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As reported by the AP this morning...A Lost Cornell Woolrich will be published in the holiday issue of The Strand
"Never Kick a Dick" is the title of Woolrich's hardboiled story set in a hotel overlooking Biscayne Bay. More info soon...

   The Strand's top 12 books of The Year

1. Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder (St. Martin’s Press)

2. Carte Blanche by Jeffery Deaver (Simon & Schuster)

3. Delirious by Daniel Palmer (Kensington)

4. Damage by John Lescroart (Dutton Adult)

5. Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley (Harper)

6. 13 Million Dollar Pop by David Levien (Doubleday)

7. Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer (Minotaur Books)

8. Thick as Thieves by Peter Spiegelman (Knopf)

9. Inmate 1577 by Alan Jacobson (Norwood Press)

10. A Simple Act of Violence by R.J. Ellory (Overlook)

11. Serial by John Lutz (Kensington

12. Strong at the Break by Jon Land (Forge)

No Rest for the Dead Launch at the Center for Fiction

July 8, the official launch of NO REST FOR THE DEAD (Touchstone), took place at the Center For Fiction, several of the contributors to the serial novel were in attendence, from Left to Right, R.L. Stine, Gayle Lynds, Peter James, Marsha Talley, Jeffery Deaver, Diana Gabaldon, John Lescroart, Jonathan Santlofer, Michael Palmer, and Andrew Gulli (photo credit: Stacy Creamer).

Connelly Makes it Two in a Row and Paul Doiron wins First Novel

Michael Connelly made it two in a row; last year he won the Best Novel award for 9 Dragons and he grabbed the top prize for The Reversal. In the Best First Novel category, Paul Doiron’s The Poacher’s Son won the top prize. After receiving the award Doiron said, "I am so humbled to receive this award from the nation's top reviewers. The other nominees wrote such wonderful and deserving books. I feel extremely fortunate, and I want to thank the folks at The Strand for giving me one of the best nights of my life."

No Rest For the Dead: The Serial Novel of the Century

A once-in-a-generation collaboration of bestselling authors combine their skills to create one incredible, spellbinding mystery, No Rest for the Dead (Touchstone).
 
When Christopher Thomas, a curator at San Francisco’s McFall Art Museum, is murdered and the decaying mass of his body is found in an iron maiden in Berlin, his wife Rosemary Thomas is the primary suspect. Long suffering under Christopher’s unfaithful ways, Rosemary is tried, convicted and executed for the crime. Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the detective who cracked the case, is convinced that the wrong person was put to death. Along with financier Tony Olsen he gathers everyone who was there the night Christopher was murdered to finally uncover the truth about what really happened.
 
Could the true culprit have been Rosemary’s ne’er do well brother Peter Heusen, interested in his sister’s trust fund having run through his own or the museum curatorial assistant Justine Olengard, used and betrayed by Christopher himself? Or the struggling artist Belle, who turned down his advances only to see her career suffer a setback? Or someone else entirely? If you’re expecting an Agatha Christie ending—where Poirot or Marple stands up, calmly lays out the case, and then reveals the true murderer—you’re in for a shock. The creators have another denouement in mind, a twist so original that readers will never see it coming!
 
This is the first time so many major bestselling authors have been involved in a single project. Contributors Peter James, Marcia Talley, John Lescroart, RL Stine, Diana Gabaldon, Jeffery Deaver, Michael Palmer and Gayle Lynds will read from No Rest for the Dead and speak about the process of creating a collaborative, serial novel. For more information click here

No Rest for the Dead editors Andrew and Lamia Gulli have partnered with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and all proceeds will go to this foundation.

 

Less than a month before The Strand Awards...

Best Novel:
The Reversal by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Company)
Faithful Place by Tana French (Viking)
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane (William Morrow)
I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman (William Morrow)

Best First Novel
Blacklands by Belinda Bauer (Simon and Schuster)
Rock Paper Tiger by Lisa Brackmann (Soho Press)
The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron (Minotaur Books)
The Sherlockian by Graham Moore (Twelve)
Snow Angels by James Thompson (Putnam)

 

Harry Keating (1926-2011)
I remember the winter of 1999 as if it was yesterday.

The first issue of the Strand was a success, we were rather fortunate to have contributions by Henry Slesar and James Sallis. I had to follow that up with another line-up of big name mystery authors, so the first name that came to mind was Harry Keating.

It was snowing outside and it was one of the coldest days of the year, but I felt my face was burn and my heart beat rapidly when I called up Harry. A deep melodious voice answered the phone, my voice was rather shaky. Harry listened to my pitch and then said, “I say, what’s all this stuff of chatting on the phone, why don’t you come over, here is my address, we’ll have a few stiff drinks and do some real talking, eh?”

