Gerald Tomlinson

Gerald Tomlinson (January 24, 1933 – June 24, 2006) was a crime writer. cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Gerald Tomlinson |url= |quote=Gerald Tomlinson, an Elmira native who wrote mysteries and books on baseball and other topics, died Saturday at his home in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. Mr. Tomlinson, a 1951 Southside High School graduate, was 73. According to information provided by his son, Eli Tomlinson, Mr. Tomlinson earned a history degree at Marietta College in Ohio, served as a military intelligence specialist with the U.S. Army and briefly taught English and social studies at Watkins Glen High School and in the Horseheads Central School District. He was a writer and editor for publishers such as Prentice Hall, Harcourt, and Holt and was an executive editor at Silver Burdett. He became a freelance editor in 1982. Mr. Tomlinson developed a passion for baseball watching the Elmira Pioneers play at Dunn Field. He was a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and edited the guide, "How to Do Baseball Research." Mr. Tomlinson published more than two dozen mystery stories in magazines like Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. His work was printed in anthologies, including one edited by Mary Higgins Clark, Gregory McDonald and Edward D. Hoch. His novel "On a Field of Black" was published in 1980. He also wrote true crime books, including "Murdered in Jersey," "Fatal Tryst" and "Seven Jersey Murders." Tomlinson was active in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Sussex County, New Jersey., and served two terms as its president. Among his survivors are his wife, Alexis, two sons and two grandchildren. A memorial service will be held in the fall. Donations in his memory may be made to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Sussex County, 1 W. Nelson St., Newton, NJ 07860. ... |publisher=Star Gazette News |date= |accessdate=2007-08-21 ]

Biography

He was born in Elmira, New York, and he received his B.A. from Marietta College and later attended Columbia Law School. Tomlinson began his career as a teacher of English and social studies in upstate New York.

For more than twenty years he held various editorial positions in textbook publishing, including that of Executive Editor at Silver Burdett in Morristown, New Jersey. Prior to that he supervised project staffs or departmental staffs at Harcourt Brace and Holt, Rinehart and Winston. He started in publishing as an acquisitions editor, specializing in education and sports, at Prentice Hall. Since 1974 his short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine; as well as in various anthologies, including Edward D. Hoch's Best Detective Stories of the Year, published by Dutton, Gregory McDonald's Last Laughs, published by Mysterious Press; and Mary Higgins Clark's Murder on the Aisle, publishd by Simon and Schuster. He was the author of a mystery novel, On a Field of Black published by Nellen.

His credited nonfiction includes "Murdered in Jersey" (Rutgers University Press), "Fatal Tryst: Who Killed the Minister and the Choir Singer?" (Home Run Press), and "The Baseball Research Handbook" (Society for American Baseball Research). Articles by Tomlinson have appeared in "The Armchair Detective", "Baseball Research Journal", and "The National Pastime".

As a freelance writer since 1982 he worked on projects for McGraw Hill; Macmillan Publishers; Prentice Hall; Harcourt Brace; Random House; Holt, Rinehart and Winston; D.C. Heath and Company; Silver Burdett; Scholastic Press; Amsco; Globe Fearon; Pearson Scott Foresman; Thomson Gale; Grolier; and H.W. Wilson Company.

He was a member of Mystery Writers of America serving on the Edgar Best Fact Crime Committee in 1993; and the Society for American Baseball Research serving on the Publications Committee from 1990 through 1991.

He died while living in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey in 2006.

Publications

* Seven Jersey Murders; ISBN 1-4134-1206-8
* Fatal Tryst: Who Killed the Minister and the Choir Singer?; ISBN 0-917125-09-6
* New Jersey? What Exit?: 300 Questions and Answers About People, Places, and Events in the Garden State; ISBN 0-917125-05-3
* The New Jersey Book of Lists; ISBN 0-917125-01-0
* Speaker's Treasury of Political Stories, Anecdotes and Humor; ISBN 0-13-829730-4
* How to Do Baseball Research; ISBN 0-910137-83-8
* The Baseball Research Handbook; ISBN 0-910137-29-3
* Speaker's Treasury of Sports Anecdotes, Stories and Humor; ISBN 1-56731-109-1
* The West Virginia Book of Lists; ISBN 0-917125-03-7
* On a Field of Black; ISBN 0-8424-0151-2
* The 107th New York Regiment at Antietam; ISBN 0-917125-11-8
* Accountant's Complete Model Letter Book; ISBN 0-13-001199-1
* Treasury of Religious Quotations; ISBN 0-13-276411-3
* School Administrator's Complete Letter Book; ISBN 0-7879-6589-8
* Managing Smart: A No-Gimmick Handbook of Management Techniques That Work; ISBN 0-669-12654-3

References