Kahn, Joan

Author and editor of mystery fiction books.

Joan Kahn (1914-1994) was an editor of suspense novels and worked at firms including Harper and Row, Ticknor and Fields, Dutton, and St. Martin's Press during a career that spanned over forty years. In 1946 Kahn began her career at Harper Brothers where she started the Harper Novels of Suspense Department. In the 1960s Kahn had her own imprint ("Joan Kahn Books").

Joan Kahn was an editor of suspense novels and worked at firms including Harper and Row, Ticknor and Fields, Dutton, and St. Martin's Press during a career that spanned over forty years. Kahn also wrote two novels ( To Meet Miss Long and Open House ) and four children's books as well as edited eleven mystery anthologies.

Born in New York City, Kahn attended the Horace Mann School and pursued post-secondary education at the Yale School of Art, Barnard College and the Art Students' League. In 1946 Kahn began her career at Harper Brothers where she initially edited books about history, art, theater, and travel before starting the Harper Novels of Suspense Department. In the 1960s Kahn had her own imprint ("Joan Kahn Books") and the Mystery Writers of America awarded her the Ellery Queen Award and the Edgar Allan Poe Award in recognition of her distinguished career in publishing. Kahn died in New York City at the age of eighty in 1994.