The Best American Mystery Stories 2001

Foreword

This is the fifth volume in this series of Best American Mystery Stones from the distinguished publishing house Houghton Mifflin, and, I don’t know, but it may well be the best yet.

There are quite a few authors here who were previously unknown to me, just as there are among those on the honor roll — the other distinguished mystery stories of 2000. Many of the genre’s more familiar names are not present in this collection, either because they failed to write short stores this past year or because some of these new voices simply produced superior work. This is, for all of us who are serious readers, whether of mystery fiction or of any fiction at all, a very good thing. It’s a comfort to know that the pipes remain full, and that the future of the story is secure.

I’ve noticed one major change since I became the series editor five years ago: That first year, there were a handful of stories published as electronic originals. The next year there were a few more. This year I probably saw 250 to 300 of them, keeping the total number of stories examined well beyond a thousand.

To be frank, most of the electronically published stories are not terribly outstanding. Not much editing occurs on many sites in the e-publishing world, and often not much selectivity, either, so it’s not surprising that the vast bulk of those stories have nothing original or stylistically compelling about them. However, and this is significant, not a single story in the 1997 volume even made it to the honor roll. This year several did, and several others were pretty close. I can conclude only that more and more good material will show up on these sites among all the dross, and it won’t be long before a story, or more than one, cracks the ice and makes it into the book.

Some things don’t change much. More of the stories are crime or suspense stories — stories of character and motivation — than detective stories. This is probably because the pure detective story may be the hardest kind of short fiction to write. On the other hand, it may be that younger authors are more interested in delving into personality and psychology than in puzzles. Either way, this phenomenon gives the anthology a range that would be impossible if all the tales were of observation and detection.

The other thing that doesn’t change much is that this year’s guest editor, Lawrence Block, has selected a story by Joyce Carol Oates, who breaks her own record by appearing in this annual for the fourth time. In case you missed it, she was also nominated for another National Book Award, her sixth, for the brilliant Blonde, a novel about Marilyn Monroe. Eighteen of the other authors all make their first appearance in Best American Mystery Stories, the exception being Peter Robinson, who brightens these pages for the second time.

Lawrence Block, who has had stories in two previous volumes, was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America for his lifelong achievements in the world of mystery fiction. He is a former president of that organization and a multiple winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award in both the Best Novel and Best Short Story categories. As guest editor, he was ineligible to have a story selected for this volume. It would, after all, be a mite unseemly for him to select one of his own stories, however worthy.

I’m sure you will agree that it was worth that sacrifice when you read his amusing introduction and revel in his selections. I wish he could have found room for one or two stories that I loved and he didn’t, but there you are. Immediately after I got his list of stories for the book I called him to say that I had done my own rankings and, astonishingly, eighteen of my top twenty stories were on his list. I can only commend his superb taste.

No volume in this series should ever be published without my sincere expression of gratitude to Michele Slung, the fastest and smartest reader on the planet, without whom this book would require three years to compile. She examines literally thousands of stories to determine if they are mystery- or crime-related, and then makes a determination of whether they are good enough to be seriously considered. You will find several listings, both among selected stories and those on the honor roll, from what may be defined as arcane sources for this genre, and that is a tribute to her own detective skills in ferreting out worthwhile fiction for these pages.

Also, a word of thanks is due to the editors and publishers of small magazines in every part of the country who favor us with subscriptions and submissions. None of these people works for the money, but purely for the joy of contributing to the creation and dissemination of fine writing.

The definition of a mystery story that I have used throughout my somewhat lengthy professional life is any work of fiction in which a crime or the threat of a crime is central to the plot or the theme. If the work is by an American or a Canadian, and has been first published in an American or a Canadian book or periodical, it is eligible for consideration for this book. If you are an author, editor, publisher, or someone who cares about one and would like to submit a story, please do so. Send a tearsheet or the entire publication to me at The Mysterious Bookshop, 129 West 56th Street, New York, New York 10019.

To be eligible for the next volume, the story must have been published in the calendar year 2001. If it was first published in electronic format, you must submit a hard copy, as I have not yet mastered that machine in the corner, the computer, though I am taking lessons and may soon enter the twentieth century (and yes, I know we are finally in the twenty-first). The earlier your submission arrives, the greater the chance that I’ll love it. For those 135 submissions I got during the last ten days of 2000, I found it a little harder to find the love in my heart that caused me to give up holiday merriment to lock myself in and read, read, read. Be warned.

O.P.