The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007: Twentieth Annual Collection

[ellen_datlow]

Today is its pub date!! Here's the Table of Contents (not in order)
La Profonde - Terry Dowling
Sob in the Silence - Gene Wolfe
A Pig’s Whisper - Margo Lanagan
Winkie - Margo Lanagan
Journey into the Kingdom - M. Rickert
Father Muerte and the Flesh - Lee Battersby
The Muldoon - Glen Hirshberg
Ballade (poem) - William Hope Hodgson
My Babe, My Babe (poem) - William Hope Hodgson
31/10 - Stephen Volk
Messages - Brett Alexander Savory
Raphael - Stephen Graham Jones
The Last to be Found - Christopher Harman
The Box - Stephen Gallagher
Landfill - Joyce Carol Oates
The Churring - Nicholas Royle
First Kisses From Beyond the Grave - Nik Houser
The Extraordinary Limits of Darkness - Simon Clark
Drowning Palmer - Sarah Monette
Dead Sea Fruit - Kaaron Warren
Dog Person - Scott Nicholson
Tell (poem) - Nathalie Anderson
Is Rain My Bearskin? (poem) - Jeanne Marie Beaumont
Yep, I Said Camel (poem) - Josh Bell
Femaville - Paul Di Filippo
The Night Whiskey - Jeffrey Ford
The Good Ones Are Already Taken - Ben Fountain
Persephone and the Prince Meet Over Drinks (poem) - Jeannine Hall Gailey
Becoming the Villainess (poem) - Jeannine Hall Gailey
Halfway House - Frances Hardinge
A Fearful Symmetry - Minsoo Kang
In the House of the Seven Librarians - Ellen Klages
Cup and Table - Tim Pratt
Journey into the Kingdom - M. Rickert
A Siege of Cranes - Benjamin Rosenbaum
Another Word for Map is Faith - Christopher Rowe
Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter - Geoff Ryman
Fourteen Experiments in Postal Delivery - John Schoffstall
Lionflower Hedge - Ira Sher
La Fee Verte - Delia Sherman
The Lineaments of Gratified Desire - Ysabeau S. Wilce
Directions - Caleb Wilson

And of course, I'm deep into reading for #21!

Comments

[lonesome-crow.livejournal.com]

Amazon told me my copy shipped yesterday. Hurrah!

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Excellent! I hope you enjoy this year's volume.

[lonesome-crow.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I will.

[ericmarin.livejournal.com]

I picked up a copy this past weekend. :-)

[orrin.livejournal.com]

This seems as good a time to segue into this question as any: How does one go about getting work considered for YBFH? Is there a submission process?

Also, I remember you mentioning that you're working on a Poe anthology that isn't currently open to unsolicited submissions but I happen to have just finished a story inspired by "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and nballingrud encouraged me to just go ahead and ask if you'd be willing to consider it. So this is me asking.

I apologize if this is inappropriate for the comments on your LJ, but I was unable to turn up an email address for you. If you'd prefer to continue this via email I can be reached at greyorrin@gmail.com

[orrin.livejournal.com]

PS - Wow, I sounded really formal in that comment. This is probably because I'm nervous. I am not normally nearly so formal, swear.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Hi Orrin,
Below is how your work gets considered (Basically, ask your publisher to send me it). I posted a list of the anthologies I've received so far in 2007 so if your work is in an anthology, you can check downstream in that post. I get most magazines that anyone would have heard of but of course, I might miss a few. If not sure, you can always query.
I'll email you about the Poe story separately. (don't worry about the formality)...

Summer 2007

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 21st volume, which will include all material published in 2007.
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 2007. Submission deadline for stories is December 15th 2007. 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, 2008.
Ellen Datlow
YBFH #21
PMB 391
511 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10011-8436

Kelly Link & Gavin Grant
176 Prospect Avenue
Northampton, MA 01060

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.
And 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.

[orrin.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much. I'll contact my publishers and ensure that they're doing their bit!

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

There's a Dowling I might be able to find then, eventually. :)

I really like that Siege of Cranes story too - has he written anything else in that vein off the top of your head?

The Father Muerte story from the unobtainable Aurealis 36 too, cool. :) I thought the one in the issue after was very good, nice to know more of them are nifty.

Thanks for the list.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid "Siege of Cranes" was a fantasy choice so I don't recall having read it...and can't compare to his other work. Maybe someone else here can make recs.

The Father Muerte story is very very good (I think). I like the series.

[tim-pratt.livejournal.com]

Siege of Cranes is a very good story, but I can't think of any other stories by Ben that have the same tone or feel or subject matter... he's one of those writers who seldom does the same thing twice. He has a collection, The Ant King and Other Stories, coming out next summer from Small Beer Press.

