Mystery News Is Folding

First we had the good news about Martha C. Lawrence. Now comes the bad news about that excellent bimonthly tabloid, Mystery News. I just received this note from Chris Aldrich, the publication’s business manager and Webmaster:

It’s with a mixture of regret and relief that Lynn Kaczmarek and I announce that Mystery News will cease publication with the October/November 2009 issue. We are thrilled that Kate Stine and Brian Skupin, publishers of Mystery Scene, have graciously agreed to fulfill our outstanding subscriptions with issues of their well-known and highly professional publication. And you may just find us in their pages in the future.

We knew from the beginning that publishing Mystery News would be a labor of love, but between changes in our lives and the state of the economy, the labor has started to overpower the love. We’ve had a wonderful time over these past twelve years sharing our love of mystery and crime fiction, and becoming part of a community of readers and authors that have filled our hearts with friendship and the gift of wonderful stories.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed to Mystery News over the years, to our families and most of all, to our readers.

Mystery News was founded in 1982 by Patricia and Jack Schnell, and six years later was taken over by Harriet and Larry Stay, who published it for ten years before we revived it in 1997 under the banner of Black Raven Press. In 2001, Mystery News won the Anthony Award for Best Fan Publication at Bouchercon; we were also nominated for Anthony Awards in 2004, 2006 and 2007.

Mystery Scene was established in 1986 by writers Ed Gorman and Robert Randisi. Since being acquired in 2002 by Kate Stine and Brian Skupin, the magazine has focused on informing readers about the best and most interesting work in the crime fiction field.

Mystery Scene has won the Anthony Award from the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention (2004), the Ellery Queen Award from Mystery Writers of America (2006), and the Poirot Award from the Malice Domestic Mystery Convention (2009).

I’ve enjoyed reading Mystery News over the years. I will dearly miss receiving it through my mailslot.