Fiction Beyond the Pulps:
The Digests, Mystery Magazines and On-Line
(1950 and on...)

After the pulps died out, there were drastically fewer markets for short story writers, particularly those of a hard-boiled bent, to sell their wares. Fortunately, there were a handful of outlets left, mostly digests that, for the most part, published everything from cozies to hardcore noir in the same issue.

Suddenly, readers had to work to find the good stuff. Most lasted only a few years, but a handful (most notably Manhunt and Mike Shayne's Mystery Magazine) lasted long enough to have a major impact. A few are still going strong, with new contenders popping up every now and then. Add to this, the current boom in themed anthologies, and the rough, unruly on-line crime fiction scene and the short story market is suddenly looking better than it has in years. Current outlets for fiction are in red; defunct, expired, pushing up the daisies magazines are gray.

Of course, I could be wrong about a lot of these, so if you know better, please let me know... And writers, just to be on the safe side, check with Ralan Conley's Webstravaganza - Dead Market List, a great psite that tracks -- you guessed it -- dead markets.

• Action
  Monthly
  Address: 1614 Ashwood, Little Rock, AR 72211
  Accepts mystery, thriller & suspense stories up to 3,000 words. Also puzzles, humor & reviews.
  ..
• Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine...Subscribe to AHMM
  (December,1956 to present)
  Monthly
  Original publisher: H. S. D. Publications
  Other publishers: Dell
  Address: 475 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
  Contributors: Almost everyone, at one time or another.
  Founded in 1956, AHMM is the second oldest mystery short story magazine in existence -- and the biggest seller. Originally a tie-in with the Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV show, they offer short origial fiction, an occasional "Mystery Classic", poetry, reviews, logic problem. (Same company, different editorial staff from EQMM.) Published eleven times a year, with a special summer double issue in July/August. Now the best-selling crime-fiction magazine in the world, at least in English, and currently tending toward cozies, although it wasn't that long ago that it was regularly publishing P.I. tales by the likes of Loren D. Estleman and Rob Kantner.
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• Barebones
  Noir, noir, noir... Well, some, anyway. It turns out this is mostly non-fiction. It continues as a yearly anthology with top names only.
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• Black Maple
  (2002)
  Editor: Janice Statham
  E-mail: blackmaple@reinette.com
  URL: http://blackmaple.reinette.com/
  A short-lived online crime mag out there, that actually paid for fiction! Black Maple needed dark and mysterious writing, i.e. mystery, suspense, thriller, psychological horror, and true crime. Preferred length was 1000 to 1500 words, but they considered works shorter than 1000 words, as well as works up to a maximum of 5000 words. Alas, it went the way of many on-line mags, and at this time, there are no plans for a print edition.
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• Blue Murder Magazine
  (1998-2001)
  Editor: David Firks
  Contributors: O'Neil de Noux, Kevin Burton Smith
  An excellent e-mag, the late and truly lamented standard bearer for online-published short crime fiction. Each issue was available for download in handy dandy Acrobat pdf format on their also-excellent website. They promised "Fresh Pulp on the Web", and they went about it in a particularly stylish way. Exceptionally writer-friendly, and they also had a column on private eyes written by yours truly, but don't hold that against them... Best of all, they paid their writers. At least until the very end. They'll be missed.
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• Bullet
  (2003-06)
  Editor: Keith Jeffrey
  A new magazine (formerly known as Octane) specializing in what they call "rock'n'roll noir." They promise a slim volume of 10 high voltage stories each no longer than 1500 words. From the promo: "Imagine the buzz of the Ramones, the electric intensity of the Clash. Imagine rock'n'roll turned into fiction. Imagine BULLET." Issue one hit the deck in September 2003 and lasted just seven issues. But it was great fun while it lasted.
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• Cemetery Dance
  Quarterly
  Editor: Richard Chizmar
  Address: PO Box 858, Edgewood, MD 21040.
  Subscriptions: CDP Publications, PO Box 18433, Baltimore MD 21237.
  They bill themselves as "The Magazine of Dark Mystery, Suspense and Horror." Which might be stretched to include a P.I. tale or two.
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• Charlie Chan Mystery Magazine
  (1974, Renown Publications)
  4 issues
  Editor: Cylvia Kleinman, Thom Montgomery
  Publisher: Leo Margulies
  Contributors: Jack Foxx (Bill Pronzini), John Lutz, Dennis Lynds, Gary Brandner, Henry Slesar
  A "brother publication" of Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, Charlie Chan Mystery Magazine lasted only four issues. It featured a Charlie Chan story in each issue. Richard Gallagher fills us in: "As it happens, I know that there were a total of four issues published, because I was a charter (and possibly only!) subscriber. I still have all four, so I thought you might like a little detail on them. Vol. 1, No. 1 was published in November, 1973. Each issue contained a short Charlie Chan novel (ranging from 56 pages to 75 pages) credited to Robert Hart Davis (probably a pseudonym - my guess is Dennis Lynds, who wrote a Charlie Chan novel during the same era). Contributors to the first issue were Jim Duke, Robert W. Alexander, Andrew Bogen, Bill Pronzini, Pauline C. Smith, George Antonich, and Lawrence Treat. Vol. 1, No. 2 was published in February, 1974 (actually, the cover says February but the first page says January). Contributors were Hal Ellson, John Lutz, James P. Cody, Henry Slesar, Lawrence Treat, M.G. Ogan, and Edward D. Hoch. Vol. 1. No. 3 was published in May, 1974. Contributors were David Mazroff, John Lutz, James Holding, Syd Hoff, Jack Foxx, Evelyn Payne, and Herbert Harris. The last issue, Vol. 1, No. 4, was published in August, 1974. Contributors were Francis Clifford, M.G. Ogan, Al Nussbaum, Ronald Anthony Cross, Gary Brandner, Clarence Alva Powell, and Pauline C. Smith.   I suspect that the demise of the magazine was connected to the death of Leo Margulies, because Renown Publications was still soliciting subscriptions in issue no. 4. Incidentally, Thom Montgomery doesn't show up on the masthead until issue no. 3, where he is listed as Editor. The first two issues listed only Leo Margulies as publisher and Cylvia Kleinman (Mrs. Margulies) as Editorial Director." Thanks, Rich.
