While there were a handful of other ghostwriters, the second Nancy Drew author you need to know about was Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (December 12, 1892–March 27, 1982) herself. In 2001 she was given a special Edgar Award for her contributions to the mystery genre. She eventually identified herself as (one) Carolyn Keene in the 1980 publishing lawsuit mentioned above, in which she testified. Her contract prohibited her from acknowledging that she wrote the books, and all royalties went to the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Mildred initially earned $125 per book, later taking pay cuts. (She also wrote other Stratemeyer Syndicate series, including The Dana Girls, also by Carolyn Keene.) She is the person who really set the voice of the Nancy Drew books, and in my mind is the Nancy Drew author. Mildred Wirt Benson (July 10, 1905–May 28, 2002) was the original Carolyn Keene, and eventually wrote 23 of the original Nancy Drew series, beginning with the very first, The Secret of the Old Clock. Other series have been published since, all by various Simon & Schuster imprints. The final 16 books in the Nancy Drew series were published by Aladdin, yet another subdivision of Simon & Schuster. The books were published under the Wanderer imprint until 1985, at which time Simon & Schuster purchased the Stratemeyer Syndicate and began publishing the Nancy Drew books under their Minstrel imprint, which marked a distinct change in style. Simon & Schuster took over in 1979 (Grosset & Dunlap sued, but the court found that Stratemeyer Syndicate had the right to choose their publisher). Grosset & Dunlap published the Nancy Drew books from 1930 until 1979. Stratemeyer Syndicate created and owned the Nancy Drew brand, but they were not a publishing house.

(Please note that where I refer to “Harriet” in this article, I am referring to Stratemeyer Adams, not Otis Smith.) Nancy Drew Publishers Incidentally, Stratemeyer’s secretary, Harriet Otis Smith, worked closely with him and later with Harriet and Edna, and helped to develop the series, including creating the characters Bess and George.

Carolyn keen