Ellen Datlow

Ellen S(ue) Datlow was born in 1949 and currently lives in New York City. She has been one of the most influential editors in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres for over 20 years.

She has been awarded with the World Fantasy Award many times and has won other professional laurels such as the British Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award.

She first rose to prominence when she became the fiction editor of OMNI magazine in 1981. OMNI was slick, popular, and paid some of the highest rates a science fiction writer could ever hope to earn; while most professional magazines were paying $150-$200 for a short story, OMNI paid $1000 and more. As a result, Datlow regularly worked with writers such as William Gibson, Clive Barker, Stephen King, William Burroughs, Ursula K. Le Guin, Jonathan Carroll, Joyce Carol Oates, Peter Straub, Pat Cadigan, Dan Simmons, K.W. Jeter, and Jack Cady. Hordes of up-and-coming writers hoped that their work would catch her eye.

Datlow further solidified her influence when, in 1987, she and fellow writer/editor Terri Windling began an annual anthology series called The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. The series has been widely read and widely-acclaimed by readers and writers alike.

When OMNI folded in 1998, Datlow started an excellent online prozine called Event Horizon, but it sadly suffered the fate of many online publications and folded after a year or so. She is currently an editor at Tor Books.

Datlow regularly gives publishing seminars and teaches at established writing workshops such as Clarion. She is also a noted essayist.

In addition to her work on magazines and Year’s Best, Datlow has edited many other anthologies.