|
Post by mrhappy on Aug 3, 2012 2:15:18 GMT
The two Women of Darkness anthologies edited by Kathryn Ptacek would qualifiy.
And Dem - embarrassed? Please. You've probably forogotten more about this stuff than I'll ever know.
Mr Happy
|
|
|
Post by pulphack on Aug 3, 2012 6:03:41 GMT
Well, reading trough this I have to say I saw Jojo's point - it's sad that WOMEN still have to have their own seperate anthologies, and that a woman editing one is seen as a big dealby the publisher. What year is it? I hate to get all feminist (it's not pretty in a man), but as Jojo points out there have been many, many ghost stories by women. I don't know about anthologists, but certainly women have always been major players in crime fiction (and as anthologists, too), and in SF & Fantasy (though many did seem to have to adopt male psuedonyms back in the day). If you want to go back further - the Brontes, for gods sakes, Jane Austen... as soon as it was possible for women to do it, those that got their foot in seemed to do it better. Give me a woman writer from the C19 for novels or short stories rather than a ponderous Victorian gentleman anyday (well, apart from Hardy, but by the standards of that era he was a bit of a girl anyway). It seems tawdry to have to point out 'look! a girl done this! in't she clever!' as this type of publishing still does.
Having said that, looking forward to Steve Jones' Zombies - The Return!
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Aug 3, 2012 7:10:05 GMT
pulps, Robinsons have already published Richard Dalby's Mammoth Book Of Ghost Stories (two vols.) and Mammoth Book Of Victorian & Edwardian Ghost Stories: Peter Haining's Mammoth Book Of 20th Century Ghost Stories, Mammoth Book Of Modern Ghost Stories and Mammoth Book Of Haunted House Stories: and, going way back to 1986, Tim Haydock's Mammoth Book Of Classic Chillers. Pretty much every popular base covered bar two - an exclusively Jamesian collection (might suggest that one!) and all-female collection. And now we're getting the latter. There's really nothing more to it than that!
mr happy, thank you for reminding me of Kathryn Ptacek's series which, shamefully, i've never investigated. Then again, like Lisa Tuttle's Skin Of The Soul, Women Of Darkness 1 & 2 originate from the States. I'm not sure we in the UK have had too many mainstream all-woman ghost story anthologies edited by women up til now?
|
|
|
Post by cauldronbrewer on Aug 3, 2012 11:42:44 GMT
Out of curiosity, I decided to do a little statistical analysis. If my math is right, the five most recent Best New Horror volumes have included 115 stories--of which a grand total of 17 are by women. I'm not trying to pick on Stephen Jones (like Dem, I'm especially fond of his theme anthologies that mix old and new), but maybe there's still a value to anthologies that focus on women writers' (and editors') contributions to the genre.
For my own part, I'd love to see someone put together a Best Weird Tales by Women Writers. Certainly some of the women who wrote for WT have received extensive attention from anthologists, but there are others who (in my opinion) are under-appreciated--and, more to the point, under-anthologized.
I would also pay good money for Women Stories by Ghosts. ;D
By the way, another solid anthology of older stories (edited by a man) is Mike Ashley's 2008 Unforgettable Ghost Stories by Women Writers.
|
|
|
Post by Jojo Lapin X on Aug 3, 2012 13:29:29 GMT
By the way, another solid anthology of older stories (edited by a man) is Mike Ashley's 2008 Unforgettable Ghost Stories by Women Writers. Must be a thick book. If it contains 2008 stories, I mean.
|
|
|
Post by cauldronbrewer on Aug 3, 2012 13:33:48 GMT
By the way, another solid anthology of older stories (edited by a man) is Mike Ashley's 2008 Unforgettable Ghost Stories by Women Writers. Must be a thick book. If it contains 2008 stories, I mean. Damn you, italics! ;D
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Aug 4, 2012 5:48:25 GMT
For my own part, I'd love to see someone put together a Best Weird Tales by Women Writers. Certainly some of the women who wrote for WT have received extensive attention from anthologists, but there are others who (in my opinion) are under-appreciated--and, more to the point, under-anthologized. Now there's a brilliant anthology suggestion, and such a very rewarding one to work on! CB, you really should contact Robinson before some chancer swipes the idea. Go for it! Out of curiosity, I decided to do a little statistical analysis. If my math is right, the five most recent Best New Horror volumes have included 115 stories--of which a grand total of 17 are by women. I'm not trying to pick on Stephen Jones (like Dem, I'm especially fond of his theme anthologies that mix old and new), but maybe there's still a value to anthologies that focus on women writers' (and editors') contributions to the genre. You wouldn't think it from those stats, but things have improved in the last twenty years! I vaguely remember an almighty bust up over the under-representation of female horror writers at close of the 'eighties. Matters came to some sort of head with Douglas E. Winter's Prime Evil (Bantam 1988/ Corgi, 1989), advertised as "the best in modern horror" and not a woman contributor to be found. Not sure about Women Of Darkness, but Lisa Tuttle's Skin Of The Soul: New Horror Stories By Women may even have been compiled in direct response. Only quite recently, the BFS copped it from Women In Horror Awareness - or whatever they call themselves: it's of no consequence - for some perceived misdemeanour's or other.
