Old Posts
It's "Doylean Honors" Season!
Nominate Your 2022 & 2023 Favorites
October 8, 2023 — Now is the time to nominate your favorite recent works of Doylean fiction, poetry, performing art, visual art, and scholarship for our annual "Doylean Honors" awards. The nomination forms are here, and the deadline for nominations is November 15, 2023. So do it now! Tell our selection committees what fine Doylean creative and scholarly works from 2022 and 2023 are worthy of recognition at our third annual awards ceremony. As ever, the event will be held at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Workshop in New York City, during the long "Birthday Weekend" in early January. This time around it will be on January 11, 2024, starting at 11:15 a.m. sharp. We hope to hear from you soon with your nominations, and to see you at the Bookshop in January!
"Micah Clarke" on "All of Doyle"
with the Bimetallic Question
September 13, 2023 — Next Tuesday, September 19, at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), the Bimetallic Question will hold its next virtual "All of Doyle" meeting. They (which can include you!) will discuss ACD's 1889 book, "Micah Clarke." "This novel represents an important milestone in Doyle's career," notes discussion leader Edith Pounden, "as it was his first real literary success, without which we might not know either Doyle or Holmes today." To request a Zoom link, email the Bimetallic Question at info@bimetallicquestion.org.
221Bookfair
September 30, Reading, PA
September 1, 2023 — When you descend into the basement of Joann and Denny Dobry's home in Reading, Pennsylvania, you enter 221B Baker Street as it was when Sherlock Holmes and John Watson lived there, with all the right sights, sounds, furnishings, and accessories. You can sit at the breakfast table, or in front of the fireplace, and easily imagine you are a client waiting for Holmes to emerge from an adjacent room. Or you can explore that adjacent room yourself, and perhaps discover the secret entrance into the other wonder of the Dobrys' basement: the vast subterranean warehouse filled with thousands of Doylean and Sherlockian books, periodicals, and ephemera of every sort, all for sale at bargain prices, with all proceeds going to the BSI Trust. (Don't worry, if you don't find the secret entrance, you can use the other, more conventional, passage into the warehouse.) This 221B is a must-see for all enthusiasts, and the warehouse is a must-shop. And the best time to visit is coming up. On September 30, the Dobrys will be hosting an all-day ("from 10:00 am until everyone is gone," says Denny) book fair and open house. We hope to see you there! For more information, email Denny at dendobry@ptd.net.
"A Common Newsletter" Is in the Mail …
with Some Humorous Handwriting
August 14, 2023 — Volume 3, number 2 of our newsletter has entered the postal system. So, sometime in the next few weeks it will arrive on the doorsteps of subscribers around the world. Readers will receive news of the forthcoming issue of our other periodical (or is it an occasional?), The New Pink 'Un (for a look at an old issue click here). Other features and news include the location of The Lost World (according to ChatGPT), page 5 of the "Blue John Gap" manuscript from Margie Deck and Nancy Holder's Blue John Gap Project (accompanied by the first few paragraphs of a "double" essay by Rafe McGregor), a Doylean animal reconstructed out of a single bone on Doings of Doyle, and more. In due course an electronic edition will be available for free right here.
The Terror Is Back:
"my extraordinary experience of yesterday"
August 8, 2023 — Margie Deck and Nancy Holder have returned with more commentary on ACD's "The Terror of Blue John Gap" for us. Page 5 of their project is now online — with a facsimile (and transcription) of that page of ACD's autograph manuscript, accompanied by Margie and Nancy's own commentary ("Auditory Hallucinations: '...blurring the boundaries between the supernatural and natural'") and new essays by Rafe McGregor ("Dr Doyle’s Doubles") and S.T. Joshi ("Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Dabbling in the Weird"). Read and wonder ... and worry!
"All of Doyle"
with the Bimetallic Question
June 27, 2023 — On Tuesday, July 11 at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), the Bimetallic Question will hold its next virtual "All of Doyle" meeting. They (which can include you!) will discuss four of Doyle's stories connected to the practice of medicine: The Case of Lady Sannox (1893), The Third Generation (1894), The Surgeon Talks (1894), and The Curse of Eve (1894). Attendees will also be treated to a presentation by Dr. Marilynne McKay (BSI, Violet de Merville). Dr. McKay's recent writing on Doylean medicine includes "The Scarlet Thread of Venery: What Killed Jefferson Hope?" in Stimulating Medicine (BSI Press 2022) -- about the subliminal appearance of syphilis symptoms in Doyle's writing. To request a Zoom link, email the Bimetallic Question at info@bimetallicquestion.org.
