Frederick Nebel

Frederick Lewis Nebel (November 3, 1903 - May 3, 1967), was an American writer. Although he published more than 300 stories and three novels, many of which were adapted for film, he is best known today for his hardboiled detective fiction.

Nebel was one of the most important writers for Black Mask, publishing a total of 67 stories in the magazine, second only to Erle Stanley Gardner. He also wrote prolifically for Dime Detective before moving on to more "respectable" work such as his thriller novel Sleepers East, which was made into a film, and magazine writing for Colliers, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping.

Early life Born in Staten Island, New York, Nebel dropped out of school at 15 after only one day in high school. He worked as a dockhand and a valet before moving to Canada where he worked as a farmhand on his great-uncle’s homestead. He enjoyed the wilderness and became a self-taught expert in Canadian history. This expertise helped launch his career writing adventure stories for Northwest Stories, beginning in 1925. He returned to New York and got a job working as a brakeman on passenger trains and writing in his spare time. The pair was featured in 36 of Nebel’s stories spanning 8 years. In the 1930s, Nebel sold the rights to MacBride and Kennedy stories to Warner Bros. who made ten film adaptations. The CBS Radio series Meet MacBride, beginning in 1936, was also adapted from the series. The novel was later adapted to the screen as Sleepers West (1941). In 1936, he wrote the novel Fifty Roads to Town. The New York Times wrote,"This is a first rate, virile piece of story-telling. It moves dramatically but in a restrained and effective manner toward its ultimate goal." It was adapted into a comedy film of the same name starring Don Ameche in 1937. On television, his work was adapted for such shows as General Electric Theater and Studio One.

Slick magazines After selling the film rights to Sleepers East, Nebel hired agent Carl Brandt. After 12 years and more than 230 stories, Nebel stopped writing for the detective pulps in 1937 to focus on romance. Under Brandt’s guidance, Nebel began selling to higher-paying slick magazines such as Collier's, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Liberty, McCall’s, Redbook, The Saturday Evening Post and Woman’s Home Companion.

In 1956 he returned to mystery writing briefly, publishing 6 more short stories for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. His last story was published in 1962.

Personal life Nebel met his wife, Dorothy Blank, in Paris in 1928. They married in 1930 and moved to St. Louis, where much of his fiction is set. In 1934, they moved to Connecticut and in 1937 they had a son, Christopher Nebel. Suffering from high blood pressure, Nebel moved to Laguna Beach, California in the late 1950s. In 1967 Nebel suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died three days later at age sixty-three.