Here's the cover of the Best Horror of the Year#1

[ellen_datlow]

Comments

[nihilistic-kid.livejournal.com]

Nice penis.

[bram452.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what it says that that was my first reaction too. "Best horror? How about a small, wizened, grey penis!"

[vee-ecks.livejournal.com]

When I do my Vitruvian Man cover, it will be *all* penis.

[vee-ecks.livejournal.com]

Such a total ripoff of YBF&H.

(Seriously, I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you pressed on this way after that series was canned. It always was the best way to catch up on the best horror you might have missed, and still is, apparently.)

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that Gavin suggested it.
But the series wasn't canned. We left by mutual agreement with St Martin's. Just couldn't find a new deal quick enough (and there were some other problems).

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Shucks! I didn't notice it ;-)

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

That was a reply to Nick.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

tsk tsk --and see the handsome satanic goat gazing at said penis.

[livia-llewellyn.livejournal.com]

Even the giant eye is looking at the wee grey peen!

[nballingrud.livejournal.com]

I think it looks awesome. I suppose it's too much to hope that this will be hardcover?

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Nah. Trade paperback.

[nihilistic-kid.livejournal.com]

There'll be a hard SOMETHING!

[splinister.livejournal.com]

Ooh! Very cool!

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Very effective, I think.

[ericreynolds.livejournal.com]

Definitely a cool cover.

[jplangan.livejournal.com]

Damn, but those guys do nice work.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I'd like to know who the artist/designer is.

[jeffpalmatier.livejournal.com]

That is some really great artwork. I really admire people who have the talent and skill to do stuff like that.

I'm making the obvious assumption they got part of their inspiration from Leonardo Da Vinci. I remember seeing some of the drawings Da Vinci did of cadavers. The faces he drew of some of the cadavers were very realistic in that you could tell that, uh, they had been dead awhile. Very creepy stuff.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I'm sure those illustrations by Da Vinci influenced the artist a lot.

[jongibbs.livejournal.com]

Great cover :)

[galdrin.livejournal.com]

Too bad so much of the artwork if obscured by the "FEATURING STORIES BY" being such a large font.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

The art's not what's being sold--it's the interior--most book designs (particularly for anthologies) do this.

It was done with YBFH and Canty's art as well. I saw some of the original art that Tom used in the early years (in art shows) and you got a whole different feeling for it seeing it separate from the design.

If you ever go to convention art exhibits, you can see the original artwork used in cover work. On its own, it's a completely different animal.

Looking forward to it

[(Anonymous)]

Can't wait to get my hands on that one!

Terry Weyna

Re: Looking forward to it

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Happy to hear it :-)

[(Anonymous)]

When's this coming out again?

Jeff P.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I think it's October.

[douglascohen.livejournal.com]

Nice cover. Out of curiosity, will you be continuing Honorable Mentions?

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Yes I will.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

That's terrifying. Awesome!

[(Anonymous)]

Ooh, it's hooorrrible! :) Nice bracketing of Margarets there, around all those blokes.
Best,
The Top Margo.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Funny--I hadn't noticed that :-) although it might change.

[(Anonymous)]

That is indeed a nice cover, corpse penis included!

-Nancy G.

[dachsie-mom.livejournal.com]

I am pleased to see this new series-but it's really wrenching to learn that YBF&H will no longer be a yearly purchase/read. I have every one from First annual to Twentieth annual.I got the bad news just now, browsing around at Amazon.But I already have this book in my cart, and I'm sure I'll come to love it as much as I did YBFH. I like that it's also being published so close to Hallowe'en, and I hope it'll have the long yearly retrospective essays-much as I loved the stories in YBFH, I think I enjoyed the essays even more .

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a blow to all of us--but it's just circumstance. I'll be doing the same amount of work (more in fact as I'm doing all administration for my book). It's possible that some time in the future Jim Frenkel will repackage the book with me and Terri and we'll continue --or start from scratch.
You're missing #21 :-)

I'll be doing a summary, including what I usually do.