Over the value of this year’s fiction compared with that of recent years, the Committee disagree. The pessimist says the level is lower; the optimist declares it higher. “A fair plateau marked by a few peaks,” says another. They agree on the following list as ranking first:
Babcock, Edwina Stanton, Mr. Cardeezer (Harper’s, May).
Beer, Thomas, Dolceda (Saturday Evening Post, November 3).
Benet, Stephen Vincent, The Golden Bessie (Everybody’s, June).
Buckley, F. R., Habit (Adventure, April 30).
Byrne, Donn, A Story Against Women (Collier’s, December 8).
Cobb, Irvin S., Red-Handed (Cosmopolitan, June); The Unbroken Chain (Cosmopolitan, September).
Connell, Richard, A New York Knight (Saturday Evening Post, April 21); A Friend of Napoleon (Saturday Evening Post, June 30); The Unfamiliar (Century, September).
Dell, Floyd, Phantom Adventure (Century, December).
Edholm, Charles Lawrence, The Rotten Board (Century, November).