  NOTE: For those of you in a Charlie Chan frame of mind, you can download each of the four "novel-length" stories, from this website. The stories' titles--"Walk Softy, Strangler," "The Silent Corpse," "Temple of the Golden Hoard," and "The Pawns of Death" let you know what to expect.
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• Crime and Justice Detective Story Magazine
  (1956-57, Arnold Magazines, Inc.)
  Four known issues
  Publisher: Everett M. Arnold
  Clearly a sister of Homicide Detective Story Magazine and Killers Mystery Story Magazine.
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• Crimestalker Casebook
  (AKA Austin Layman's Crimestalker Casebook)
  Editor: Andrew McAleer
  Founders: Andrew McAleer and John McAleer
  Publisher: Falconcroft Press
  Subscriptions: Semi-annual, two years $24 (U.S.); foreign $27 (U.S.). Make cheque payable to: Andrew McAleer, Mount Independence, 121 Follen road, Lexington, Massachusetts 02421-5942, U.S.A.
  E-mail: ASMcAleer@aol.com
  Contributors include: O'Neil De Noux, Stephen D. Rogers, Michael Bracken, Andrew McAleer
  Great small zine, featuring some truly great short stories. Highly recommended.
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• CrimeWave
  (1999--, TTA Press)
  Editor: Mat Coward
  Publisher: TTA Press
  Subscriptions: Quarterly, one issue $6 (U.S.); One year $22 (U.S.). Make cheque payable to: TTA Press, 5 Martins Lane, Witcham, Ely, Cambs CB6 2LB
  From the UK. What a slick package! A lot of great UK and American detective writers strut their stuff.Prices include postage. Well worth it. David Birks of the late, great Blue Murder Magazine assures anyone visiting this site that "This stuff is right up your alley."
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• Deadly Pleasures
  Editor/Publisher: George Easter
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• Detective Story Magazine
  (1950's)
  Contributors included: John D. MacDonald
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• Detective Story Magazine
  (198?-1990)
  Editor: Gary Lovisi
  Contributors included:
  Later merged with Wayne Dundee's Hardboiled to form Hardboiled Detective Magazine for three issues in 1990, whereupon it reverted back to just Hardboiled, edited by Lovisi.
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• Double Action Detective Stories
  (1954-59, Columbia Publications)
  Editor: Robert Lowndes
  Contributors included: Frank Kane, Richard Deming
  Another crime digest from the fifties published out of of Holyoke, Mass.. A sister publication of Mammoth Detective, Fast Action Detective and Mystery Stories, this was one of Columbia's low-budget magazines edited by Robert Lowndes. Double Action Detective Stories was actually the digest-sized continuation of the pulp-sized Double Action. Their editorial offices were located at 241 Church Street, NY 13, NY, which had previously been listed as also the address of the publisher.
  .
  When Columbia folded in late 1959 or early 1960, Robert Lowndes eventually found work with the even lower-budget Health Knowledge Publications, for whom he put together first The Magazine of Horror ('63-'71), and eventually a string of magazines including Startling Mystery Stories, the first magazine to publish Stephen King and F. Paul Wilson. But perhaps his most important "discovery" for the purposes of this site was back at Columbia, when he was the first to publish Edward Hoch (who wrote the obituary for Lowndes in Mystery Scene).
  (Richard Moore, Todd Mason)
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• Ed McBain's Mystery Book
  (1960)
  Contributors included: Richard Prather, Ross Macdonald, Anthony Boucher, Craig Rice,
  Helen Nielsen
  Apparently only published an issue or so in 1960, but the first issue featured a new Shell Scott story by Prather, and a new 87th Precinct story (fancy that), among an impressive list of names (and Pronzini and Adair apparently consider it mostly hard-boiled).
  (Todd Mason)
  ..
• Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (EQMM)...Subscribe to EQMM
  (Fall ,1941 to present)
  Monthly
  Original Editor: Ellery Queen (mainly Fred Dannay)
  Original Publisher: The American Mercury, Inc.
  Contributors: Almost everyone, either as reprints or originals
  Address: 475 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
  Subscription Address: PO Box 54625, Boulder, CO 80322-4625 or phone 800-333-3053.
  First appearing in 1941, and established by Ellery Queen himself (or more accurately themselves), Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine has pretty much become the top dog in the short fiction crime genre, and certainly one of the most critically acclaimed, with 35 major awards and nominations just since 1990! Their forte is short fiction, but they also offer occasional poetry, Jon L. Breen's regular book review column "The Jury Box." Same company, different editorial staff from AHMM. Reaching mystery fans around the world was one of Ellery Queen's first goals for EQMM, and in their more than half-century of publication, EQMM has been translated into more languages than virtually any other American magazine. A new, improved website is worth checking out.
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• Famous Detective Stories
  (1950s, Columbia)
  Editor: Robert Lowndes
  Contributors: Hunt Collins, Frank Kane, Carroll John Daly
  The Robert Lowndes-edited pulps were well down the publishing food chain but he was always able to manage some quality on a shoe-string budget. I've purchased a few copies recently of from the early 1950s. The most recent (via eBay) was the February 1952 issue. All but one of the eight writers were unknown to me and I suspect most if not all were house names for Columbia Publications.
  (Richard Moore)
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• Fast Action Detective
  (Columbia)
  Another crime digest from the fifties published out of of Holyoke, Mass.. Their editorial offices were located at 241 Church Street, NY 13, NY, which had previously been listed as also the address of the publisher. A sister publication of Mammoth Detective, Mystery Stories and Double-Action Detective Stories.
