Hulbert Footner (April 2, 1879 - November 17, 1944) was a Canadian born American writer of primarily detective fiction. He also wrote some non-fiction. Footner attended grade school in Manhattan and beyond that was self-educated. His complete reading program of classics of literature is laid out in his journal. His first known published item is a poem titled Roundelay For March published in 1902. His first article was published in 1903. Its subject was a canoe trip with a companion on the Hudson River, which began on the Fourth of July from the outskirts of New York City and ended at Montreal, Quebec, Canada.