ANTHOLOGIES

There’s a stage in a writer’s career when it’s appropriate for him (or her, or, in certain cases, it) to edit an anthology. When one (ah, that’s better) has reached a certain level of public recognition, so that one’s name is likely to have a salutary effect on sales, and when one’s own talent has pretty much exhausted itself, so that one has nothing better to do with one’s time---well, voila! An anthologist is born. . .

It took me a while to dip my toe in the cool waters of Anthologorrhea, but now you can’t get me out of the pool. A lifetime’s enthusiasm for the short story makes the whole business appealing, and can there be any joy greater than adding another volume to the list of one’s works without actually having to write anything?

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DEATH CRUISE. Cumberland House, 1999. Since its inception, I've been a member and ardent supporter of the International Association of Crime Writers (AIEP--- the official acronym is from the Spanish name for the organization) and was honored to be chosen to edit this anthology. All the stories are set aboard ship, and most are originals, written for the occasion by AIEP members, many of them fine European writers whose works are unknown in the States. (There are a few reprints as well, including a gem by Agatha Christie.) Cumberland's edition is particularly attractive and well-produced.

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MASTER'S CHOICE. Berkley, 1999. Winner of the 2001 Anthony Award for Best Anthology/Short Story Collection. It's usually interesting to learn what story a writer is most pleased to have written. And, writers being especially perceptive readers, it's just as interesting to see what they've most enjoyed reading. Thus Master's Choice, in which some leading crime writers select and introduce two stories apiece, one of their own and one they particularly admire. Peter Lovesey, Harlan Ellison, Stephen King . . . Read Otto Penzler's glowing recommendation.

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MASTER'S CHOICE 2. Berkley, October 2000. More of the same, and a great lineup: Mary Higgins Clark, Joe Gores, Reginald Hill, Evan Hunter, Joyce Carol Oates. Twenty-six stories, all gems.

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OPENING SHOTS. Cumberland House, October 2000. The first published crime stories of 19 leading crime writers, including Donald E Westlake, Joan Hess, Minette Walters, Susan Isaacs, David Morrell, Simon Brett, and Dorothy Salisbury Davis. Again, Cumberland's outstanding production job, and a beaut of a cover. As with Master's Choice, I'm hoping this will be the first of a series. After all, there are plenty of outstanding writers of short crime fiction around, and every single one of them wrote a first story. They had to start somewhere, didn't they?

I have more anthologies planned, including a series centered on the seven deadly sins. The first volume, dealing with (surprise!) Lust, should be out sometime in 2001. I’ll be writing an original novelette for each volume, and they’ll be linked. I’ll tell you more when I have more to tell you. . .

Meanwhile, here are some anthologies I didn’t edit, but which I commend to your attention for one reason or another:

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MURDER ON THE RUN. Berkley, 1998. A collection of original stories by members of the Adams Round Table. Judith Kelman, Justin Scott, Mickey Friedman, Warren Murphy, Mary Higgins Clark, Peter Straub, Joyce Harrington, Stanley Cohen, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Whitley Strieber, and Your Humble Servant, who wrote the introduction. The hardcover's still available.

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MURDER AMONG FRIENDS. Berkley, October 2000. The latest offering from the Adams Round Table. New stories from the members, including the first short story ever by Susan Isaacs. Justin Scott provides an introduction, and my contribution is "Let's Get Lost," a new Matthew Scudder story.

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BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES OF THE CENTURY. Houghton Mifflin, 2000. That's the 20th Century, not the 21st. Tony Hillerman edited the anthology, in tandem with Otto Penzler, and I'm deeply honored to be in it.

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MOTHERS AND SONS. Edited by Jill Morgan. This is a curious stew of memoirs and short stories. Of my own contribution, its subject advised me that she's really a far more interesting person than I made her out to be. She's probably right. I commend to your attention the pieces by Peter Straub and Stuart Kaminsky. They're absolutely wonderful.      9 . TRANSGRESSIONS, Forge hardcover, May 2005. 10 original novellas edited by Ed McBain. Contributors include McBain, Donald E. Westlake, Joyce Carol Oates & Walter Mosley. My novella is titled Keller's Adjustment. I'd planned to write a Burglar novella but Keller intervened and the idea I had for Bernie happily turned into The Burglar on the Prowl.     10 MEN FROM BOYS. Dark Alley trade pb, June 2005. Edited by John Harvey. 17 crime writers including Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane & George Pelecanos on rites of passage from boys to men. My story is titled Points.

11 GREATEST HITS. Carroll & Graf hardcover, Nov. 2005. Edited by Robert Randisi. 15 original stories of Hitmen, Hired Guns, and Private Eyes include shorts from Lee Child, Max Allan Collins, Jeffery Deaver, James W. Hall, and John Harvey. Mine is titled Keller's Karma.     12       MURDER AT THE FOUL LINE. Mysterious Press hardcover & trade pb, Jan 2006. Edited by Otto Penzler. 14 Original Tales of Hoop Dreams and Deaths; contributors include Robert B. Parker, George Pelecanos, Jeffrey Deaver, Laurie R. King, Mike Lupica, and R.D. Rosen.          13     MANHATTAN NOIR Akashic Press trade pb, April 2006. One of Akashic's city-themed noir series, this one I edited. All new short stories, including my "If You Can't Stand the Heat" with stories by Jeffery Deaver, Carol Lea Benjamin, Charles Ardai, Thomas H. Cook, Jim Fusilli, Maan Meyers, S.J. Rozan, Justin Scott, Xu Xi and others.         14     MURDER IN THE ROUGH Mysterious Press hardcover& trade pb, June 2006. Edited by Otto Penzler. 15 Original Tales of Bad Shots, Terrible Lies, and Other Deadly Handicaps from Today's Great Writers. My story "Welcome to the Real World" joins those by Jonathan Gash, William Tapply, Ken Bruen, Ian Rankin, Laura Lippman, Steve Hamilton, John Sandford and others.