YBFH#17

Author Message   ellen Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 02:07 pm:    Thought I'd start a new topic for the one I'm working on. Readers can make suggestions for stories I might not have had access to. I'll discuss where I am in the process and maybe mention what I'm taking and what I've been reading and enjoying. First stories I've chosen: Harvey's Dream by Stephen King (New Yorker)--whether this goes in the book depends on negotiations with King and his reps. You Go Where it Taks You by Nathan Ballingrud (SCIFICTION) Dancing Men by Glen Hirshberg (THE DARK, THE TWO SAMS) I read GATHERING THE BONES and several of the stories are on my short list. I think it was a very good anthology overall.   Jay Caselberg Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 03:02 pm:    Ellen, what do you already get sent to you, magazine-wise?   Matthew Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 03:04 pm:    I didn't really like the King story. Anyway here some suggestions "The Door Gunner," Michael Bishop ROF Oct. O3 "The Chambered Fruit," M. Rickertt F&SF Aug. 03 "The Lightning Bug Wars," Gary Shockley "The Haunting," Joyce Carol Oates F&SF April 03   ellen Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 03:11 pm:    Matthew, I'm really looking for recommendations of obscure works, not the major venues that I regularly read. Over on the next rock I'll be listing the magazines I already receive.   ellen Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 03:18 pm:    Black Petals Issue 22 winter HP Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror spring 2004 (but out in 2003) Talebones Summer Issue #26 Underworlds 1 Albedo Issue 27 Legend issue 7 Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #12 Say…What Time is it? Issue #2 Electric Velocipede Issue 4 spring Electric Velocipede Issue 5 fall Rabid Transit: A Mischief of Rats Full Unit Hookup Issue #3 Mythic Delirium Issue 8 Mythic Delirium Issue 9 Supernatural Tales 5 Rue Morgue Sept/Oct Descant 122: Spec lit Fantastic Stories of the Imagination summer Rip Rap 25 All Hallows 32 February All Hallows 33 June Dark Horizons 43 NFG Issue1 NFG Issue 2 Peep Show Issue #5 nemonymous 3 Paradox spring Issue 1 Paradox summer Issue 2 Video Watchdog 92 Feb Video Watchdog 93 March Video Watchdog 94 April Video Watchdog 95 May Video Watchdog 96 June Video Watchdog 97 July Video Watchdog 98 August Video Watchdog 99 September AHMM January AHMM February AHMM March AHMM April AHMM May AHMM June AHMM July/August AHMM September AHMM October AHMM November EQMM January EQMM February EQMM March EQMM April EQMM May EQMM June EQMM July EQMM August EQMM September EQMM November Black October volume 1 issue 3 Black October volume 1 issue 4 Analog February Analog March Analog April Analog May Analog June Analog September Analog October Analog November Aurealis # 31 Fables & Reflections Issue 4 Lighthouse Magazine April Realms of Fantasy February Realms of Fantasy April Realms of Fantasy June Realms of Fantasy August Realms of Fantasy October Realms of Fantasy December ASF January ASF February ASF March ASF April ASF May ASF June ASF July ASF August ASF September ASF Oct/November F&SF January F&SF February F&SF March F&SF April F&SF May F&SF June F&SF July F&SF August F&SF Sept F&SF Oct/November Wicked Hollow January #5 Wicked Hollow April #6 Five Fingers Review Issue 20 The Paris Review #164 Flesh & Blood #11 Flesh & Blood #12 Flesh & Blood #13 Dreams & Nightmares 64 Weird Tales #330 Weird Tales #331 Weird Tales #332 Horror Garage Issue #7 Scarlet Street 47 Scarlet Street #48 City Slab Vol 1 issue 2 TTA 33 TTA 34 TTA 35 Zahir Issue #1 Harpur Palate summer Crime Wave 7 Cthulhu Sex vol. 2 issue 13 Cthulhu Sex vol. 2 issue 14 Cthulhu Sex vol. 2 issue 15 Interzone January Interzone February Interzone March Interzone April Interzone May/June Interzone July/August Roadworks #15 Roadworks #16 Cemetery Dance 42 Cemetery Dance 43 Cemetery Dance 44 Cemetery Dance-45 Dark Animus Issue 2 Dark Animus Issue 3 Dark Animus Issue 4 Scared Naked Issue 1, volume 1 Scared Naked Issue 2, volume 1 Scared Naked Issue 3, volume 1 The Fix Issue 6 The Fix Issue 7 On Spec winter High Plains Literary Review 3SF Issue 3 Feb Not One of Us #29 Not One of Us #30 Bound to be Free (one off from NOOU) Space & Time spring Black Gate spring Thirteen Stories January Thirteen Stories February Thirteen Stories March Thirteen Stories April Thirteen Stories May Thirteen Stories June Thirteen Stories July And I'm sure I'll have more coming in. I have to bug Chizine to send me printouts of all their stuff and Strange Horizons to send me any of their horror.   