Joan Kahn Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-0140

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

The Joan Kahn Papers include correspondence and press clippings removed from books from Joan Kahn's estate donated to the Browne Popular Culture Library by her sister, Olivia Kahn.

Dates

Creation: 1949-1982, undated

Extent

0.19 Cubic Feet (1 archives box.)

Creator

Kahn, Joan, 1914-1994 (Person)

Scope and Contents

The Joan Kahn Papers include correspondence and press clippings, mostly related to authors Joan Kahn worked with or books that she edited. All of the items from the collection were removed from books from Joan Kahn's estate donated to the Browne Popular Culture Library by her sister, Olivia Kahn.

Researchers interested in the mystery-suspense genre, as well as in the craft of mystery writing and publication, will find this collection useful.

Another collection of Joan Kahn's papers may be found at Yale University.

Biographical / Historical

Joan Kahn was born on April 13, 1914, in New York City and attended the Horace Mann School, the Yale School of Art, Barnard College and the Art Students League. She began her career at Harper Brothers in 1946, editing books about history, art, theater and travel, in addition to suspense novels. She wrote two novels -- To Meet Miss Long (1943) and Open House (1946) -- and four children's books and edited 11 mystery anthologies.

Joan Kahn edited hundreds of suspense novels and her imprint, "A Joan Kahn Book," represented excellence for discriminating mystery lovers. She started the Harper Novels of Suspense during her 34-year career at Harper & Row. After leaving Harper in 1980, Kahn edited books for Ticknor & Fields, Dutton and St. Martin's Press, from which she retired in 1989. Through the years, she signed such writers as Dorothy L. Sayers, Dick Francis, Patricia Highsmith, Michael Gilbert, Julian Symons, John Creasey and Tony Hillerman.

In 1985, she received the Ellery Queen Award from the Mystery Writers of America for lifetime service to the industry. On her retirement, she received a special Edgar Allan Poe Award from the association for her distinguished career in the publishing of mystery fiction.

Joan Kahn died after a brief illness in October 1994.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright and other restrictions may apply to the materials in this collection. Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Separated Materials

The materials in this collection were removed from books that had belonged to Joan Kahn. The more than books from that donation can be found in the catalog of the Browne Popular Culture Library with the note "From the Library of Joan Kahn"