Scott Edelman has published nearly 125 short stories in magazines such as Analog, Lightspeed, Apex, and The Twilight Zone, and in anthologies such as You, Human, The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Crossroads, MetaHorror, Once Upon a Galaxy, Moon Shots, Mars Probes, Forbidden Planets. His poetry has appeared in Asimov’s, Amazing, Dreams and Nightmares, and others.
His most recent short story collection is Things That Never Happened, published September 2020 by Cemetery Dance. Of the book, Publishers Weekly wrote: “His talent is undeniable.”
Prior to that, Tell Me What You Done Before (and Other Stories Written on the Shoulders of Giants), was released November 2018 by Lethe Press. What Will Come After, a collection of his zombie fiction, and What We Still Talk About, a collection of his science fiction stories, were both published in 2010. He has been a Stoker Award finalist eight times, in the categories of both Short Story and Long Fiction. Additionally, What Will Come After was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award.
Additionally, Edelman worked for the Syfy Channel for more than thirteen years, most recently as the Editor of Blastr. He was the founding editor of Science Fiction Age, which he edited during its entire eight-year run. He has also edited other genre magazines such as Sci-Fi Universe and Sci-Fi Flix, as well as non-genre magazines such as Satellite Orbit and Rampage. He has been a four-time Hugo Award finalist for Best Editor.
He worked as an assistant editor for Marvel Comics starting in the early ’70s, writing everything from display copy for superhero Slurpee cups to the famous Bullpens Bulletins pages. While there, he edited the Marvel-produced fan magazine FOOM (Friend of Ol’ Marvel). He also wrote trade paperbacks such as The Captain Midnight Action Book of Sports, Health and Nutrition and The Mighty Marvel Fun Book number four and five.
In 1976, he left staff to go freelance, and worked for both Marvel and DC. His scripts appeared in Captain Marvel, Master of Kung Fu, Omega the Unknown, Time Warp, House of Mystery, Weird War Tales, Welcome Back, Kotter and others.
Repenting of his ways, he attending the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop to wash the bombast from his brain. He later wrote about his experience in the comic book field for a series on Ethics in The Comics Journal that covered sexual discrimination, artistic morality and other topics in such installments as “Stan Lee was my Co-Pilot” and “With Great Power, But No Responsiblity.”
From 1983 through 1986, he published and edited five issues of the critically acclaimed Last Wave, which had numerous stories either reprinted or favorably noted in many of the field’s best-of-the-year anthologies.
His first novel, The Gift, published in 1990 by Space and Time, quickly sold out of its first edition and went back to press for a second printing. The Gift was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award in the category of Best Gay SF/Fantasy Novel.
His writing for television includes Saturday morning cartoon work for Hanna Barbera and treatments for the syndicated TV show Tales from the Darkside (the episodes “Fear of Floating,” “Baker’s Dozen” and “My Ghost Writer, the Vampire”).
His book reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Review of Science Ficton, and Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review.
He has at various times served on the juries for both the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards Short Fiction jury and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. He has been the Editor in Residence at the Clarion SF Workshop in 1999 and 2003, and the Guest Editor at the Odyssey Writers Workshop in 1999. He was the Toastmaster for the 2000 Nebula Awards ceremony and a Guest of Honor at the 2018 World Fantasy Convention.
Additionally, he is the host of the Eating the Fantastic interview podcast, which since February 2016 has allowed listeners to eavesdrop on his meals with creators of science fiction, fantasy, horror, comics, and more.