Matthew Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 04:58 pm:    If you read that many I can't really help you. I mean where do you find the time? Logically to read that many magazines should take a couple thousand years   Mark Stackpole Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 05:04 pm:    Ellen: OMG - I've been deluding myself that I was well read! Could you please answer a money question. Are most these periodicals sent to you gratis since you are a big wheel in the SF world? Of if this all out of your own pocket, are your subscriptions tax deductible? I've got to get into this editor / reviewer racket.   Laura Anne Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 05:39 pm:    >I mean where do you find the time? You get a magically expanding reading hour when you get your anthologist hat. Sadly, mine was only on loan while I was doing the WFC judging thing. Pity, it came in handy. (the serious answer is: Ellen doesn't sleep. Ever.)   ellen Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 06:02 pm:    Matthew: Every year I bribe some poor sucker into going through the magazines in which I doubt there will be anything for me --such as Analog, and the past couple of years AHMM and EQMM. The nonfiction mags I skim. The magazines that from experience don't have much that 1) I like or 2) are horror I skim. Mark: they are all gratis as the money I make from editing the YBFH would not pay for half of them. If I don't get a comp subscription, the magazine doesn't get reviewed. (unless one of the authors sends me a copy). Same with most anthologies and collections. A very few small press anthos and collections I get in trade from a bookdealer. Anything out of my own pocket would be tax deductible, yes. If I buy a book (which I seldom do) it's tax deductible. Don't be so eager to get into the review racket--as anyone who has been to my apt knows I'm overrun with books. Plus have 1 1/2 storage lockers with other books that I can't bear to part with. I focus focus focus. And take breaks between doing different things. eg right now I'm 1)in the middle of going over one edit of a SCIFICTION story, 2)just finished going over the author's responses to another and sent that one out to my copy editor, and once I finish 1)the one I'm in the middle of (and I have another round of back to the author in this one), then I have to 3)reread a story by one writer plus 4)reread another by a different writer that I'll probably buy but need to suggest revisions on. (and cuts). Oh yeah and 5) I almost forgot. I have to compare the final draft I got of a story for The Faery Reel with the original copy. (and the antho is already handed in. My editor has the correct copy but I just remembered I never went over it to see what changes were made). Oy. Probably I'll be burned out on editing after I finish the one I'm working on so will skip to either reading horror stories for YBFH for hte rest of the night. I'm usually up till 1:30 am. Laura Anne lies <g> I actually need 8 hours sleep or I'm a mess.   John Klima Posted on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 06:13 am:    Matthew: Having aided Ellen with reading in year's past, it's worth it for Ellen's undying gratitude. Only want to get into the editor/reviewer racket if you are independently wealthy, or can eat books and use them as currency. I like a big fat fantasy with a nice bearnaise or a Xanth au Poivre myself. JK   Jay Caselberg Posted on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 07:48 am:    JK, a Xanth au Poivre is bound to repeat on you...   ellen Posted on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 09:31 am:    Not that anyone cares but I finished most of my editing and going over of rewrites last night (but one) but didn't get to YBFH reading. Just as I was about to go to sleep (1:45) I realized I hadn't finished the damned NY Times, so finished that and got to sleep around 2:15--way too late!) And will definitely do YBFH reading this afternoon, after my lunch date.   ellen Posted on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 09:32 am:    Oh, and although Maureen doesn't seem to have picked up her email telling her, Gavin and Kelly have picked her story "Ancestor Money" in SCIFICTION for the fantasy half of the YBFH #17. Congrats Maureen, wherever you are!   