It may be worth noting that William Faulkner wrote a
murder mystery and threw a fit when he didn't win the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine short story award. Steinbeck might not have felt that he was above genre fiction, but perhaps he thought the addition of a werewolf was a bridge too far.
> What a commentary. In France I am the father of a literary movement. In Europe I am considered the best modern American, and among the first of all writers. In America, I eke out a hack's motion picture wages by winning second prize in a manufactured mystery story contest
I read Faulkner's story and honestly the ending wasn't as satisfying as he might have thought. Wellman's story was probably better as a "murder mystery" even if the writing perhaps lacked some of Faulkner's polish. I thought some of Faulkner's other mysteries were better
Wellman was one of the greats of pulp fiction (especially the Weird subgenre, on which he was a lasting influence), so it's not terribly surprising that he could wrangle a mystery story more effectively than a literary writer.
There might be the confounding factor of being unlikely to buy a novel you don't know exists. If Rowling releases something under her own name, I'm sure to hear about it, which will surely boost sales.
> Steinbeck might not have felt that he was above genre fiction
At the time he would have written it, he was quite hungry. Living off of income from manual labor with some extra contributions from his father. Perhaps he thought a warewolf mystery could sell a few books at the time, but as you suggest, later on that would've been embarrassing.
> What a commentary. In France I am the father of a literary movement. In Europe I am considered the best modern American, and among the first of all writers. In America, I eke out a hack's motion picture wages by winning second prize in a manufactured mystery story contest
http://thepassingtramp.blogspot.com/2012/05/faulkner-vs-well...
I read Faulkner's story and honestly the ending wasn't as satisfying as he might have thought. Wellman's story was probably better as a "murder mystery" even if the writing perhaps lacked some of Faulkner's polish. I thought some of Faulkner's other mysteries were better
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight%27s_Gambit