The Best American Mystery Stories 2015

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Authors are seldom cultural icons in America. A vast number of young people cannot identify a photo of Joe Biden or Mitt Romney, have never heard of The New Yorker or The Atlantic, think Abraham Lincoln is the president of the United States (yes, a survey taken last year showed that 4 percent of Americans were confident that this was the case), and guess that Stephen Hawking is, like, um, a quarterback. Yet they can instantly recognize a photo of Katy Perry or Beyoncé and, in all likelihood, provide a comprehensive discography in relatively accurate chronology. But an author? Someone who writes the books from which their favorite films are so frequently adapted? No.

Publishers spend small fortunes advertising and marketing their star authors, and legions of writers work their fingers bloody tweeting, blogging, posting, and whatever else it’s possible to do on various social media. Authors make personal appearances at bookshops, libraries, universities, and whatever organizations will have them, and they give scads of interviews for newspapers, magazines, websites, radio programs, podcasts, and television shows. Nonetheless, most may as well be laboring in the Witness Protection Program for all the recognition they receive, while their books seemingly are released as documents that only those classified with top-level security clearance may locate.

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