Worldwide Doyle at Portsmouth Library:
Zoom In — June 26 & 28, July 3 & 4
June 22, 2023 — It is time for the Portsmouth Library's annual Doylean lecture series! This year, the Library is hosting four presentations, all free and open to the public, all on Zoom. You can register for any and all right now:
• Monday, June 26 at 7pm (UK)/2pm (US Eastern Time):“Arthur Conan Doyle and the Adventure of the Gaiola Malediction”
by Mark Jones & Ross Davies.
• Wednesday, June 28 at 7pm (UK)/2pm (US Eastern Time):
“Portsmouth's Conan Doyle Collection”
by Michael Gunton.
• Monday, July 3 at 7pm (UK)/2pm (US Eastern Time):
“Arthur Conan Doyle’s Supernatural Stories”
by Bryan Woods.
• Tuesday, July 4 at 7pm (UK)/2pm (US Eastern Time):
“Sidney Paget's Visions of Sherlock Holmes”
by Dr. Christopher Pittard.
"A Common Newsletter" Is in the Mail …
with a Challenging Confection
May 28, 2023 — Volume 3, number 1 of our newsletter entered the postal system late last night. Soon, after pausing in a post box for a couple of days during the holiday weekend, it will travel to members around the world. Readers will receive news of the second annual Doylean Honors ceremony and the first running of the Wessex Cup, along with an announcement of next year’s festivities at Otto Penzler’s The Mysterious Bookshop. Other features and news include page 4 of the "Blue John Gap" manuscript (accompanied by a Lovecraftian essay from Margie Deck and Nancy Holder's Blue John Gap Project), praise for bimetallic Doylean questioning, an early Parisian Doylean moment in The New Yorker, and more. In due course an electronic edition will be available for free right here.
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The Terror Is Back:
This Time We Can Hear It
May 18, 2023 — Margie Deck and Nancy Holder have returned with more commentary on ACD's "The Terror of Blue John Gap" for us. Page 4 of their project is now online — with a facsimile (and transcription) of that page of ACD's autograph manuscript, accompanied by Margie and Nancy's own commentary ("'A most remarkable experience': Hearing is believing") and new essays by Peter Cannon ("The Beast in the Cave: A Lovecraftian Conan Doyle Tale") and Matthew D. Hall ("How would Sherlock Holmes approach this case?"). In addition, there are new papers on Page D by Dean Wilkinson ("Doyle’s Tales of Terror and Mystery: Writer Dean Wilkinson picks his 4 favourite 'Conandoylic' horror stories for your distressingly dire delight") and on Page 3 by Rich Krisciunas ("Sheep Stealers"). Read and tremble!
"All of Doyle"
with the Bimetallic Question
May 5, 2023 — On Tuesday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), the Bimetallic Question will hold its next virtual "All of Doyle" meeting. They (which can include you!) will discuss Doyle's spooky novella, The Mystery of Cloomber. The story is available in print and, of course, online at the Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia. To request a Zoom link for the meeting, email the Bimetallic Question at info@bimetallicquestion.org. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m.
"All of Doyle"
with the Bimetallic Question
March 21, 2023 — On Tuesday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), the Bimetallic Question will hold its next virtual "All of Doyle" meeting. They (which can include you!) will discuss three of Doyle's sporting tales: The Croxley Master, The Story of Spedegue's Dropper, and The King of the Foxes. Attendees will also be treated to presentations by Philip Ehrensaft on Doyle's role as an early adopter of football before it became "the world's sport," and by Mark Alberstat, BSI ("Halifax"), co-editor of Canadian Holmes, and all-around Doylean sports and athletics scholar. To request a Zoom link, email the Bimetallic Question at info@bimetallicquestion.org.
 receives his Doylean Honors award for Excellence in the Performing Arts from the ACD Society's Monica Schmidt in The Mysterious Bookshop 2023-1-5 photo by Louise Krull.jpeg)
Moving Pictures of Doylean Honors
and Wessex Cup
February 5, 2023 — Go to the Doings of Doyle YouTube channel to see (and hear) just-released recordings of the 2023 Doylean Honors ceremony and the first running of the Wessex Cup, both of which were held at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop on January 5, 2023. These films were produced by Mark Jones under extraordinarily difficult technical conditions, which makes some features (for example, the slow-motion close-ups of the end of each race) even more impressive. We have still pictures as well, including (above) one of David MacGregor receiving his Doylean Honors award for Excellence in the Performing Arts from selection committee chair Monica Schmidt (photo by Louise Krull) and another (below) of Wessex Cup champion Derrick Belanger receiving the Wessex Cup from equine outfitter extraordinaire Peggy MacFarlane (photo by Christopher Zordan).
 receives the Wessex Cup from the ACD Society's Peggy MacFarlane in The Mysterious Bookshop 2023-1-5 photo by Christopher Zordan.jpeg.JPG)
2023 Membership Card
by Regina Stinson
January 17, 2023 — When you join the ACD Society for 2023 (look to your left for instructions), you will receive an unorthodox and excellent membership card. It is a bit taller than a conventional card, and it is perforated. These features will enable you to wear with pride (as Gerard surely did) and amusement (as ACD surely intended) the handsome medal Napoleon presented to Brigadier Gerard (as brilliantly interpreted by Regina Stinson), along with a few suitably Napoleonic words: "You will see ... that Brigadier Gerard has the special medal of honour, for I believe that if he has the thickest head he has also the stoutest heart in my army." Emperor Napoleon, speaking the last lines in The Medal of Brigadier Gerard (The Strand Magazine, December 1894). Cards will be mailed to current members later this week.