Vera Nazarian Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 04:59 am:    Ellen, Have you yet seen a copy of the Prime Books anthology STRANGE PLEASURES #2? It's edited by Paul Barnett and Dave Hutchinson and has a bunch of stories you might find interesting.   ellen Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 07:26 am:    Hi Vera, Yes, I've got it and it's on my pile of stuff to read.   Vera Nazarian Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 04:35 pm:    Ellen, Great! :-)   Neal Stanifer Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 04:50 pm:    Ellen, good lord! That list of reading sources is insane, even if you do discard and farm out a portion of it. I'm reading for my doctoral exams now, and I'm not facing a pile like that! (At least, not until my committee gets through adding texts to my lists.) I don't know whether to stand in awe or call 911. Question: When faced with a truly bad story, are you ever tempted to keep reading, just to see how bad it can get? [I was a reader for the Faulkner Award here, slogging through "Literary Fiction" manuscripts for novels. There were many good novels, but some... well, let's just say it was like putting my tongue against a sore on the inside of my cheek -- painful, but so tempting to just keep doing it.]   ellen Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 05:25 pm:    Call 911 puhleese! From the list I think you can tell why I rarely have time to read novels-any kind of novel. Um yes, occasionally. And occasionally, when I read a terrible story I skip to the end just to see where it goes. Now that happened once with a published novel that I was having trouble getting into; thought I'd figured out where it was going so skipped to the end and discovered it went in a totally different direction. This interested me enough to get me to start again and this time I got into it and enjoyed the book. It was a thriller not sf or horror.   Michael Kelly Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - 01:13 pm:    Ellen, I thought Brett had sent you all the ChiZine printouts. If he hasn't, let me know, and I'll gently remind him. >The magazines that from experience don't have much that 1) I like or 2) are horror I skim. < Surely you mean "are NOT horror?" -Mike   ellen Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - 02:34 pm:    Mike, I'm afraid I phrased that awkwardly. I meant the "don't have much "horror" but I realize it doesn't come out that way. So yes, those that I generally know don't have horror I skim.   Michael Kelly Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - 05:30 pm:    Ah, okay, Ellen. Thanks! I'm easily confused. :-) -Mike   ellen Posted on Friday, November 14, 2003 - 07:30 am:    Some of what I've been reading and enjoying: I read Mojo Conjure Stories and thought it had some excellent darker tales, particularly Neil Gaiman's "Bitter Grounds" and Eliot Fintushel's "White Man's Trick. Also read a terrific story that Brett Cox sent me from Esquire: George Saunders' "The Red Bow." It's currently on my short list. Jack Cady's collection from Nightshade Books Ghosts of Yesterday--it has several new stories and at least three are as good as his best work (although only two of those would I consider horror). Glen Hirshberg's collection The Two Sams contains all his short work up through 2002 and reprints his terrific story from The Dark.   ellen Posted on Monday, November 24, 2003 - 08:43 am:    I just finished Southern Blood: New Australian Tales of the Supernatural edited by Bill Congreve and am quite impressed by it. Overall, a very entertaining anthology. The two stories I like the best, "In Quinn's Paddock" by Rick Kennett and "La Sentinelle" by Lucy Sussex, are probably both too long for me to take for YBFH but we'll see. I also very much like Geoffrey Maloney's "A Sixpence for Sophie." It's in paperback from Sandglass Enterprises.   