R.I.P. the Rap Sheet newsletter.

J. Kingston Pierce has turned January Magazine's once monthly crime-fiction newsletter into a blog. He explains that the newsletter had begun to seem a bit old fashioned.

As the Web filled up with new and more timely sources of useful information about this genre, our schedule--posting a magazine-like journal once a month, with no chance to update the thing in between--appeared out of step. It was a resource made available via the most modern technology, but one that simultaneously ignored some of the great opportunities presented by that same technology.

His goals for the new Rap Sheet certainly sound exicting:

I want to spread the word about new and noteworthy crime novels. I want to keep readers apprised of developments in the genre and alert them to stories found elsewhere, in print or on the Web, that might increase their interest in crime novelists. And I want to celebrate the mystery story--past and present--for its intentions and potential (not always realized, sadly). But this new Rap Sheet can do other things, besides. I hope it will become a place for timely info about awards presentations and clues to the best available new reading matter, as well as home to what we used to call in the newspaper game “brites”: short posts intended to be humorous, whether their subject is some oddball statement made by a “name” author or a contributor’s rant about an annoying trend in the genre. The Rap Sheet should be flexible enough, too, to address crime fiction’s role in the larger world of book publishing.

There are also over 200 links to mystery related web sites, including one to those historical hacks Reed and Mayer (thanks). Mr. Pierce was one of the very first reviewers to show kindness toward a couple of orphan scriveners so you know he has good taste.

The Orphan Scrivener, however, is not likely to turn into a blog just yet.