The Envelope, Please . . .
January 5, 2023 — It is with pleasure, pride, and great respect that we announce our 2023 Doylean Honorees.
For Lifetime Service:
For excellence in the "Fiction and Poetry" category:
• Margie Deck for "Whitney’s Reflection" in Steel True, Blade Straight (Belanger Books)
• Paul Hiscock for “The Ascent” in Steel True, Blade Straight (Belanger Books)
• David Marcum for “The Unintended Offenses” in Steel True, Blade Straight (Belanger Books)
For excellence in the "Performing and Visual Arts" category:
• Jessie Amaolo for Virtual Tour of A Study in Sherlock & His Creator (Toronto Public Library)
• David MacGregor for Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Ghost in the Machine (Purple Rose Theater Company)
• Frank Cho for illustrations in Bonnie MacBird’s What Child is This?: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Adventure (HarperCollins)
For excellence in the "Scholarly Writing" category:
• Shrabani Basu her book, The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer: Arthur Conan Doyle, George Edalji and the Case of the Foreigner in the English Village (Bloomsbury)
• Richard Fallon for “Rediscovering Lost Worlds: Arthur Conan Doyle and the Modern Romance of Palaeontology” in his book Reimagining Dinosaurs in Late Victorian and Edwardian Literature (Cambridge University Press)
• Brian McCuskey for “Theory and Preaching, 1887-1930” in his book, How Sherlock Pulled the Trick: Spiritualism and the Pseudoscientific Method (Penn State University Press)
Congratulations to all! Look for a special Doings of Doyle podcast about the Doylean Honors. Coming soon.
Welcome to the Second Annual
Doylean Honors Ceremony
January 4, 2023 — Please join us tomorrow (Thursday, January 5, at 11:15 a.m. ET) either in person at The Mysterious Bookshop (58 Warren Street, NYC) or online at Doings of Doyle (register for free here) to celebrate excellence in Doylean Fiction and Poetry, Performing and Visual Arts, and Scholarly Writing, and to salute the Lifetime Service of one extraordinary Doylean — and to witness the first running (or rolling) of the Wessex Cup. See you at the Bookshop or online for the second annual Doylean Honors!
Doylean Honors and Wessex Cup at
The Mysterious Bookshop, and Online
January 4, 2023 — Join us tomorrow for the second annual Doylean Honors ceremony and the first running of the Wessex Cup at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop. If you cannot be there in person, join us online here for the Doings of Doyle streaming broadcast. Pictured above: Practice pony posing in the winner's circle on our Wessex Cup track. Click on the picture for a bird's-eye view of the whole track, with the pony on the left crossing the finish line.
Wessex Cup Bracket Is Set
December 19, 2022 — The field for our inaugural Wessex Cup is complete. So, a bracket for the races can be set. Here it is. You know what to do now. And on January 5, starting at 11:15 a.m., you will be able to follow the action in person — if you attend the Doylean Honors ceremony at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop — or online — if you register here for the Doings of Doyle streaming broadcast of the proceedings.
"A Common Newsletter" Is in the Mail:
“Who is this British writer and physician?" Asks "The Times"
December 14, 2022 — The third issue of the second year of our newsletter is en route to members worldwide (and has, we've heard, already arrived in some places). It points to some ancient history of ACD's Bignall Wood country estate, and to an amusing quiz question in "The Times" of London. There's another page from Margie Deck and Nancy Holder's "Blue John Gap" Project (with an essay by Tamar Zeffren), a reminder that our annual Doylean Honors ceremony at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop — including our inaugural Wessex Cup — is just around the next bend of the calendar, on January 5, and, of course, more. Soon an electronic edition will be available for free right here.
The Return (Yet Again) of the Terror:
4 New Papers and MS Page 3 from the "Blue John Gap" Project
December 11, 2022 — Margie Deck and Nancy Holder have another batch of fascinating commentary on ACD's "The Terror of Blue John Gap" for us. Page 3 of their project is now online — with a facsimile (and transcription) of that page of ACD's autograph manuscript, accompanied by Margie and Nancy's own commentary ("'Strange how superstitious these countrymen are!': 19th Century Superstition in Derbyshire") and new essays by Tamar Zeffren ("Damning with Faint Praise: Dr. Hardcastle’s Impressions of Armitage") and John P. Knud-Hansen ("The Terror of Tuberculosis"). In addition, there are new papers on Page B by Jennifer L. Behrens ("Timeline of 'Terror': Provenance of the 'Blue John Gap' Autograph Manuscript") and on Page 1 by Robert S. Katz ("Imagination in the Infirmary"). Read and relish!