ellen Posted on Monday, November 24, 2003 - 09:12 am:    Catching up on magazines from earlier in the year. I just finished The Third Alternative Issue 33 which has excellent stories by Brian Hodge and Simon Avery and a very good one by John Aegard. Anyone interested in cross-pollinated short fiction (aka mixed-genre, slipstream) should subscribe   AndyHat Posted on Saturday, December 06, 2003 - 09:48 am:    I just finished "The Trismegistus Club" by James Blaylock, the original novelette in his collection out from Subterranean, and thought it was wonderful. Of course, it's one of only two stories in the collection that's not a reprint from Sci Fiction, so you're probably already aware of it   Ellen Posted on Saturday, December 06, 2003 - 08:13 pm:    Andy, which collection is it? I know he's got a collaborative collection out with Powers.   AndyHat Posted on Saturday, December 06, 2003 - 10:10 pm:    It's in "In for a Penny", his solo collection from this year, which was all reprints except for the one story.   Ellen Posted on Sunday, December 07, 2003 - 04:51 pm:    Thanks. I can't recall if I got it already--I know I should have.   Geoffrey Maloney Posted on Sunday, December 07, 2003 - 10:18 pm:    Ellen, glad you liked "Sixpence for Sophie" from Southern Blood. My first collection "Tales from the Crypto-System" has just come out from Prime Books in the US and includes "Elecktra Dreams" which you included on the mentions list for YBFH#16 - A big thank you for that.   Ellen Posted on Monday, December 08, 2003 - 08:36 am:    Geoffrey, Yes, it's a very good story. As is "Elecktra Dreams." You're very welcome. Are there any originals in the new collection? I look forward to it.   Geoffrey Maloney Posted on Tuesday, December 09, 2003 - 01:31 am:    Ellen There's three never-before-published stories in it: "Bush of Ghosts", "A Very Long War" and "A Colombian Breakfast". Only "Colombian Breakfast" would count as fantasy though. Overall, I'm hoping the collection is pretty fresh for many readers in the US, except for people like yourself who manage to keep across everything from anywhere, all of the time, so amazing that you do it.   Ellen Posted on Tuesday, December 09, 2003 - 09:06 am:    Geoffrey, What about horror? That's my concern. If there's fantasy in the collection, then Kelly Link and Gavin Grant should also get a copy. I'm assuming/hoping that Sean Wallace will have one waiting for me when I get home tonight. If not, could you prod him? Thanks.   Geoffrey Maloney Posted on Tuesday, December 09, 2003 - 10:30 pm:    Oops - Geoffrey puts thinking cap on - meant to say the first two are SF and only CB would count as fantasy. So no horror stories among the new ones. I'll have a word to Sean. Cheers.   Chris Dodson Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 07:46 pm:    Hi, Ms. Datlow, I was just curious to know if you had finalized the table of contents for YBFH, and if so, I was wondering if you could post them. Thanks!   ellen Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 11:55 am:    In no particular order: (please note that Kelly's story "The Hortlak" from The Dark was chosen by me for the horror side--against Kelly's protestations). The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Seventeenth Annual Collection Edited by Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link & Gavin Grant Dean Francis Alfar "L'Aquilone de Estrellas (The Kite of Stars" Paolo Baciagalupi “The Fluted Girl” Dale Bailey “Hunger: A Confession” Nathan Ballingrud “You Go Where iIt Takes You” Laird Barron “Old Virginia” Terry Bisson “Almost Home” Kevin Brokmeier “The Brief History of the Dead” Scott Emerson Bull “Mr. Sly Stops for a Cup of Joe” Richard Butner “Ash City Stomp” Dan Chaon “The Bees” Peter Crowther “Bedfordshire” Karen Joy Fowler: “King Rat” Adam Corbin Fusco, “N007-JK1” Neil Gaiman: “A Study in Emerald” Theodora Goss, “Lily, With Clouds Glen Hirshberg “Dancing Men” Hodge, Brian “With Acknowledgments to Sun Tzu” Nina Kiriki Hoffman “Flotsam” Shelley Jackson "The Husband" Kij Johnson "At the Mouth of the River of Bees" Stephen King “Harvey’s Dream” Paul LaFarge “Lamentation Over the Destruction of Ur” Marc Laidlaw “Cell Call” Ursula K. Le Guin “Woeful Tales from Mahigul” Thomas Ligotti “Purity” Kelly Link: "The Hortlak" Sara Maitland "Why I Became a Plumber" Maureen F. McHugh “Ancestor Money” Mike O’Driscoll “The Silence of the Falling Stars” Patrick O’Leary “Invisible Geese: