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Jay Bennett was a three-time nominee and two-time winner of the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He won the Edgar for Best Juvenile novel in consecutive years, 1974 and 1975, for The Long Black Coat (Delacorte Press) and The Dangling Witness (Delacorte Press). A third book, The Skeleton Man, was nominated in 1987. He is best known among English teachers and young adults for these and other juvenile mysteries, like Deathman, Do Not Follow Me.



Bennett began his writing career in radio. His play, Miracle for Christmas, was broadcast annually on Christmas Eve as part of the Grand Central Station series throughout the 1940s and early 1950s. The play is part of the Walter Cronkite anthology, 60 Greatest Old-Time Radio Shows of the 20th Century (Radio Spirits). In addition to Grand Central Station, he authored scripts for Bulldog Drummond, The Falcon, The Kate Smith Show, Manhattan at Midnight, and Mystery Theater.



Two of his plays were produced, No Hiding Place (Broadway, 1949), and Lions After Slumber (London, 1951).



In the early days of television, Bennett authored scripts for Monodrama Theater (DuMont, 1952), One Man’s Experience (DuMont, 1952), One Woman’s Experience (DuMont, 1952), Harlem Detective (WOR-TV NYC, 1953), Crime Syndicated (CBS, 1951), I-Spy (Syndicated, 1956), Wide Wide World (NBC, 1956), Good Morning (with Will Rogers, Jr.) (CBS, 1957), and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1957), among other shows. His script for Hamlet, was the first adaptation to be presented in the new TV medium in the United States. Harlem Detective, for which he was the principal writer, was the first TV show to co-star a Black actor alongside a White actor.



From the 1960s through the 1990s, Bennett authored over 25 novels for young adults and adults. His first novel, Catacombs (Abelard-Schuman), was made into a movie, The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die (1965), starring Gary Merrill. His young-adult novels beginning with Deathman, Do Not Follow Me (Scholastic), have been translated into dozens of languages and continue to be read by teenagers throughout the world.

Bennett was born December 24, 1912 and died on June 27, 2009.



For more information, see:



Drew, B. A. (1997). “Jay Bennett.” In The 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors. Portsmouth, NH: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 35-38.



Donnelson, K. L., & Nilsen, K. P. (Eds.). (1980). “People Behind the Books: Jay Bennett.” In Literature for Today’s Young Adults. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.



Evory, A., & Metzger, L. (Eds.). (1984). “Bennett, Jay.” In Contemporary Authors New Revision Series (Vol 11). Detroit: Gale Research.



Janeczko, P. (1976, May). In Their Own Words: An Interview with Jay Bennett. The English Journal, 65(5) pp. 86-88. http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.books.childrens/browse_thread/thread/62c9c992dd0b8c63



Johnson, A. J. (1993). “Jay Bennett.” In K. S. Hile (Ed.), Authors and Artists for Young Adults (Vol 10). Detroit: Gale Research.



Woods, G. A. (1968, July 7). Review of “Deathman, Do Not Follow Me.” New York Times Book Review.

Jay Bennett was a three-time nominee and two-time winner of the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He won the Edgar for Best Juvenile novel in consecutive years, 1974 and 1975, for The Long Black Coat (Delacorte Press) and The Dangling Witness (Delacorte Press). A third book, The Skeleton Man, was nominated in 1987. He is best known among English teachers and young adults for thes... More