Wessex Cup Stables for Sale
November 24, 2022 — We have completed construction and population of 16 stables for our first running of The Wessex Cup. The Cup will be run in tandem with our second annual Doylean Honors ceremony on January 5 at Otto Penzler’s The Mysterious Bookshop, starting at 11:15 a.m. ACD Society members get first dibs on Wessex Cup stable purchases until November 30. Interested? You can see a stable, and possibly buy one, here.
A Lagniappe Issue of
"A Common Newsletter"
November 7, 2022 — Sometime soon, members will receive a small extra issue of our Society's periodical. It is mostly an appreciation — partly by ACD, partly by the Society — of Sir Nigel, and slightly a reminder that sometime soon would be a good time to renew your membership.
A Wessex Cup Full of Firsts
Added to Doylean Honors
October 14, 2022 — When we gather to applaud Doylean Honors winners at Otto Penzler’s The Mysterious Bookshop on January 5 of the 2023 BSI Weekend, we will also witness the first running of a new kind of Wessex Cup. For details, read the first issue of The Doylean Sporting Times (otherwise known as the "New Pink 'Un").
It's Time to Nominate Excellent
"Performing & Visual Arts"
for Doylean Honors
September 9, 2022 — The nomination form for the "Performing & Visual Arts" category of our annual Doylean Honors is online here. (The forms for our other categories — Fiction & Poetry and Scholarly Writing — are here and here.) Please complete forms in as many categories as you like. Tell us whose work deserves recognition at our awards ceremony on January 5 of the 2023 BSI Weekend, at 11:15 a.m. at Otto Penzler’s The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City.
Sir Nigel and Sherlock at the
Society of Illustrators
September 7, 2022 — The Society of Illustrators in NYC is hosting "Artist vs. Author" from September 8 to October 22. The exhibition includes ancient and modern original works by illustrators of ACD: Joseph Clement Coll (Sir Nigel, 1905-1906) and Sergio Martinez (numerous Sherlock stories, 1986-1998). The relevant pages of the catalog are here. Yes, it includes prices, because the Coll and Martinez and works are also for sale. For more information, click the links in this post, or email (senbach@hotmail.com) or call (646-261-7038) show manager Zaddick Longenbach.
The Doylean Honors Are Back!
It's Time to Nominate Your Favorite
Fiction, Poetry, and Scholarship
August 24, 2022 — Nomination forms for the "Fiction & Poetry" and "Scholarly Writing" categories of our annual Doylean Honors are now online here and here (and by clicking on the purple and yellow images). Please complete a form (or more than one) to tell the selection committees whose work from 2021 and 2022 deserves recognition at our awards ceremony, scheduled for Thursday (January 5) of the 2023 BSI Weekend, at 11:15 a.m. at Otto Penzler’s The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City.
Doyle Dinos Rule!
"A Common Newsletter" Is in the Mail
August 11, 2022 — The second issue of the second year of our newsletter is en route to members worldwide (and has, we've heard, already arrived in some places). It points to some new respect for an old film based on ACD's "The Lost World" and an architect's vision of ACD's first mansion. There's another page from Margie Deck and Nancy Holder's "Blue John Gap" Project (with an essay by Peter Blau), a reminder that time is running out to register for Jubilee@221B (the conference The Bootmakers of Toronto and The Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection are hosting on September 23-25), and, of course, more. Soon an electronic edition will be available for free right here.
Terrifying Update: 4 New Papers and MS Page 2 from the "Blue John Gap" Project
August 7, 2022 — Margie Deck and Nancy Holder have been busy developing and editing new commentary about ACD's classic horror story, "The Terror of Blue John Gap." They've launched the Page 2 portion of their project, with a facsimile (and transcription) of page 2 of ACD's autograph manuscript, accompanied by their own commentary and new essays by Peter E. Blau ("What is Blue John?"), Elinor Gray Howell ("The Victorian Superfluous Woman"), and Peter Adrian Behravesh ("Doyle & 'The Arabian Nights'"). In addition, there is a new paper on Page C by Roberta Pearson ("'So the old dog returns to his vomit': 'The Terror of Blue John Gap' and Arthur Conan Doyle's Readers"). Read and relish!