A Theory” (poem) Patrick O’Leary “The Perfect City” (poem) Philip Raines and Harvey Welles “The Fishie” M. Richert “Bread and Bombs” Benjamin Rosenbaum “The Valley of the Giants” George Saunders “Red Bow” Lucius Shepard, “Almost Partly Here” Vandana Singh, “The Wife” Michael Marshall Smith “Open Doors” Michael Swanwick “King Dragon” Karen Traviss “The Man Who Did Nothing” Megan Whalan Turner “The Baby in the Night Deposit Box” Jon Woodward “At the Mythical Beast” (poem)   Chris Dodson Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 12:11 pm:    Very cool selection, especially the Bailey, the Ballingrud, the Chaon, the Hirshberg, the King, the Ligotti, the Shepard, and the Traviss. Bailey's "The Census Taker" seems to be getting more attention, but I liked "Hunger: A Confession" better, so I'm glad it was picked. Of the ones I haven't read, I'm most looking forward to George Saunders' "The Red Bow." I'm also looking forward to the Nina Kiriki Hoffman story - I've been a big fan of hers ever since I read her short-short "Zit" in one of the Stephen Jones Best New Horror volumes. "Zit" was one of only three or four horror stories that actually made me sick to my stomach to read.   ellen Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 01:40 pm:    Chris, If I had had room, I'd have taken both "Hunger A Confession" and "The Census Taker." I don't recall "Zit." Where was it originally published?   Chris Dodson Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 02:07 pm:    According to the Locus Index, "Zits" originally appeared in the Fall 1991 issue of INIQUITIES, a magazine I'm not really familiar with (I was only nine in 1991, and Stephen King was probably the only adult horror author I was reading at the time.) Anyway, it was reprinted in the Stephen Jones/Ramsey Campbell BEST NEW HORROR 3, which was where I first read it about 6 or 7 years later. I'm not sure if it's been reprinted anywhere since. It's only a little two- or three-pager, but it packs a WHOLE lot of punch. Awful, awful story, but in the best possible way.   andres Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 03:44 pm:    It's just me,or now that Terry Windling is out of editing the fantasy portion of YBFH,there's a lot less of those poems in the book? If that's so,thanks,thanks dear God.   Chris Dodson Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 04:32 pm:    I noticed that, too, but for the most part, I liked the poems. I also noticed that, with a few exceptions, there doesn't seem to be quite as many stories from non-genre sources. Still, the stories Link and Grant did pick are almost all very good (the ones I've read, anyway). My main concern about the new editors is whether or not their Summation will be as comprehensive as Ms. Windling's always was.   ellen Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 09:49 pm:    Chris, I used to read Iniquities so likely read Nina's story. I didn't take any poetry this year Andres. Sorry you don't like it--there are actually a couple I would take if I'd had room. One by Steve Rasnic Tem and there's a terrific book of poetry I just got to for the Stoker Additions jury that I'm on--It's called Final Girl by Daphne Gottlieb and it's from Soft Skull Press. I don't know if any of them poems are original to the collection. They're a very entertaining feminist take on pop culture and slasher movies. Highly recommended. I actually took more stories from non-genre sources than I've ever before in one volume: The King from The New Yorker, "The Red Bow" from Esquire, and "The Bees" from McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales. And I know Kelly & Gavin's choice the Brockmier (spelling is off) is also from The New Yorker. I don't know where most of their other stories come from.   