# Howard Haycraft
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{{Short description|American writer, editor, and publisher (1905–1991)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
'''Howard Haycraft''' (July 25, 1905{{snd}}November 12, 1991) was an American writer, editor, and publisher.
Haycraft was born on July 24, 1905, in [Madelia, Minnesota](/source/Madelia%2C_Minnesota), to Marie (Stelzer) and Julius Everett Haycraft.[{{Cite book |title=Contemporary Authors |title-link=Contemporary Authors |publisher=[Gale](/source/Gale_(publisher)) |year=1970 |isbn=0-8103-0021-4 |editor-last1=Harte |editor-first1=Barbara |pages=[191–192](/source/iarchive%3Acontemporaryauth23%E2%80%9324gale%2Fpage%2F191%2Fmode%2F1up) |editor-last2=Riley |editor-first2=Carolyn}}] He received a bachelor's degree from the [University of Minnesota](/source/University_of_Minnesota) in 1928.[{{Cite book |last1=Burke |first1=William Jeremiah |title=American Authors and Books, 1640 to the Present Day |title-link=American Authors and Books |last2=Howe |first2=Will David |last3=Weiss |first3=Irving |last4=Weiss |first4=Anne |publisher=[Crown Publishing Group](/source/Crown_Publishing_Group) |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-517-50139-9 |page=[285](/source/iarchive%3Aamericanauthorsb0000burk%2Fpage%2F285%2Fmode%2F1up) |oclc=956659256}}]
At H. W. Wilson, Haycraft edited and contributed to reference works about writers and literature.[{{Cite book |title=The Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature |publisher=[Thomas Y. Crowell Co.](/source/Thomas_Y._Crowell_Co.) |year=1966 |isbn=0-690-67341-8 |editor-last1=Herzberg |editor-first1=Max J. |page=[442](/source/iarchive%3Areadersencyclope0000herz%2Fpage%2F442%2Fmode%2F1up) |oclc=269151}}] He was fascinated by [mysteries](/source/Mystery_fiction) and [detective fiction](/source/detective_fiction).[{{Cite news |last=Grimes |first=William |author-link=William Grimes (journalist) |date=1991-11-13 |title=Howard Haycraft Is Dead at 86; A Publisher and Mystery Scholar |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/13/arts/howard-haycraft-is-dead-at-86-a-publisher-and-mystery-scholar.html |access-date=2022-07-29 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724213827/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/13/arts/howard-haycraft-is-dead-at-86-a-publisher-and-mystery-scholar.html |url-status=live }}] His book ''Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story'' (1941)—described in a profile published that year as the "first full-length history and survey of police fiction"[{{Cite book |title=Current Biography |title-link=Current Biography |publisher=[H. W. Wilson Company](/source/H._W._Wilson_Company) |year=1941 |editor-last1=Block |editor-first1=Maxine |pages=[371–372](/source/iarchive%3Acurrentbiography1941hwwi%2Fpage%2F371%2Fmode%2F1up) |chapter=Haycraft, Howard}}]—laid out an early critical view of the mystery genre and its theory. ''Murder for Pleasure'' identifies the origins of detective fiction in the work of [Edgar Allan Poe](/source/Edgar_Allan_Poe), surveys the work of authors Haycraft identified as being of great quality or historical importance, and provides an overview of the critical literature on detective fiction up to its publication.[{{Cite book |last1=Ascari |first1=Maurizio |title=A Counter-History of Crime Fiction |publisher=[Palgrave Macmillan](/source/Palgrave_Macmillan) |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-230-59462-3 |page=3 |doi=10.1057/9780230234536}}]
Haycraft received a special citation in 1976 at the centennial of the [American Library Association](/source/American_Library_Association).[{{Cite web |title=Special Centennial Citation |url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/special-centennial-citation |access-date=2024-03-13 |publisher=[American Library Association](/source/American_Library_Association) |archive-date=January 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120120900/https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/special-centennial-citation |url-status=live }}]
A resident of [Hightstown, New Jersey](/source/Hightstown%2C_New_Jersey), Haycraft died there on November 12, 1991.