If you were to compile a list of the people who have made the greatest and most successful impacts on the genre, one name that would undoubtedly appear is Ellen Datlow.  Ellen has spent nearly three decades doing what she loves:  reading and editing fiction.  And we’re not the only ones that think she’s damn good at it.  She’s the winner of several World Fantasy Awards (along with frequent co-editor Terri Windling), multiple International Horror Guild Awards, multiple Locus Awards for Best Editor and multiple Hugo Awards for Best Editor, just to name a few.  If you’re a reader and you see her name on the cover, you know you’re about to be amazed.  If you’re a writer and she asks you for a story, you know you’re doing something right.

Ellen was recently gracious enough to spend some time answering our questions.  If you’d like to learn more, visit her online at   http://www.datlow.com. click here

 

After 25+ years in the business and a gaggle of awards and popular publications, your name has become synonymous with solid, quality fiction.  Readers know they are in for a treat when they see your involvement.  Do you ever feel pressured or get worried about living up to expectations?

Sure. I’m a little insecure about every anthology I edit until I start seeing reviews or getting other feedback. I suspect every editor is, which is why both sales and awards are important indicators of … something (wry smile although you can’t see it).

 

You spent over 15 years as Fiction Editor at OMNI, the preeminent SF/F magazine back in the day before its demise in the late 90's.  Would you be where you are today without that experience?

Absolutely not. My years at OMNI taught me how to edit short fiction, how to work in a politically fraught office environment, and learn what to fight for and what to let go. Also, because we paid well, I interacted with writers who would normally be hesitant about publishing in a genre magazine (like William Burroughs, Joyce Carol Oates, and William Kotzwinkle—before he wrote the ET book) or working with an unknown editor.

Except for a few relatively short periods of time (under one Editor or another) I was given the freedom to publish what I chose, without someone looking over my shoulder. So my tastes and interest had time to evolve over time.

 

Has it ever been difficult to edit a "big name"?  Was the process ever intimidating—especially earlier in your career?

I was certainly nervous about editing some writers; I stepped very carefully when making suggestions to writers by whom I was intimidated. Some writers (well-known or not) are easy to edit and I feel we’re on the same wave length. Others are stubborn and fight every inch of the way, even if ultimately they agree that my suggestions make the story better.

The thing is, if there are very minor problems with a story and I love it anyway, I’ll buy it even if I can’t get the writer to fix something.

While at OMNI, before computers were used to set type, I had to work with the authors and the production (and art) departments to cut and add lines. Sometimes over a hundred lines. So I was forced to learn to save “lines” by cutting space breaks/widows/and finally words, in consultation with the author. This was hellish sometimes, depending on the author. Surprisingly, Stephen King was a joy to work with. I’d prepared the possible cuts (a LOT of them) and it took two days for us to connect by phone (this was pre-email). We went over each cut, line by line. He was totally cooperative. I didn’t know what I’d do if he wasn’t—the story would not have been able to be published that month, which would have left a big hole in the issue (the story was a novelette).

One of the nicest things any writer has ever told me was how happy he was with the final cut we ended up with after one of these rounds—and he asked me how I did it—so I told him the whole process from start to finish over dinner. It was Roger Zelazny, and the story—another novelette—was “Permafrost,” and ended up winning the Hugo.

 

Is it much easier to sell an anthology idea now than it was 10 or 15 years ago?  Do the rejections still come?

Every anthology is different. My agent and I have to figure out what publisher/editor will go for the specific proposal.  Sometimes the unexpected happens and you’ve got several different publishers interested, which means there might be an auction, unless one publisher makes a pre-emptive bid (offering a large amount of money for all rights, which the publisher hopes will scare off the other interested publishers). But for anthologies that’s pretty rare. As far as I’m concerned, there is no such thing as a sure fire idea in anthology editing. It’s taken me years to sell certain anthologies. Non-theme are the most difficult sales, in my opinion. If the publisher can’t hang a marketing idea onto the anthology, they usually feel lost.

 

Many short story writers move on to writing novels, often staying within that realm thereafter.  Are there any particular authors that you miss reading in short form?  Do you still try approaching them for anthologies?

Oh sure: Dan Simmons, Clive Barker, Jonathan Carroll, George R. R. Martin. I’d like to read more short fiction by Elizabeth Hand, Kathe Koja, Stephen King, Peter Straub, or Jonathan Carroll, all of whom do occasionally still produce it but very sparingly.

Mostly I no longer ask writers who have moved on to novel-writing, but I sometimes ask Elizabeth Hand, Kathe Koja, and Peter Straub. For the others, it’s pointless.
        
There are also many wonderful horror writers who just aren’t writing anything any more, let alone short fiction—Edward Bryant, T.E. D. Klein, Dennis Etchison, Douglas E. Winter, Thomas Ligotti,  Scott Baker, Terry Lamsley, Harlan Ellison, K. W. Jeter.         

This is the reason editors are always looking to find new writers whose work they love.

 

Upon walking into many bookstores these days, one can quickly see the lack of any significant "horror" section.  Do you think this void in shelf space is because the demand has dried up, or is horror actually being placed amongst more mainstream selections?  If you were a publisher (or a retailer) what would you do differently about the way books in the genre are published or marketed?

I think most horror novels are shelved in the mainstream section of bookstores. There are very few dedicated horror sections anymore. I have mixed feelings about bookstores having a ghetto area for horror. That’s not where horror started out and I’d prefer it not be there now.

However, of course, there needs to be a way for readers of horror to find what they’re looking for. In my opinion, what’s needed are more reviews of material that isn’t obviously horror. The internet could be extremely useful for that. I only have time to read a few novels a year, and those I do pick up are the ones that are less likely to be read by the average horror reader. That’s my choice and it’s intentional.

