His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in 1933 in "Black Mask," a popular pulp magazine. His first novel, "The Big Sleep", was published in 1939. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published just seven novels during his lifetime. In the year before he died, he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. He died on March 26, 1959, in La Jolla, California.