Allen J. Hubin
{{Short description|American historian of crime fiction}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Allen J. Hubin
| image =
| alt = Allen J. Hubin
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1936|3|5}}
| birth_place = Crosby, Minnesota
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Literary critic, encyclopedist, anthologist, bibliographer
| notable_works = The Bibliography of Crime Fiction, 1749–1975
}}
Allen J. Hubin (born March 5, 1936, in Crosby, Minnesota) is an American historian of crime fiction, a literary critic and bibliographer of crime fiction.{{cite book |editor-last=Mesplède |editor-first=Claude |year=2007 |title=Dictionnaire des littératures policières |trans-title=Dictionary of Detective Literature |series=Temps noir |language=fr |volume=1: A-I |location=Nantes |publisher=Joseph K. |page=1011 |isbn=978-2-910686-44-4 |oclc=315873251}}
Biography
Hubin studied at Wheaton College and the University of Minnesota where he graduated in 1961.
A passionate collector of detective literature, Hubin founded the first American magazine devoted to the genre, The Armchair Detective, in 1967. The following year, he succeeded the late Anthony Boucher as author of the column "Criminals at Large", which appeared weekly in The New York Times Book Review.{{cite news|date=May 19, 1968|title=Criminals at Large|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/05/19/archives/criminals-at-large.html|url-access=subscription|newspaper=The New York Times|page=BR32|id={{ProQuest|118205999}}|access-date=August 20, 2024|quote=The name of Anthony Boucher has been synonymous with the Criminals at Large column, which he began conducting with perception and personality in 1951. Mr. Boucher died on April 29. This week's column is contributed by Allen J. Hubin, editor of The Armchair Detective.}} He worked there until 1971 and by 1972 was reviewer for the Star Tribune.{{cite news|date=July 2, 1972|title={{Title missing|date=August 2024}}|newspaper=Star Tribune|page=51}}{{cite news|date=May 21, 1978|title={{Title missing|date=August 2024}}|newspaper=Star Tribune|page=80}}
Hubin's personal library of crime novels was of assistance to Ordean Hagen in assembling the first bibliography of English-language crime fiction, Who Done It?, in 1969.{{cite book |last=Hagen |first=Ordean A. |year=1969 |title=Who Done It?: A Guide to Detective, Mystery and Suspense Fiction |location=New York |publisher=R. R. Bowker |isbn=978-0-8352-0234-3 |id={{catalog lookup link|21139554|article-link=Trove|link-prefix=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/}}}} Hubin wrote the introduction.
For several years, he collected the best short stories of the year in anthologies published under the title Best Detective Stories of the Year.
His best-known work is the production of The Bibliography of Crime Fiction, 1749–1975,{{cite book |last=Hubin |first=Allen J. |year=1979 |title=The Bibliography of Crime Fiction, 1749–1975: Listing of All Mystery, Detective, Suspense, Police, and Gothic Fiction in Book Form Published in the English Language |location=[San Diego] |publisher=University Extension, University of California, San Diego |isbn=978-0-89163-048-7}} published in 1979 by University Extension, University of California, San Diego in cooperation with Publisher's Inc., Del Mar, California, and revised and re-released as Crime Fiction, 1749–1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography.{{cite book|last=Hubin|first=Allen J.|year=1984|title=Crime Fiction, 1749–1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography|location=New York|publisher=Garland Publishing|isbn=0-8240-9219-8|oclc=10020616}} The bibliography lists all publications in the genre in English. Updates incorporating places, films, screenwriters and directors were made in the 1981–1985 Supplement to Crime Fiction, 1749–1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography and published by Garland in 1988 before Crime Fiction II: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749–1990 came out in 1994 in two volumes.
Bibliography
- Best of the Best Detective Stories: 25th Anniversary Collection (1971){{cite book |editor-last=Hubin |editor-first=Allen J. |year=1971 |title=Best of the Best Detective Stories: 25th Anniversary Collection |location=New York |publisher=E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc. |isbn=978-0-525-06450-3}}
- The Bibliography of Crime Fiction, 1749–1975 (1979)
- The Armchair Detective (1981){{cite book |last=Hubin |first=Allen J. |year=1981 |title=The Armchair Detective |location=Madison, Indiana |publisher=Brownstone Books |isbn=978-0-941028-00-4}}
- Crime Fiction, 1749–1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography (1983)
- The Armchair Detective: The First Ten Years (1986)
- 1981–1985 Supplement to Crime Fiction (1988)
- Crime Fiction II: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749–1990 (1994)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- "[https://www.mysteryscenemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3152:my-life-of-crime-fiction&catid=36:author-essay&Itemid=191 My Life of Crime Fiction" by Allen J. Hubin, in Mystery Scene]
- [http://www.crimefictioniv.com Crime Fiction IV: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749–2000 by Allen J. Hubin, addenda to the 2015 revised edition]
{{Authority control}}
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Category:American anthologists
Category:American bibliographers
Category:American literary historians