Edward HochDEdward D Hoch, who died on 17 January, 2008, was one of the most decorated and almost certainly the most prolific writer of detective fiction in the world.He was also one of the only exponents of the genre who stayed faithful to his roots, writing stories for magazines throughout a remarkable 52-year career.In total he wrote well over 900 stories, as well as a handful of novels. He also edited several short story collections. His accolades included the prestigious Edgar Allan Poe Award and the title of Grand Master from the Mystery Writers of America.Edward Dentinger Hoch was born on 22 February, 1930, in the city of Rochester in New York State. He grew up listening avidly to radio mystery dramas, particularly The Adventures of Ellery Queen.He studied at the city’s university for two years but did not complete his studies, dropping out to take a job in a library. He then joined the US Army and became a military policeman. During this time he started attending meetings of the newly formed Mystery Writers of America in New York.The major influences on his writing were authors like G K Chesterton, John Dickson Carr, Clayton Rawson and ‘Ellery Queen’, the nom de plume of two Brooklyn cousins, Fred Dannay and Manfred Lee, and a pseudonym Hoch would later write under himself.He began submitting his stories to publishers in 1952 but his early work was universally rejected and he was forced to take a copywriter’s job. Nevertheless, he persevered and was finally rewarded with a front cover in Famous Detective Stories in December 1955 with his new creation, psychic sleuth Simon Ark.The pulp magazine industry was at its peak – known as the ‘Golden Age’ of mystery fiction – when Mr Hoch started out and he found space in titles like Crime and Justice, Guilty!, Killers Mystery Story, Tightrope, Shock!, and Mystery Digest.At the time editors wanted bizarre stories and characters, the weirder the better, but it was to Hoch’s credit that although some of his heroes were certainly odd (Ark was over 2000 years old, while Nick Velvet is a thief-for-hire who will only steal worthless objects) he was always a believer in "fair play".Even in the Dr Sam Hawthorne stories, which featured ‘impossible murders’, he never cheated, always providing readers with clues as they went along and a rational explanation at the end. In addition, his stories were frequently set against historical backdrops and his research was exhaustive.In the 1960s the market began to change, with many of the pulp titles disappearing and three monthlies coming to dominate: Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. He wrote his first story for Ellery Queen in 1962 and between 1973 and his death he appeared in every single issue.He won the Mystery Writers of America’s Poe Award in 1968 for The Oblong Room, a story starring Connecticut police detective Captain Leopold which was published in The Saint Mystery Magazine the previous year. Other awards Mr Hoch received included the Anthony Award from the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in 1998 and 2001, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America in 2000.He was made President of the MWA in 1982 and the first writer known primarily for short stories rather than novels to receive their Grand Master title in 2001.He wrote five novels in the early 1970s, three of which had sci-fi settings, but did not care much for the craft of novel-writing, later saying, "I tended to get bored with the books before I’d finished them, anxious to get back to short stories". His stories, which usually saw characters develop and age over the years, were ideal for collections and 15 were published.The secret of his longevity was in part his ability to adapt to changing markets, tailoring his stories to what was being demanded by editors and readers over the decades. But he also relied on his imagination which allowed him to concoct nearly a thousand original scenarios and write authentically about locations he had usually never visited.He died of a heart attack at the age of 77 at his home in Rochester and was survived by his wife Patricia.
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