Mean Streets: Journal of American Crime & Detective Fiction Vol 3 TOPIC: American Golden Age Mystery & Detective Fiction

Mean Streets


American Literature & Studies





Call for Submissions



Third issue of Mean Streets: A Journal of American Crime and Detective Fiction



Topic: AMERICAN “GOLDEN AGE” MYSTERY AND DETECTIVE FICTION 1920-1945



 



Proposals: July 15, 2021



Final essays: December 1, 2021



 



The “Golden Age” of mystery and detective fiction is generally agreed upon as bounded by World War I and World War II. While the designation is widely applied to both British and American fiction of the period, it has most closely adhered to British fiction, perhaps because American crime writing in the period was sharply bifurcated between Classical and Hard-boiled writing. Indeed, Stephen Wright claims that “It was in Britain that the clue-puzzle had its richest development” and also traces the important revision of narrative structure that became known as the “inverted” story to an English writer. So, in what lay the contribution of American writers? Are there unique features in their offerings to the Classical detective narrative? Is there any cross-fertilization (or creative friction) between Classical and Hard-boiled practices? Do the circumstances of American life and culture of the period produce qualities notably different from British narratives?



Some possible approaches:




  • Interrogate the question:  Is there an American Golden Age?

  • Thematic explorations

  • Contemporary resurgence of Golden Age interest/popularity

  • Contributions of particular American publishers to Golden Age popularity and/or rediscovery (e.g., Rue Morgue Press, Library of Congress Crime Classics)

  • Juxtaposition of Classic and Hard-boiled fiction in the period

  • Analysis of the critical receptions of American writers by British critics

  • Selected authors associated with the period



Anthony Abbot



Stuart Palmer



Anne Austin



Zelda Popkin



Hugh Austin



Ellery Queen



Earl Derr Biggers



Patrick Quentin



Anthony Boucher



Virginia Rath



John Dickson Carr



Clayton Rawson



Clyde B. Clason



Mary Roberts Rinehart



Dorothy Cameron Disney



Mabel Seeley



Todd Downing



Rex Stout



Mignon Eberhart



Kay Cleaver Strahan



Erle Stanley Gardner



John Stephen Strange



Frances Noyes Hart



Phoebe Atwood Taylor



C. Daly King



Darwin Teilhet



Rufus King



S.S. Van Dine



Helen McCloy



Carolyn Wells



 



 



Abstracts of 250 words with proposed title should be directed no later than July 15, 2021, to the editors: Rebecca Martin (doc.rmartin@gmail.com) and Walter Raubicheck (wraubicheck@pace.edu).



Final papers of 7000-8000 words will be due by December 1, 2021, with publication anticipated in spring 2022. Feel free to send questions to both editors.



 



About Mean Streets



This journal is published by the Pace University Press (New York City), which has been sponsoring scholarly journals since the 1980s.



Mean Streets is a refereed journal edited by two scholars in literature and film and guided by an Editorial Board comprised of distinguished scholars from several disciplines. Submissions will be reviewed by the editors and selected Board members.



The journal’s first issue appeared in spring 2020, with the second issue anticipated in June 2021. Copies may be ordered at press.pace.edu/journals/mean-streets/.