La Gazette du 221B : Hello Steven, can you tell us when and why was the BSJ created? Can you tell us its history and its evolution through time?
Steven Doyle : The Baker Street Journal was created in the mid-1940s, which was what I call the first Golden Age of The Baker Street Irregulars and the Sherlockian hobby (actually, at that time, one in the same). Edgar Smith was running the organization at that time, had edited a volume of essays entitled Profile by Gaslight, and energized by that experience, decided to start a quarterly journal devoted to the literature and study of Sherlock Holmes. There is some disagreement as to how serious and academic the publication would be…was it to be whimsical mock-scholarship? Or was it looked at as a real academic-like quarterly? In retrospect it came down somewhere in the middle.
The first issue appeared in the spring of 1946, and was a thing of beauty. It was edited by Edgar Smith and featuring critical essays, reviews, news, news, and more. The publisher was famed book dealer Ben Abramson. Unfortunately, Abramson spared no expense in producing the BSJ, making it very expensive to produce. There has always been a tendency to overestimate the size of the audience by Sherlockian publishers, and this was one of the earliest examples of this phenomenon. With far too many copies printed, and not nearly enough subscribers to offset the expense, the BSJ ceased publication in the middle of 1949. But then in 1951, the BSJ returned in a much more modest form, and has had an unbroken run since them. This is referred to as the New Series, which has hadto date, nine editors over 73 years. They are Edgar W. Smith, Julian Wolff, John Linsenmeyer, Peter Blau, Philip Schrefler, William R. Cochran, Donald Pollack, Steven Rothman (who was editor for a record 22 years), and now Dan Andriacco.
La Gazette du 221B : How is it organized? How are the decision taken?
Steven Doyle : The Publisher is responsible for all business of the BSJ. This includes the physical production of the electronic typescript sent from the editor, and all issues and business dealing with printing of the BSJ. The Publisher also has oversight of all other matters dealing with the Journal, however the policy is that what is accepted for publication is the job and choice of the Editor. There is also a Subscription Manager and Cover Artist that report directly to the Publisher.
The Editor is responsible for reading submissions for the Journal, deciding which one he wants to publish and which ones to reject. He is also responsible for all copy editing and proofreading, and preparing the issue for layout. The Editor has his own staff of Associate Editor, and volunteer proofreaders who report to him.
La Gazette du 221B : When and how did you become the publisher?
Steven Doyle : I became the publisher in late-2009, and the first issue that I published was Spring 2010. One of the first things I did was change the cover to have a picture on it…which was seen as radical! Of course, since then, much else about the cover and other things have changed as well. I came onboard when Mike Whelan decided the BSJ needed someone new with extensive Sherlockian publishing experience to help the Journal thrive.
La Gazette du 221B : What is your role as a publisher?
Steven Doyle : As stated above, is responsible for all business of the BSJ, and ultimately for all things with the BSJ. I try to be as hands-off with our editors as possible.
La Gazette du 221B : What’s in a typical issue ?
Steven Doyle : A typical issue now has a nice span of topics: classic Sherlockian scholarship; BSI and Sherlockian history; film and television, etc.; and reviews and standing columns. Something for everyone!
La Gazette du 221B : Is there plans to expand the activities of the BSJ, like you did lately with a podcast called “The Fortnightly Dispatch”, sponsored by the Baker Street Journal ?
Steven Doyle : There are no plans at this moment beyond a resumption of the last season of The Fortnightly Dispatch, which I do believe was a big success in raising the profile of the BSJ and keeping the Sherlockian community connected and engaged during the pandemic. And it was a lot of fun!
La gazette du 221 B 