Davis, Richard
Entry updated 13 January 2025. Tagged: Author, Editor.
(1945-2005) UK author, columnist, and editor. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he worked as a story editor on two BBC Television series – Out of the Unknown (1965-1971) and the short-lived Late Night Horror – and was a columnist and film reviewer for Films & Filming. As a short story writer he wrote mostly in the horror genre, starting with "Guy Fawkes Night" in The Fourth Pan Book of Horror Stories (anth 1963) edited by Herbert van Thal. The only collection of his stories published during his lifetime was, perhaps surprisingly, the German 8 x würgender Angst ["Choking Fear Times 8"] (coll 1977), much later expanded as the posthumous The Female of the Species and Other Terror Tales (coll 2012). As an anthologist he edited the three volumes of the UK version of The Year's Best Horror Stories (see checklist), which were subsequently repackaged for the US version, as well as various other horror anthologies. In 1973 he started both the Space and the Spectre series, followed in 1975 by Armada Sci-Fi, all three of which were aimed at the Young Adult market. In the same way as the Out of This World series edited by Amabel Williams-Ellis and others in the 1960s, these three series found a ready audience among library-using teenagers in the 1970s and 1980s. [RR]
Richard Davis
born London: 27 January 1945
died 2005
works
collections
- 8 x würgender Angst ["Choking Fear Times 8"] (Germany: Pabel Publishing, 1977) [coll: pb/]
- The Female of the Species and Other Terror Tales (place not given: Shadow Publishing, 2012) [coll: rev of the above: three stories and some nonfiction added: edited by David Sutton: pb/Caroline O'Neal]
nonfiction
- I've Seen a Ghost: True Stories From Show Business (London: Hutchinson, 1979) [nonfiction: hb/]
- The Encyclopedia of Horror (London: Octopus, 1981) [nonfiction: hb/]
works as editor
series
Tandem Horror
- Tandem Horror 2 (London: Tandem, 1968) [anth: Tandem Horror: pb/]
- Tandem Horror 3 (London: Tandem, 1969) [anth: Tandem Horror: pb/]
The Year's Best Horror Stories (UK version)
- The Year's Best Horror Stories, No 1 (London: Sphere, 1971) [anth: The Year's Best Horror Stories: pb/]
- The Year's Best Horror Stories, No 2 (London: Sphere, 1972) [anth: The Year's Best Horror Stories: pb/]
- The Year's Best Horror Stories, No 3 (London: Sphere, 1973) [anth: The Year's Best Horror Stories: pb/]
The Year's Best Horror Stories (US version)
There is some overlap of content between the UK and US versions, but not enough for them to be called the same series.
- The Year's Best Horror Stories, No 1 (New York: DAW, 1972) [anth: The Year's Best Horror Stories: pb/Karel Thole]
- The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series II (New York: DAW, 1974) [anth: The Year's Best Horror Stories: pb/Hans Arnold]
- The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series III (New York: DAW, 1975) [anth: The Year's Best Horror Stories: pb/Michael Whelan]
- The First Orbit Book of Horror Stories (London: Orbit, 1976) [anth: vt of the above: The Year's Best Horror Stories: pb/]
Spectre
- Spectre (London: Abelard-Schuman, 1973) [anth: Spectre: hb/]
- Spectre 2 (London: Abelard-Schuman, 1975) [anth: Spectre: hb/]
- Spectre 3 (London: Abelard-Schuman, 1976) [anth: Spectre: hb/]
- Spectre 4 (London: Abelard-Schuman, 1977) [anth: Spectre: hb/]
Space
- Space 1 (London: Abelard-Schuman, 1973) [anth: Space: hb/]
- Space 2 (London: Abelard-Schuman, 1974) [anth: Space: hb/Terence Greer]
- Space 3 (London: Abelard-Schuman, 1977) [anth: Space: hb/]
- Space 4 (London: Abelard-Schuman, 1977) [anth: Space: hb/David Hardy]
- Space 5 (London: Hutchinson, 1979) [anth: Space: hb/]
- Space 6 (London: Hutchinson, 1980) [anth: Space: hb/]
- Space 7 (London: Hutchinson, 1981) [anth: Space: hb/David Hardy]
- Space 8 (London: Hutchinson, 1983) [anth: Space: hb/Trevor Webb]
- Space 9 (London: Hutchinson, 1985) [anth: Space: hb/Alan Daniels]
Armada Sci-Fi
- Armada Sci-Fi 1 (London: Armada, 1975) [anth: Armada Sci-Fi: pb/]
- SF 1 (London: Armada, 1980) [anth: vt of the above: Armada Sci-Fi: pb/Geoff Taylor]
- Armada Sci-Fi 2 (London: Armada, 1975) [anth: Armada Sci-Fi: pb/]
- Armada Sci-Fi 3 (London: Armada, 1976) [anth: Armada Sci-Fi: pb/]
- SF 4 (London: Armada, 1977) [anth: vt of the above: Armada Sci-Fi: pb/]
individual titles as editor
- Vincent Price Presents The Price of Fear (London: Everest Books, 1976) [anth: pb/]
- The Jon Pertwee Book of Monsters (London: Methuen, 1978) [anth: hb/George Underwood]
- Animal Ghosts (London: Hutchinson, 1980) [anth: hb/]
links
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