Episode 5: Charles Ardai Revealed

Behind the Black Mask: Mystery Writers Revealed

Author and editor Charles Ardai is a double-feature unto himself. In the first half of this special hour-long episode Richard Aleas (Ardai's anagrammatical authorial alter ego) discusses his Edgar and Shamus Award nominated novel LITTLE GIRL LOST: its literary predecessors--from William Blake's poetry to period pulp, and its complex vision of justice. In the second half of the interview, Ardai the entrepreneur speaks of his imprint Hard Case Crime: the reasons for its creation, the decision to commission fresh artwork from some of the finest painters of the classic era of paperback originals, and the particular challenges of editing and publishing a line that mixes period reprints with new titles while maintaining a consistent noir worldview. Abundantly clear are the intelligence and vision that have made Ardai the reigning Pasha of Pulp publishing, and Hetman of Hard-Boiled writing. This podcast is brought to you by Clute and Edwards of www.noircast.net. To leave a comment on this episode, or make a donation to the podcast, please visit "Behind the Black Mask: Mystery Writers Revealed" at btbm.libsyn.com.