  (Richard Moore)
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• Future Mysterious Anthology Magazine
  (1996-present)
  Quarterly
  Editor: Barb Lakey
  "Short Tales For Story Lovers... by Writers and Artists with Fire To Fly." A fan favourite, Futures is a 130 page quarterly now in its seventh year. Mystery and its subgenres make up 80% of the fiction, the rest is horror, science fiction and mainstream. They also feature cartoons, reviews and some non-fiction. Don't be discouraged by the garish covers, the relatively weak cartoons or layout, or the gushing tone of the "reviews" -- the stories are the real treat here.
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• Guilty Detective Story Magazine
  (1956-62, Feature Publications)
  Contributors: Harlan Ellison, Robert Turner, Talmage Powell, Harry Whittington, Lawrence Block, Gil Brewer
  A long-lasting digest starting with the July 1956 issue and lasting until June 1962. Published by Feature Publications at the same Holyoke, Mass. address as Homicide Detective Story Magazine, et al, with editorial offices at 1790 Broadway and later at 32 West 22nd Street in NYC. This was one of Harlan Ellison's steady markets as it was for Robert Turner. Talmage Powell and Harry Whittington were regulars and Lawrence Block and Gil Brewer also graced its pages.
  (Richard Moore)
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• HandHeldCrime
  (2000-03)
  Monthly
  Editors: Victoria Esposito-Shea and Jamey Dumas
  Specifically tailored to the hand-held market, although everything is also on their web site. And Vicky's there, so you know it's good stuff. Unfortunately, HandHeld, one of the first online markets for crime fiction that actually paid their writers, went the way of Blue Murder in July 2003. It will be missed.
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• Hardboiled
  (1985-present)
  Quarterly
  Founding editor: Wayne Dundee
  Editor: Gary Lovisi
  Publisher: Gryphon Publications
  Contributors: Andrew Vachss, Wayne Dundee, Jan Grape, Mike Avallone, Eugene Izzi Robert Randisi, Max Allan Collins, Ed Gorman, Mickey Spillane, Bill Pronzini, Lawrence Block, Howard Browne, Morris Hershman, Walter Sorrells, O' Neil De Noux, Jack Dolphin and others.
  Address: Gryphon Publications, P. O. Box 209, Brooklyn N.Y. 11228-0290, USA.
  Subscription Rates: $7 a copy. 6 issues for $35.
  A quarterly devoted to hardboiled fiction, one tough little mag,with an impressive roster of talent, featuring mostly originals, with a few classic reprints. Hardboiled started out as a obvious labour of love, photocopied and hand-bound out of someone's basement, and has since grown into a fine, professional-looking showcase of some of the best writing around in this genre, with incredible cover art by Bruce (Batman: The Animated Series) Timm. Along the way, it incorporated Gary Lovisi's Detective Story Magazine (DSM) in 1990, and ran as Hardboiled Detective Magazine for three issues, whereupon it reverted to its original title, but with Lovisi as editor. Gary is also the founder and big kahuna of Gryphon Publications.
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• Hardboiled Detective Magazine
  (1990)
  See Hardboiled.
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• Hardluck Stories
  (2002-present)
  Quarterly e-zine
  Editor: Dave Zeltserman
  Their mission "is to help hardboiled readers discover future hardboiled classics. The rules here are simple. Click on a book cover and you get in the author's own words how the book came into existence, a hardboiled short story from the author, and a link to find more information about the book." A quarterly eZine section showcasing new hard-boiled and noir stories was added in the fall of 2002 and it's since become one of the premier spost for on-line hard-boiled fiction since the demise of Plots With Guns.
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• High Adventure (formerly Pulp Review)
  (1992-present)
  Bi-monthly
  Address: Adventure House, 914 Laredo Road, silver Spring, MD, 20901 U.S.A.
  URL:
  Subscription: $6 a copy; back issues available
  High Adventure has been reprinting pulp fiction for more than five years and focusses on weird menace, action/adventure stuff, sci-fi, and yes, even occasional private eye stuff, including some Dan Turner tales. All issues are six bucks, and include a full color cover, 96 pages and are perfect bound. Back issues are available from their web site or via mail.
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• Homicide Detective Story Magazine
  (1956, Arnold Magazines, Inc.)
  1 known issue
  Bi-monthly
  Publisher: Everett M. Arnold
  Contributors: John D. MacDonald, William Campbell Gault
  This minor fart in the crime fiction digest cosmos only managed to be published once. Yet that single issue, September 1956, according to loyal correspondent Richard Moore "had some rather nice content. It included a John D. MacDonald story and one by William Campbell Gault. Homicide was published by Everett M. Arnold, Arnold Magazines, Inc., 1 Appleton Street, Holyoke, Massachusetts; with their editorial offices at 303 Lexington Avenue, New York 16, New York...
  .
  That Holyoke, Mass address rang a bell for me, so I pulled down the invaluable Monthly Murders by Michael L. Cook. And guess what? Homicide Detective Story Magazine became Killers Mystery Story Magazine with the same addresses in Mass. and in NYC. But now the mystery deepens. Upon further investigation, it turns out there are many magazines that list Holyoke, Massachusetts as the publisher's address. So many that I must assume that this was the address of the distributor or some other logical reason for this. At first I thought it was a dodge to escape bill collectors. Now I favor the distributor explanation. Besides Homicide and Killers, Crime and Justice Detective Story Magazine, Guilty Detective Story Magazine, Hunted Detective Story Magazine, Off Beat Detective Stories, Pursuit Detective Story Magazine, Sure Fire Detective Stories, Saturn Web Magazine of Detective Stories, Trapped Detective Story Magazine, Fast Action Detective, Mystery Stories, Double-Action Detective Stories and Terror Detective Story Magazine all listed the publisher's address as that now crowded address of 1 Appleton Street, Holyoke, Mass."
