"How Come" I haven't posted in the last day or two...

I'm busy with two anthologies I'm working on. One, tentatively called Poe: New Tales of Suspense, Dark fantasy, and Horror inspired by Edgar Allan Poe is to be turned in by Sunday to my editor at Solaris. I'm in the process of the final line edits, got to decide on story order, and finish up an Introduction then off it goes via email. It's due Monday, the day I leave for London and I'll be seeing my editor the second week I'm there. Also trying to eliminate and thus choose stories for YBFH #21.

But quickly, I saw a matinée performance of Sunday in the Afternoon with George --I'd never seen it before. Not a great musical by any means. No memorable songs (although maybe the title song), certainly no show stoppers. The staging and scenery and costumes were wonderful,and it had terrific special effects. Also, the actors were good. Although...George comes across as pretty wimpy in the first act and I think he's supposed to have more personality. His mistress obviously adores him and another woman mentions his attractiveness...Huh? I didn't see it. I gather that Mandy Patinkin was really charismatic originating the role but then in the second act where the later George is supposed to be a bit more wimpy Patinkin couldn't notch down the charisma and so it didn't work. In the current production the actor was better in the second act. The character of Dot (originated by Bernadette Peters) was terrific. She (for me) felt like the center of the first act, and I'm not sure she was supposed to be.


Finally, the reason I put "how come" in quotes is that the etymology of the phrase has been bugging me for weeks. I finally remembered to look it up tonight (after discussing it at dinner with friends) and voila! we've got it here: (Thank you google. I love you.)
how come

Poe: 19 New Tales of Suspense, Dark fantasy, and Horror inspired by Edgar Allan Poe

This will not be the final order of the stories:



Illimitable Domain by Kim Newman
The Pickers by Melanie Tem
The Final Act by Gregory Frost
Truth and Bone by Pat Cadigan
Flitting Away by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Mountain House by Sharyn McCrumb
Beyond Porch and Portal by E. Catherine Tobler
Shadow by Steve Rasnic Tem
The Red Piano by Delia Sherman
The Heaven and Hell of Robert Flud by David Prill
The Pikesville Buffalo by Glen Hirshberg
The Tell by Kaaron Warren
The Brink of Eternity by Barbara Roden
Sleeping with Angels by M. Rickert
The Reunion by Nicholas Royle
Kirikh’quru Krokundor by Lucius Shepard
Strappado by Laird Barron
Lowland Sea by Suzy McKee Charnas
Technicolor by John Langan

It will be published by Solaris in the UK and US in early 2009 --it's in honor of the Poe Bicentennial.

YBFH #22 is open for submissions (2008 material)

Winter 2008

I co-edit the multi-award winning anthology series The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror (St. Martin's Press) with Kelly Link & Gavin Grant. We are now reading for the 22nd volume, which will include all material published in 2008.
I am looking for stories from all branches of horror: from the traditional-supernatural to the borderline, including high-tech sf horror, supernatural stories, psychological horror, dark thrillers, or anything else that might qualify. If in doubt, send it. This is a reprint anthology so I am only reading material published in or about to be published in 2008. Submission deadline for stories is December 15th 2008. Anything sent after this deadline will reach me too late. If a magazine, anthology, or collection you’re in or you edit is coming out by December 31st, you can send me galleys or manuscripts so that I can judge the stories in time. No email submissions. I strongly suggest that authors check with their publishers that they are sending review copies out to me as I don’t have time or energy to nag publishers to get me material. I request it once (maybe twice) and that’s it.

There are summations of "the year in horror," and "the year in fantasy" in the front of each volume. These include novels, nonfiction, art books, and in my section, "odds and ends"-- material that doesn't fit anywhere else but that I feel might interest the horror reader. But I have to be aware of this material in order to mention it. The deadline for this section is January 30th, 2009.
Ellen Datlow
YBFH #21
PMB 391
511 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10011-8436

Kelly Link & Gavin Grant
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027


Kelly & Gavin cover fantasy and I cover horror. If you consider something both, send a copy to each of us. We do not confer on our choices.

****I do not want to receive manuscripts from authors of stories from venues that it’s likely I already receive regularly (like Interzone, The Third Alternative, Cemetery Dance, Subterranean, Postscripts, Weird Tales, F&SF, etc) or from anthologies and collections, unless I don't have or can’t get that anthology or collection. What I would prefer is if you contact your publisher and ask him/her to send me the magazine or book.
Please do not send a SASE. If I choose a story you will be informed. If you want to confirm that I‘ve received something, enclose a self-addressed-stamped postcard and I will let you know the date it arrived. For stories that appear on the web, please send me (or have the publisher send me) print-outs of your story.