Dilys Winn (1939–2016)
Author of Murder ink: The mystery reader's companion
About the Author
Image credit: at Murder Ink, 1972
Works by Dilys Winn
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Winn, Dilys Barbara
- Birthdate
- 1939-09-08
- Date of death
- 2016-02-05
- Gender
- female
- Education
- The Baldwin School, Philadelphia
Pembroke College, Brown University - Occupations
- advertising copywriter
bookshop owner
book critic
editor
specialist event planner
writing teacher - Organizations
- Murder Ink bookstore, New York (founder)
Mohonk Mystery Weekend (cofounder)
Miss Marple's Parlour bookstore, Key West
Kirkus Reviews - Awards and honors
- Dilys Winn Award (Independent Mystery Booksellers Association)
- Short biography
- She attended public schools in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and graduated from the Baldwin School in Philadelphia and Pembroke College before becoming an advertising copywriter.
In 1972, Dilys opened the doors of Murder Ink, America's first bookstore devoted entirely to mysteries. In 1975 Dilys sold the bookstore and began work on Murder Ink, an oversized collection of essays and opinions about mystery fiction. Murder Ink was not the first publication aimed specifically at mystery fans, but Murder Ink immediately became the indispensable companion for the mystery community, which it went far to create. ... In the 1990s Dilys moved to Key West, Florida, and opened another bookstore, Miss Marple's Parlour, where she sold mysteries and orchestrated one-night mystery shows. By then she had already begun a long period reviewing mysteries for Kirkus Reviews, where she eventually passed judgment on hundreds of titles before retiring from Kirkus in 2013. - Cause of death
- kidney disease
- Nationality
- Ireland
USA - Birthplace
- Dublin, Ireland
- Places of residence
- Perth Amboy, New Jersey, USA
New York, New York, USA
Key West, Florida, USA
New Paltz, New York, USA
Asheville, North Carolina, USA - Place of death
- Asheville, North Carolina, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
This is one of the strangest books I have read in a long time! This was a secondhand-store find which I bought only because a friend asked me to read several crime fiction novels this coming year, and it seemed apt.
I have learned that Dilys Winn was the founder of a hugely popular book store in the USA, Mystery Ink. This sizeable tome (500 oversized pages, densely packed) contains contributions from scores of mystery writers, detectives, and aficionados of all flavours. The pieces have a show more decided 'quirk' factor, with the stated aim of being a key source for both readers and writers of crime fiction. Selections include hierarchies of the police on both sides of the pond, notes on the clergy in crime fiction, a 'translation' of hard-boiled detective lit into regular English, pieces on the butler, disguises, a walking tour of country England and key New York sites, notes on editing, important texts from throughout history, room plans, explorations of amusing detectives, guidelines for dressing like Miss Marple, thoughts on the physiology of reading, musings on cracking codes, narratives of the evolution of certain tropes, and much more. Scattered throughout are quizzes, pocket mysteries, and even an essay on gardening! The pages are also littered with quotes from celebrities and notable notables, and such novelty items as a list of "don'ts" should one wish to survive a murder mystery novel. Sections range from a single text box to 5 or 6 pages.
The volume was apparently updated in the 1980s (this is the original text from 1977) but, regardless, after all this time the text is outdated in several ways. Yet it's still a rich read for those of us who grew up with crime fiction. The book is also a neat 'jumping off point', introducing us throughout its pages to countless authors and detectives. It serves as a useful bibliography of crime lit from the 18th century to the 1970s. (Check also if your copy contains a sealed 'answer booklet' stuck on the last page! Mine did - and still unopened - which I suspect is a minor miracle!
For interest's sake, a few of the essay titles below:
"Tempest in a Teapot: the Care and Brewing of Tea"
"An Eyewitness Account of Holmes"
"Marxism and the Mystery"
"Wiretapping: A Session with a Debugger"
"Waylaid in Lonely Places"
"Verses for Hearses, by Isaac Asimov"
"The Busiest Morgue in the World"
"Creating a Mystery Game"
Murder Ink is not the definitive text on crime fiction; its deliberately 'messy' vibe means that you'll want to seek out more structured guides if you like lists that aim for completion. But it's a book like no other, the kind of work devised by a particular mind, and probably something that no mind would commit to in 2020, when a blog would suit their purpose just as much (but with less style). It's no surprise to me that Goodreads reviews suggest this book is cherished by those who discovered it - whether 45 years ago or last week. show less
I have learned that Dilys Winn was the founder of a hugely popular book store in the USA, Mystery Ink. This sizeable tome (500 oversized pages, densely packed) contains contributions from scores of mystery writers, detectives, and aficionados of all flavours. The pieces have a show more decided 'quirk' factor, with the stated aim of being a key source for both readers and writers of crime fiction. Selections include hierarchies of the police on both sides of the pond, notes on the clergy in crime fiction, a 'translation' of hard-boiled detective lit into regular English, pieces on the butler, disguises, a walking tour of country England and key New York sites, notes on editing, important texts from throughout history, room plans, explorations of amusing detectives, guidelines for dressing like Miss Marple, thoughts on the physiology of reading, musings on cracking codes, narratives of the evolution of certain tropes, and much more. Scattered throughout are quizzes, pocket mysteries, and even an essay on gardening! The pages are also littered with quotes from celebrities and notable notables, and such novelty items as a list of "don'ts" should one wish to survive a murder mystery novel. Sections range from a single text box to 5 or 6 pages.