AndyHat Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 11:22 am:    Here's the list with source info appended as best as I know (without the poems; I don't read much poetry, so I have no idea where they were published). Corrections welcome, of course. Links to vendors do not imply endorsement of those vendors, but are provided for ease of bibliographic data access. Dean Francis Alfar. "L'Aquilone du Estrellas (The Kite of Stars)". Strange Horizons 1/6/03. Paolo Bacigalupi. "The Fluted Girl". F&SF 6/03. Dale Bailey. "Hunger: A Confession". F&SF 3/03. Nathan Ballingrud. "You Go Where It Takes You". Sci Fiction 7/16/03. Laird Barron. "Old Virginia". F&SF 2/03. Terry Bisson. "Almost Home". F&SF 10-11/03. Kevin Brockmeier. "The Brief History of the Dead". The New Yorker 9/8/03. Scott Emerson Bull. "Mr. Sly Stops for a Cup of Joe". Gathering the Bones (Tor). Richard Butner. "Ash City Stomp". Trampoline (Small Beer Press). Dan Chaon. "The Bees". McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales (Vintage). Peter Crowther. "Bedfordshire". Gathering the Bones (Tor). Karen Joy Fowler. "King Rat". Trampoline (Small Beer Press). Adam Corbin Fusco. "N007-JK1". Borderlands 5 (Borderlands Press). Neil Gaiman. "A Study in Emerald". Shadows over Baker Street (Del Rey). Theodora Goss. "Lily, with Clouds". Alchemy #1. Glen Hirshberg. "Dancing Men". The Dark (Tor). Brian Hodge. "With Acknowledgements to Sun Tzu". The Third Alternative #33. Nina Kiriki Hoffman. "Flotsam". Firebirds (Firebird). Shelley Jackson. "Husband". The Paris Review #164. Kij Johnson. "At the Mouth of the River of Bees". Sci Fiction 10/7/03. Stephen King. "Harvey's Dream". The New Yorker 6/30/03. Paul LaFarge. "Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur". Politically Inspired (MacAdam/Cage). Marc Laidlaw. "Cell Call". By Moonlight Only (PS Publishing). Ursula K. Le Guin. "Woeful Tales from Mahigul". Changing Planes (Harcourt). Thomas Ligotti. "Purity". Weird Tales #331. Kelly Link. "The Hortlak". The Dark (Tor). Sara Maitland. "Why I Became a Plumber". On Becoming a Fairy Godmother (Maia Press). Maureen F. McHugh. "Ancestor Money". Sci Fiction 10/1/03. Mike O'Driscoll. "The Silence of the Falling Stars". The Dark (Tor). Philip Raines & Harvey Welles. "The Fishie". Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet 6/03. M. Rickert. "Bread and Bombs". F&SF 4/03. Benjamin Rosenbaum. "The Valley of the Giants". Argosy #1. George Saunders. "The Red Bow". Esquire 9/03. Lucius Shepard. "Only Partly Here". Asimov's 3/03. Vandana Singh. "The Wife". Polyphony 3 (Wheatland Press). Michael Marshall Smith. "Open Doors". More Tomorrows and Other Stories (Earthling Publications). Michael Swanwick. "King Dragon". The Dragon Quintet (Science Fiction Book Club). Karen Traviss. "The Man Who Did Nothing". Realms of Fantasy 6/03. Megan Whalen Turner. "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box". Firebirds (Firebird).   ellen Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 02:32 pm:    Wow, Andyhat. Good job. Thanks for doing the research. One error I caught is that it's More Tomorrow, not Tomorrows.   Chris Dodson Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 04:11 pm:    A list of ten personal favorites that didn't make it into the Year's Best: Sherman Alexie, "Ghost Dance" (from McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales) Lee Allred, "Our Gunther Likes to Dig" (from Asimov's) Don D'Ammassa, "Curing Agent" (from Asimov's) Terry Dowling, "One Thing About the Night" (from The Dark) Andy Duncan, "Daddy Mention and the Monday Skull" (from Mojo: Conjure Stories) Neil Gaiman, "Bitter Grounds" (from Mojo: Conjure Stories) Neil Gaiman, "Closing Time" (from McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales) Glen Hirshberg, "Flowers on Their Bridles, Hooves in the Air" (from SCIFICTION) Nick Hornby, "Otherwise Pandemonium" (from McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales) Joyce Carol Oates, "The Haunting" (from F&SF)   ellen Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 05:30 pm:    Chris, "One Thing About the Night" by Terry Dowling Bitter Grounds by Neil Gaiman Closing Time by Neil Gaiman "Flowers on Their Bridles, Hooves in the Air" by Glen Hirshberg were all on my short list but I couldn't take the Dowling or Hirshberg because 1) I already had three stories I wanted to take from The Dark 2) I already had the Glen Hirshberg story from The Dark and didn't want to take both (they're both long) 3) felt I needed to choose among the Gaiman stories and two were about children--which as I've mentioned in various places was an preponderant "theme" in 2003. I felt his "A Study in Emerald" was the most unusual of the three.   S. Hamm Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 10:06 pm:    Kevin Brockmeier's "Brief History of the Dead" is still online at the New Yorker website.   