"A Common Newsletter"
Is in the Mail
May 18, 2022 — The first issue of the second year of our newsletter — featuring news about the latest ACD exhibition at the Toronto Public Library (curated by Jessie Amaolo), a page from Margie Deck and Nancy Holder's "Blue John Gap" Project, a tidbit about the Mirankers' "221 Objects" book, and more — is in the mail to members. Soon an electronic edition will be available for free right here.
"The Terror of Blue John Gap" Project
Launched by Deck & Holder
April 18, 2022 — Late last year we announced that Margie Deck and Nancy Holder (pictured above, left and right, with a terrified Dr. James Hardcastle between them) had agreed to co-edit a new annotated edition of ACD's classic horror story, "The Terror of Blue John Gap." Since then, Margie and Nancy have been developing this project in more directions, and in more interesting ways, than we could have imagined. Now they are ready to go public. You can read their introductory essay — Welcome to "The Terror of Blue John Gap" Project & All Our Questions — and a whole lot more at their new website. You can also get there by clicking on the "Terror of Blue John Gap" image at the top right-hand corner of this page. Go! Now! Look for more news (and imagery) about this project in the next issue of A Common Newsletter later this spring. (Photo of Nancy Holder courtesy of Erin Underwood.)
Doylean Honors at
The Mysterious Bookshop in 2023
March 28, 2022 — The ACD Society will return to Otto Penzler’s The Mysterious Bookshop for its second annual Doylean Honors awards ceremony. The event will take place on the Thursday (January 5) of the 2023 BSI Weekend, at 11:30 a.m. Many thanks to Otto! It is a great honor and pleasure to recognize excellence in Doylean arts, literature, scholarship, and service in such a respectable, enjoyable, and significant place, and in such fine company.
Doylean Honors at
The Mysterious Bookshop
February 18, 2022 — On January 13, 2022, the Doylean-Sherlockian glitterati begin to gather at Otto Penzler’s The Mysterious Bookshop for the ACD Society’s inaugural Doylean Honors awards ceremony. Above, left to right: Otto Penzler, Derrick Belanger, Mike McSwiggin, Les Klinger, Bev Wolov, Tom Horrocks, Brian Belanger, Peter Blau, Ray Betzner, Ross Davies, Don Hobbs, Joe Eckrich, Steve Mason, Jerry Kegley, and Mark Jones. Below: ACD Society committee chairs and awards presenters Derrick Belanger and Monica Schmidt (with cricket jersey in hand) prepare to appear on stage. Photographs courtesy of Christopher Zordan.
Doylean Honors Are in the Mail
February 10, 2022 — Doylean Honors certificates (accompanied by the associated gift credits to The Mysterious Bookshop) are finally in the mail to the honorees. We hope they find suitable locations for proud display. And this seems like an appropriate moment to share the thoughtful acceptance we received from honoree Douglas Kerr.
Watch the Doylean Honors Ceremony
on Doings of Doyle
January 18, 2022 — The Doings of Doyle YouTube channel features a complete recording of our inaugural Doylean Honors ceremony, including announcements of the honorees: Gretchen Altabef, Stephen Carver, Stephen Gallagher, Daniel Henocq, Douglas Kerr, Bonnie MacBird, Peggy Perdue, Christopher Roden, Shawna Ross, and Barbara Rusch. The formal proceedings begin about four minutes into the recording. Watch all the way to the end to catch Monica Schmidt's pitch (at about 21:07) for The ACD Society's cricket squad! The recording also offers a few nice glimpses of Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop, which hosted the event.
Arthur Conan Doily
January 17, 2022 — Peggy Perdue has created yet another artistic interpretation of Arthur Conan Doyle. This one, titled "Arthur Conan Doily," was introduced to the world in a limited-edition pamphlet distributed to Doyleans who attended the inaugural Doylean Honors ceremony at The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City on January 13. The ACD Society promised (in appropriately fine print appropriately situated at the bottom of the back page of the pamphlet): "An e-version will soon be available on the Society's website at www.acdsociety.com." And here it is! The images above illustrate three important stages in the creation of the Arthur Conan Doily: (1) creation of a grid to guide eye and needle, (2) creation of the Doily itself, and (3) inspection of the Doily.
The Envelope, Please . . .
January 13, 2022 — It is with pleasure, pride, and great respect that we announce our inaugural Doylean Honorees.