The volume was apparently updated in the 1980s (this is the original text from 1977) but, regardless, after all this time the text is outdated in several ways. Yet it's still a rich read for those of us who grew up with crime fiction. The book is also a neat 'jumping off point', introducing us throughout its pages to countless authors and detectives. It serves as a useful bibliography of crime lit from the 18th century to the 1970s. (Check also if your copy contains a sealed 'answer booklet' stuck on the last page! Mine did - and still unopened - which I suspect is a minor miracle!
For interest's sake, a few of the essay titles below:
"Tempest in a Teapot: the Care and Brewing of Tea"
"An Eyewitness Account of Holmes"
"Marxism and the Mystery"
"Wiretapping: A Session with a Debugger"
"Waylaid in Lonely Places"
"Verses for Hearses, by Isaac Asimov"
"The Busiest Morgue in the World"
"Creating a Mystery Game"
Murder Ink is not the definitive text on crime fiction; its deliberately 'messy' vibe means that you'll want to seek out more structured guides if you like lists that aim for completion. But it's a book like no other, the kind of work devised by a particular mind, and probably something that no mind would commit to in 2020, when a blog would suit their purpose just as much (but with less style). It's no surprise to me that Goodreads reviews suggest this book is cherished by those who discovered it - whether 45 years ago or last week. show less
I read the second, revised edition of this book and liked it so much that I’m going to seek out the first edition. (In all fairness to my greed, there’s a lot of material that was changed and/or left out from the first to the second editions.)
A lot of the material here was written by Dylis Winn, who founded the Murder Ink Bookstore in New York. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the genre and a light touch when discussing our favorites. There’s a little graphic sort of mystery tying show more the chapters together, and I presume she was responsible for that as well as much background material.
The bulk of the book consists of brief essays on many aspects of the mystery story: it’s sub-genres, major literary detectives through history, etc. it’s a very enjoyable book and doesn’t take itself too seriously,
Highly recommended to any lover of mysteries, whether hard-boiled, noir, police procedural, amateur sleuths, or cozies. show less
A lot of the material here was written by Dylis Winn, who founded the Murder Ink Bookstore in New York. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the genre and a light touch when discussing our favorites. There’s a little graphic sort of mystery tying show more the chapters together, and I presume she was responsible for that as well as much background material.
The bulk of the book consists of brief essays on many aspects of the mystery story: it’s sub-genres, major literary detectives through history, etc. it’s a very enjoyable book and doesn’t take itself too seriously,
Highly recommended to any lover of mysteries, whether hard-boiled, noir, police procedural, amateur sleuths, or cozies. show less
In June 1972, Dilys Winn opened the first specialty bookstore devoted to mysteries and crime fiction. Titled Murder Ink, the store stood on its original spot in Manhattan for 34 years before it had to close in 2006. Winn continued to serve the mystery community even after selling the store in the '70s, with the occasional essay in publications like the New York Times and also by writing reference books. One of the most popular was titled Murder Ink: the Mystery Reader's Companion, dating show more from 1977, which led to this revised version in 1984. Whereas the first edition was subtitled "Perpetrated by Dilys Winn," the update is subtitled "Revised, revised, still unrepentant AND perpetrated by Dilys Winn."
The 1984 version contains many of the same features from the original, with a host of essays on Plots, Trouble Spots (settings), Suspicions (suspects), Crimes, Victims, Bloodhounds (detectives), Motives, Justice and some miscellaneous fun in Side-Tracked and Complications. Contributors to the book include reviewers like Marilyn Stasio with the New York Times; authors including Ed McBain, Martha Grimes, PD James; publishers like Otto Penzler; and dozens of other "first-time offenders," recidivists," and "imposters."
Also new to this edition is a "book within a book." It's a story titled "The Tainted Tea Tragedy," told on the first three pages of each chapter, with two clues to a chapter and additional clues scattered throughout the book. There's even a mirror-image recap of the aftermath one year later in the Index, although "those who peek are "despicable beyond words."
Fun interstitials are sprinkled throughout the book, too. You'll find cartoons like an illustration of the authentic classic private eye trenchcoat, appropriately labeled; sidebars galore filled with trivia, quotes and poems; bibliographies; glossaries and lots of literary eye candy. There's also a section on the crime fiction awards categories, although there is one award missing: the Dilys Award. In 1992, well after this book was published, the Independent Booksellers Association created the award for the mystery titles of the year that member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. They named it after—who else? Dilys Winn show less
The 1984 version contains many of the same features from the original, with a host of essays on Plots, Trouble Spots (settings), Suspicions (suspects), Crimes, Victims, Bloodhounds (detectives), Motives, Justice and some miscellaneous fun in Side-Tracked and Complications. Contributors to the book include reviewers like Marilyn Stasio with the New York Times; authors including Ed McBain, Martha Grimes, PD James; publishers like Otto Penzler; and dozens of other "first-time offenders," recidivists," and "imposters."
Also new to this edition is a "book within a book." It's a story titled "The Tainted Tea Tragedy," told on the first three pages of each chapter, with two clues to a chapter and additional clues scattered throughout the book. There's even a mirror-image recap of the aftermath one year later in the Index, although "those who peek are "despicable beyond words."
Fun interstitials are sprinkled throughout the book, too. You'll find cartoons like an illustration of the authentic classic private eye trenchcoat, appropriately labeled; sidebars galore filled with trivia, quotes and poems; bibliographies; glossaries and lots of literary eye candy. There's also a section on the crime fiction awards categories, although there is one award missing: the Dilys Award. In 1992, well after this book was published, the Independent Booksellers Association created the award for the mystery titles of the year that member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. They named it after—who else? Dilys Winn show less
This is (was) an excellent reference to mystery stories as they were in the late seventies. There are all sorts of interesting facts, trivia and diversions inside. The habits and foibles of the detectives and the authors are sure to entertain.
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