Women in Horror Month #4: Ellen Datlow

Hey, everybody!  I'm absolutely over the moon that today's guest agreed to be with us, so let's jump right in!

About Ellen Datlow:

Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for over thirty-five years as fiction editor of "OMNI Magazine" and editor of "Event Horizon" and "SCIFICTION." She currently acquires short stories and novellas for Tor.com and their new horror imprint Nightfire. In addition, she’s edited more than ninety science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies, including the annual THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR, THE DOLL COLLECTION, BLACK FEATHERS, MAD HATTERS AND MARCH HARES, THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP: HORROR STORIES OF THE SEA, and ECHOES: THE SAGA ANTHOLOGY OF GHOST STORIES. Forthcoming are EDITED BY-a selection of stories from her original anthologies (Subterranean), BODY SHOCKS, a reprint anthology of body horror (Tachyon), and FINAL CUTS-all new horror stories about movies and movie-making (Blumhouse/Anchor).

She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.

She lives in New York and co-hosts the monthly Fantastic Fiction Reading Series at KGB Bar. More information can be found at www.datlow.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter. She’s owned by two cats.

Interview:

SK: What ironic, "Twilight Zone"-style punishment would you be made to suffer?

ED: The one in "Time Enough at Last" in which Burgess Meredith who just needs time to read is surrounded by books and just as he's about to read the first one, breaks his eyeglasses. Luckily I can read without my glasses or contacts.

SK: What was the worst submission you've ever come across in a slush pile? And if you weren't a consummate professional, how would you have worded your rejection letter?

ED: I haven't read slush in decades--very few editors send out personal rejections of slush submissions. There's no time and no point. They generally have a form letter that 's vague and polite. But in reality an editor might want to tell the submitter to give up, but that would be wrong.

SK: How real is the literary black list? Also, I know a few people I think should be blacklisted. How would I go about adding them?

ED: Obviously editors talk to each other and if a writer is too much trouble to work with we might mention it to each other. But is there a specific black list? No.

SK: Assuming my blacklisting plan doesn't pan out, how would I go about committing the perfect murder?

ED: There is no such thing as a perfect murder. Besides it's easier to just not buy a story from someone you don't want to work with.

SK: What's your "method" when you gamble at the casino? How does it work out for you?

ED: I only do penny slot machines that are fun. If there are no bonuses or interesting things going on, I don't use that machine. If I lose a few bucks at one machine I'll move to another until I find one I like-that seems to pay out for me. I don't take more than $80 with me and put in $20 at a time. If I make more than say $25 from a machine, I'll cash out, put the receipt in my wallet and use another $20 bill. It helps me keep track of how I'm doing. Once I run out of the cash I've brought I'm done. My goal is to make the money last as long as I plan to be at the casino. If I come out ahead, great.

SK: You're one of the few people who can answer this with any sort of authority, so: what is the greatest short horror story ever written and why?

ED: There isn't just one. There are many. I could never choose one.

About FINAL CUTS:

Legendary genre editor Ellen Datlow brings together eighteen dark and terrifying original stories inspired by cinema and television. A BLUMHOUSE BOOKS HORROR ORIGINAL.

From the secret reels of a notoriously cursed cinematic masterpiece to the debauched livestreams of modern movie junkies who will do anything for clicks, FINAL CUTS brings together new and terrifying stories inspired by the many screens we can't peel our eyes away from. Inspired by the rich golden age of the film and television industries as well as the new media present, this new anthology reveals what evils hide behind the scenes and between the frames of our favorite medium. With original stories from a diverse list of some of the best-known names in horror, FINAL CUTS will haunt you long after the credits roll.

NEW STORIES FROM: Josh Malerman, Chris Golden, Stephen Graham Jones, Garth Nix, Laird Barron, Kelley Armstrong, John Langan, Richard Kadrey, Paul Cornell, Lisa Morton, AC Wise, Dale Bailey, Jeffrey Ford, Cassandra Khaw, Nathan Ballingrud, Gemma Files, Usman T. Malik, and Brian Hodge.