Diana Wynne Jones was an English novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She principally wrote fantasy and speculative fiction novels for children and young adults. Although usually described as fantasy, some of her work also incorporates science fiction themes and elements of realism. Jones' work often explores themes of time travel and parallel or multiple universes. Some of her better-known works are the Chrestomanci series, the Dalemark series, the three Moving Castle novels, Dark Lord of Derkholm, and The Tough Guide to Fantasyland.
Billy Martin, formerly Poppy Z. Brite, is an American author. He initially achieved notoriety in the gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s by publishing a string of successful novels and short story collections. His later work moved into the genre of dark comedy, with many stories set in the New Orleans restaurant world. Martin's novels are typically standalone books but may feature recurring characters from previous novels and short stories. Much of his work features openly bisexual and gay characters.
The Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for best fiction collection.
Kathe Koja is an American writer. She was initially known for her intense speculative fiction for adults, but has written young adult novels, the historical fiction Under the Poppy trilogy, and a fictional biography of Christopher Marlowe.
Sonya Taaffe is an American author of short fiction and poetry based out of Massachusetts. She grew up in Arlington and Lexington, MA and graduated from Brandeis University in 2003 where she received a BA and MA in Classical Studies. She also received an MA in Classical Studies from Yale University in 2008.
Cemetery Dance Publications is an American specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense. Cemetery Dance was founded by Richard Chizmar, a horror author, while he was in college. It is associated with Cemetery Dance magazine, which was founded in 1988. They began to publish books in 1992. They later expanded to encompass a magazine and website featuring news, interviews, and reviews related to horror literature.
First Flight: Maiden Voyages in Space and Time is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Damon Knight, first published in paperback by Lancer Books in August 1963. It is a compilation of the first published stories of ten authors in the genre. It was reprinted in November 1966 and reissued as Now Begins Tomorrow in November 1969 by the same publisher. An expansion of the work, retaining Knight's introduction and adding the initial stories of ten additional authors, was later prepared by Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander and published as First Voyages by Avon Books in May 1981.
Wormwood, originally published as Swamp Foetus, is a collection of short stories by American horror fiction author Poppy Z. Brite. It was first published by Borderlands Press, a small-press publisher of horror fiction, in 1993. It was reprinted by Penguin Books in 1995, and reprinted and retitled in 1996 by Dell Publishing.
The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 7 is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by Arthur W. Saha. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in 1981.
William Edward Relling Jr. was a St. Louis-born horror/mystery writer. He graduated from Lutheran High School North in 1971. He was a member of the Colin Sphinctor Band and in 1978 moved to Los Angeles with the band. When the band broke up, Relling chose to stay in Los Angeles, where he continued writing. Fellow writer Gary A. Braunbeck wrote of Relling's death by suicide in his 2010 book To Each Their Darkness.
October Dreams is an anthology of Halloween-themed memories and short stories edited by Richard Chizmar and Robert Morrish. Jack Ketchum's "Gone" was nominated for the 2000 Bram Stoker Award for Best Short Fiction.
Rick Hautala was an American speculative fiction and horror writer. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1974 where he received a Master of Art in English Literature. Rick arrived on the horror scene in 1980 with many of his early novels published by Zebra books. He has written and published over 90 novels and short stories since the early 1980s. Many of his books have been translated to other languages and sold internationally. Cold Whisper, published in October, 1991 by Zebra Books, Inc. was also published in Finnish as Haamu by Werner Söderström, Helsinki, Finland, in August, 1994. Toward the end of his life, many of his works were published with specialty press and small press publishers like Cemetery Dance Publications and Dark Harvest. His novel The Wildman (2008), was chosen to be Full Moon Press' debut limited edition title.
Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance is a collection of short fiction and shorter essays composed in appreciation of the science fiction and fantasy author Jack Vance, especially his Dying Earth series. Edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, it was published in 2009 by Subterranean Press.
The 1980 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the ninth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1980, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the same year by the same publisher as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. For the hardcover edition the original cover art of Jack Gaughan was replaced by a new cover painting by Gary Viskupik. The paperback edition was later reissued by DAW under the variant title Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Nine.
The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories is an anthology of weird fiction edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer.
Wondrous Beginnings is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Steven H. Silver and Martin H. Greenberg, first published in paperback by DAW Books in January 2003. It is a compilation of the first published stories of seventeen prominent authors in the genre, and features introductions to the stories provided by the authors of those stories. Wondrous Beginnings was the first of three similarly-themed anthologies, its companions being Magical Beginnings and Horrible Beginnings, compiling the first published stories of authors writing in the fantasy and horror genres, respectively. The book follows the example of the earlier First Flight: Maiden Voyages in Space and Time, edited by Damon Knight and First Voyages, edited by Damon Knight, Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander. which did not include individual introductions. The content of Wondrous Beginnings has little overlap in content with these earlier anthologies, however, as only the stories by de Camp, Clement and Clarke are repeated from them.
Magical Beginnings is an anthology of fantasy short stories edited by Steven H. Silver and Martin H. Greenberg, first published in paperback by DAW Books in February 2003. It is a compilation of the first published stories of sixteen prominent authors in the genre, and features introductions to the stories provided by the authors of those stories. Magical Beginnings was the second of three similarly-themed anthologies, its companions being Wondrous Beginnings and Horrible Beginnings, compiling the first published stories of authors writing in the science fiction and horror genres, respectively. The series follows the example of the earlier First Flight: Maiden Voyages in Space and Time, edited by Damon Knight and First Voyages, edited by Damon Knight, Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander, which focused on science fiction authors only and did not include individual introductions.
Universe 2 is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber, the second volume in a series of three, continuing an earlier series of the same name edited by Terry Carr. It was first published in hardcover Bantam Books and trade paperback by Bantam Spectra in March 1992.
The Earth Strikes Back is a short story collection edited by Richard Chizmar published by White Wolf in 1994.
