necessarily a Bad Thing!). Back in the 60s, Len & June Moffatt started a little throwaway titled "The JDM Bibliophile". I'm not sure if they were directly involved in the beginning of DAPA-Em -- which was modeled after the sf apas, which in turn were modeled after the mundane ajay associations
(going back to the mid-1800's), which produced H.P. Lovecraft, among others..... -- but they are still active members of the apa.

And sf fans -- the late Bruce Pelz, along with, I do believe, the versatile Moffatt's -- started Bouchercons, the mystery equivalent of the sf WorldCon
-- naming it after William A.P. White/Anthony Boucher -- one of several authors/editors who were equally well known in both the mystery and science fiction genres.....

But don't get me started!

If Joy, or anyone else is interested, a crash course in sf fandom can be gleaned by poking around

http://fanac.org/

And if anyone is interested in sf fanzines, quite a few are electronically hosted on (and even more linked to) a rather incredible site we refer to as The Fanzine Newsstand:

http://www.efanzines.com/

When you come up for air, let me know what you think!

---
Bill Bowers  |  <Bill@Outworlds.net>  |   "I, like many of you, have known 
in a vague way that fandom exists.  It was only when I actually went into 
the thing -- subscribed to a couple of fanzines, that I really knew what a 
dynamic, alive group fandom is.  Those of you who are not in fandom in some 
way are much like the wallflowers at a dance.  You may be enjoying the 
dance music (in this case the prozines).  You might even be getting fun 
watching the dancers (the fans).  But unless you get on the floor and dance 
you aren't getting all you should out of science fiction and fantasy." --- 
Rog Phillips; The Club House  |  Amazing Stories, June 1948

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