  (Richard Moore)
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• Hunted Detective Story Magazine
  (1954-56, Star Publications
  12 known issues
  Publisher: J.A. Kramer
  Contributors: Stephen Marlowe, John Jakes, Fletcher Flora, Talmage Powell
  12 known issues between the first December 1954 to October 1956. Published bimonthly by Star Publications, Inc. 1 Appleton Street, Holyoke, Mass; editorial office 545 Fifth Avenue, NY 17, NY. This was one of the best Manhunt imitations..
  
  But that New York address looked very familiar. I scanned around Thomas Cook's Monthly Murders and when I came to the listing for Manhunt my eyes bugged out. The editorial offices of the legendary Manhunt were also at 545 Fifth Avenue. Hmmm... of course, that was no doubt a large office building with plenty of room for both publications. I suppose the writers and agents benefited from having them in the same building as a rejection could be recycled on the elevator.
  (Richard Moore)
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• Judas E-zine
  (2000- 2002)
  Quarterly e-zine
  Publisher/Editor: Anthony Dauer
  Some of you may remember him as the "Words From the Monastery" guy on Rara-Avis, or from his own Hard-Boiled discussion group, but here he actually delivers the goods, letting other people do the talking with some quality hard-boiled fiction. Anthony doesn't believe in having a heavy hand when it comes to editing (he'll even let you format your own story) so this is a good place for beginning writers, and those intimidated by the whole process. And of course, with a name like Judas, you know they're completely trustworthy... unfortunately, they lost their domain name or something, so they had to change it. Fortunately, they re-emerged as the way cooler but short-lived the3rdegree.com.
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• Killers Detective Story Magazine
  (1956-57, Arnold Magazines, Inc.)
  3 known issues
  Bi-monthly
  Publisher: Everett M. Arnold
  Killers was the continuation of the one-issue-run Homicide Detective Story Magazine. Michael L. Cook, in his invaluabe Monthly Murders, lists the contents for the January 1957 (#3) and March 1957 (#4) issues which makes me think there was a November 1956 issue (#2) of either "Homicide" or "Killers." The contents of the two issues do not equal the impressive first issue of Homicide, but includes stories by Talmadge Powell, Edward D. Hoch, Joseph Commings, Charles Fritch and Henry Slesar. not too shabby.
  (Richard Moore)
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• Mammoth Detective Stories
  (<1954-59, ColumbiaPublications)
  Editor: Robert Lowndes
  Another of Columbia Publications' low-budget magazines edited by Robert Lowndes (Double Action Detective, Fast Action Detective and Mystery Stories were others), that disappeared when Columbia passed on in 1959-60. It was the digest-sized continuation of the Mammoth pulp.
  (Todd Mason)
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• Manhunt
  (1953-67, Flying Eagle)
  Contributors included: James M. Cain, Ed McBain, Evan Hunter , Mickey Spillane
  Manhunt has come to be regarded by some as probably the most important outlet for "hard-boiled" fiction after Black Mask and Dime Detective. The excellent introduction to Bill Pronzini and Jack Adrian's Hard-Boiled notes that the original Manhunt was launched with a January 1953 issue that featured a new serialized Mickey Spillane novel, and folded in 1967. It inspired a slew of imitators, including Flying Eagle's own Murder!, Verdict, Menace, and Mantrap, as well as efforts by other publishers, such as Pursuit and Trapped. there was even a "best-of-Manhunt" paperback collection published in 1958.
  (Todd Mason)
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• Mary Higgins Clark Mystery Magazine (MHCMM)
  (1996 to 2000, FC Special Interest Publications, Inc.)
  Editor-in-Chief: Kathryne V. Sagan
  Original Publisher: James W. McEwen
  Address: Family Circle Special Interest Publications, 110 Fifth Ave., NY, NY 10011
  Subscriptions: Family Circle, PO Box 5172, Harlan, IA 51593-2672
  Contributors: Elmore Leonard, Walter Mosley, P.D. James, Sara Paretsky, Lawrence Block, Edna Buchanan, Jeremiah Healy, Gar Anthony Haywood, Stuart Kaminsky, Joseph Hansen
  Family Circle was throwing their considerable weight behind this glossy, full-size magazine. Very mainstream, very slick, glossy, filled with trivia, lists, reviews, short interviews and somewhere in there some good stories. Not necessarily the most hardboiled, but some good stuff, overall. I found it a tad over-produced, and its publishing schedule was sporadic at best, but it was a definite contender. Unfortunately, it didn't even promise any kind of schedule, but was apparently published to fill the same slots as the traditional baking, knitting, etc.,magazines which make up Family Circle "special projects". It might actually have outsold AHMM, in fact; if one could have only found independent circulation figures for it, but it shared those counts with the baking, knitting, etc., magazines. In the Summer 2000 issue, they admitted they were down to once-a-year publication. But it got worse. In January 2001, it was announced they were pulling the plug completely.
  (Todd Mason)
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• A Matter of Crime
  (1987-88, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich)
  Four issues in total
  Editors: Matthew J. Bruccoli and Richard Layman
  Contributors: Loren D. Estleman, Andrew Vachss, Marcia Muller, James Ellroy, Robert Sampson, Michael Collins, James M. Reasoner, Joe Gores, L.J. Washburn, Joyce Carol Oates
  After the ambitious attempt to revive the legendary Black Mask with The New Black Mask in the mid-eighties crashed and burned, the published tried to continue with this more modestly-priced "series of original paperbacks comprising the best of contemporary mystery and suspense fiction." It also marked a shift away from hardboiled to more traditional mysteries.
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• Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine (MSMM)
  (1956-1985, Renown Publications)
  Editors: Sam Merwin, Jr., Cylvia Kleinman, Charles E. Fritch
  Publishers: Leo Margulies, Cylvia Kleinman, Edward & Anita Goldstein
  Michael Shayne Mystery Magazine was started in 1956 by Leo Margulies, a veteran editor from the pulp era. After six issues, the title was switched to Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, which is what it was known as until it finally petered out with the August 1985 issue.
