Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Vol. 138, Nos. 3 & 4. Whole Nos. 821 & 822, September/October 2011

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In the fall of 1941, this magazine made its debut. Could EQMM’s founders have dreamt then that their concept for a publication would prove so on the mark that EQMM would survive seven decades of changes in American culture, education, and reading habits? I tend to think not; editor Ellery Queen was clear in his letter to readers in the first issue that this was an untested venture whose future would depend entirely on how enthusiastic reader response proved.

Word about Queen’s outstanding publication spread fast, even reaching such elite literary circles as that of Dorothy Parker, who became a regular reader and is said to have remarked that EQMM could only be improved by coming out more frequently. I imagine that there was not only pleasure but a little surprise in the editorial offices over how rapidly the new magazine caught on and continued to grow.

Over the years, with changes in society, the fortunes of American fiction magazines have waxed and waned, but EQMM is one of a very few such magazines fortunate enough to have been able to count on the extraordinary loyalty of its longtime subscribers to see it through temporary dips in the short-fiction market.

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