Small presses and local publishers continue to make inroads in the mystery publishing business. In September 2003, Publishers Weekly cited the 2002 revenue of small publishers at a surprising $29.4 billion. While the world of the small mystery press represents only a fraction of that amount, sales made by local presses are doubtlessly on the rise. The display features examples of small press mystery publications written by Mississippians, mysteries set in Mississippi, and books published by Mississippi small presses.

Murder in the Tomb

Osgood’s Murder in the Tomb, the earliest small press mystery on display, is something of a mystery itself. Nothing whatsoever can be unearthed about the publisher, “Unique Mystery Novels,” of Columbus, Mississippi. Osgood’s work is a complicated story of treachery and stolen treasure. He inscribed his novel to a Dr. and Mrs. Greenhill, “in appreciation of a delightful summer and a friendship we cannot forget-not that we shall ever want to do so.”

Lucian Austin Osgood. Murder in the Tomb. Unique Mystery Novels: Columbus, MS, 1937. Signed and inscribed by author.

Genesis Press

According to their website, Genesis Press is “the largest privately-owned African-American book publisher in the country.” Located in Columbus, Mississippi since 1993, Genesis has focused on the publication of interracial fiction, including romance and intrigue. Two of the authors included in this exhibit are Louisa Dixon and Jack Kean. Dixon’s crime series features Laura Owen, the feisty first female Commissioner of Public Safety and the Highway Patrol. The character echoes the actual career of Ms. Dixon who served in this capacity in Mississippi from 1988-1992. Jack Kean, a former Deputy Assistant Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor, based his novel Deadly Sacrifice around a racially motivated church burning in Mississippi.

Louisa Dixon. Next To Last Chance. Columbus, MS: Genesis Press, 1998.

Jack Kean. Deadly Sacrifice. Columbus, MS: Genesis Press, 1999. Advance Reader’s Edition.

-- Typed broadside. [1999]. Announcement of Genesis Press’ publication of Deadly Sacrifice.

Quail Ridge Press

Located in Brandon, Mississippi, the publications of Quail Ridge Press are diverse in nature, from cookbooks to regional histories. A family-run business, the Press has published the popular Mississippi Mysteries series written by Phil Hardwick. A Mississippi native, Hardwick has published nine mysteries in the series, each set within a different Mississippi town. With such whimsical titles as Found in Flora and Corrupted in Canton, each story features murders solved through the detective work of Jack Boulder.

Phil Hardwick. Found in Flora. Brandon, MS: Quail Ridge Press, 1997. The first of the series.

Bill Meredith

In his other career as a pawnbroker, Bill Meredith works closely with police and private investigators. His experiences have been frequently dangerous. He claims to have been shot at by robbers on no less than on ten occasions. Nonetheless his firing-line career has proven useful, as his experiences have been incorporated into his novel, Malice in Memphis.

Bill Meredith. Malice in Memphis. Grenada, MS: Me Me Productions, 1996.

Little Red House Press

Located in Rich, Mississippi, the boyhood home of celebrated author Thomas Harris, the Little Red House Press claims to be “committed to producing quality books of regional interest.” At the present time, Helen Sanders’ work, Vengeance is Mine, is the only work of fiction published under this imprint.

Helen Sanders. Vengeance is Mine. Rich, Mississippi: Little Red House Press, 2001.