  
  Margulies passed away in 1975 and his wife Cylvia Kleinman succeeded him as both editor and publisher of MSMM, as well as the short-lived Charlie Chan Mystery Magazine. She sold the magazine in 1978 and Charles E. Fritch became its final editor.
  Every monthly issue had a novelette by "Brett Halliday." This "Brett Halliday" is not Davis Dresser, but a host of ghost writers, working under a house pen name. Sam Merwin Jr., first editor of the magazine, wrote many of the Shayne stories. Others who contributed Shayne stories as Brett Halliday included Dennis Lynds (the most prolific, with approximately 80 stories), Michael Avallone, Richard Deming, Robert Turner, Robert Arthur, Frank Belknap Long, Joe Lansdale, Bill Pronzini, Jeff Wallman, Edward Y. Breese, Peter Germano, James Reasoner, and Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet. No doubt other writers did some here and there, too. It ran almost thirty years and there were over 300 Mike Shayne stories published in it, ranging from 7500 word short stories to 20,000 word novellas. Over the course of its run, the formula rarely varied: each issue contained the Shayne short story, at least one novelette, and four or five short stories, many by some of the great hard-boiled authors of the era: Dennis Lynds, as Michael Collins, with the Slot-Machine Kelly stories, the forerunners of the Dan Fortune novels; Richard S. Prather with Shell Scott stories; Frank Kane with Johnny Liddel stories; Henry Kane with Peter Chambers stories, etc. Today these issues are difficult to find but worth looking for. MSMM was a good magazine, probably not the equal of Manhunt at its height, but it hung in there for a lot longer. "Somewhere, Joe Lansdale, or maybe it was Ed Gorman, has a nice little essay, about being one of the Mike Shayne boys," reader Todd Mason remembers, "young writers proving themselves in the late '70s/early '80s MSMM under CK and Charles Fritch. I do remember that despite the unevenness of MSMM back in those days, the fact that someone could shout 'You fucking asshole' in MS, while the worst that could happen (rarely) in AHMM was 'You stupid bastard' and in EQMM 'He muttered an oath,' added a much-appreciated note of realism."
  Other magazines that Margulies edited include The Man From U*N*C*L*E, The Girl From U*N*C*L*E, Shell Scott Magazine, the Zane Grey Western and Weird Tales revivals, and possibly the Jack London Adventure magazine, as well as Satellite SF.
  .
  See also Memories of Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine by Richard A. Moore.
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• Murderous Intent Mystery Magazine
  Quarterly, print
  Editor: Margo Power
  Address: Madison Publishing Co. PO Box 5947, Vancouver, WA 98668-5947
  Was one of the promising new kids on the block. It published short mysteries by both well-known and unknown writersnew and established authors.
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• Mysterical-e
  (1999 --)
  Editor: Denise Baton asshole
  An E-zine run by mystery lovers for mystery lovers, Mysterical-e is the first of its kind, although they never quite explain what it is that they're the first of the kind to do. Mystery writers, submit your short story for inclusion in our Ezine. Open to other genres as well. Non-paying. Guidelines can be found on the site. No payment, but a chance for your work to be published on-line and available to the world. All mystery genres and cross-overs considered; story must include a crime element; they are open to, but may choose not to publish, graphic language, sex and violence; such elements will be considered in the context of the story. Fiction up to 10,000 words; mystery-writing related non-fiction up to 5,000 words.
  .
  Well worth checking out is real-life P.I. Bob Stevens' regular column, Through A Private Eye Darkly.
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• Mystery Magazine
  (1979-82)
  Editor/publisher: Stephen Smoke
  Contributors included: Robert Randisi,
  Short-lived but interesting attempt to combine fiction and non-fiction in a digest format, with a special emphasis on hard-boiled fiction. It was founded by Stephen Smoke who's written several private eye novels, including the Ace Carperner series under the pen name of Hamilton T. Caine and the inspirational P.I. novel Trick of the Light.
  
  
• MysteryNet
  On-line, mostly short-shots, and five-minute mysteries.
  .\
• Mystery Stories
  (Columbia)
  Another crime digest from the fifties published out of of Holyoke, Mass.. Their editorial offices were located at 241 Church Street, NY 13, NY, which had previously been listed as also the address of the publisher. A sister publication of Mammoth Detective, Fast Action Detective and Double-Action Detective Stories.
  .
• Mystery Street
  (early nineties, Pulphouse)
  Editor/publisher: O'Niel De Noux
  Published detective stories, puzzles and reviews. O'niel De Noux's magazine from the early 90's, published originally by Pulphouse, and now long folded.
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• Mystery Time
  Semi-annual
  Editor: Linda Hutton
  Address: PO Box 2907, Decatur, IL 62524
  An anthology of short suspense & mystery, MT sponsors contests, prints poetry, puzzles and reviews as well as traditional stories.
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• Nefarious: Tales of Mystery
  (1999-2002; 2006 -- present)
  E-zine
  Editor: R.K. Foster
  R.K.Foster, AKA Ned, was the nefarious editor (N.Ed.) of this ambitious e-zine, a "mystery entertainment and information site for readers, writers, moviegoers, and fans of the mystery in all its forms." which featured fiction, non-fiction, news and reviews. It ran for three years and then disappeared. In 2007 it returned, now focussing mostly on more "tradtional" mystery fiction. Still, they will consider private eye stories. Welcome back, Ned.