ellen Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 10:11 pm:    Cool. I didn't know it was on the website--I get The New Yorker but am always months behind--I take them with my when I travel. Kelly & Gavin chose that one.   ellen Posted on Thursday, March 04, 2004 - 09:27 am:    Two last minute additions in my half: Steve Rasnic Tem Bone (poem)The Hydrocephalic Ward Daphne Gottlieb Final Girl II: The Frame (poem) Final Girl   Mike Allen Posted on Friday, March 05, 2004 - 08:20 am:    The two O'Leary poems come from The Stars as Seen from This Particular Angle of Night, edited by Sandra Kasturi. Not sure about the Woodward poem. I'm pleased to see Ligotti's "Purity" in the final list. That story was delightful.   Chris Dodson Posted on Friday, March 05, 2004 - 11:56 am:    I'm also a big fan of the Ligotti. I thought it was his best story since "The Last Feast of Harlequin", although I'm also pretty enamored of the stories collected in MY WORK IS NOT YET DONE.   ellen Posted on Friday, March 05, 2004 - 02:45 pm:    I like Ligotti quite a bit too. I was suprised to note that I hadn't taken anything by him for several years. Glad he's in the series again.   Jennifer Hughes Posted on Sunday, March 07, 2004 - 11:29 pm:    Hi Ellen, I was just wondering which of the stories you selected and which ones were Gavin and Kelly's?   ellen Posted on Monday, March 08, 2004 - 08:12 am:    Jennifer, Of course, in the book, they'll be initialled by whoever took them (as always) but here are the stories/poems I chose with where they're from: Dancing Men Glen Hirshberg The Dark You Go Where it Takes You Nathan Ballingrud SCIFICTION July 16 Harvey’s Dream Stephen King The New Yorker June 30 The Silence of the Falling Stars Mike O’Driscoll The Dark Open Doors Michael Marshall Smith More Tomorrow The Hortlak Kelly Link The Dark Bread and Bombs M. Rickert F&SF April Hunger: A Confession Dale Bailey F&SF March The Man Who Did Nothing Karen Traviss Realms of Fantasy June The Red Bow George Saunders Esquire September Mr. Sly Stops for a Cup of Joe Emerson Scott Bull Gathering the Bones Bedfordshire Peter Crowther Gathering the Bones The Bees Dan Chaon McSweeney’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales Cell Call Marc Laidlaw By Moonlight Only Purity Thomas Ligotti Weird Tales Issue #331 Old Virginia Laird Barron F&SF February A Study in Emerald Neil Gaiman Shadows Over Baker Street The Fluted Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi F&SF June N007-JK1 Adam Corbin Fusco Borderlands 5 Brian Hodge With Acknowledgments to Sun Tzu TTA Issue 33 Steve Rasnic Tem Bone (poem) The Hydrocephalic Ward Daphne Gottlieb Final Girl II: The Frame (poem) Final Girl   John Klima Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 06:06 am:    Ellen: How long does it take for you to compile your recommended list, or is that something you do as you go? JK   ellen Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 09:11 am:    I do it as I go. I was forced to hand 2003 in to Jim last week but added a few more stragglers in the past week. I gave him one more last one last night and he made me promise not to add any more.   Jim Barron Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 12:22 pm:    Hi Ellen, Quick question - and forgive me if this information is available or has been answered elsewhere - Are the annual YBFH available from the Science Fiction Book Club? Seems that they *used* to be but I haven't seen them available for the last couple years or so. Thanks much!   Chris Dodson Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 01:32 pm:    Ellen said: "I was forced to hand 2003 in to Jim last week but added a few more stragglers in the past week. I gave him one more last one last night and he made me promise not to add any more." That brings up an interesting question: Have you ever read a story after the deadline that you would have included in the anthology if you'd seen it sooner?   ellen Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 02:52 pm:    Jim, Usually they are--to tell you the truth, I'm not sure. I'll check with Jim Frenkel, the packager. Chris: Oh yeah, sure. And occasionally I'll slip it over into the next year if I absolutely adore it. I did that with Marion Arnott's "Prussian Snowdrops" a few years ago. But it's very rare.   