{{short description|American magazine}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox magazine | image_file = Myst_scene_117.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = | editor = Kate Stine | editor_title = Editor | staff_writer = | frequency = 5 times yearly | circulation = | category = Literary/Entertainment | company = KBS Communications, LLC | publisher = Kate Stine and Brian Skupin | founded = 1985 | firstdate = | country = United States | based = Cedar Rapids, Iowa | language = English | website = {{URL|http://www.mysteryscenemag.com}} | issn = 1087-674X }} '''''Mystery Scene''''' was an American magazine, first published in 1985, that covered the crime and mystery genre with a mix of articles, profiles, criticism, as well as reviews of books, films, TV, short stories, audiobooks, and reference works.
The Winter #174 issue was the final issue of '''''Mystery Scene Magazine'''''. The website is no longer in service.
==Editorial focus & contents== {{unreferenced section|date=June 2015}} ''Mystery Scene'' is pitched to mystery readers and fans, as opposed to writers or other industry professionals.
Each issue contains commentary, several articles, author profiles, appreciations of particular subgenres or writers, letters to the editor, and 150+ reviews of new novels, audiobooks, reference works, kid’s mysteries, short stories, TV shows, films, paperback originals, and websites. News items, cartoons, jokes, quotes, and anecdotes round out its front-of-the book “Hints & Allegations” pages.
=== Features === {{unreferenced section|date=June 2015}} :'''Profiles''' range from best-selling authors, including Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Charlaine Harris, Laurie R. King, Dennis Lehane, Sara Paretsky, and Ian Rankin, to the up-and-coming such as James R. Benn, Michael Koryta, Lisa Lutz, G. M. Malliet, and Stefanie Pintoff.
:'''Articles''' focus on writers (Daphne du Maurier, Stuart Neville, Edgar Allan Poe, Daphne du Maurier), characters (Trixie Belden, Jack Reacher), films and TV shows (humorous mystery movies, David Simon, ''The Rockford Files'', ''The Three Maltese Falcons''), and subgenres (legal thrillers, romantic suspense, crime novels of the Civil Rights era), among other topics.
=== Regular columns === :'''Eye Witness''' Critic Kevin Burton Smith ([http://www.thrillingdetective.com/ The Thrilling Detective Website]) commentary on topics relevant to private-eye fiction. :'''Gormania''' Novelist (and ''Mystery Scene's'' former editor) Edward Gorman comments on the writing life and discusses films, books and TV shows. :'''Mystery Miscellany''' Louis Phillips tackles trivia, humor, and tongue-in-cheek teasers. :'''The Murders in Memory Lane'''<ref>[http://www.libraryjournal.com/blog/770000077/post/660051066.html?q=mystery+scene+magazine]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Lawrence Block Becomes Mystery Scene Columnist, Library Journal, December 4, 2009</ref> Lawrence Block offers recollections of interesting crime writers he has met over the years. :'''New Books Essays''' Authors of upcoming books reveal real-life inspirations, unusual adventures in the name of research, or take a closer look at a story's locale or time period. :'''Beyond the Book''' A series by Dick Lochte about classic literary sleuths from Sam Spade to The Saint reappearing in other media formats.
=== Review columns === :'''What About Murder?''' Critic [https://web.archive.org/web/20100323124442/http://www.redroom.com/author/jon-l-breen Jon L. Breen] reviews mystery nonfiction & reference works. :'''Small Press Reviews''' [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707231119/http://www.bettywebb-mystery.com/bio.html Betty Webb] assesses releases from small independent publishers. :'''Sounds of Suspense''' [https://web.archive.org/web/20080603061731/http://www.redroom.com/author/dick-lochte/bio Dick Lochte]’s audio-book reviews. :'''Very Original''' Paperback original novels assessed by [http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4:our-contributors&catid=16:aboutus&Itemid=121 Lynne F. Maxwell] and [http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4:our-contributors&catid=16:aboutus&Itemid=121 Hank Wagner]. :'''Short & Sweet''' A look at the latest in short stories by Benjamin Boulden, editor of the book blog [http://gravetapping.blogspot.com/ Gravetapping]. :'''Mystery Scene Reviews''' Edited by [http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4:our-contributors&catid=16:aboutus&Itemid=121 Teri Duerr], each issue offers 30-40 reviews of novels from major publishers, plus reviews of small press titles, mass market paperbacks, audio-book publishers, and nonfiction works. Reviews from 2002 onward are available in the searchable online [http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1350 Mystery Scene Book Review Database].
==History== ''Mystery Scene Magazine'' was conceived in a phone call<ref>"An Observer's History of Mystery Scene," Jon L. Breen, Mystery Scene, 2002 Holiday #77. Reprinted in '''A Shot Rang Out: Selected Mystery Criticism''' by Jon L. Breen, Surinam Turtle Press, 2008.</ref> between Ed Gorman, a writer and editor of mystery novels, short stories and anthologies, and Robert Randisi, the author of several mystery series, and later the founder and executive director of ''The Private Eye Writers of America''.<ref>[http://www.privateeyewriters.com/ The Private Eye Writers of America]</ref> Both men felt the need for a magazine that would be to the mystery field what [http://www.locusmag.com/ Locus] was to the science fiction genre—news and views on the genre’s writers and the publishing business. (Over the years, ''Mystery Scene'' has evolved into a reader-centered consumer publication although crime writers still have a strong presence at the magazine.)
