American Mystery Classics. I spotted a few titles from this series on the shelves of my local library. It covers forgotten works from the Golden Age of detective fiction. Picking one up I tumbled headfirst down a rabbit hole that would have left Alice with a concussion. Who could imagine the political issues fermenting beneath the cover of that book? Culture wars, generational divides, genre battles, gender friction. Who knew crime fiction was such a war zone?
All these awards and "best of" anthologies are selected from a relatively small pool of stories when you consider how many get published each year in a slew of magazines both in print and online. The online landscape is often overlooked by whoever does the selection and it can't be any different. Nobody has the stamina to read everything, it's virtually impossible. So, name recognition plays a role, as does the reputation of the publication - stories in AHMM, EQMM get a boost. When the anthology is managed by a single individual, relationships come into the mix too, and obviously personal tastes. "Best of" should have a subtitle, something like: Of all the stories I read this year, these are the ones I think are the best.... a bit long, unfortunately.
Thank you. I was late in coming to this controversy, which I don't consider a controversy at all. Penzler has "white male syndrome," in my vp a fear of women. Even though he has contributed greatly to our profession, he needs to shut up as his opinions are so off the rails, especially about Sisters in Crime and Malice, that he's ruining his reputation.
You are such a terrific writer and I love your newsletter! Keep it up!
All these awards and "best of" anthologies are selected from a relatively small pool of stories when you consider how many get published each year in a slew of magazines both in print and online. The online landscape is often overlooked by whoever does the selection and it can't be any different. Nobody has the stamina to read everything, it's virtually impossible. So, name recognition plays a role, as does the reputation of the publication - stories in AHMM, EQMM get a boost. When the anthology is managed by a single individual, relationships come into the mix too, and obviously personal tastes. "Best of" should have a subtitle, something like: Of all the stories I read this year, these are the ones I think are the best.... a bit long, unfortunately.
Thank you. I was late in coming to this controversy, which I don't consider a controversy at all. Penzler has "white male syndrome," in my vp a fear of women. Even though he has contributed greatly to our profession, he needs to shut up as his opinions are so off the rails, especially about Sisters in Crime and Malice, that he's ruining his reputation.
You are such a terrific writer and I love your newsletter! Keep it up!
Hope you're doing well, Valerie! Great to hear from you and thanks for your comment. I'm having fun and learning a lot as I work on this newsletter.
We're learning a lot, too! You put a lot of work into your newsletter, and I, for one, really appreciate it, even though I don't comment on every one.