Peter Crowther | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 July 1949[1] Leeds, England |
| Occupation | Writer, editor, publisher |
| Nationality | British |
| Genre | Speculative fiction, sci-fi, fantasy |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Notable works | Founder and editor of PS Publishing, Postscripts |
| Notable awards | World Fantasy Special Award—Professional (2004) World Fantasy Special Award—Professional (2008) |
Peter Crowther (born 4 July 1949) is a British journalist, short story writer, novelist, editor, publisher and anthologist. He is a founder (with Simon Conway) of PS Publishing, which began in 1998.[2] He edits a series of themed anthologies of science fiction short stories published by DAW Books. He is also the editor of Postscripts, an anthology established in 2004, which has since 2012 released the Exotic Gothic series, including Vol. 4 and 5.[3]
Crowther received the 2023 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.[4][5] He has won a variety of British Fantasy Awards, primarily as editor.[6] He's also a two-time winner of the World Fantasy Special Award—Professional.[4][7]
Crowther's short stories are generally in the horror or fantasy genre. His first published science fiction was "The Antique Restorer" in Science Fiction Monthly for September 1975.[2] The stories are included in several collections.
Bibliography
[edit]Series
[edit]Forever Twilight
[edit]- Book One: Darkness, Darkness (2002)*
- Book Two: Windows of the Soul (2009)*
* significantly expanded into Darkness Falling, The Forever Twilight (2011, Angry Robot)[8] – ISBN 978-0857661685
Standalone novels
[edit]- Escardy Gap (1996) (with James Lovegrove) – ISBN 978-0671016050
- After Happily Ever (2000) (with Gillian Roberts) (Cassette) – ISBN 978-1552046432
- By Wizard Oak (2011) – ISBN 978-0979505485
Chapbook form
[edit]- Forest Plains (1996)
- Fugue on a G-String (1998)
- The Hand That Feeds (1999) (with James Lovegrove)
- Gandalph Cohen and the Land at the End of the Working Day (2000)
- All We Know of Heaven (2001) – ISBN 978-1842990322
Collections of short stories
[edit]- The Longest Single Note and Other Strange Compositions (1999) – ISBN 978-1881475569
- Lonesome Roads (1999) – ISBN 978-0953146819
- Cold Comforts (2001) (CDRom)
- Songs of Leaving (2004)
- The Spaces Between the Lines (2007)
- The Land at the End of the Working Day (2008)
- Jewels in the Dust (2013)[9]
- Things I Didn't Know My Father Knew (2021)
Short stories
[edit]- Blue Christmas (1991)
- Constant Companion (1992)
- The Visitor (1992)
- Fallen Angel (1993)
- Rustle (1993)
- Morning Terrors (1994)
- All We Know of Heaven (1995)
- Bindlestiff (1995)
- A Breeze from a Distant Shore (1995)
- Conundrums to Guess (1995)
- Home Comforts (1995)
- The Invasion (1995)
- Too Short a Death (1995)
- The Bachelor (1996)
- The Fairy Trap (1996)
- Halfway House (1996)
- Surface Tension (1996)
- A Worse Place Than Hell (1996)
- "Boxing Day" (1997)
- The Killing of Davis-Davis (1997)
- The Last Vampire (1997)
- Palindromic (1997)
- Safe Arrival (1997)
- Three Plays a Quarter (1997)
- Tomorrow Eyes (1997)
- The Unbetrayable Reply (1997)
- Elmer (1998)
- Front-Page McGuffin and the Greatest Story Never Told (1998)
- "The Musician of Bremen, GA" (1998)
- Some Burial Place, Vast and Dry (1998)
- Cat On an Old School Roof (1999)
- The Hand that Feeds (1999) (with James Lovegrove)
- Late Night Pick-up (1999)
- Old Delicious Burdens (1999)
- Setting Free the Daughters of Earth (1999)
- Shatsi (1999)
- "Circling the Drain" (2000)
- Dream a Little Dream for Me... (2000)
- Songs of Leaving (2000)
- Bernard Boyce Bennington And the American Dream (2001)
- "Things I Didn't Know My Father Knew" (2001)
- "Breathing in Faces" (2002)
- "Jewels in the Dust" (2004"
- "The Doorway in Stephenson's Store" (2005)
- "Thoughtful Breaths" (2006)
Anthologies edited by Crowther
[edit]- Narrow Houses (1992) – ISBN 978-0316903950
- Narrow Houses Vol 2: Touch Wood (1993) – ISBN 978-0316907323
- Narrow Houses Vol 3: Blue Motel (1994) – ISBN 978-1565049222
- Heaven Sent: 18 Glorious Tales of the Angels (1995) – ISBN 978-0886776565
- Tombs (1996) – ISBN 978-1565049055
- Dante's Disciples (1997) – ISBN 978-1565049079
- Destination Unknown (1997) – ISBN 978-1565049413
- Tales in Time (1997) – ISBN 978-1565049895
- Tales in Space (1998) – ISBN 978-1565048676
- Moon Shots (1999) – ISBN 978-0886778484
- Foursight (1999) – ISBN 978-0575068704
- Taps and Sighs (1999) – ISBN 978-1892284372
- Foursight Vol 2: Futures (2000) – ISBN 978-0575070233
- Mars Probes (2002) – ISBN 978-0756400880
- Foursight Vol 3: Infinities (2002) – ISBN 978-0575073555
- Foursight Vol. 4: Cities (2003) – ISBN 978-0575075047
- Foursight Vol. 5: Fourbodings (2005) – ISBN 978-1587670909
- Constellations (2005) – ISBN 978-0756402341
- Forbidden Planets (2006) – ISBN 978-0756403300