The first issue, four pages long, was mailed with the October 1985 issue of ''Mystery & Detective Monthly'', a letterzine published by active mystery fan Robert “Cap’n Bob” Napier of Tacoma, Washington.<ref>'''The Heirs of Anthony Boucher: A History of Mystery Fandom''', Marvin Lachman, Poisoned Pen Press, 2005.</ref>
By the 52-page third issue in 1986, the magazine was no longer distributed with the fanzine, and the now-standard mix of interviews, profiles, news notes, obituaries, reviews, letters columns, and opinion pieces was established. A feature in which first novelists introduced their works would eventually be extended to veteran writers who discussed their latest novels.
The first 75 issues of the magazine form a documentary record of developments, concerns, and controversies in the field over this 17-year period. Short stories appeared occasionally as early as “On Guard” by John Lutz in #5 (September 1986), but they were never a regular feature.
In 1990 Gorman’s business partner, anthologist Martin H. Greenberg, became a co-publisher, and by April 1991, Randisi, whose participation had gradually decreased, sold his stake in the magazine to Greenberg.
In 2002, owners Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg turned over the reins to [http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4:our-contributors&catid=16:aboutus&Itemid=121 Kate Stine], a veteran book and magazine editor in the crime and mystery field, and her husband, Brian Skupin,<ref>[http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4:our-contributors&catid=16:aboutus&Itemid=121 Brian Skupin]</ref><ref>Kate Stine and Brian Skupin of Mystery Scene Magazine, by Bonnie J. Cardone, ''InSinc: The Sisters in Crime Newsletter'', Volume XX, Number 1, March 2007. Sisters in Crime.</ref> a long-time mystery fan. Stine is editor-in-chief and handles day-to-day operations. Skupin edited the now retired column "What's Happening With" and oversees MysterySceneMag.com. Their first issue, Fall #76 in September 2002, featured a lengthy tribute to outgoing editor and publisher Ed Gorman, "Ed Gorman: Writer, Editor, Mentor," from his many friends in the mystery community.
==Awards won by the magazine== 2004 Anthony Award for Best Fan Publication presented at the 2004 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention.<ref>[http://www.bouchercon.info/history.html 2004 Anthony Award for Best Fan Publication]</ref>
2006 Ellery Queen Award for significant contributions to mystery publishing given by the Mystery Writers of America.<ref>[http://www.mysterywriters.org/?q=edgars-pastwinners#elleryqueen 2006 Ellery Queen Award]</ref>
2009 Poirot Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Mystery at Malice Domestic XXI in Arlington, Va.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20151005172114/http://www.malicedomestic.org/aboutmalice.html 2009 Poirot Award]</ref>
2011 Bouchercon Fan Guests of Honor, Kate Stine and Brian Skupin, 2010 Bouchercon Fan Guests of Honor. ''Mystery Scene'' publishers Kate Stine and Brian Skupin were honored at the 2011 Bouchercon held in St. Louis.<ref>[http://www.bouchercon2011.com/guests.php#kate-brian 2011 Bouchercon Fan Guests of Honor]</ref>
==Awards given by the magazine== {{anchor|Richard Hoyt}} The American Mystery Award is a major award given by ''Mystery Scene'' magazine in past years.<ref>{{cite web|website=Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine|url=http://www.themysteryplace.com/eqmm/about/awards.aspx|title=About EQMM: Prizes, Awards, and Nominations Given for Material Originally Published in EQMM|author=Lachman, Marvin (Compiler)}}</ref> For example, Richard Hoyt's book ''Siege'' (1987)<ref>{{cite book|title=Siege|author=Hoyt, Richard|publisher=Tor Books|edition=First|date=1987|isbn=978-0312930172|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/siege00hoyt}}</ref> won the American Mystery Award for Best Espionage Novel.<ref>{{cite web|website=Goodreads|title=Goodreads Author Richard Hoyt|url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/109883.Richard_Hoyt}}</ref> The award has been discontinued.
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading== [https://web.archive.org/web/20110526004546/http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6383665.html Review of ''Mystery Scene''] by Clayton A. Couch, ''Library Journal'', 11/01/2006
==External links== * [http://www.mysteryscenemag.com Mystery Scene Magazine's official website] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20101120213857/http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=11&Itemid=187 Mystery Scene Blog]
Category:1985 establishments in the United States Category:Literary magazines published in the United States Category:Magazines established in 1985 Category:Magazines published in Washington (state) Category:Magazines published in Iowa Category:Mass media in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Category:Mystery fiction magazines