Lawrence Block's "lost" stories, complete and uncut for the first time since their original publication!
The focus and subject matter of mid-century men's adventure magazines (MAMs) could be wide-ranging, and versatile storytellers able to confidently navigate genres, approaches, and authorial voices found regular, lucrative work in their pages. Among those talented writers was a notable newcomer: Lawrence Block-though his initial pieces would see print under various pseudonyms.
Not the Lawrence Block you know, who is among the most widely read, respected, and celebrated writers of crime and mystery fiction in the world. A writer internationally read and internationally honored, upon whom The Mystery Writers of America bestowed the title of Grand Master. A writer with over 65 years of professional experience in damn near every kind of writing, whose essays, magazine columns, and non-fiction books focused on the art, craft, and business of writing have endured to inform generations.
Not that Lawrence Block.
Not yet...
The latest release in the acclaimed Men's Adventure Library series, THE NAKED AND THE DEADLY collects Block's earliest fiction and non-fiction for men's adventure magazines (MAMs) in two handsome editions: A pocket-sized mass-market softcover designed to honor LB's many successful paperback releases, and a big, beautiful, full-color hardcover that's packed with bonus content, including additional illustration art, deep background from the editors, and a bonus story by Block! A signed and numbered limited edition is also available directly from the publisher while stocks last.
Author Biography:
LAWRENCE BLOCK has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published more than 100 books, and no end of short stories. LB is best known for his series characters, including Matthew Scudder, Bernie Rhodenbarr, Evan Tanner, and Keller. LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke. His monthly instructional column ran in WRITER'S DIGEST for 14 years and led to a series of books for writers. He has also written television and film screenplays. Several of LB's books have been filmed, including A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES. LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards, Japanese Maltese Falcon award, Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association, been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has been awarded the Société 813 trophy. ROBERT DEIS owns one of the world's largest collections of vintage men's adventure magazines (MAMs) published in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. In 2009, he created a popular blog about the genre, MensPulpMags.com. A few years later, Bob and Wyatt Doyle of New Texture launched The Men's Adventure Library, a series of books that feature classic MAM pulp fiction stories and artwork. That series now includes nearly 20 lushly illustrated story anthologies and art books. In recent years, Bob and Wyatt have been featured speakers at PulpFest, and Bob was listed in the book Who's Who In New Pulp. Starting in 2021, Bob began working with Bill Cunningham, head of Pulp 2.0 Press, to publish a magazine that features MAM stories and artwork, called the Men's Adventure Quarterly. He has contributed articles about MAMs to various magazines and fanzines and also writes two blogs about famous quotations, ThisDayinQuotes.com and QuoteCounterquote.com. Bob lives near Key West, Florida with his wife BJ (who graciously tolerates his fascination with vintage MAMs), their three dogs, and four cats. WYATT DOYLE is ringmaster of New Texture, and he edits and designs most releases. His own books include STOP REQUESTED (illustrated by Stanley J. Zappa), DOLLAR HALLOWEEN, I NEED REAL TUXEDO AND A TOP HAT!, BUTY-WAVE IS NOW CLOSED FOREVER, and JORGE AMAYA DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE. A retrospective of his photography was presented by Gallery 30 South in Pasadena, CA. With Robert Deis, he edits The Men's Adventure Library series, exploring vintage pulp fiction, illustration art, and history. With Jimmy Angelina, he created THE LAST COLORING BOOK and THE LAST COLORING BOOK ON THE LEFT, as well as BE ITALIAN. Together with Hal Glatzer and Norman von Holtzendorff, he produced THINGS THAT WERE MADE FOR LOVE, collecting the Jazz Age songsheet art of Sydney Leff. He assisted in the publication of Georgina Spelvin's memoir, THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT, and published Josh Alan Friedman's BLACK CRACKER and TELL THE TRUTH UNTIL THEY BLEED via his Wyatt Doyle Books imprint. He administers the creative estate of Rev. Raymond Branch, and curates RevBranch.com. His screenplay with Jason Cuadrado, I'M HERE FOR YOU, was produced as DEVIL MAY CALL. A member of The Stanley J. Zappa Quartet, a recording, THE STANLEY J. ZAPPA QUARTET PLAYS FOR THE SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS, has been released.
