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

Dear Readers,

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.

We’re in the midst now of a publishing revolution; electronic publishing is booming and EQMM is one of the magazines in the forefront of this brave new world, with high rankings for Amazon’s Kindle and the several other electronic readers on the market. Digital publishing is bringing EQMM to a whole new set of readers, whom we welcome with as much pleasure as Ellery Queen must have felt over his first subscribers. But we treasure equally those readers who’ve been with us through our many decades in print.

I’m betting that we still have at least a few readers on our rolls who received that first issue in 1941. This special September/October 70th Anniversary issue is dedicated to you, and to all of our other longtime subscribers. (Write and tell us who you are!)

With appreciation from all of us at EQMM,

Janet Hutchings