Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine was founded in 1956 and since then has published eleven issues each year. Each magazine is packed with at least seven new mystery short stories varying in length from short-shorts to novellas. It also publishes one "Mystery Classic", an outstanding tale from the genre's past.
All Writers Welcome at Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine's authors include both well-known writers including Walter Satterthwait, Jan Burke, Kathy Emerson and Joseph Hansen and new authors. It has won Edgars, Shamuses and many Robert L. Fish awards for Best First Mystery Short Story of the year.
Types of Mysteries Published by AHMM
Every type of mystery fiction is represented at AHMM from the classic whodunit to the hardboiled tale to suspense and everything in between. It has now teamed up with The Wolfe Pack, the official Nero Wolfe appreciation society to sponsor a new annual writing prize to honor an unpublished work of fiction written in the tradition of the Nero Wolfe mystery stories by Rex Stout.
Included in the types of mysteries published by AHMM are:
- Stories of detection of the class kind
- Police procedurals
- Private eye tales
- Suspense
- Courtroom dramas
- Espionage
- Threat of a crime
- Fear of a crime
Occasionally AHMM will accept ghost stories or supernatural tales but they must always include a crime.
Submission Guidelines for AHMM
Stories submitted to AHMM should not be longer than 12,000 words although most are shorter than that.
- They must not have been previously published elsewhere.
- They do not accept simultaneous submissions.
- Stories should not be based on actual crimes or real-life events.
Directions for manuscripts are very specific and include instructions that should be followed carefully.
These include:
- Plain white paper should be used and typing should be double-spaced.
- No cover letter is necessary.
- The title as well as the name and address of the author should be on the first page and no title page should be used.
- Each page of the story should be numbered on the upper right hand-corner of each page.
- Underline words to indicate italics.
- Indent for each paragraph.
- Do not leave 1-line spaces between paragraphs.
- Mail in a flat envelope so no pages are folded.
If the author wants the manuscript back if it is not accepted, a stamped-self-addressed envelope (SASE) should be included. If the manuscript has been photocopied and the author does not want it back, advise the editors and include a small SASE
Before submitting a short story to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, read a few issues of the publication to get an idea of the kind of fiction it buys.
Information about the Black Orchard Novella Award,
Submissions should be sent to:
AHMM
267 Broadway, 4th Fl.
New York, NY 10007
Helpful articles:
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
Writing Crime Fact or Fiction for Magazines
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