What I would love to see is cross-marketing. Put some of the horror in with the mainstream section and some in the mystery section, and some in a dedicated horror section. But that would mean that the employees who shelve books would have to be knowledgeable about the authors and types of horror those authors write. And in most bookstores you just don’t find that kind of interest/service any more.

 

Could you give us your take on the current state of the horror short fiction market?  Is there enough of an attractive outlet available to encourage writers to produce more short fiction (versus long)?

I think that there are a number of viable markets that publish horror stories among other genres, for example The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction publishes horror fairly regularly. Realms of Fantasy has published stories I’d consider horror (I’ve taken some for YBFH in the past and for The Best Horror of the Year #1), and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine publishes very dark stories. Weird Tales, Midnight Street from England and Albedo One from Ireland. Also, All Hallows, which doesn’t pay but is a high profile market for the more traditional ghost story.  Then there’s also Supernatural Tales out of the UK, GUD (Greatest Uncommon Denominator Magazine), Shroud, the long-running Not One of US, Postscripts from England, and Midnight Echo, a new Australian magazine, open to submissions from writers of all nationalities.

And of course there are many anthologies coming out annually from the big publishers, from the independent press, and from the small press.  Not all are open markets but many are. I know that I read, or at least skim, every horror anthology that I receive. I can’t vouch for Steve Jones but I’ll bet he scours the anthologies as well. When I read a terrific story by someone I’ve never heard of I go out of my way to look for more of that work. And eventually I may take a story for my Year’s best.  And in the future I may ask that writer for a new story. I’ll also bet that when other editors see stories by new writers in a Year’s best, they chase after that writer for their own magazines/anthologies.

 

You spent several years editing the fiction section of the SCIFI.com site.  Why did they decide to end that project?  Does it indicate any waning demand of readers in the genre?

The SCIFI Channel went through three corporate owners during the six years I worked there, finally ending up in the hands of General Electric-NBC.  SCIFI.COM, the web arm of the SCIFI Channel was basically the victim of a corporate strategy that changed very quickly from creating a content-rich website meant to be the center of all science fiction (which was happening when I was hired) to ultimately becoming merely an advertising tool for the SCIFI Channel.

 

Although The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror series has been discontinued, its history and importance can't be forgotten.  What was the experience like editing the horror half over the years?  Was it all worth the stress and massive investment of your time?

Yes, and no. I’ve always hated it and loved it. When Terri Windling left a few years ago, I thought to myself “gee, I could do that and get my life back”—but decided to continue. I love reading short horror stories so when I find really good ones, I still get a kick. It’s slogging through the mediocre or worse that’s mind sucking.

The decision to stop the series was a mutual one between Jim Frenkel, creator and packager of the series, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, the fantasy editors, myself, and St. Martin’s Press. We had been talking about making changes but didn’t get it together to try to make a new deal with a different publisher quickly enough for it to happen.

 

How did the deal with Night Shade come about for their version of a ‘best of the year’ in horror anthology?  How quickly were you approached about the possibility?

Once it had been decided to stop working on the series as it was, Gavin suggested that I try Night Shade with just a horror best of.  So I did and they bought it.

 

You recently held an open call for submissions for your Haunted Legends anthology (along with co-editor Nick Mamatas).  Had you ever held an open-call for an anthology before?  What was the experience like?  Would you ever do it again?

I’d never done it before and unless Nick volunteers to read slush for my solo anthologies, or those I co-edit with Terri Windling, it’ll never happen again. It was a very good experience, but I don’t have the time or energy to do it myself.

Out of the 250 stories he received, he passed on about twenty-five stories to me. And out of those (some of which ended up not being slush, but writers I’d worked with—they hadn’t realized they could have gone around the slush pile) we bought around four.

 

Frequent readers of your blog (ellen_datlow.livejournal.com) know that you occasionally get the chance to travel outside of the city and take in a bit of the country.  Any particular places that you love to visit?

I go where I have friends and it’s more the friends that count than the place, but I’ve had very good times in Lincolnville, Maine, in New Kingston, NY, and in London. I’ve traveled around Japan two times and would love to do it some more. Same with Australia and New Zealand. I’ve also been to Rome and would like to return.

 

Could you picture yourself living somewhere other than New York?

Nah. I love traveling, but New York is my home.

 

Would you like to go back to a full-time job editing fiction for a magazine or other publisher?  Do you prefer being able to spend more time on freelance anthologies?

I’d be delighted to take a full time job editing fiction for a magazine—there just aren’t any, and it’s unlikely that new ones will start up without someone or some entity (corporate) with deep pockets. I currently lay out about $6,000 for my medical insurance. The life of a freelance anthologist is just as insecure as that of a fiction writer.

Every few years there’s talk of reviving OMNI but that’s all it’s been since it closed. Talk.

 

Looking back over your career, are there any things you wish you could have done differently?  Any regrets?

I’ve been very happy with my career so far. I would love to continue editing short fiction till I die. (Well I suppose I may get tired of it in a few more decades.)

 

What can we look forward to from you over the next year or so?

I’ve got several reprint anthologies coming out in 2010:

Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror (Tachyon)

A large reprint anthology of cat stories (sf/f/h/m) for Night Shade

Best Horror of the Year #2

And some original anthologies in 2010:

Haunted Legends (regional ghost stories) edited by me and Nick Mamatas (Tor)

The Beastly Bride and Other Tales of the Animal People edited by me and Terri Windling—this will be the fourth volume of our YA series (Viking)

Naked City: New Tales of Urban Fantasy—which has nothing to do with paranormal romance but is about fiction taking place in cities (St. Martin’s Press)

Unless I’ve forgotten something, that’s it for next year.

 

Ellen, thank you so much for answering our questions.  It has been an absolute honor!

My pleasure.