- We Think, Therefore We Are (2009) – ISBN 978-0756405335
Literary awards
[edit]| Year Presented | Society | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | World Fantasy Convention | World Fantasy Awards (1993) | Anthology | Narrow Houses | Nominated | [10][5] |
| 1998 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (1998) | Short Story | "Even Beggars Would Ride" (with James Lovegrove) | Nominated | [5] |
| 2000 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2000) | Best Collection | Lonesome Roads | Won | [6] |
| 2000 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2000) | Short Fiction | "The Hand that Feeds" | Nominated | [5] |
| 2001 | World Fantasy Convention | World Fantasy Awards (2001) | Special – Non-Pro | PS Publishing | Nominated | [11] |
| 2001 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2001) | Small Press | PS Publishing | Won | [6] |
| 2002 | World Fantasy Convention | World Fantasy Awards (2002) | Special – Non-Pro | PS Publishing | Nominated | [11] |
| 2002 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2002) | Small Press | PS Publishing | Won | [6] |
| 2002 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2002) | Anthology | Futures | Nominated | [5] |
| 2003 | International Horror Guild Award | long form | "Breathing in Faces" | Nominated | [12] | |
| 2003 | World Fantasy Convention | World Fantasy Awards (2003) | Special – Non-Pro | PS Publishing | Nominated | [11] |
| 2003 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2003) | Small Press | PS Publishing | Won | [6] |
| 2004 | World Fantasy Convention | World Fantasy Awards (2004) | Special – Pro | PS Publishing | Won | [4] |
| 2004 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2004) | Small Press | PS Publishing | Won | [6] |
| 2005 | World Fantasy Convention | World Fantasy Awards (2005) | Collection | Songs of Leaving | Nominated | [11] |
| 2005 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2005) | Small Press | PS Publishing | Nominated | [5] |
| 2005 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2005) | Small Press | Postscripts (with Nick Gevers) | Nominated | [5] |
| 2006 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2006) | Small Press | PS Publishing | Won | [6] |
| 2006 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2006) | Anthology | Fourbodings: A Quartet of Uneasy Tales from Four Members of the Macabre | Nominated | [5] |
| 2007 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2007) | Small Press | PS Publishing | Won | [6] |
| 2008 | World Fantasy Convention | World Fantasy Awards (2008) | Special – Pro | PS Publishing | Won | [4] |
| 2008 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2008) | Small Press | PS Publishing | Won | [6] |
| 2008 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2008) | Small Press | Postscripts | Nominated | [5] |
| 2009 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2009) | Best Magazine/Periodical | Postscripts (with Nick Gevers) | Won | [6] |
| 2010 | World Fantasy Convention | World Fantasy Award (2010) | Special – Pro | PS Publishing (with Nicky Crowther) | Nominated | [11] |
| 2012 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2012) | Special Award | (with Nicky Crowther) | Won | [6] |
| 2012 | British Fantasy Society | BFA (2012) | Novella | "Ghosts with Teeth" | Nominated | [5] |
| 2013 | World Fantasy Convention | World Fantasy Awards (2013) | Special – Pro | PS Publishing (with Nicky Crowther) | Nominated | [11] |
Other media
[edit]- In the television series Fear Itself, an episode of Season 1 ("Eater") is based on the short story of the same name. The same story had previously been adapted as an episode of the British horror anthology series Urban Gothic.
Cultural references
[edit]- Crowther has been mentioned in Alan Hollinghurst's 2005 novel The Line of Beauty, in the very first lines.
References
[edit]- ^ "Peter Crowther". Worlds Without End.
- ^ a b "Crowther, Peter". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ "POSTSCRIPTS". PS Publishing. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Winners". World Fantasy Awards. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "sfadb : Peter Crowther Chronology". www.sfadb.com. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Winners | The British Fantasy Society". www.britishfantasysociety.org. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
- ^ "Peter Crowther". Angry Robot. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ Detailed review by Opionator — retrieved 2013-08-04
- ^ Detailed review by Opionator — retrieved 2013-08-04
- ^ "1993: The 19th World Fantasy Convention | World Fantasy Convention". Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Nominees". World Fantasy Awards. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ "IHG Award Recipients". International Horror Guild. Retrieved 17 September 2025.