Ellen Datlow

[Ronald]

In a comment on a good reads book review, I made the point that Ellen Datlow was limited in her reading of horror short fiction. I made that point because I read an announcement in Locus Magazine for publishers to submit their published stories to her for possible inclusion in the Year's Best anthology she edits. I figured, I don't think that Tartarus press will send one of their $100 limited edition books for free.

However, I now think that I was mistaken. In this interview, Ellen Datlow says "I read all the short fiction I’m aware of in any given year. That includes single author collections (if there are new stories), anthologies, magazines/webzines, and literary journals.

I have a reader who checks out all venues that are not known for their horror—the mystery magazines and literary journals, and the strictly sf magazines/webzines."

https://chireviewofbooks.com/2018/07/...

Whether one agrees with Ellen Datlow's judgments for best horror short fiction is a separate issue.

I intend to soon create a thread in this group, for members to discuss short horror fiction that they liked. One purpose of the thread is to influence the editors of anthologies.

[Scott]

I remember feeling that way from the first few books in this series, as they seemed to pull largely from other Night Shade books, or even from other anthologies she had edited herself (I think the last one I read had three from her Poe anthology.) But if she says it's not so, I guess it's not so.

[Jay]

I think she reads widely but has fairly narrow tastes. Choosing stories that she had curated previously just reinforces her own selections. She tends to choose the same authors almost annually (to be fair, so does Stephen Jones) and often in the same quasi-literary style. I tend to like the stories she picks on a one-by-one basis, but her anthologies often feel same-y, even the year's best ones. As such, I now skip her books most of the time.

[Scott]

I love many of her anthologies; Little Deaths, Twists of the Tale and The Dark are among the best I've read from anyone. It's just the current Year's Best series I've been less than thrilled with.

[Beth]

Hi, new here. I am currently attempting reading my way through the Datlow Year's Best anthologies. I'm almost through with Volume 4. I've gotten all but Volume 5 on sale for sale @ $1.99. I don't read straight through - I read one or two stories between each full novel I read. My ratings for each of these has been consistently 4 stars. I keep a log of each story with an individual rating and then take an average at the end. Every now and then I'll hit a total clunker, but Datlow has turned me onto a lot of great authors, such as Stephen Graham Jones. I hate zombies, but she's had a couple 5-star zombie tales. I tend not to like Lovecraftian, but I'm trying. I really wish she'd stop with the poetry, though. Even Poe's poetry left me pretty lukewarm. Each to his own, though. I think for the little I've managed to pay, I consider myself greatly entertained. I'll be looking out for Volume Eleven this year.