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• The New Black Mask
  (1985-87, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich)
  Quarterly
  Eight issues in total
  Editors: Matthew J. Bruccoli and Richard Layman
  Contributors: Arthur Lyons, Raymond Chandler, Robert Parker, Dashiell Hammett, William F. Nolan, Bill, Pronzini, Sara Paretsky, John Lutz, Robert Sampson, Ron Goulart, Joyce Carol Oates, Joe Gores, Michael Collins, William Campbell Gault, Mark Coggins, James Ellroy, Loren D. Estleman
  This ambitious attempt to revive the seminal crime pulp mag ran for just eight incredibly star-studded, digest-sized issues in the mid-late '80s, and featured some of the very best of contemporary hard-boiled writers (and some pretty snazzy and intriguing reprints).Perhaps it was just a little too expensive, or too poorly distributed, but it petered out after losing rights to the title, only to reappear as the paperback-sized A Matter of Crime (and seemed to shift away from hardboiled to cozy).
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• New Mystery
  (1993- 2004?)
  Editor: Charles Raisch
  Address:175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2001, The Flatiron Building, New York, New York, 10010-7703, U.S.A.
  Contributors have included: William Campbell Gault, Stuart Kaminsky, Manuel Ramos, O'Neil De Noux, Gar Haywood, Andrew Greeley, George Pelecanos, Jerry Kennealy, John Lutz, Taibo Paco, Randye Lordon, Lawrence Block, Henry Slesar
  This modest (hah!) little magazine offered "The World's Best Mystery/Crime/Suspense Stories." Ambitious, pretentious, belligerent, unapologetic, equal parts annoying and thrilling. Published some of the very best hardboiled fiction around. They've also had a web site that as in-your-face as its print version. The buzz is that, although they offered subscriptions for four issues, that didn't necessarily mean they were published quarterly. And don't assume it was cheaper to subscribe. It t'weren't necessarily so. Their schedule was annoyingly erratic, and varied over the years from several issues annually down to sometimes just one a year. Still, it's was worth checking out.... According to one contributor, "New Mystery lives, but in a rather confused manner. The next issue is going to be the Summer issue but I still haven't been told a date as to when it will hit the stands. I'm hoping that because the web site has been updated the print issue can't be far behind. We shall see..." Mind you, that was four years ago. My guess? Stick a fork in it, it's done.
  .
  Or is it? According to an e-mail sent in February 2004, New Mystery Magazine clasimed to be still in business and actively seeking contributors (and subscribers). This came as a surprise to many of us. There also seems to be a title change, to New Mystery Magazine and TV, whatever that meant, but no new actual issues have been seen yet..
  .
• Noir: The Illustrated Crime Fiction Quarterly
  (1994-1995)
  Editor: Christopher Mills
  Publishers: Alpha Productions (1st issue); CFD (2 issues)
  A great idea that unfortunately failed after only three issues (and two publishers). This 64-page, comic-book size modern-day pulp magazine featured fiction, art and comic strips by the greatest talents in the mystery, crime fiction and comics fields. Contributors included Robert Randisi, Ron Goulart, Wendi Lee, C.J. Henderson, and Max Allan Collins, and featured Mike Mauser comic adventures. Some back issues are still available from former editor Christopher Mills. A great idea, but it's size killed it, in my opinion. Too offbeat for the newstands, too literate for the comic book stores...
  .
• Off Beat Detective Stories
  (1957-63, Pontiac Publishing Corporation)
  Contributors: Lawrence Block, Henry Slesar, Bryce Walton, Ed Hoch, Ed Lacy, Talmage Powell.
  Many issues beginning in 1957 or 1958 and lasting until 1963. Published by Feature Publications at the same Holyoke, Mass. address as Homicide Detective Story Magazine, et al, with their editorial offices first at 1776 Broadway NY 19 NY and later at 1546 Broadway NY 36, NY.
  (Richard Moore)
  ..
• Ontario Review
  (1974 --)
  Joyce Carol Oates's occasionally noirish literary mag.
  .
• Over My Dead Body
  Quarterly
  Editor: Cherie Jung
  E-mail: cljung@worldnet.att.net
  Subscritions: $20 (U.S.) for 4 issues, sample copy: $5
  Address: PO Box 1778, Auburn, WA, 98071-1778
  A class act, all the way, even if the slant is towards more traditional mysteries. Beautifully-printed, great graphics, original fiction and excellent articles about the genre. Encourages new authors, offers thoughtful critiques of their work. They also have a web site where they publish reviews, and some fiction.
  .
• P.I. Magazine
  Editors: Bob Mackowiak
  Contributors: S.J. Rozan, Rob Lopresti, Robert W. Tinsley, Steve Kaye
  Subtitled "The Journal of Proferssional Investigators," this magazine is essentially a trade journal for real-life private eyes, and as thus often makes for fascinating reading. And somewhere back in its long, varied history, it even used to run an awful lot of P.I. fiction. The biggest name they ever published was probably S.J. Rozan, whose Lydia Chin and Bill Smith made their debut there, but Rob Lopresti's Marty Crow, Robert W. Tinsley's Jack Brady and Steve Kaye's Leonard Dolman also made early appearances. They no longer run fiction, alas.
  .
• Pirate Writings
  Publisher: Pirate Writings Publishing, P.O. Box 329, Brightwaters, NY 11718
  Editor & Art Director: Edward J. McFadden
  E-Mail: pwpubl@aol.com
  Contributors: Mike Resnick, Hugh B. Cave, Robert Randisi, Ed Gorman, Joe Lansdale
  This mag regularly mixes crime fiction with fantasy/horror/sf, like a less star-studded, less criminous magazine version of an Alfred Hitchcock Presents anthology. I haven't seen a copy on a newsstand for at least a year, but I know it's still being published (the house ads for Weird Tales and Aboriginal SF still push it, it's still listed with Writer' Digest, etc.).
  (Todd Mason)
  .
• Plots With Guns
  URL: http://www2.netdoor.com/~ansmith/
  Co-editor Anthony Neil Smith promises "a pulp magazine for the 21st century. Cheap, fast, and dirty. We're looking for good fiction, poetry, and essays in the hardboiled noir tradition (tweaked and twisted, however). And it has to have a gun in it. You can be as sly as you want with that or come out guns blazing, as long as there's a gun in it." They're also interested in original black-and-white artwork or photography for the frontispiece. Published bi-monthly, and currently seeking submissions.
