75 Years of EQMM

Ellery Queen’s 75^th Year Symposium

On September 30, 2016, Columbia University hosted, to a full audience, a half-day EQMM symposium, sponsored by the university’s Butler Library. It was an afternoon of insightful discussion, poignant recollection, a colorful and thought-provoking art presentation, a gripping reading by author Joyce Carol Oates, and more. Video and audio of the symposium are available on YouTube and as part of our podcast series. The panels include Making Mystery Matter: EQMM and the Shaping of American Crime and Detective Fiction; A Brush With Death: Crime Fiction Cover Art and Illustration From the Pulps to the Present; and EQMM’s Editors at Work, and feature scholars, writers, artists, and editors such as Sarah Weinman, Charles Ardai, Jonathan Santlofer, Tom Roberts, Joseph Goodrich, and Otto Penzler.

The EQMM 75th Anniversary Exhibition was on view at the symposium’s reception and ran until December 23 in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Butler Library, 6^th Floor East. Included was some of founding editor Frederic Dannay’s correspondence with several of the most important writers of the twentieth century, as well as some of his edited manuscripts (from the Frederic Dannay papers, which are housed at the library) and original drawings for some of the magazine’s early covers.

We offer our thanks to all of the knowledgeable, inspiring, and enthusiastic participants and readers who have helped us mark this special year. For further reflections on the symposium, a photo gallery of the events, and a story contest revolving around the celebration (for which we now have results), please visit our blog SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

For updated information on the special issues celebrating our 75th-anniversary year, please click here.

Podcasts from the Symposium

Part 1 of EQMM’s 75th-Anniversary Symposium, recorded at Columbia University’s Butler Library on September 30, 2016. Introduction by Sean Quimby; panel “Making Mystery Matter: EQMM and the Shaping of American Crime and Detective Fiction,” featuring Sarah Weinman, Leah Pennywark, Jeffrey Marks, and Charles Ardai. Audio and video by Ché Ryback.

Part 2 of EQMM’s 75th-Anniversary Symposium, recorded at Columbia University’s Butler Library on September 30, 2016. Panel: A Brush With Death: Crime Fiction Cover Art and Illustration from the Pulps to the Present. Featuring Janet Salter Rosenberg, Laurie Harden, Tom Roberts, and Jonathan Santlofer (moderator). Audio and video by Ché Ryback. On September 30, 2016, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Columbia University’s Butler Library celebrated the magazine’s 75th anniversary with a half-day symposium. This symposium will be presented here in four parts.

Part 3 of EQMM’s 75th-Anniversary Symposium, recorded at Columbia University’s Butler Library on September 30, 2016. Panel: EQMM’s Editors at Work. Featuring Russell Atwood, Otto Penzler, Josh Pachter, and Joseph Goodrich (moderator). Audio and video by Ché Ryback.

Part 4 of EQMM’s 75th-Anniversary Symposium, recorded at Columbia University’s Butler Library on September 30, 2016. Joyce Carol Oates reads from her story “Big Momma” from the March/April 2016 issue of EQMM. Janet Hutchings, Jennifer B. Lee, and Sean Quimby offer closing remarks. Audio and video by Ché Ryback.