Justice, Keith L. 1949–2004

(Keith Leroy Justice)

PERSONAL: Born December 23, 1949, in Marion, OH; died in a car accident, February 27, 2004 in Union, MS; son of Frances Beverly Black Justice Foos; stepson of Everett Foos; married Hilda Virginia Savell (a registered nurse), December 27, 1970; children: Beverly Lorene Justice Wiener and Christopher Eugene (twins). Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Meridian Community College, A.A., 1976; Mississippi State University, B.A., 1979, M.A.T., 1982.

CAREER: Newton Record, Newton, MS, news editor, 1984–89; Meridian Star, Meridian, MS, wire desk editor, 1989–92; Newton County Government, Newton, police, fire, and emergency management coordinator, 1992–95; Newton Record, news editor, beginning 1995. East Central Community College, adjunct faculty. Military service: U.S. Navy, parachute rigger, 1969–72.

AWARDS, HONORS: Nearly twenty first-place awards from annual better newspaper contest, Mississippi Press Association, beginning 1986.

WRITINGS:

Adult Video Index '84, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1984.

Public Office Index, Volume 1, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1985.

Science Fiction Master Index of Names, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1986.

Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Reference: An Annotated Bibliography of Works about Literature and Film, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1989.

(Editor and contributor) Newton County and the Civil War, ESEFF Press (Union, MS), 1995.

Bestseller Index: All Books, by Author, on the Lists of Publishers Weekly, and the New York Times through 1990, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1998.

Friends and Neighbors: Some of the People, a Few of the Places, and a Little of the History of Newton County and Surrounding Area, ESEFF Press (Union, MS), 1998.

(Compiler) Presidents, Vice Presidents, Cabinet Members, Supreme Court Justices, 1789–2003: Vital and Official Data, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Keith L. Justice once told CA: "My mother once told me I learned to read, long before I went to school, by sitting in her lap while she was reading the evening newspaper. Love of reading led me to attempt to become a freelance writer and, even though I have published several books, I was never able to make a living at it. When proposals began to earn contracts rather than rejections, the proposals were for nonfiction reference works, rather than the several novels I had started, so the fiction ended up in the trunk and by default I chose the road that led to reference books. It has always seemed to me a useful and productive thing to gather information that has not been gathered before and arrange it so someone else can make use of it.

"My first book was an undisguised attempt to find something commercial that would provide an opportunity to get into the book publishing industry and, perhaps, make some money. The book did the former, but not the latter, and afterwards I based my choices on what I wanted to do rather than what I thought a publisher might print or some readers might buy.

"Because I have been a record collector for forty years, the idea for Bestseller Index: All Books, by Author, on the Lists of Publishers Weekly and the New York Times through 1990 germinated in the middle 1970s when I began to wonder why there wasn't a reference book for the bestsellers lists similar to the Top 40 and Hot 100 pop/rock record indexes. The idea lay dormant for many years, and then in 1988 it seemed to be the right time to start the index to the bestsellers lists. I thought I might be able to finish the book in two or three years; I had no idea it would take ten years.

"Most of my projects have been related to one of several lifetime interests. I have always loved books, history (especially local history), and I have been a science fiction fan since the late 1950s, so books about science fiction, history, local history, and books about books (indexes, bibliographies) have a strong, built-in appeal."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Book Review Annual, 1986, review of Public Office Index, p. 271; 1988, review of Science Fiction Master Index of Names, p. 458; 1990, review of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Reference: An Annotated Bibliography of Works about Literature and Film, p. 471; 1999, review of Bestseller Index: All Books, by Author, on the Lists of Publishers Weekly and the New York Times through 1900, p. 7.

American Reference Books Annual, 2004, Robert V. Labaree, review of Presidents, Vice Presidents, Cabinet Members, Supreme Court Justices, 1789–2003: Vital and Official Data, p. 348.

Booklist, October 1, 1989, review of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Reference, p. 396; May 1, 1998, Mary Ellen Quinn, review of Bestseller Index, p. 1150; October 15, 2003, review of Presidents, Vice Presidents, Cabinet Members, Supreme Court Justices, 1789–2003, p. 451.

Choice, December, 1985, review of Public Office Index, p. 584; June, 1987, review of Science Fiction Master Index of Names, p. 1534; November, 1989, review of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Reference, p. 464; July-August, 1998, J.D. Haskell, Jr., review of Bestseller Index, p. 1831; December, 2003, E.A. Bounds, review of Presidents, Vice Presidents, Cabinet Members, Supreme Court Justices, 1789–2003, p. 691.

Chronicle, March, 1987, review of Science Fiction Master Index of Names, p. 47.

Film Quarterly, summer, 1985, Ernest Callenbach, review of Adult Video Index '84, p. 53.

Library Journal, September 15, 1989, Martin J. Hudacs, review of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Reference, p. 106; April 15, 1998, Paul A. D'Alessandro, review of Bestseller Index, p. 68.

Reference and Research Book News, spring, 1987, review of Science Fiction Master Index of Names, p. 38; August, 1989, review of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Reference, p. 39; August, 2003, review of Presidents, Vice Presidents, Cabinet Members, Supreme Court Justices, 1789–2003, p. 152.

RQ, summer, 1987, Grove Koger, review of Science Fiction Master Index of Names, p. 521.

Wilson Library Bulletin, November, 1985, James Rettig, review of Public Office Index, p. 65; April, 1990, Gene LaFaille, review of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Reference, p. 100.