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

Ok, thanks Tim. There are some others online I haven't got to I believe, so I will check those out too.

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

You are right, Eclectic Boy he is.

ooooh...

[themadblonde]

spooky poems?? I collect spooky poems.

Re: ooooh...

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

A few excellent "lost ones" by William Hope Hodgson that I never saw in 05 so counted for 06.

really?

[themadblonde]

Where are you finding these "lost" poems? I like WHH quite a bit, though I must confess I never did make it all the way through House on the Borderland.

Re: really?

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Here's my citation for it:
The Lost Poetry of William Hope Hodgson, edited by Jane Frank (PS & Tartarus press), was missed when it was published in 2005. The book presents forty-three (more than half those in the collection) previously unpublished poems, many of which use sea imagery and most of which deal with death and dying. The book is a lovely artifact with a photograph of the Aurora Borealis by Hodgson on the cover, purple endpapers, and ribbon bookmark. Many of the stories are morbid. verging on horrific.

oooooh....

[themadblonde]

Yes, he was good @ "morbid verging on horrific." Thank you. I will have to see if I can acquire a copy.

[splinister.livejournal.com]

That's a very attractive list of stories and authors. Looking forward to picking up a copy.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I like your good luck kitty icon!

[splinister.livejournal.com]

It seemed appropriate for you. :)

[kythiaranos.livejournal.com]

I'm running away to the book store tonight to see if they have a copy. I'm looking forward to reading it.

[thornnuminous.livejournal.com]

Excellent! The titles definitely whet the appetite for some good stories. :)

I haven't commented before. I'm a member of WSFA, though. I was wondering if you had heard of the Amazon.com break through novel contest, http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/103-7822924-9497423?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200183180, and, if so, what you think about it. There is some debate going on within the Maryland Writer's Association as to whether or not this is a good thing to try.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I've have heard about it but don't really know much.

[thornnuminous.livejournal.com]

Oh well. Thanks anyway. ^_^

[unrealfred.livejournal.com]

I bought my copy today, and I'm really looking forward to reading (or re-reading) the stories.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I hope you're not disappointed ;-0

[charlesatan.livejournal.com]

Hurrah! Hope it's at the local bookstore as their new stocks arrive on the weekend. =)

[upstart-crow.livejournal.com]

Yay! :)

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

I do have a question about these (or older ones). It seems you can buy ebooks of occasional older collections, but not recent ones. Any idea why? Seems rather odd.

Same goes for some others like Dozois/Jones/Hartwell (but Horton's are) etc. too, not that those have anything to do with you.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what's available as an ebook and what's not...maybe the ebook people haven't purchased rights to the more recent books?

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

Oh, so you think maybe your publisher didn't do them because nobody to do it for them? Strange. Have to see what it says on one of the old ones perhaps.

I did write to a couple of the others and ask, but no reply (being publishers, no shock there, though), but not the actual ebook shops themselves. I will try that, and see what they say.

Thanks.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Sorry Blue, I really don't know the details. I'll ask my editor to find out if he knows the procedure.

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Because as you say, be useful to have for the summations, etc., for those of us running out of space and/or never seeing the books here.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I've asked Jim Frenkel about it and he doesn't know (he's MY editor and the book's packager) and will try to find out.

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

Starting to become a detective story. :)

Thanks for asking.

For instance, Fictionwise has 12,13 and 16 for your YBFH

1-9 for Hartwell SF

and 1997 to 2001 for Dozois

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

This is what Fictionwise replied when I asked, haven't asked any other online bookshops as well, but probably have the same answer :-

------
The missing Year's Best issues you mention are not at Fictionwise
because Harper Collins and St. Martin's Press have not made them
available at any of the eBook distributors.

Thanks!

Best regards,

Stan
Fictionwise Support Team

============================================================
You wrote:
Hi,

I have a question about the Year's Best Fantasy and Science
book series.

For the Ellen Datlow Year's Best Fantasy and Horror you only
have 12, 13 and 16 and none of the last few years.

For Gardner Dozois' Year's Best Science Fiction you only
have up to 2001.

For David Hartwell's Year's Best Science Fiction you only
have up until 9, and 12 came out this year.

Is there a reason you aren't getting any new books? I would
definitely like to buy the latest versions of each of these,
but it seems they don't exist?

Thanks very much,
--------

Bit hard to sell if you don't give it to them.

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe they weren't selling enough? In any case, Frenkel is checking with them.

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that is possible, in the locked up formats. If you look at the number of ratings for Rich Horton's best of books, they are many times higher, because they are multiformat, no DRM, so likely sell a lot more I think.

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe they weren't selling enough? In any case, Frenkel is checking with them.
Ellen