“That wouldn’t be easy,” I said. “I live in the United States.”

“Oh well, what type of story would you like?” 

“An Inspector Ghote story.”

“Right, an Inspector Ghote story you will have.”

I wish that all my dealings with authors were so simple. Harry delivered a fantastic story and contributed five more stories to The Strand. In many respects, the early success of The Strand was in a large part due to Harry’s contribution; several bestselling writers who read the magazine were impressed that the dean of crime fiction wrote for us and calling up writers and asking them to contribute was not as complicated as it was when I first started out. 

I was in London five years ago and looked Harry up, the CWA had just thrown him a surprise party for his 80^th birthday. We had a lunch at small Lebanese restaurant in Notting Hill. Harry was an impressive figure, with a flowing grey beard, he looked distinctly Edwardian, yet looking at his sharp eyes as he scanned the customers at the café, I realized that despite his old world manners—he was canny observer of the world we live in today and from reading his novels, I’ve admired the timelessness of his works. 

Harry entertained me with stories about Agatha Christie, Julian Symons, and The Detection Club. As I said goodbye to him, he paused and said, “Look, don’t be a stranger, come back to London.” As he walked off down Northumberland street, I looked at Harry and said to myself, “Wow, what a life well lived, I wish that I could claim to be at the height of my powers when I was 80.”

Andrew Gulli

 

The Writing Team of Michael Stanley Completes The Empty Chair by Graham Greene
After sifting through countless manuscripts, the writing duo of Michael Sears and Stan Trollip came up with the best ending for Greene's novella. We tip our hat to and salute two great writers!

Ransom Center Interviews Andrew Gulli (excerpts)

HRC: How does “So I Shot Him” compare with Hammett’s other works?

GULLI:It’s very different in some ways but at the same time has a lot of Hammett trademarks: tension, great characterization, and terse, realistic dialog. The trademark Hammett dialog is superb and seamless. You don’t feel like you’re reading something. It feels like you’re actually listening to what the characters are saying.

What I love about Hammett is the tension. This story has the feel that something sinister is about to happen. There’s such a build-up, and you keep turning page by page to see the conclusion.

This story stood apart because there was a psychological element to it. It’s not like a lot of his other stories that have a clear-cut plot and conclusion. With this story, the ending leaves you asking a lot of questions. I wanted to publish something that we’ll speak about for a long time. If you’re a suspicious person, you’ll think something sinister happens. If you’re not, you may not think so.

HRC: Why was it unpublished?

GULLI:This is the $64,000 question. A lot of times, you’ll understand why writers decided not to publish something if the work was poor. But in this case, the story is very, very, very good. Hammett was a man of many contradictions, so it’s difficult to tell why he didn’t publish it. If I were to guess, I think he worked very hard on it but thought it wouldn’t work in the pulp fiction market. Sometimes writers don’t know what’s in their best interest. If he had published this story, I’m sure it would’ve been very successful. Looking at the story, you have to suspect that he held it dear to him. He was interested in keeping it to himself, especially since he didn’t destroy it. The Hammett estate told me they were aware that these materials have existed for a long time, so perhaps they’d have a better answer!

HRC: What do you think Hammett would say if he knew the manuscript were being published today?

GULLI: I think that writers become less inhibited over time. Writers look at what they wrote when they were younger and can have one of two reactions: either shock that I can’t believe I was this bad. Or, my god, I was writing something very fresh, very new, very uninhibited. A lot of writers look back on old manuscripts and try to drink from that fountain of work that was uninhibited.

Otto Penzler chooses two Strand stories
To be published in the Best American Mystery Stories of 2010 anthology...more info to follow.

Hammett in The Strand
As reported by the AP, the Strand will publish a never before published short story by Dashiell Hammett, more details to follow.

 Leslie Nielsen Remembered
 
I interviewed Leslie seven years ago and I can't recall an interview (with the exception of Peter Ustinov), where I was laughing non-stop. He'd acting like Count Dracula, answering questions from count's perspective and far from finding this disconcerting, I enjoyed Nielsen's relaxed attitude to giving an interview. Beneath that funny character, I could tell that he was an intelligent and well-read man, who unlike so many celebrities got his priorities right.

 

Andrew Gulli's top 12 Mystery Novels of 2010

And there are a few surprises...

