Ed Gorman (writer) (original) (raw)

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American novelist (born 1941)

Ed Gorman
Ed Gorman and Steven Philip Jones at MysteryCat BooksEd Gorman and Steven Philip Jones at MysteryCat Books
Born Edward Joseph Gorman Jr.(1941-11-02)November 2, 1941Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.
Died October 14, 2016(2016-10-14) (aged 74)Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.
Pen name Daniel Ransom, E.J. Gorman
Occupation Writer
Period 1984–present
Genre Mystery, horror fiction, western fiction, crime fiction
Notable awards Spur Award, Best Short Fiction (1992)Anthony Award, Best Critical Work, The Fine Art Of Murder (1994)Life Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of AmericaInternational Horror Writers Award

Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. (November 2, 1941 – October 14, 2016) was an American writer and short fiction anthologist. He published in almost every genre, but is best known for his work in the crime, mystery, western, and horror fields. His non-fiction work has been published in such publications as The New York Times and Redbook.

He contributed to many magazines and other publications, including Xero, Black Lizard, Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and the anthology Tales of Zorro.

Gorman was born and grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he spent much of his adult life as well. He lived for extended periods in Des Moines, Iowa; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Chicago, Illinois. He was married twice, first to Catherine Anne Stevens for seven years. He next married Carol Gorman (née Maxwell), an award-winning children's and young adult author. They were married thirty-four years until his death in 2016.

After twenty-three years in advertising, public relations, writing political speeches and producing industrial films, Gorman published his first novel Rough Cut (1984). Soon after he quit his day job and dedicated himself to writing full-time (thanks to his wife Carol's full-time teaching job).

Gorman considered himself a genre writer. In the 1970s Gorman won a short story contest sponsored by Charles Scribner & Sons. An editor there suggested he expand his winning story into a mainstream novel, but Gorman gave up after six months, saying, “I was bored out of my mind. I am a genre writer.”[1]

Gorman's novels and stories are often set in small Midwestern towns, such as the fictional Black River Falls, Iowa (the Sam McCain series), or Cedar Rapids, Iowa (The Night Remembers). For his Dev Conrad series, Gorman drew upon his years as a political operative.

Gorman was one of the founders of Mystery Scene magazine, and served as editor and publisher until 2002. His column, “Gormania,” continues to appear regularly in its pages.

In comics, he has written for DC, Dark Horse, and most recently Short, Scary Tales, which will be publishing adaptations of his novel Cage of Night (as Cage of Night) and the short story "Stalker" (as Gut-Shot).

Kirkus Reviews has called him "One of the most original crime writers around." The Bloomsbury Review noted: "He is the poet of dark suspense." The Oxford Book of American Crime Stories said: "His novels and stories provide fresh ideas, characters and approaches." Jon Breen at Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine once noted, "Ed Gorman has the same infallible readability as writers like Lawrence Block, Max Allan Collins, Donald E. Westlake, Ed McBain, and John D. MacDonald."

Though Gorman was long considered to be a "prolific" writer, his pace of production slowed markedly after he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002; it was incurable but he fought it for 14 years.

Work Year & Award Category Result Ref.
Turn Away 1988 Anthony Awards Short Story Finalist
Stalkers (with Martin H. Greenberg) 1990 Locus Awards Anthology Nominated [2]
Prisoners 1991 Edgar Awards Short Story Shortlisted
Cat Crimes (with Martin H. Greenberg) 1991 Anthony Awards Short Story Collection/Anthology Nominated [3]
The Face 1992 Spur Award Short Fiction Won
1994 Locus Awards Short Story Nominated [4]
The Fine Art Of Murder: The Mystery Reader's Indispensable Companion (with Martin H. Greenberg & Larry Segriff) 1993 Agatha Award Non-Fiction Finalist
1994 Macavity Awards Mystery Non-Fiction Won
1994 Anthony Awards Critical Work Won
Criminal Intent I (with Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini) 1994 Anthony Awards Short Story Collection/Anthology Nominated [5]
One of Those Days, One of Those Nights 1995 Anthony Awards Short Story Finalist
Cages 1995 Bram Stoker Award Fiction Collection Nominated
1995 International Horror Guild Award Collection Won [6]
Cat Crimes Takes A Vacation (with Martin H. Greenberg) 1996 Anthony Awards Short Story Collection Nominated [7]
Speaking of Murder (with Martin H. Greenberg) 1998 Agatha Award Non-Fiction Finalist
1999 Macavity Awards Mystery Non-Fiction Finalist
The Dark Fantastic 2001 Bram Stoker Award Fiction Collection Nominated
Star Colonies (with Martin H. Greenberg) 2001 Locus Award Anthology Nominated [8]
2011 Shamus Award Lifetime Achievement Award Won

His novel The Poker Club was adapted as a film in 2008 by director Tim McCann. His short stories “The Long Silence After” and “The Ugly File” were adapted as short films. In 2016, rights to his novel Cage of Night and short story “Stalker” were bought for adaptation as graphic novels, to be published by Short, Scary Tales.

Novels and short story

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Short story collections

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Uncollected Short Stories

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Dev Conrad Series

  1. Sleeping Dogs (Thomas Dunne Books, 2008)
  2. Stranglehold (Minotaur Books, 2010)
  3. Blindside (Severn House, 2012)
  4. Flashpoint (Severn House, 2013)
  5. Elimination (Severn House, 2015)
  6. Rough Cut (1985)
  7. New Improved Murder (1985)
  8. Murder Straight Up (1986)
  9. Murder in the Wings (1986)
  10. The Autumn Dead (1987)
  11. A Cry of Shadows (1990)
  12. What the Dead Men Say (1990)
  13. The Reason Why (1992)
  1. Murder in the Aisle (1987)
  2. Several Deaths Later (1988)
  3. The Night Remembers (1991)

Robert Payne Series

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  1. Blood Moon (UK title Blood Red Moon) (1994)
  2. Hawk Moon (1995)
  3. Harlot's Moon (1998)
  4. Voodoo Moon (2000)
  5. The Day the Music Died (1999)
  6. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (2000)
  7. Wake Up Little Susie (2001)
  8. Save the Last Dance for Me (2002)
  9. Everybody's Somebody's Fool (2004)
  10. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (2004)
  11. Fools Rush In (2007)
  12. Ticket to Ride (2009)
  13. Bad Moon Rising (2011)
  14. Riders on the Storm (Pegasus Crime, 2014)

Dean Koontz Frankenstein series

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From Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series (they are co-authored by Dean Koontz):

As Robert David Chase

  1. ^ Gorman, Ed (2014). Scream Queen and Other Tales of Menace. Perfect Crime Books. p. 219. ISBN 9781935797548.
  2. ^ https://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_1990
  3. ^ https://www.bouchercon.com/anthonys-1990-1994
  4. ^ https://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_1994
  5. ^ https://www.bouchercon.com/anthonys-1990-1994
  6. ^ https://horroraward.org/prevrec.html
  7. ^ https://www.bouchercon.com/anthonys-1995-1999
  8. ^ https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ay.cgi?28+2001