EQMM meets Black Mask

This from Ted Fitzgerald, who spoke with EQMM Editor Janet Hutchings at Bouchercon in Alaska. It's self explanatory.

RJR


EQMM revives Black Mask, looking for stories

Those of us of a certain age fondly remember the days when Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine published stories under the imprint of the equally legendary Black Mask Magazine. Now, after too long an absence, EQMM is teaming with Black Mask conservator Keith Alan Deutsch to revive the imprint on a bimonthly basis. And they’re looking for stories.

Every other issue of EQMM will feature a classic reprint and a new story, starting with the pairing of Dashiell Hammett’s Continental Op story, “Bodies Piled Up,” with “Two Thousand Volts,” a new story by Hammett Award winner Chuck Hogan (Prince of Thieves). According to EQMM editor Janet Hutchings, the magazine has commissioned stories specifically for the Black Mask section but is open to “ and seeking“ submissions. She notes that it would be helpful if stories submitted for the section are marked as such.

And what sort of stories is EQMM looking for?

“We will consider the full range of the current field to be our domain, with emphasis (when we can find them) on fast-paced stories full of action,” said Hutchings. “Just as the original Black Mask Magazine was hard-hitting, readers of our new series should expect the tales contained under this banner to be edgy, and sometimes more violent and harsher in language than other EQMM stories.”

Hutchings hopes the Black Mask revival will expand EQMM’s reader base, attract younger readers, highlight the breadth of the magazine’s fiction (a bit courageous in this age of niche marketing) and correct the erroneous assumption that EQMM is a “cozy” magazine.

How edgy, violent and harsh in language will the stories go?

There’s one way to find out . . . submit. I know I will. Manuscripts should be sent to:
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016

-- Ted Fitzgerald