With decades of real-world experience as a professional writer and acclaimed performer of magical theatre, Neil Tobin brings a unique perspective to literary scholarship.

Read his American Literature Association paper presented at the 2026 conference that argues for a reevaluation of magician-author Clayton Rawson’s contributions to detective fiction. Drop a note below to have it sent straight to your inbox.

Discover the newly identified (and extra-deceptive) variety of red herring unleashed by Rawson in 1939 and detailed by Tobin’s article in the spring 2026 issue of Clues, the peer-reviewed American scholarly journal specializing in detective fiction. Pick up your issue.

See the landmark essay collection containing two peer-reviewed Tobin articles that examine the secret society of magicians who wrote mysteries during the Golden Age — and what they were communicating to the public and each other. Magic, Magicians and Detective Fiction: Essays on Intersecting Modes of Mystery, edited by Rebecca Josephy, is now available in print and digital form. Get the book.

Don’t miss the upcoming boxed set, Clayton Rawson’s Merlini Mysteries, edited and annotated by Neil Tobin and beautifully produced by Vanishing Inc. This new edition restores text and author illustrations missing from prior versions, and provides readers with approximately 800 new footnotes that reveal insider references previously known only to the magicians, artists, and others to whom they had been secretly directed. Each annotation provides a compelling new window of appreciation into Rawson’s ingenious work. Use the contact form to receive your email alert.