The Heirs of Anthony Boucher Marvin Lachman

Sonya and Hal Rice, hosts to many DAPA-EM parties at Bouchercon.
DAPA-EM (1 3–)
more so when one year in the annual Prestige Poll I received two votes as best DAPA-
EM humorist, while there were three votes for “anybody but Lachman.”
In his fanzine, Walter Albert’s wife, Peggy, favorably reviewed mysteries by three
black females, including BarbaraNeely, alleging they had been discriminated against.
When some members questioned how good Neely’s books were and wondered if
there was proof of discrimination, Peggy Albert claimed that DAPA-EM males “hate”
Neely. Tom Robinson, who was briefly a member, left after others remarked that
what he was writing in his magazine had more to do with issues of gay rights than
mystery fiction.
By 2005, it was quite common to have fewer than thiry-five people on the roster,
with no one on the waitlist. Those remaining seemed as enthusiastic as ever; half had
produced at least one hundred issues of their magazines. They generally responded
to others via mailing comments, even if family and writing commitments reduced
the size and amount of original material in their fanzines. An exception was newcomer
Steve Steinbock, whose magazines were well-illustrated and imaginative. One
issue was devoted entirely to mysteries connected with Lewis Carroll.
The biggest long-range problem for DAPA-EM is that it has an aging roster; the
average age is about fifty-five, and few members are as young as forty. Younger fans,
with whom DAPA-EMers talk at mystery conventions, do not seem interested in
the amount of work and commitment needed to produce even a small bimonthly
magazine, especially in a world in which one can communicate with other fans via
cyberspace.
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