Jim Barron Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 04:30 pm:    Thanks Ellen! BTW - I can't be 100% sure of this because I'm still at work, but it seems to me that the SFBC has consistently published YBFH up to book #13. I know I have looked for subsequent volumes and they've never been made available. Would you know why? If they'll not be made available through this forum, I'll sure complete my set by ordering them up via other bookseller channels. Thanks in advance.   ellen Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 10:00 pm:    I've just found out from Jim F that they have not picked up the last few volumes. It's too "big" for them, apparently. We're hoping they'll take #17, the one we're finishing off now because it has a King story. Or if not them then the Quality Paperback Book club.   ellen Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 09:00 pm:    I handed in my 2003 horror summary last night so am feeling footloose and fancy free come the Nebula weekend. However, I have to catch up on my SCIFICTION reading so for anyone who has a ms with me I'm just reading the first week of February. I hope to read through and several more tonight and tomorrow morning before I leave. And when I get back it'll be full speed catch-up. Thanks for your patience.   EDatlow Posted on Monday, August 30, 2004 - 01:22 pm:    Nice review of YBFH#17 http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_datlowetal_ybfh17.html   EricS Posted on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 10:27 am:    The reviewer wasn't pleased with the inclusion of Link's story. Just to provide a countering opinion: I am glad that you included it. Kelly Link and Gavin Grant have both proved themselves to be among the top writers working today. I don't think they should be disqualified from appearing in the Year's Best just because they assumed editor duties. Your methods of dealing with the potentially sticky fact that the editors are also good writers struck me as fair.   EDatlow Posted on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 02:33 pm:    Eric I know. It was something I thought long and hard about-Kelly didn't want me to take it for the very reason that she knew we'd get slammed for it by someone. However, since I publish the horror area I felt it was my decision to take it for inclusion because I thought it was one of the best stories of the year. OTOH, Kelly & Gavin would not take one of Kelly's more fantasy oriented stories for the volume. Alas---as her story in The Faery Reel--"The Faery Handbag" is wonderful. Hopefully, one of the other Year's Best anthos will take it for reprint.   MarcL Posted on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 06:41 pm:    I confess the editor including a story of his/her own in an anthology always makes my skin crawl. You guys get away with it, sort of, for the reasons mentioned above. But it always brings me back to those otherwise excellent Lin Carter anthologies where he'd slip in a chapter of his unfinished fantasy epic among the classics...   EDatlow Posted on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 06:54 pm:    Marc, I agree. I really hate it and usually feel it's a mistake. But our antho is split into two parts and I'm solely responsible for the horror. (although, it has happened with Terri and me that if the editors feel a story is both fantasy and horror we would split the "wordage" for the story and contribute a few lines about why we feel the story is both).   MarcL Posted on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 09:32 am:    You guys should work out in advance which story of Kelly's and/or Grant's stories you're likely to want to reprint, and then they can publish it under a pseudonym, and then not only can you print the story without even the faintest whiff of nepotism, but you can also have the pleasure of introducing the world to remarkable new talent! Also, you can accept for them when this hot new writer sweeps the awards. I'm pretty sure the eventual scandal would boost sales and increase outside interest in the field. Maybe even from the literary equivalent of the SEC. And if there isn't such a thing, there should be.   EDatlow Posted on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 09:48 am:    LOL. Funny boy!

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