1. The Burning Wire by Jeffery Deaver (Simon and Schuster)

2. Between Summer's Longing and Winter's End by Leif G. W. Persson (Pantheon)

3. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon)

4. The Hanging Tree by Bryan Gruley (Touchstone)

5. Djibouti by Elmore Leonard (William Morrow)

6. Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen (Ballantine)

7. Treasure Hunt by John Lescroart (Dutton)

8. The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker (Knopf)

9. Hangman by Faye Kellerman  (William Morrow)

10. Velocity by Alan Jacobson (Vanguard)

11. The Anniversary Man by R.J. Ellory (Overlook)

12. Mourn the Living by Henry Perez (Kensington)

 

Contest Announced to Complete Graham Greene's Unfinished Novella

The Strand Magazine has announced that a contest will be held to determine who will complete the unfinished Graham Greene novella The Empty Chair, which for the past year has been serialized in the Strand

“I think we’re very excited to see what comes our way,” Andrew F. Gulli, the managing editor of the Strand said, “As an editor, it’s easy to underestimate the ingenuity of aspiring writers.”

The Empty Chair was discovered in a library by French scholar François Gallix while he was going over Graham Greene’s papers for a research project. The first part of the 23,000 word manuscript was published in the 2009 summer issue of The Strand magazine and generated worldwide publicity and interest not only among Greene fans, but among the reading public. “I think what this proves is that despite being dead for almost twenty years, Greene is very much alive in the conscious of the reading public,” said Frank Simon, the associate publisher of the Strand.

The final part of the story will be published in the holiday issue of the Strand Magazine. “In our holiday issue we have a very short chapter five written by Greene,” Gulli said, “Then the novella ends rather abruptly, immediately following chapter five, we’ll publish the concluding chapter penned by winner of the contest.” Click here for contest rules

 

Les Pockell: A man for all seasons
When I heard yesterday evening that my friend Les died on Monday night, I couldn't believe that I'd never see him again. Les was one of those unique people, in an average lifetime you're lucky if you meet one or two of them and you're blessed if you can consider them friends. It's hard to describe Les, I don't even think that Hemingway could do him justice, but some of the words that come to me are, dynamic, boundless energy, warmth, laughter, generous, knowledge, candor, and a great sense of humor.

I'd often look forward to visiting New York and having lunch with Les and our mutual friend Susan Richman. Our last lunch was a year ago, at Persephone a tiny Greek restaurant. Les was ill, you could tell, but he lost none of his vitality or energy. His laughter and energy took the tiny restaurant over and I realized that he was a one of a kind.

 Andrew F. Gulli

And the winners are...
Michael Connelly took the top prize for Best Novel for Nine Dragons (Little, Brown) and Josh Bazell and Bryan Gruley shared the best first novel award for Beat the Reaper (Little, Brown) and Starvation Lake (Touchstone). The winners were announced at an invitation only cocktail party in Manhattan, by bestselling author Jonathan Santlofer.

Set in Hong Kong, Nine Dragons is Connelly’s 14th Harry Bosch book and has garnered rave reviews for being one of Connelly’s best novels to date. "Considering that it comes from Strand Magazine and the pedigrees of those on the judging panel, I am blown away by receiving this award, it is truly very special to me,” Connelly said after receiving the award.

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell, blends humor with a darkly inventive thriller and has been translated into several languages. The Wall Street Journal’s Bryan Gruley, author of Starvation Lake, has earned comparisons to Dennis Lehane and has been hailed by critics as one of the most promising debut novelists of 2009.

Otto Penzler introduced the lifetime achievement award honoree Elmore Leonard. Leonard who has been described as the greatest living American crime writer has authored scores of novels, screenplays and short stories. Leonard thanked the judges and paid tribute to many of the writers who influenced him.

Best Novel:
Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Company)
The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston (Ballantine Books)Life Sentences by Laura Lippman (William Morrow)
The Renegades by T. Jefferson Parker (Dutton)
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (Riverhead Books)

Best First Novel
 Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell (Little, Brown and Company)
The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry (Penguin Press)
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (Algonquin Books)
Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley (Touchstone)
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke (Harper)

"It was great to have many of the nominees in attendance," said Andrew F. Gulli, the managing editor of The Strand. "And to have Elmore Leonard who provided the inspiration to so many of these writers at the awards was wonderful."

This year's judges included a panel of reviewers from Time Magazine, The Washington Post, LA Times, The Florida Sun Sentinel, The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and The Chicago Tribune.

Left to right: Josh Bazell, Otto Penzler, Elmore Leonard, Bryan Gruley, Laura Lippman, and Michael Connelly (Credit: Alan Jacobson)

More photos of the awards

We'd like to thank the judges for their dedication and hard work, Bruce De Silva (Associated Press), Julia Keller (Chicago Tribune), Ron Charles (Washington Post), Lev Grossman (Time), Oline Cogdill (Florida Sun Sentinel), Patrick Anderson (AP), David Montgomery (LA Times), Paul Harris (Guardian), Jeff Baker (Oregonian) and Tom Nolan (Wall Street Journal)

After ten years, the first issue of the Strand is available
Due to interest from subscribers and collectors the Strand is releasing a limited number of copies of our first issue. For years, the first issue has been a hot item among collectors fetching as much as $250 per copy. For more information about the first issue which featured fiction by Henry Slesar and James Sallis visit our back issues page.

