Mystery author Edward Dentinger Hoch died on 17 January 2008. Born in Rochester New York on 22 February 1930, his first story appeared in Famous Detective Stories in 1955. In a career which lasted until his death, he published more than 900 short mystery stories, and in 2001, the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) named him a Grand Master. The Private Eye Writers of America gave him the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000, and he also won the MWA’s Edgar Allan Poe Award and Bouchercon’s Anthony Award.
More than half of his stories appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (sometimes known as Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine). His first appearance in the magazine was in 1962, and he has had at least one story in every issue since May 1973. His work there has appeared under either his name or one of his pseudonyms (which included Irwin Booth, Anthony Circus, Stephen Dentinger, Pat McMahon, R.L. Stevens, R.E. Porter, and “Mr. X.”).
Three of his novels were science fiction detective stories, all set in the mid-21st century and featuring Carl Crader and Earl Jazine of the Computer Investigation Bureau. They were: The Transvection Machine (1971), The Fellowship of the HAND (1972), and The Frankenstein Factory (1975).