Richard Layman

Richard Layman attended Indiana University, the University of Louisville, and the University of South Carolina, where he received his PhD in 1975. Among his books are nine on Dashiell Hammett, including the definitive bibliography; Shadow Man, the first full-length biography; Hammett’s Selected Letters (with Julie Rivett as Associate Editor), Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade, and The Hunter, with Rivett. Layman’s books have twice been nominated for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award. A trustee of the Literary Property Trust of Dashiell Hammett, Rick has also written or edited books on Ring Lardner and John Dos Passos, as well as general works on American literature.

Layman Publishing Partners has evolved since 1976 from Bruccoli Clark Layman, Manly, Inc., and Layman Poupard Publishing. Rick has been Editorial Director of award-winning reference books since 1978, including, among others, the 400+-volume (to date) Dictionary of Literary Biography (with Matthew J. Bruccoli), called the most impressive literary reference series in publishing history by Library Journal; the social histories American Decades (twelve volumes) and American Eras (eight volumes) and World Eras (10 volumes); Gale Literary Guides (27 volumes); History in Dispute (21 volumes); Research Guide to American Literature (seven volumes); Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography (9 volumes); and the online resource Schomburg Studies in Black Culture. Layman Publishing Partners, annually produces 111 volumes of Gale Literature Criticism, the largest curated collection of literature criticism in the world.

Rick lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with his wife, Nancy.