For Lifetime Service:
For excellence in the "Fiction and Poetry" category:
• Gretchen Altabef for the short story in Sir Arthur and the Time Machine Sherlock Holmes: Further Adventures in the Realms of H.G. Wells Volume Two (Belanger Books)
• Stephen Gallagher for the short story The Governess (The Brooligan Press)
• Barbara Rusch for the short story The Consulting Detective and the Literary Agent: The Untold Tale (The Sherlock Holmes Society of India website)
For excellence in the "Performing and Visual Arts" category:
• Daniel Henocq for ElementStory #08.1–Le chien des Baskerville (the Hound of the Baskervilles) (Youtube)
• Bonnie MacBird for Modern Major Super Sleuth (Youtube)
• Peggy Perdue for Arthur Conan Doll (Canadian Holmes)
For excellence in the "Scholarly Writing" category:
• Stephen Carver for the post Dinosaurs, Disintegration Machines and Talking to the Dead: The Wild World of Professor Challenger (The Wordsworth Blog)
• Douglas Kerr for Memories and Adventures by Arthur Conan Doyle (Edinburgh University Press)
• Shawna Ross for the article Sightseeing the Anthropocene: tourism, moorland management, and The Hound of the Baskervilles (Nineteenth-Century Contexts)
Congratulations to all! Look for a special Doings of Doyle podcast about the Doylean Honors. Coming soon.
Welcome to the Inaugural
Doylean Honors Ceremony
January 12, 2022 — Please join us tomorrow (Thursday, January 13, at 11:15 a.m. ET) either in person at The Mysterious Bookshop (58 Warren Street, NYC) or online at Doings of Doyle (register for free here) to celebrate excellence in Doylean Fiction and Poetry, Performing and Visual Arts, and Scholarly Writing, and to salute the Lifetime Service of one extraordinary Doylean. See you at the Bookshop or online for the inaugural Doylean Honors!
An Early Welcome to 2022
December 29, 2021 — Society membership cards for 2022 are in the mail and en route to folks whose memberships extend into 2022. We hope you are terrified, and perhaps mystified, by the image on the other side. Happy new year!
"A Common Newsletter"
Is at the Printer, and Here Now
December 17, 2021 — The third issue of our newsletter (and the last for 2021) is at the printer now. We will mail it to members as soon as we have it in hand, but, alas, it might not reach them until early 2022. So, to ensure that the last of the 2021 newsletters really is available in December 2021 (even if the ink-on-paper version isn’t until January 2022), we’re posting an electronic edition now. Voila!
We Have a Logo, and a Moustache
November 28, 2021 — We are pleased to report that the ACD Society now has a logo. We announced a logo contest back in January, with a deadline of June. Why did it take so long to announce a winner? Partly because we received numerous excellent entries, and partly because we just aren't very efficient.
So, we begin by thanking the creative and generous Doyleans who sent us their logos.
Second, we thank and congratulate Brian Belanger (of Belanger Books fame, pictured below between two of his book covers) for creating the Society's logo. You can admire the logo's mustachioed elegance in the banner at the top of this webpage, where it appears in the middle of an array of ACD's works. Soon you will also find it in "A Common Newsletter," on the Doylean Honors certificates we will be presenting on January 13, in our tweets, and elsewhere.
"A Common Newsletter"
Is in the Mail
October 16, 2021 — The second issue of our newsletter is in the mail to members. Soon an electronic edition will be available for free right here. While you are waiting, would you care to speculate about the title ACD would have given to the "untold tale" of the "two forces of the future" that Mark Jones describes here? If you would, please feel free to share your ideas with us via Twitter, ACD's social medium of choice.
You’re Invited!
October 7, 2021 — The inaugural "Doylean Honors" ceremony will be held on January 13, 2022, at 11:15 a.m., at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop, 58 Warren Street, in NYC. We will be presenting Doylean Honors in the categories of "Fiction and Poetry," "Performing and Visual Arts," "Scholarly Writing," and "Lifetime Service." We will post more details here as they become available. We hope to see you there!
There is still time to nominate your favorite recent Doylean works for Doylean Honors, but please hurry — the deadline is November 1.
"Performing and Visual Arts" category: The nomination form is here.
"Scholarly Writing" category: The nomination form is here.
"Fiction and Poetry" category: The nomination form is here (English version), here (Japanese version), and here (German version).
In addition, in another piece of big news, the amazing "Fiction and Poetry" committee has produced yet another version of its nomination form. We are pleased and proud to present the Czech version (it is here), which was created by Ales Kolodrubec. Ales has been an Executive Founder of the Czech Society of Sherlock Holmes since its founding in 2000, and is President of the Society. He worked as a librarian at the Charles University and as a translator from English for a Prague-based publishing house. He has retired and is now living the life of a hermit among his bees and his books in a small farm in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. Here is Ales in his current elevated apian environment:
"Fiction and Poetry" ... Translated!
July 30, 2021 — We have some impressive news from our Doylean Honors "Fiction and Poetry" committee: Mitch (Masamichi) Higurashi has translated the committee’s nomination form into Japanese (it is available here), and Philipp Haack has translated the form into German (it is available here).