|
|
|
Post by cauldronbrewer on Aug 4, 2012 11:37:44 GMT
For my own part, I'd love to see someone put together a Best Weird Tales by Women Writers. Certainly some of the women who wrote for WT have received extensive attention from anthologists, but there are others who (in my opinion) are under-appreciated--and, more to the point, under-anthologized. Now there's a brilliant anthology suggestion, and such a very rewarding one to work on! CB, you really should contact Robinson before some chancer swipes the idea. Go for it! Thanks! To me, it sounds like a job for Robert Weinberg and/or the late Martin H. Greenberg, but I think I'll play around with a hypothetical table of contents (maybe retitled Great Weird Tales by Women Writers--"best" is a such tricky business). First, though, I want to read some of the stories available on the Unz.org site that you posted. For example, I want to see if Allison V. Harding's "The Underbody" trumps her "The Damp Man," which would be my pick for her right now. The blog Tellers of Weird Tales should be useful--it has extensive biographical information about many of the women who wrote for WT.
|
|
|
Post by ramseycampbell on Aug 4, 2012 12:26:57 GMT
Good luck! And I mean that straight, not ironically. But I did propose Three Women of Weird Tales - collecting all the contributions by Worrell, Harding and St Clair (and sneaking in "The Gardener" although it wasn't from WT) - to one of my publishers within the last year, but they thought it wouldn't sell.
|
|
|
Post by cauldronbrewer on Aug 4, 2012 13:45:43 GMT
Thanks, though to be honest my "hypothetical" is more along the lines of "idle dream" than "first draft of proposal." Even if it were the latter, hearing about your experience would likely put me off it. It's still fun to play with the idea, however.
It's depressing that there's apparently no market for the collected weird works of Worrell, St. Clair, and Harding, but thanks for giving it a shot. I would have purchased it!
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Aug 6, 2012 9:54:13 GMT
As welcome as a Worrell-St. Clair-Harding collection would be, you might have more luck with a multiple-authoress selection: Constable & Robinson - celebrating their recent, and i think, first ever Bookseller Industry Awards victory as Independent Publisher of the Year for 2012, so congratulations and very well done to them on that ! - certainly fancy their Mammoth's! And I think you are right. Robert Weinberg would be absolutely ideal for such a project. How about a Campbell/ Cauldron Brewer/ Weinberg dream team? (no smiley. i mean it)
Women Of Weird Tales would make for an exciting thread, but weighed against that, the not entirely remote possibility that some glory-seeker will cobbled together some public domain examples and whack then out before you can say Lulu. But if you decide to go with one, i'd certainly do my best to join in.
|
|
|
Post by cauldronbrewer on Aug 6, 2012 13:15:08 GMT
I'm not sure it would break my heart if someone else managed to pull off such a feat--they could have the glory and I'd at least get the book to read (somehow I think not much money is at stake). But I'll play around with the hypothetical TOC and then figure out whether to post it in a thread or just send it to you to get your thoughts.
Speaking of Lulu, I was once a big skeptic about print-on-demand based on a very bad experience with an omnibus Sarban edition. It was so ugly (not to mention typo-riddled) that I ended up throwing it away and ordering the old Ballantine paperbacks instead (which look great). More recently, however, I've been impressed by the quality of the Ramble House and Bruin Books editions I've bought (both presses use Lulu, I think); they're actually quite handsome.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Aug 6, 2012 14:00:23 GMT
i'd better clarify that! The Black Book's Of Horror are, i believe Lulu's, and no question, they're my favourite series of the past five-six years. There's so obviously much love, toil and effort gone into 'em as, i've no doubt, is the case with the Ramble Houses, Bruin, probably hundreds of imprints i've not even heard of, and a number that do nothing for me at all. I'm thinking strictly in terms of the shoddy likes of the 'Sarban' you mention, but it's as much a side-swipe ... Maybe later, but i'd best get the wording very right before committing it to the internet! I'll play around with the hypothetical TOC and then figure out whether to post it in a thread or just send it to you to get your thoughts. whichever you prefer, i'll be made up either way.
|
|
|
Post by cauldronbrewer on Aug 6, 2012 15:54:46 GMT
i'd better clarify that! The Black Book's Of Horror are, i believe Lulu's, and no question, they're my favourite series of the past five-six years. I really, really need to get around to buying these.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Aug 7, 2012 8:12:42 GMT
i'd better clarify that! The Black Book's Of Horror are, i believe Lulu's, and no question, they're my favourite series of the past five-six years. I really, really need to get around to buying these. They certainly have their moments. The word on the street is that The 9th Black Book Of Horror will soon be upon us, but best wait until Dr. Terror sees fit to confirm or deny.
|
|