Bio: Fredric Brown (1906-72) stepped into the spotlight with the publication of The Fabulous Clipjoint in 1947. For years, he had been writing detective stories that had been published in several of the many magazines (such as Ellery Queen's Rogue's Gallery) that were then popular. A native of Cincinnati and a college dropout, Brown worked in a number of menial jobs while he honed his craft. When he published The Fabulous Clipjoint, he was working as a proofreader for the Milwaukee Journal. The novel was award the Mystery Writers of America's 1947 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Brown wrote both science fiction and mystery, and his mastery of both genres was impressive. He published some 22 books after the success of The Fabulous Clipjoint, which also initiated a series of novels featuring the adventures of Ed Hunter and his Uncle Ambrose--the only such "franchise"-type series in Brown's entire body of work. His other notable novels include Night of the Jabberwock (1951) and The Deep End (1952). His style was notable for its quietly observant flow that masked the rigor and sturdiness of his plots. As disturbing and frightening as his work could be, it was always grounded in logic. Fredric Brown's work continued in print after his death in 1972. A decade later, his many stories written for magazines and anthologies earlier in his career were collected for the first time in a definitive edition. It ran to 16 volumes.