Royce Howes

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Royce Bucknam Howes (January 3, 1901 – March 18, 1973 [1] ) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and writer who also published a biography of Edgar A. Guest and a number of crime novels. He worked for the Detroit Free Press from 1927–1966 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1955 for an editorial on the cause of an unauthorized strike by an autoworkers local that idled 45,000 Chrysler workers.

Contents

Newspaper career

Writer and editorial director

Born in 1901 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Royce Howes moved to Detroit and began a long career with the Detroit Free Press in 1927. He remained with the Free Press for 39 years until his retirement in 1966. Howes eventually served as the editorial director of the paper. [2] [3] In 1955, Howes wrote an editorial that was covered in other papers about the role of the newspaper in American society. He began with a dissection of the tangible things in a newspaper—paper and ink. But he concluded that news "is all things to all men. What it is depends on who is defining it. And it is YOUR definition, not the editor's, which matters." [4] Howes's colleague at the Free Press, columnist Malcolm Bingay, said of Howes: "My friend and colleague, Col. Royce Howes, knows a great deal about a surprising number of things that ordinary mortals never think about. That is why he is such a successful novelist and short story writer." [5]

Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize Gen pulitzer.jpg
Pulitzer Prize

Howes received the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for an editorial published July 16, 1954, titled "An Instance of Costly Cause and Effect Which Detroiters Should Weigh Soberly". [6] He also won the National Headliner Award for editorial writing. [2] Howes's award-winning editorial concerned an unauthorized July 1954 strike by a local of the United Automobile Workers' union. The strike shut down production at Chrysler Corporation and put 45,000 Chrysler workers out of work. [6] In awarding the prize to Howes, the Pulitzer organization noted that Howes's editorial impartially and clearly assessed the shared responsibility of both labor and management. The Pulitzer Prize organization found that

the editorial made a notable contribution to public understanding of the whole program of the respective responsibilities and relationships of labor and management in this field. [6]

Military service

Howes also served in the U.S. Army during World War II, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and receiving the Bronze Star. He was an editor for the Army newspaper "Stars and Stripes."

Author

Biographer of Edgar A. Guest

Howes was a close friend for many years of the prolific American poet Edgar A. Guest. Guest published his poetry in the Detroit Free Press, and Howes served as Guest's long-time editor and eventually as his biographer. [7] The Los Angeles Times said of Howes's biography of Guest: "His editor and longtime friend Royce Howes has written the biography Guest deserves ... Royce Howes has done a biography of a likeable and human man in not too adulatory a fashion; and it is readable." [8] The Yuma Daily Sun noted: "Hearty friendship and mutuality of association combined with author competence have produced a book which, in the most vital sense, will be of interest to all Americans." [9]

Crime novelist

In the 1930s and 1940s, Howes also wrote and published numerous crime novels, many for the "Crime Club". The "Crime Club" novels were popular in the 1930s and were described as "a mark which always signifies, if not a masterpiece of detective fiction, at least an entertaining one." [10] His crime novels include:

Mr. Howes rings the bell with a vengeance in this his fourth murder thriller. It is five-star in every respect: the plot is grimly exciting ...; the characters are rounded and full-bodied men and women ...; and there are sparkles of humor, just a dash of spice, and the whole thing is excellently written. Indeed, Death Dupes a Lady is the murder thriller pick of those that have come this way this season. [15]

You can't beat these murder-thrillers about Capt. Ben Lucias for good solid workmanlike killing, catching and confessing. ... (Howes) misses no opportunities, produces clues effectively, and runs them to earth with equal satisfaction for all concerned but the murderer—he, she or they strike three times here. [24]

Death

Howes died on March 18, 1973, at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. [26] He is buried at Detroit's Elmwood Cemetery.

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References

  1. ↑ "Royce Bucknam Howes". Find-A-Grave.
  2. 1 2 "Pulitzer Winner R. Howes Dies". Albuquerque Journal. 1973-03-19.
  3. ↑ "Royce Howes". Idaho State Journal (AP obituary). 1973-03-19.
  4. ↑ W. Earl Hill (1955). "One Man's Opinion: You and Your Free Press". Globe-Gazette.
  5. ↑ Malcolm W. Bingay (1948-03-25). "A Little About This And That". The Morning Herald.
  6. 1 2 3 "The Pulitzer Prizes: 1955 Prizes". pulitzer.org.
  7. ↑ Howes, Royce (1953). Edgar A. Guest, A Biography. USA: The Riley & Lee Co., American Book-Stratford Press, New York. Eddie Guest was a reporter before the turn of the century. His verse has been a feature constantly syndicated since 1916.
  8. ↑ Grace Corlin (1954-01-03). "Editor Tells Life of Guest". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ↑ "Non-Fiction Books at Yuma's Public Library in Great Demand". Yuma Daily News. 1954-01-21.
  10. 1 2 "This Cadaver Sports A Lady's Garter: Fallible Sleuth Is Feature of Colorful Howes Tale". The Clearfield Progress. 1937-02-09.
  11. ↑ Royce Howes (1935). Death on the Bridge. Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc.
  12. ↑ Royce Howes (1936). The Ccallao Clue. Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc.
  13. ↑ "Notes on Books and Authors". Galveston Daily News. 1936-03-29.
  14. ↑ Royce Howes (1937). Death Dupes a Lady. Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc.
  15. ↑ "Death Dupes A Lady (book review)". Winnipeg Free Press. 1937-09-25.
  16. ↑ "New Books". Charleston Daily Mail. 1938-08-21.
  17. ↑ Royce Howes (1938). Murder at Maneuvers. Doubleday, Doran, & Company.
  18. ↑ Royce Howes (1939). Death Rides a Hobby. Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc.
  19. ↑ "Fresh Horrors". Los Angeles Times. 1939-07-30.
  20. ↑ John Selby (1939-07-22). "Among New Books". Fitchburg Sentinel.
  21. ↑ Royce Howes (1939). Night of the Garter Murder. Caxton House.
  22. ↑ Royce Howes (1939). The Nasty Name Murders. Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc.
  23. ↑ "Howes Goes In For Murder At Sea". The Oakland Tribune. 1939-04-09.
  24. ↑ "The Nasty Name Murders (book review)". Winnipeg Free Press. 1939-03-18.
  25. ↑ Royce Howes (1945). The Case of the Copy-hook Killing. E.P. Dutton & Company, Inc.
  26. ↑ "Ex-Editor Dies". The News-Palladium. 1973-03-19.
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