Ellery Queen Minute Mysteries was a series of short radio episodes featuring the detective Ellery Queen solving mysteries in just a minute. Created by cousins Fred Dannay and Manfred B. Lee, Ellery Queen was an author who solved mysteries with his father, Richard Queen, as his sidekick. The character first appeared in a writing contest in the 1920s and went on to feature in novels and a weekly radio show.

The character became so popular that Dannay would disguise himself and assume the identity of Ellery Queen during media appearances. In 1932, the cousins introduced another character, Barnaby Ross, who was later revealed to be Ellery Queen, leading to a clever publicity stunt where all Barnaby Ross novels were converted into Ellery Queen novels.