Michael Connelly short story will appear in The Strand
One of the great masters of the detective novel pens a Harry Bosch mystery, that will tantalize and intrigue fans.

Surprise Revealed: Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot in The Strand
Reuters broke the story this week, that The Strand will be publishing "The Incident of the Dog's Ball" in our holiday issue. The story was found in the attic of the Christie family home and this will mark the first time in 34 years, that a work featuring Hercule Poirot has appeared in the United States.

A surprise for the Tenth Anniversary Issue of the Strand...
As strange as it sounds, it's been ten years since the first issue of The Strand was published and we've enjoyed every minute. In our tenth year we've marked this milestone by publishing unpublished gems by masters such as Mark Twain, P.G. Wodehouse, and Graham Greene. We have something else up our sleeve for our holiday issue that will surprise and intrigue our readers...stay tuned.

The Strand to Serialize a Graham Greene Novel

The Strand will publish an unfinished early work of Graham Greene in five parts. The first part of The Empty Chair will appear in the summer issue of the Strand. “We at The Strand are very discerning about what we publish,” said Andrew F. Gulli, the Managing Editor of The Strand. “And if we had a chance to publish a recently unearthed work of a great writer, we’d only publish it if it was a work of fine quality. What was tremendous about The Empty Chair is that despite being an early work of Greene, it’s a fantastic piece of fiction which is representative of Greene and we would have published it even if it was submitted by an unknown writer.”

The manuscript was unearthed by Sorbonne scholar François Gallix at the University of Texas in Austin. Gallix along with a colleague, had the painstaking task of transcribing five chapters which were handwritten by Greene when he was just twenty-two.

“In the last issue, we published a never before published short story by Mark Twain and to me that was special,” Gulli said. “However, to me Greene is greatest writer of the 20th century, his prose, style, and dialogue are unmatched and to have Greene in The Strand with a murder mystery is undoubtedly the highlight of my career.”

News reports:
Unfinished Greene novel serialised in magazine (Reuters)
Unfinished Graham Greene murder mystery novel discovered Telegraph.co.uk
Long-lost Graham Greene work to be serialized in the Strand Los Angeles Times
Lost Greene novel to be serialised in crime magazine guardian.co.uk
Unfinished Greene mystery found by French academic Independent
Arts, Briefly 'New' Graham Greene Mystery to Be Published New York Times
Authors who came back from the grave Irish Independent
Publishers unearth bestsellers from beyond the literary grave Guardian
Our Man in Michigan (WSJ online)

Richard Price and Tom Rob Smith win Strand’s Critics Awards

Richard Price and Tom Rob Smith win The Strand Magazine’s Critics Awards for Best Novel and Best First Novel. The judges were book reviewers from several of the nation's top daily newspapers.

The Strand Magazine has announced the winners of the 2008 Strand Magazine Critics Awards. Richard Price took the top prize for Best Novel for Lush Life and Tom Rob Smith won for Best First Novel for Child 44.  The winners were announced at an invitation only cocktail party in Manhattan, by bestselling author Jonathan Santlofer. Price and Smith thanked the judges and paid tribute to their fellow nominees.

Richard Price earned rave reviews for his meticulously researched crime novel Lush Life which was set in New York’s Lower Eastside and explores themes from crime to class inequality, and the struggle to survive in a violent environment. Tom Rob Smith’s first novel Child 44, hit the New York Times bestseller list and became an overnight sensation, the novel is loosely based on a true story about a chilling serial killer in Communist Russia.

Best Novel:
When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson (Little, Brown and Company)
Master of the Delta by Thomas H. Cook (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Company)
Lush Life by Richard Price (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Hollywood Crows by Joseph Wambaugh (Little, Brown and Company)

Best First Novel:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
City of the Sun by David Levien (Doubleday)
A Cure for Night by Justin Peacock (Doubleday)
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central Publishing)
A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley (Harper)

“Lush Life and Child 44 were worthy efforts by Richard Price and Tom Rob Smith,” said Andrew F. Gulli, the managing editor of The Strand. "The voting was so close this year, that the winners and nominees were separated by only a handful of votes."

This year's judges included Otto Penzler, Dennis Drabelle of The Washington Post, David Ulin of the LA Times, Lev Grossman of Time Magazine, Carol Memmott of USA Today, Maureen Corrigan of NPR, and Bruce DeSilva of the Associated Press.

A lifetime achievement award was given posthumously to English author John Mortimer which was accepted by his wife Penny Mortimer

Click Here for Photos

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Strand and Publisher's Weekly Partner on Newsletter
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