The very first Ellery Queen was a fictional character conjured up by cousins Fredric Dannay and Manfred Lee. The first story they wrote was entered in a writing contest. That first book and contest winner was The Roman Hat Mystery in 1929. After that book they went on to write 33 more novels and 8 collections of short stories. In 2005 a collection of radio plays that ran from 1939-1948 were collected and published in The Adventure of the Murdered Moths.
The books were made into movies as early as 1935 with a total of twelve Ellery Queen movies made for the big screen including one in 1979 made in Japan.
Not only did EQ grace the big screen but hte small screen as well. The character had four attempts at being weekly television shows. 1950-1952, 1954-1956, 1958-1959, and 1976-1975. There were also two TV movies made. One was a Hitchcock move, "Terror at Northfield" that was adapted from a Dannay and Lee short story. in 1971 an EQ movie "Don't Look Behind You" was aired.
The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine was launched by Mercury Press in 1941. It was created to provide a market for eclectic mystery fiction that was above the common crime stories of the time. Dannay was the magazines editor-in-chief(under his pseudonym) from its beginning until his death in 1982. Because of its high editorial standards it is the longest running mystery fiction magazine.
EQMM has always accept unsolicited stories and now you can submit to them online.
Have you read an Ellery Queen book or Mystery Magazine?
9 comments:
Paty, I didn't read the magazine as much as the Ellery Queen books. The very first adult mystery I read was one by Ellery Queen, a Christmas gift from my fourth grade teacher. Up until then, I read Nancy Drew and others like that. That teacher was one of the best in my school years and I wish I could tell her so!
Caroline, I read a few of the books, but more so the magazine. My dad still gets the magazine. That was one smart teacher to keep you interested in reading.
I loved reading Ellery Queen books. I started by picking one up at my grandmother's house. Thanks for the memory.
I inherited my Gram's and love them :) They have a special shelf in my office.
Stephanie, they are great mysteries.
Maryellen, What a great thing to get from your grandmother.
I've always been a big fan of EQMM. They were one of the first magazines to become available for e-readers -- long before Kindle -- too. I subscribed through Fictionwise for years so I could read on my Palm Pilot PDA.
(I've also always been a great fan of the Ellery Queen books, and also the 1970's TV show.)
Daring Novelist, It's no wonder EQMM was the first to go digital considering it was the first of its kind in the mystery genre. Thank you for stopping in an commenting.
Happy Birthday Month Patty my birthday is also this month
Hi Beth! There are a lot of June babies! Your name is going in the cowboy hat!
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