Joseph T. "Cap" Shaw (1874–1952) was the editor of '' Black Mask'' magazine from 1926 to 1936.

Life and career

Before becoming ''Black Mask'' editor, Shaw had worked as a newspaper reporter and as a soldier in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, attaining the rank of captain (Shaw's friends gave him the nickname "Cap").''Danger is My Business: an illustrated history of the Fabulous Pulp Magazines'' by

Lee Server Lee Server (May 27, 1953 – December 28, 2021) was an American writer. He was a graduate of New York University Film School. Server wrote several books about Hollywood cinema and pulp fiction. His book on Ava Gardner, ''Love is Nothing'' (2006) ...

. Chronicle Books, 1993, (pp. 68-70). Shaw was also a professional fencer, and even won an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medal for fencing. ''Hired Pens : Professional Writers in America's Golden Age of print'' by

Ronald Weber Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form of ...

. Ohio University Press, 1997 (p. 98) Under his editorship, ''Black Mask'' published many works of

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

now recognised as classics of the genre, by authors such as

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

, and

Erle Stanley Gardner Erle Stanley Gardner (July 17, 1889 – March 11, 1970) was an American lawyer and author. He is best known for the Perry Mason series of crime fiction, detective stories, but he wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces and also a series of ...

."Pulps" by Robert Sampson, in ''Encyclopedia Mysteriosa'', edited by

William L. DeAndrea William Louis DeAndrea (July 1, 1952 - October 9, 1996) was an American mystery writer and columnist. Biography DeAndrea was born in Port Chester, New York in 1952 and was educated at Syracuse University. During the 1980s his job took him to E ...

. Macmillan, 1994, (p.287-9) 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." 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 A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...

, though without notable success.''Selected Letters of

'', Frank MacShane, ed., Columbia University Press, 1981, (pp. 5-8). Shaw was a writer himself, producing short stories, novels, and articles.

Works

Novels

* ''Derelict'' (New York:

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

, 1930) * ''Blood on the Curb'' (Steeger Books, 2020) * ''It Happened at the Lake'' (Steeger Books, 2022)

Short stories

* "Alkali Ethics," ''The Scrap Book'', May 1911

irst known publication An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IR ...

* "Close Shootin’," ''Pioneer Tales'', July 1928

Articles

* "Do You Want to Become a Writer? or Do You Want to Make Money?," ''

Writer's Digest ''Writer's Digest'' is an American magazine aimed at beginning and established writers. It contains interviews, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles. History ''Writer's Digest'' was first published in December 1920 under ...

'', May 1934. * "Dialogue," ''Writer's Digest'', June 1939.

Editor

* ''The Hard Boiled Omnibus: Early Stories from Black Mask'' (includes introduction) (New York:

Simon and Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, 1946)

References

American magazine editors American crime fiction writers Literary agents American male fencers 1874 births 1952 deaths Place of birth missing American male novelists American male non-fiction writers {{crime-stub