Joan Kahn

Joan Kahn was born on April 13, 1914, in New York City and attended the Horace Mann School, the Yale School of Art, Barnard College and the Art Students League. She began her career at Harper Brothers in 1946, editing books about history, art, theater and travel, in addition to suspense novels. She wrote two novels -- To Meet Miss Long (1943) and Open House (1946) -- and four children's books and edited 11 mystery anthologies. Joan Kahn edited hundreds of suspense novels and her imprint, "A Joan Kahn Book," represented excellence for discriminating mystery lovers. She started the Harper Novels of Suspense during her 34- year career at Harper & Row and also edited books for Ticknor & Fields, Dutton and St. Martin's Press, from which she retired in 1989. Through the years, she signed such writers as Dorothy L. Sayers, Dick Francis, Patricia Highsmith, Michael Gilbert, Julian Symons, John Creasey and Tony Hillerman. In 1985, she received the Ellery Queen Award from the Mystery Writers of America for lifetime service to the industry. On her retirement, she received a special Edgar Allan Poe Award from the association for her distinguished career in the publishing of mystery fiction. Joan Kahn died after a brief illness in October 1994. She is survived by a sister, Olivia, and three nephews, Ely, Joseph, and Hamilton.