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Crime Scene, the quarterly magazine devoted to crime TV, film and books, is to close, subscribers have been told.
Issue 6 of the magazine came out in early December; but Issue 7 – going out to subscribers next week, and to shops soon afterwards – is confirmed to be the last.
Crime Scene is published by Future PLC, which produces magazines across a range of fields including film, technology, video games and music.
The magazine’s editor Andre Paine told The Bookseller: "Crime Scene was launched, in autumn 2015, because of the huge popularity of the genre. Crime/thriller fiction is the biggest genre in adult fiction publishing, while shows like ‘Sherlock', 'Silent Witness' and ‘Endeavour' dominate the TV ratings. There was really nothing on the newsstands that catered for the dedicated follower of crime fiction and TV drama, so it seemed like an opportunity to reach that audience.
"But the consumer magazine market in that entertainment sector is very tough at the moment, particularly for a premium, glossy quarterly title priced £7.99. The core readership liked the magazine a lot, but the decision was made to close Crime Scene on issue seven, which is published next week.
"We’re grateful for all the support from publishers, who shared their insights during its development (Rosie Fletcher was launch editor) and were enthusiastic about its launch. Michael Joseph publishing director Rowland White was one early supporter of the magazine – and I was at his Penguin/Michael Joseph crime launch in Soho last night, so we’ll be sorry not to be able to cover their upcoming titles.
"Publicists and authors were always ready and willing to work with us. We interviewed James Ellroy, Paula Hawkins, David Baldacci, Martina Cole, Mark Billingham, Michael Connelly and Val McDermid, as well as publishing opinion pieces by Steven Moffat, Kate Mosse, Sharon Bolton, Jonathan Moore, crime fiction expert Barry Forshaw and Trapeze’s commissioning editor Sam Eades. We also championed new authors including Ragnar Jonasson, Joseph Knox and Ruth Ware. I particularly enjoyed working on our special Agatha Christie issue, which we produced in cooperation with Agatha Christie Ltd last autumn.
"Our final issue will feature interviews with Ian Rankin, to mark 30 years of Rebus, Patricia Cornwell and Clare Mackintosh, as well as a celebration of Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse and lead reviews of titles by Sharon Bolton, Mick Herron, Chris Brookmyre, Erin Kelly and Denise Mina."
Crime reviewer Barry Forshaw, a regular contributor to the magazine, told The Bookseller: "Crime Scene magazine was a brave but perhaps foredoomed attempt to treat crime fiction in a glamorous, eye-catching fashion (like the same publisher's glossy film magazines), but the fact that a cover picture of Benedict Cumberbatch would sell more issues than a similar shot of virtually any crime writer was telling. The magazine, however, was not dumbed down; its coverage of crime fiction was incisive and intelligent; my feeling is just the people would rather read their crime reviews either in newspapers or online.”