And now a few words about Mitch and Philipp. Mitch’s first job in the Japanese publishing world was as a literary agent! For the past 40 years, he has been working as a translator, which has included publishing many works in the Holmesian canon and also ACD-related books such as "ACD: A Life in Letters." Mitch is a member of the BSI, the SHSL, and the Japan Sherlock Holmes Club. Philipp is a proud member of the Deutsche Sherlock Holmes Gesellschaft (German Sherlock Holmes Society) and the creator of www.sherlockianer.de (a German Sherlock Holmes blog with articles, reviews, and insights from his collection). You can follow Philipp on Twitter (@sherlockianer).
Let the Nominating Continue ... in a Scholarly Direction!
July 29, 2021 — The selection committee for the "Scholarly Writing" category of our Doylean Honors is now up and running too, with yet another formidable group of selectors:
• Melissa Aho
• Christine Corcos
• Jonathan Cranfield
• Ross Davies (chair)
• Carlina de la Cova
• Mark Jones
• Anastasia Klimchynskaya
• Sylvia A. Pamboukian
• Charles Prepolec
• Simon Stern
• Tamar Zeffren
Nominating excellent (and recent) Doylean scholarship (it must have debuted in 2020 or 2021) is easy: just download the nomination form (here), complete it, and email it to Ross.
And here is a reminder of what Doylean Honorees receive:
• An invitation to an event in their honor to be held at The Mysterious Bookshop in NYC during the week of January 10, 2022 (exact date TBD).
• A $250 Bookshop credit and a lovely certificate.
• A justifiable sense of pleasure and pride for impressing Doyleans of good taste and high integrity.
Please do act when you witness Doylean excellence, because the deadline for nominations is November 1, 2021!
"A Common Newsletter"
Is in the Mail
June 20, 2021 — The first issue of our newsletter is in the mail to members. Soon an electronic edition will be available for free right here. While you are waiting, would you care to speculate about the inspiration of the title of our tiny periodical? If you would, please feel free to share your ideas with us via Twitter, ACD's social medium of choice.
Let the Nominating Expand Imaginatively . . . and Sometimes Rhyme!
May 12, 2021 — The selection committee for the "Fiction and Poetry" category of our Doylean Honors is now up and running. Committee chair Jayantika (Jay) Ganguly has enlisted a formidable committee of literary experts to share responsibility for choosing honorees:
• Derrick Belanger
• Steve Emecz
• Masamichi Higurashi
• Ales Kolodrubec
• Sumal Surendranath
• Tom Ue
Nominating your favorite recent Doylean story or poem (it must have debuted in 2020 or 2021) is easy: just download the nomination form (here), complete it, and email it to Jay.
And here is a reminder of what Doylean Honorees receive:
• An invitation to an event in their honor to be held at The Mysterious Bookshop in NYC during the week of January 10, 2022 (exact date TBD).
• A $250 Bookshop credit and a lovely certificate.
• A justifiable sense of pleasure and pride for impressing Doyleans of good taste and high integrity.
Please do act when you witness Doylean excellence, because the deadline for nominations is November 1, 2021!
Let the Nominating Begin!
May 9, 2021 — The selection committee for the "Performing and Visual Arts" category of our Doylean Honors is now up and running. Committee chair Monica Schmidt has divided her category into three sub-categories and assembled an impressive group of committee members for each:
• Professional/Fan Visual Art: Amanda Downs Chaplin, Frank Cho, Steve Doyle.
• Theatre/Live performance/YouTube (unpolished): David Harnois, Jeffrey Hatcher, Mike McSwiggin.
• Film/Television/YouTube (fully produced): Curtis Armstrong, Ashley Polasek, Monica Schmidt.
Nominating your favorite recent Doylean work (it must have debuted in 2020 or 2021) is easy: just download the nomination form (here), complete it, and email it to Monica.
And here is a reminder of what Doylean Honorees receive:
• An invitation to an event in their honor to be held at The Mysterious Bookshop in NYC during the week of January 10, 2022 (exact date TBD).
• A $250 Bookshop credit and a lovely certificate.
• A justifiable sense of pleasure and pride for impressing Doyleans of good taste and high integrity.
Please do act when you witness Doylean excellence, because the deadline for nominations is November 1, 2021!
Pick a Number,
Almost Any Number
February 18, 2021 — We will start mailing membership cards next week. If you are a member and you would prefer a particular member number, please tell us via email, with your name and preferred number in the subject line. Because we believe membership in the ACDS should reflect community and collegiality, we are not limiting the number of members who can have a particular member number.
So, if it turns out that we have a lot of members who are attached to a number associated with Le Guin’s best book or Bozeman’s best film or Swift’s best song or Eno’s best band (or, yes, your favorite staircase or year or street address) or something else special, that’s fine. Everyone can have their number (in other words, more than one person can have the same number). The only constraint is that your number must fit on the little line just to the right of the word “number” on the bottom of the back of the card (pictured above), which does, alas, disqualify sentimental favorites by the likes of Avogadro, Curie, Gopala, and Knuth.
