Ellery Queen magazine has been in publication since 1941. The seventy-plus-year-old publication was originally launched by Lawrence E. Spivak of Mercury Press. The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, as it is called today, is a monthly magazine. The magazine gets its rather distinguished name from the writing team of two cousins of Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee, who wrote their stories under the pen name ‘Ellery Queen’. Dannay served as editor-in-chief from 1941 until his death in 1982; from where Eleanor Sullivan took over until 1991. From 1991 to date, it remains under the editorship of Janet Hutchings.
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine’s manifesto as given by Dannay is “to elevate the gaze of mystery writers in general to a genuine literary form, to encourage good writing among our peers by offering a practical market that is otherwise unavailable, develop new writers who seek expression in the genre”. .”
Staying true to his manifesto, Dannay dedicated himself to finding the most intriguing stories that contained elements of crime or mystery, written by famous literary figures past and present. About forty Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners were sucked into the mystery magazine, including: Rudyard Kipling, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Norman Mailer, and Alice Walker. Eminent names like Nancy Pickard, Harry Kemelman and Jack Finney began their careers as mystery writers at Ellery Queen.
A subscription to Ellery Queen Mystery magazine upholds its tradition of literary excellence, with its first-rate detective and crime novels continuing to intrigue readers today as well. This magazine has won many recognition awards since its inception and is considered the oldest and most notable crime fiction publication in the United States.
Many writers have contributed to the collection, producing hit crime stories spanning a variety of genres including: cozy for the tough; historical to contemporary; police procedures; psychological suspense; IP stories; tales of impossible crimes; locked room; classic detective novels; and the urban noir par excellence. The Ellery Queen Mystery magazine also published novels and short stories featuring a fictional detective named “Ellery Queen”.
The success of the magazine was more like a roller coaster. Its popularity peaked when it started, and it slowly lost its glory in the middle. Now it is gradually gaining readers again due to its online presence. The captive audience has grown to 30,000, thanks to their resilience and the belief of their editor Janet Hutching, who is sure that the Ellery Queen Mystery ezine is undergoing a renaissance; something that every evolving post experiences.
Most magazines have suffered from declining readership in recent years. Factors such as magazine circulation availability, circulation reach, rising publishing costs, constant customer turnover, and many other minute details have affected physical magazine distribution. Publishers are now realizing the importance of digital publishing and often make the switch fully aware of the positives and negatives: as the positives seem to outweigh the negatives. The reach of a digital magazine is global compared to the demographic restrictions of print. With the presence of many applications readily available, online digital publishing has never been easier. With the click of a button, millions of readers have access to a magazine in different parts of the world, on any smart device via the Internet. Most of the apps that host these publications are offered on mobile devices for consumers to download for free, making them the most conducive platform for publishing.
As global warming affects us, there is a need to join the green revolution and make the shift to something greener. The shift to go digital; our small part in the fight to reduce global warming.
