Boucher (as he was more commonly known) wrote mystery, science fiction, and horror. He was also an editor, including science fiction anthologies, and wrote mystery reviews for many years in "The New York Times". He was one of the first English translators of Jorge Luis Borges, translating "The Garden of Forking Paths" for "Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine". He helped found the Mystery Writers of America in 1946 and, in the same year, was one of the first winners of the MWA's Edgar Award for his mystery reviews in the "San Francisco Chronicle". He was a founding editor (with J. Francis McComas) of "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction" from 1949 to 1958, and attempted to make literary quality an important aspect of science fiction. He won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Magazine in 1957 and 1958. Boucher also edited the long-running "Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction" anthology series, from 1952 to 1959.