There is no deadline for this, but be warned: If we have not heard from you by the time we mail your card, we will choose one (or maybe some other number) for you, and then you will be stuck with that number, at least for this year. (If you’re wondering what’s on the other side of the card, you’ll just have to wait until someone receives theirs and posts a picture somewhere.)
Welcome to a Thrillingly
Boring Beginning
Our website is dull because adding a spark to something like this is part of the fun of being in on the founding of an organization. We want to share that fun with as many Doyleans as we can. (Besides, this site does not need to do much, because a magnificent Doylean website — a veritable online encyclopedia of ACD — already exists: Alexis Barquin's Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia.)
That is why we have put together what we hope is the simple, sturdy skeleton of a website that can be improved by, for example, a contest to develop a logo for the ACD Society. Hmmm . . . yes. That is where we will start with our glamorizing. The logo contest rules are . . . here.
The same outlook applies to the ACD Society itself. We would like to think we have a simple, sturdy skeleton of program and organization — outlined below (and inspired by Cliff Goldfarb's 2019 letter) — that will foster and celebrate much good Doylean work.
The Program
Doylean Honors: Awards for Doylean excellence in four categories: fiction and poetry, performing and visual arts, scholarly writing, and service. They will be presented in January 2022 at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, and annually thereafter. Each honoree will receive a $250 Bookshop credit and a certificate featuring (you guessed it) a doily selected by lace expert Bev Wolov.
Conferences: Triennial events to be held at locations that have Doylean significance, with online accessibility for those who cannot attend in person. The first will be in 2023, with a "One Crowded Hour" theme — in collaboration with Ashley D. Polasek's Conan Doyle Review and Mark Jones and Paul M. Chapman's Doings of Doyle. Watch for a call for papers later this year.
Cricket team: It does not yet have a name or a home field, but it does have a mission — to challenge, and perhaps someday even overcome, Sherlockians and Wodehousians and other amicable athletes. We hope to play our first match during the 2023 Doylean conference.
Newsletter: A trimesterly periodical highlighting Doylean accomplishments and events. An electronic edition will be available for free right here. A print edition will be mailed to members.
Website: This site is boring but (we hope) useful now, and it will (we are sure) gradually become increasingly useful and lovely and lively.
That is enough for starters.
The Organization
Doylean Honors: We will have committees to select honorees in each of the three substantive Doylean Honor categories. The chair of each committee is responsible for organizing their committee, adopting a process for selecting honorees in their category (up to three honorees per year), and then doing the selecting. Jayantika Ganguly is chair of the "Fiction and Poetry" committee, Monica Schmidt is chair of the "Performing and Visual Arts" committee, and Anastasia Klimchynskaya is chair of the "Scholarly Writing" committee. Each chair is organizing their committee now. We expect to have nomination forms for all three categories up here by May 1.
Advisors: Cliff Goldfarb is the chairman of our board of advisors, which he is in the process of organizing. In addition to giving us advice, each year the board will select an individual to receive the Doylean Honor for service.
Conferences: More about them later. If you want to bother someone about them now, even though there is not yet much to say, you might try Carlina de la Cova or Ira Brad Matetsky.
Cricket team: Our temporarily nameless and homeless team will be captained by Andrew Heger, advised by honorary captain Stuart Law. If you are a Doylean who wants to play, please sharpen your cricket skills (or acquire some!), because Andy will eventually be holding tryouts, one way or another.
Newsletter: It has an editor. Greg D. Ruby is thinking about suitable periodical names.
The work of chairs and editors and captains is being coordinated by Ross Davies, who also runs occasional meetings and errands.
Questions? Comments? Ideas?
Please email us at acdsocy@gmail.com.
Oh, you already have questions? You want to know who can join the society, what it costs, and what you get for your money?
OK.
Everyone is welcome to join, so please do.
Membership costs $10 per calendar year. The money will help to cover some but not all of the costs of the society. (Remember, an e-version of the newsletter will be available for free here, so don't pay to join if your only reason for doing so would be to read it. Then again, print versions might turn out to be nifty keepsakes. You never know.)
When you pay, you will provide your name, email address, and mailing address. The name and addresses will help us communicate with you, including sending you the goods: an annual membership card and three printed issues of the newsletter per year. And perhaps other things, if it turns out that we can afford them.
You can do the paying and address-providing via PayPal . . .
. . . or by downloading this form and following the instructions you find on it.
By the way, if you want to support the ACD Society more generously, please feel free to send a larger Paypal or check to the Green Bag (the organization that is collecting our dues and paying our bills now and will for the foreseeable future be covering the difference between dues coming in and expenses going out). It is a 501(c)(3) and will gladly send a receipt.
Thank you for reading!