  .
• Pursuit Detective Story Magazine
  (1953-56, Star Publications)
  18 known issues
  Editor: L. B. Cole
  Contributors include: Evan Hunter, Frank Kane, Bryce Walton, Evan Hunter, Robert Turner, Stephen Marlowe, August Derleth,
  Steve Frazee.
  This one ran from September 1953 to November 1956. Published by Star Publications, located at that same ubitquious Holyoke, Mass. address as Homicide Detective Story Magazine and all the rest, with editorial offices at 545 Fifth Avenue, NY 17, NY. This was a sister publication of Hunted Detective Story Magazine -- that building on Fifth Avenue must have been crowded with mystery writers.
  (Richard Moore)
  .
• Rex Stout Mystery Magazine
  (1945-47, Avon Detective-Mysteries, Inc.)
  8 issues
  Editor-in-chief: Rex Stout
  Managing Editor: Louis Greenfield
  Contributors included: Reprints from Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Jack Boyle, Leslie Charteris, H.P. Lovecraft, William Irish, John Dickson Carr and even Rex Stout
  This early digest (from the forties) featured reprints from some of the greatest crime and mystery writers. As far as I can tell, only eight issues ever made it to the newstands which, judging from the one issue I own, (No. 3, February 1946) is a real shame. There are some real treasures here, including "Boston Blackie's Mary" by Jack Boyle.
  .
• The Saint Detective Magazine
  (also known as The Saint Mystery Magazine and The Saint Magazine)
  (1953-60's, various publishers, Britsh and American editions)
  .
  American editions:
  The Saint Detective Magazine
  (Spring 1953 - Oct 1958, King-Size Publications)
  The Saint Mystery Magazine
  (November 1958 - Apr 1966)
  The Saint Magazine
  (May 1966-October 1967)
  The Saint Magazine
  (June 1984-August 1984)
  3 issues
  .
  British editions:
  The Saint Detective Magazine
  (November 1954-December 1959)
  The Saint Mystery Magazine
  (January 1960-March 1966)
  The Saint Magazine
  (April 1966-November 1966)
  .
  Frequency: 10 issues/year
  Editors: Hans Stefan Santesson
  Supervising Editor: Leslie Charteris
  Contributors included: Frederic Brown, William MacHarg, Craig Rice, Avram Davidson, Theodore Sturgeon, Fritz Leiber, Poul Anderson
  .
  The Saint Detective Magazine was named after, and often included, a reprinted story featuring Leslie Chartis' gentleman-adventurer, Simon Templar, AKA The Saint. The U.S. edition, originally published by King-Size, began in 1953, was re-named The Saint Mystery Magazine in 1958, and folded in 1967, with a three-issue revival in 1984. The British edition began in 1954 as The Saint Detective Magazine, became The Saint Mystery Magazine in 1960, and folded in 1966, according to The Saintly Bible, Dan Bodenheimer's exhaustive site.
  After King-Size collapsed in 1959, the American edition was published by Great American Publications through most of the '60s (Anthony Boucher, then editor of The Year's Best Detective Stories, referred to SMM in the early '60s as consistently the second-best crime fiction magazine, after EQMM -- I always pick up any issues I find with Avram Davidson stories, and H.S. Santesson's extensive connections in the speculative-fiction community meant that the likes of Theodore Sturgeon, Fritz Leiber, and Poul Anderson more often appeared in SMM than in the other contemporary crime-fiction magazines). There was a very short-lived revival in the '80s, as well, that unfortunately lasted about as long as Charlie Chan Mystery Magazine.
  By the way, most, if not the vast majority, of Simon Templar stories in the magazine were originals written by other hands (much like the Mike Shayne stories in MSMM) written from outlines provided by Saint creator Leslie Yin, a Chinese/British/American who decided being Leslie Charteris was a bit safer when mocking the Establishment in the 1930s ...or perhaps his publishers decided for him.
  The American edition was distinctly different from the British one, and there were also a small number of non-English editions: namely French and Dutch. (Todd Mason)
  .
• Saturn Web Magazine of Detective Stories
  (1957-65, Candar Publishing)
  Contributors: Richard Deming, Frank Kane, Lawrence Block, John Jakes.
  Under various names this ran from 1957 into 1965. The first five issues were science fiction and at some point the name changed to Web Terror Stories. Published by Candar Publishing Company out of Holyoke, Massachusetts (where else?) with editorial offices at 218 W. 48th Street, NY 36, NY.
  .
• Shell Scott Mystery Magazine
  (February 1966-November 1966, LeMarge Publishing Corporation)
  Publisher: Leo Margulies
  9 issues, monthly
  50 cents per issue
  5-1/2" x 7-1/2"
  144 pages
  Contributors included: Evan Hunter, Harry Whittington, Dennis Lynds, Jonathan Craig, John Jakes, Talmage Powell, John D. MacDonald, and Bill Pronzini.
  Short-lived digest, named after Richard Prather's wildly-popular P.I. hero, Shell Scott, of course. It was published under the imprint of the LeMarge Publishing Corporation, the name being a sort of anagram of publisher Margulies' name. Each issue featured a Shell Scott short story by Prather. Its final issue featured Bill Pronzini's first published story.
  .
