DATLOW, Ellen (Sue)

(1949-)

   US editor, fiction editor of Omni from Oct 1981, and editor of two sequences of spin-off anthologies from that magazine 1983-9 (OMNI for details); Omni Visions One (anth 1993) and Omni Visions Two (anth 1994), on the other hand, contain mostly original stories. The combination of a decent budget and good critical taste have made ED one of the more influential US sf (and fantasy) editors, and she has by no means restricted her story-buying to work from already established writers. Aside from the Omni anthologies she has edited Blood is Not Enough: 17 Stories of Vampirism (anth 1989)Alien Sex (anth 1990), a strong collection of both sf and fantasy (SEX); A Whisper of Blood (anth 1991) and Little Deaths: 24 Tales of Sex and Horror (anth 1994 UK; cut 1995 US). With Terri WINDLING ED has edited the Year's Best Fantasy anthology series: The Year's Best Fantasy: First Annual Collection (anth 1988; vt Demons and Dreams: The Best Fantasy and Horror 1 UK), The Year's Best Fantasy: Second Annual Collection (anth 1989; vt Demons and Dreams 2 UK), \#3 (anth 1990), \#4 (anth 1991),\#5 (1992), \#6 (anth 1993) and \#7 (anth 1994). These are certainly the best of their kind - the first two won World Fantasy AWARDS - being very big, very wide-ranging and intelligently selected; ED mainly looks after the horror, Windling the fantasy. This division of responsibilities is less apparent in Snow White, Blood Red (anth 1993) and Black Thorn, White Rose (anth 1994), two linked anthologies comprising original stories, all twice-told re-visions of traditional folk material.

   PN