When people ask me why Nero Wolfe grows orchids I ask them which they are interested in, orchids or him. Anybody familiar with the series knows Nero Wolfe grows orchids and would go to any lengths to acquire rare specimens, including the unthinkable like leaving his house. ; The winner will be announced at The Wolfe Pack's Annual Black Orchid Banquet in New York City, the first Saturday of December. The ordered Nero Wolfe shadowed seated in chair with orchid cover of, "Black Orchids/The Silent Speaker" by Bantam books, was NOT what I received. It's really two novellas ("Black Orchids" (1941) and "Cordially Invited to Meet Death (1942)) packaged together and loosely linked by some black orchids. An important part of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe's opus are novellas. “If Wolfe had a favourite orchid, it would be the genus Phalaenopsis,” Robert M. Hamilton wrote in his article, ‘The Orchidology of Nero Wolfe’, first printed in The Gazette: Journal of the Wolfe Pack (Volume 1, Spring 1979). Q) I first learned about orchids from reading Nero Wolfe detective books. Both of these novellas are excellent. Black Orchids. With Alexander Scourby, Kurt Kasznar, William Shatner. I find them too truncated and abrupt. Entries must be postmarked by May 31 of the submission year. Membership dues are $40, which normally covers two years (four issues) of The Gazette. I received a 'Green Door Mystery' edition of Nero Wolfe "The Black Orchids", with no second story, by Pyramid Books, dated 1963. American crime writer Rex Stout (1886-1975) penned a series of books featuring the overweight and eccentric New York private detective Nero Wolfe, a dedicated orchid grower with 10,000 plants in growing rooms on the rooftop of his brownstone building. Phalaenopsis is mentioned in 11 Wolfe stories, and Phalaenopsis Aphrodite in seven — more than any other species. "Black Orchids" is the 9th book in Rex Stout's "Nero Wolfe" series. Contest Procedures. There were 33 novels written between 1934 and 1975 by author Rex Stout and orchids were integral to many of the plots. The Black Orchid Novella Award is a blind contest. Set in 1950's New York, Nero Wolf (Maury Chaykin), an eccentric orchid loving brilliant detective with a taste for fine cuisine who, with his assistant named Archie Goodwin (Timothy Hutton), lives in luxury in a brownstone mansion.He solves difficult crimes while rarely leaving his brownstone, and relies on the footwork of Archie. Entries must be postmarked by May 31 of the submission year. To celebrate this format, the Wolfe Pack and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine have partnered to sponsor the Black Orchid Novella Award. The winner will be announced at The Wolfe Pack's Annual Black Orchid Banquet in New York City, the first Saturday of December. The sets for Nero Wolfe were designed by John Beckman, whose credits include Casablanca, Lost Horizon and The Maltese Falcon. Entries must be 15,000 to 20,000 words in length, and submitted by the deadline. The stories took place predominantly in If they ask what difference that makes, I say it makes all the difference. It is easy to imagine what he would do to get his hands on the rarest of the said plants: the black orchids. As a special offer during this difficult time for everyone, new members joining by April 30, 2020 will receive a membership good through December 2022 or FIVE issues of The Gazette. Contest Procedures. The plant rooms were stocked by Zuma Canyon Orchids of Malibu, California, which on the eve of the series registered the hybrid Phalaenopsis Nero Wolfe with the Royal Horticultural Society. Want to submit an entry for the this year's contest? Entries must be 15,000 to 20,000 words in length, and submitted by the deadline.