• Shots
  (formerly A Shot in the Dark)
  Quarterly
  Editor: Mike Stotter
  Address: A Shot in the Dark Collective, 189 Snakes Lane East, Woodford Green, Essex, England IG8 7JH
  Subscriptions: 32 High Street, Bonsall, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 2AR
  E-mail: michael@mjstotter.demon.co.uk
  This British crime mag was established in 1994, and has undergone several changes in its life. From rugged A5 to glossy A4 to, as of March 2002, an online e-zine. It humbly bills itself as "the magazine for Crime & Mystery," with news, columns, reviews, interviews, and a little bit of fiction. In their own words, they're there for "crime fiction readers, though we try to cater for the viewers on the big and small screen, as well as those who have travelled beyond the role of mere readers to being specialist collectors and students.To a large extent we retain a critical stance, and are prepared to shout loudly when we feel that novels, authors and readers are not getting a fair deal. And we are not afraid to champion the underdog. We support and promote the smaller, independent publishers of the crime fiction titles."
  .
• Shred of Evidence
  (2003-06, M3iP )
  Editor: Megan Powell
  Columnists: Daniel J. Bishop
  Contributors: James R. Winter, Nancy Sweetland, John A. Broussard, Guy Belleranti, Stephen D. Rogers
  URL: http://www.shredofevidence.com/
  This online mag offered mystery, crime and suspense fiction, including the various subgenres and cross-genre stories. and writers, take note: they are a paying market!
  
  
• Somniloquy
  .
• The Strand Magazine
  Quarterly
  Managing Editor: Andrew F. Gulli
  Telephone: 1-800-300-6652
  Fax: (248) 874-1046
  E-mail: strandmag@worldnet.att.net
  Subscription Price: $24.0o (U.S.)/year
  Published by: The Strand Magazine, P.O. Box 1418, Birmingham, MI 48012-1418
  This American revival of the classic British mag that introduced Sherlock Holmes to the world has managed to produce at least five print issues so far that I'm aware of, making it about as irregular as every other non-Penny Press mystery magazine, but it's a LOT more professionally produced than, say, New Mystery. But Strand shares with New Mystery the suicidal policy of charging more for sub copies than the newsstand buyer would pay buying all the issues piecemeal -- why would they want to do this?). With decent Holmes pastiches, good nonfiction, and HRF Keating, Michael Bond, and other big names who skirt cozy and Edwardian, this is still the most PI-oriented of the non-hardboiled print 'zines, necessarily as a result of all the Sherlockiana. (Todd Mason)
  .
  Also worth checking out is the magazine's web site. It has information on the magazine, of course, as well as short stories, articles, interview excerpts, and book reviews.
  .
• Sure Fire Detective Stories
  (1957-58, Pontiac Publishing Corp.)
  Contributors: Harry Whittington, Larry M. Harris, Robert Turner, Talmage Powell
  Published by Pontiac Publishing Corp., editorial offices at 1776 Broadway, NY 19, NY. This was a sister publication of Off Beat Detective Stories.
  (Richard Moore)
  .
• Tangled Web
  Quarterly
  Editor: Andrew Osmond
  Address: 69 Holm Oak Park, Watford, Herts, WD1 8TH, England
  E-mail: AO1@soas.ac.uk
  An on-line British crime and mystery fiction journal, featuring "The Best in Crime and Mystery Fiction," devoted to crime and detective fiction. Articles on collecting, true crime, interviews, reveiws, crosswords, and original fiction. Their web site's something else.
  .
• Terror Detective Story Magazine
  (1956-57, Arnold Magazines)
  Four known issues
  Publisher: Everett M. Arnold
  Contributors: Fredric Brown, John Jakes, Edward Hoch, Harlan Ellison, Robert Turner
  Four known issues from October 1956 to April 1957. Published by Arnold Magazines out of Holyoke, Mass., with editorial offices at 303 Lexington Ave. NY 16, NY. Another sister publication of Homicide, Crime and Justice, and Killers.
  .
• the3rdegree.com
  (2002)
  Quarterly e-zine
  Publisher/Editor: Anthony Dauer
  Essentially Judas under a new name, this short-lived ezine was run by Anthony "In the Navy" Dauer. Anthony didn't believe in having a heavy hand when it came to editing (he'd even let you format your own story) so this was an excellent place for beginning writers whose egos may have been a little fragile, as well as those who felt editors are scum.
  .
• ThrillerUK
  (2000--)
  Editor: Terry Fountain
  Address: ThrillerUK, 130 Sackville Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 7AA, United Kingdom.
  Subscriptions: £15.00 (overseas £20.00). Please make cheques, postal orders or internationalmoney orders payable to: T. Fountain. Cash can be sent at your own risk (and in your own currency!)
  E-mail: thrillerukbooks@yahoo.co.uk
  A small press mystery/pulp magazine from the UK devoted to pulp and cult fiction with a decidedly British slant, combining fiction and non-fiction. Featuring a combination of articles on series characters and their creators and short stories by new and up and coming writers.
  ..
• Trapped Detective Story Magazine
  (1956-1960, Headline Publications)
  Editor: W.W. Scott
  Contributors included: Lawrence Block, Lloyd Biggle, Jr., Harry Whittington, Milton K. Ozaki, Harlan Ellison, Gil Brewer,
  Robert Alter, Lawrence Block, Talmage Powell.
  Published by Headline Publications, Inc., out of Holyoke, Mass., with editorial offices at 1790 Broadway, NY 19, NY and later 32 W. 22nd Street, NY 10, NY. This is almost surely a sister publication of Guilty Detective Story Magazine, unless the two magazines were separate entities but both moved from 1790 Broadway to 32 West 22nd. Possible, I suppose.
  .
• Trouble Is My Business
  Quarterly
  Editor:
  Contributors: Polly Whitney, Elena Santangelo, Anthony Dauer, and Noreen Ayres, among others
  Hard-boiled poetry is the hook here.
  .
• TTA
  .
• Whispering Willow's Mystery Magazine
  Editor: Trula Johnson
  Acquisitions Editor: Darlene Hoffman
  Address: PO Box 890294, Oklahoma City OK 73189-0294. 800-368-1053 or 405-232-3848.
  .
• Zoetrope All-Story

Compiled by Kevin Burton Smith. Thanks to Todd Mason and Richard Moore for a wad of the info here..