Alan K. Young: My Brief Mystery-Writing Career, 1967-1980

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#1967
Bib ID:
13747835 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Young, Alan K.
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
1.25 Linear Feet (3 three-ring binders in one record carton)
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Description

Content Description

Alan K. Young created these three 3-ring binders and entitled them "My Brief Mystery-Writing Career as recorded in documents collected, conserved, compiled, collated, captioned and clarified by Alan K. Young." In the spring of 1968, Mr. Young's first short story entitled "Letter from Mindoro" was published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine's series of "First Stories," being stories by authors who had never before had a short story published. As always, the story was prefaced by editor Frederic Dannay's introduction: "The author, Alan K. Young, is a former junior-college English instructor, with a B. A. in English from Harvard and an M. A. in the same subject from the University of California (impressive credentials, indeed). At the time Mr. Young wrote "Letter from Mindoro," he was 39, single, and living in California (though a native of Pennsylvania, born and raised in a suburb of Pittsburgh). He has tried his hand "at a goodly cross-section of those jobs in which English majors who don't write The Great American Novel so often wind up" ... How can this man miss if he but persist?" Thus began Mr. Young's 13-year mystery-writing career. In these three volumes, Alan Young has mounted the originals of his correspondence with Fred Dannay and others, tear sheets from EQMM, photographs, and all with a running commentary on the experience of being an Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine author.

  • My Brief Mystery-Writing Career

    Three 3-ringed binders containing originals of his correspondence with Fred Dannay and others, tear sheets from EQMM, photographs, and all with a running commentary on the experience of being an Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.

Arrangement

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Conditions Governing Use

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Curator of Manuscripts/University Archivist, Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML). The RBML approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Alan K. Young: My Brief Mystery-Writing Career; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Alan K. Young, March 2017.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Revision Description

2019-02-26 File created.

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Biographical / Historical

In the spring of 1968, Mr. Young's first short story entitled "Letter from Mindoro" was published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine's series of "First Stories," being stories by authors who had never before had a short story published. As always, the story was prefaced by editor Frederic Dannay's introduction: "The author, Alan K. Young, is a former junior-college English instructor, with a B. A. in English from Harvard and an M. A. in the same subject from the University of California (impressive credentials, indeed). At the time Mr. Young wrote "Letter from Mindoro," he was 39, single, and living in California (though a native of Pennsylvania, born and raised in a suburb of Pittsburgh). He has tried his hand "at a goodly cross-section of those jobs in which English majors who don't write The Great American Novel so often wind up" ... How can this man miss if he but persist?" Thus began Mr. Young's 13-year mystery-writing career.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

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Subject
Detective and mystery stories CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID