Jim Huang is an American author and editor of crime fiction, as well as the owner and operator of Crum Creek Press and The Mystery Company imprint.[1]

Personal life edit

Huang has a wife named Jennie.[2] Together, they have lived in Boston, Massachusetts; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Carmel, Indiana; Gambier, Ohio; and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.[2]

Education edit

Huang received an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Swarthmore College in 1982.[2] While there, he edited the student newspaper and helped found Swarthmore Warders of Imaginative Literature, a science-fiction/fantasy club.[2]

Career edit

Huang began editing and publishing The Drood Review of Mystery in 1982, a job he held until 2005. His work with Drood ultimately led to the creation of The Crum Creek Press, a small book publishing company Huang established in 1989.[1]

He began his bookselling career in 1987 at Spenser's Mystery Bookshop in Boston, where he worked for four years before moving to Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1992.[3] There, he opened the Deadly Passions Bookshop, which specialized in mystery, romance, and science-fiction/fantasy books.[3] The store closed in 2000.[2] Three years later, Huang opened The Mystery Company in Carmel, Indiana.[4][5][6][3] The store closed in 2010.[6][3] Following this closure, Huang began managing the Kenyon College bookstore in Gambier, Ohio.[6][3] Five years later, he moved to Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where he now serves as the Director of the Bryn Mawr College Bookshop.[2]

During his time working at bookshops, Huang decided an imprint, which he named after his store in Carmel, Indiana: The Mystery Company.[4] The first title was sold in 2003, and the first original text, In a Teapot by Terence Faherty, was sold in 2005.[2]

Huang co-founded the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.[3] He also served as a board member and president for the Carmel Clay Public Library's Friends, a board member for Sisters in Crime (2006-2011),[7][8] and program director of Magna Cum Murder (2000-2008). In addition to these service roles, he was a subject matter expert on mystery for Cengage Gale's "What Do I Read Next?" (2007-2009).

Awards edit

Year Title Award Result
2000 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Winner [9][10]
2001 Macavity Award for Best Nonfiction Nominee
Anthony Award for Best Critical Work Winner [11][12]
2002 The Died in Vain Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Winner [9][10]
2003 Anthony Award for Best Critical Work Winner [11][12]
Macavity Award for Best Critical/Biographical Mystery Work Winner
2006 Mystery Muses, with Austin Lugar Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Shortlist [9]
2007 Macavity Award for Best Critical/Biographical Mystery Work Winner
Anthony Award for Best Critical Work Winner [11][12]
Anthony Award for Special Service Winner [11][12]

Publications edit

  • 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century (2000)
  • They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated and Forgotten Mystery Novels (2002)
  • Mystery Muses: 100 Classics That Inspire Today's Mystery Writers, with Austin Lugar (2006)
  • Organizing Crime: The Mystery Company's Guide to Series, with Austin Lugar (2009)
  • What Do I Read Next? Volume 2, with Natalie Danford, Dana Ferguson, Don D'Ammassa, and Marcia Ford (2009)
  • Organizing Crime: The Mystery Company's Guide to Series (Second Ed.), with Austin Lugar and Nikki Phipps (2014)

References edit

  1. ^ a b "About". Crum Creek Press / The Mystery Company. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "About". Stately Huang Manor. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Kirch, Claire (2010-01-27). "Indianapolis is Three Bookstores Poorer". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  4. ^ a b "Mandahla: Mystery Muses, It's a Bitter Little World Reviewed". Shelf Awareness. 2006-11-20. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  5. ^ "Notes: Store Moves, Openings; Distribution Changes". Shelf Awareness. 2006-10-10. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  6. ^ a b c "Three Stores Near Closing". Shelf Awareness. 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  7. ^ "Cool Idea of the Day: SinC Thanks Booksellers and Librarians". Shelf Awareness. 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  8. ^ "Jim Huang". Sisters in Crime. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  9. ^ a b c "Agatha Award Archive" (PDF). Malice Domestic. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  10. ^ a b "The Agatha Awards: A Literary Award for Crime Fiction". Crime Fiction Awards. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  11. ^ a b c d "Every Winner of the Anthony Award for Best Novel, Assembled For Your Crime Reading Pleasure". CrimeReads. 2019-10-31. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  12. ^ a b c d "The Anthony Awards: A Literary Award for Crime Fiction". Crime Fiction Awards. Retrieved 2022-07-31.

External links edit