Joseph Shaw (editor)
Joseph Shaw | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joseph Thompson Shaw May 8, 1874 |
| Died | August 2, 1952 (aged 78) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Bowdoin College |
| Occupation |
|
| Known for | Editor of Black Mask magazine, 1926-36 |
Joseph T. "Cap" Shaw (1874–1952) was the editor of Black Mask magazine from 1926 to 1936. Prior to becoming Black Mask editor, Shaw had worked as a newspaper reporter and as a soldier in World War I, attaining the rank of captain (Shaw's friends gave him the nickname "Cap"). [1] Shaw was also a professional fencer, and even won an Olympic medal for his fencing ability.[1] [2] Under his editorship, Black Mask published many works of crime fiction now recognised as classics of the genre, by authors such as Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Erle Stanley Gardner.[2][3][4]
Chandler greatly admired Shaw's ability to encourage Black Mask writers, claiming in a letter, "We wrote better for him than we could have written for anybody else".[1]
Despite Black Mask's critical and commercial popularity, Shaw was eventually fired from the magazine, succeeded by Fanny Ellsworth. Shaw then worked as a literary agent, though without notable success.[5]
Further reading[]
- Bodin, Ed. "An Interview With Joseph T. Shaw," The Author and Composer, August 1932.
- Lenniger, August. "Black Mask" (interview), Writer's Digest, October 1929.
- Safire, William. "The Way We Live Now: 4-30-00: On Language; Dirigiste", New York Times, April 30, 2000.
- Shaw, Joseph. "Do You Want to Become a Writer," Writer's Digest, May 1934.
- Shaw, Joseph. "Dialogue," Writer's Digest, June 1939.
- Shaw, Milton. Joseph T. Shaw: The Man Behind Black Mask. Black Mask, 2019. Biography, by his son.
References[]
- ^ a b c Danger is My Business: an illustrated history of the Fabulous Pulp Magazines by Lee Server. Chronicle Books, 1993, ISBN 0-8118-0355-4 (pp. 68-70).
- ^ a b Hired Pens : Professional Writers in America's Golden Age of print by . Ohio University Press, 1997 ISBN 0-8214-1204-3 (p. 98)
- ^ Black Mask magazine Archived 2008-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Pulps" by , in Encyclopedia Mysteriosa, edited by William L. DeAndrea. MacMillan, 1994, ISBN 0-02-861678-2 (p.287-9)
- ^ Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler, Frank MacShane, ed., Columbia University Press, 1981, ISBN 0-231-05080-1 (pp. 5-8).
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- American magazine editors
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