Michael Ashley (born 1948) is a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 bibliographer, author and editor of science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

, mystery

Mystery fiction

Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...

, and fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

.

He edits the long-running Mammoth Book series of short story anthologies, each arranged around a particular theme in mystery, fantasy, or science fiction. He has a special interest in fiction magazines and has written a multi-volume History of the Science Fiction Magazine and a study of British fiction magazine The Age of the Storytellers. He won the Edgar Award

Edgar Award

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...

 for The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction. In addition to the books listed below he edited and prepared for publication the novel The Enchantresses (1997) by Vera Chapman

Vera Chapman

Vera Chapman , also known as Vera Ivy May Fogerty, and within the Tolkien Society as Belladonna Took, was an author and founder of the first Tolkien Society, and also wrote a number of pseudo-historical and Arthurian books.-Life:...

. He has contributed to many reference books including The Encyclopedia of Fantasy

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy is a 1997 reference work on fantasy, edited by John Clute and John Grant. Other contributors include Mike Ashley, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, David Langford, Sam J. Lundwall, Michael Scott Rohan, Brian Stableford and Lisa Tuttle.The book was well-received upon...

, and wrote the book to accompany the British Library's exhibition, Taking Liberties in 2008.

He lives in Chatham, Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

The Mammoth Book series

• The Mammoth Book of Short Horror Novels (1988)
• The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits (1993)
• The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives (1995)
• The Mammoth Book of Fairy Tales (1997)
• The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures (1997)
• The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy (1998)
• The Mammoth Book of Arthurian Legends (1998)
• The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens (1998) This was the US title for British Monarchs
• The Mammoth Book of Men o' War (1999)
• The Mammoth Book of Seriously Comic Fantasy (1999). Published in the US as The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy II
• The Mammoth Book of Sword and Honor (2000)
• The Mammoth Book of Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Crimes (2000)
• The Mammoth Book of Awesome Comic Fantasy (2001)
• The Mammoth Book of Hearts of Oak (2001). Published in the US as The Mammoth Book of Sea Battles (2001)
• The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits (Volume 2) (2001). Published in the US as The Mammoth Book of More Historical Whodunnits
• The Mammoth Book of Fantasy (2001)
• The Mammoth Book of Science Fiction (2002)
• The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction (2002)
• The Mammoth Book of Egyptian Whodunnits (2002)
• The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits (2003)
• The Mammoth Book of Roaring Twenties Whodunnits (2004)
• The Mammoth Book of Sorcerer's Tales (2004)
• The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy (2005)
• The Mammoth Book of New Jules Verne Adventures (2005) (with Eric Brown)
• The Mammoth Book of King Arthur (2005)
• The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits: Third New Collection (2005). Published in the US as The Mammoth Book of New Historical Whodunnits (2005)
• The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy: Fourth All-New Collection(2005). Published in the US as The Mammoth Book of New Comic Fantasy
• The Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction
  The Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction
  The Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction is a science fiction anthology edited by Mike Ashley that was originally published in 2006 in the United Kingdom by Robinson, an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd. It was reprinted in the United States, also in 2006, by Carroll & Graf, and imprint of...
  
   (2006)
• The Mammoth Book of Jacobean Whodunnits (2006)
• The Mammoth Book of Perfect Crimes and Impossible Mysteries (2006)
• The Mammoth Book of Dickensian Whodunnits (2007)
• The Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy (2008)

Smarties series

• All the Incredible Facts You Ever Need to Know (1999). Later split into two books as Wacky World (2001) and Hairy Humans (2001)
• Incredible Monsters (2000). Later split into two books as Beautiful Beasties (2001) and Deadly Dinosaurs (2001)

Story of the Science Fiction Magazines series

original anthologies

• The History of the Science Fiction Magazine, Part One: 1926–1935 (1974)
• The History of the Science Fiction Magazine, Part Two: 1936–1945 (1975)
• The History of the Science Fiction Magazine, Part Three: 1946–1955 (1976)
• The History of the Science Fiction Magazine, Part Four: 1956–1965 (1978)

revised and expanded as reference works

• The Time Machines. The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazines from the Beginning to 1950 (2000)
• Transformations. The Story of the Science Fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970 (2005)
• Gateways to Forever. The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1970 to 1980 (2007)

Other reference books

• Who's Who in Horror and Fantasy Fiction (1977)
• Fantasy Readers' Guide No. 1: The John Spencer Fantasy Publications (1979)
• The Seven Wonders of the World (1979)
• Fantasy Readers' Guide No. 2: The File on Ramsey Campbell (1980)
• The Complete Index to Astounding/Analog (1981)
• The Writings of Barrington J. Bayley (1981)
• The Illustrated Book of Science Fiction Lists (1982)
• Monthly Terrors (1985) (with Frank H. Parnell)
• Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines (1985) (with Marshall B. Tymn)
• Algernon Blackwood
  Algernon Blackwood
  Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T...
  
  : A Bio-Bibliography (1987)*
• The Work of William F. Temple (1994)
• The Supernatural Index (1995) (with William G. Contento)
• The Life and Times of King Arthur (1996)
• British Monarchs (1998). Published in the US as The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens. Subsequently edited and reissued as A Brief History of British Kings and Queens (2002)
• Starlight Man: The Extraordinary Life of Algernon Blackwood
  Algernon Blackwood
  Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T...
  
   (2001). Published in the US as Algernon Blackwood: An Extraordinary Life.
• The Gernsback Days: The Evolution of Modern Science Fiction from 1911–1936 (2004) (with Robert A. W. Lowndes
  Robert A. W. Lowndes
  Robert Augustine Ward "Doc" Lowndes was an American science fiction author, editor and fan. He was known best as the editor of Future Science Fiction, Science Fiction, and Science Fiction Quarterly, among many other crime-fiction, western, sports-fiction, and other pulp and digest-sized magazines...
  
  )
• The Age of the Story Tellers: British Popular Fiction Magazines 1880–1950 (2006)
• Taking Liberties (2008)

Arthurian Anthologies

• The Pendragon Chronicles: Heroic Fantasy from the Time of King Arthur (1990)
• The Camelot Chronicles: Heroic Adventures from the Time of King Arthur (1992)
• The Merlin Chronicles (1995)
• Chronicles of the Holy Grail (1996). Also published as Quest for the Holy Grail (1997).
• The Chronicles of the Round Table (1997). Also published as Tales of the Round Table (1997).

Other anthologies or single-author collections

• Souls in Metal: an Anthology of Robot Futures (1977)
• Weird Legacies (1977)
• SF Choice '77 (1977)
• The Best of British SF in 2 volumes (1977)
• Mrs. Gaskell's Tales of Mystery and Horror (1978)
• Jewels of Wonder (1981)
• Algernon Blackwood
  Algernon Blackwood
  Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T...
  
  's Tales of the Supernatural (1983)
• Crypt of Cthulhu #62 (1989). Guest edited special issue dedicated to Robert A. W. Lowndes
  Robert A. W. Lowndes
  Robert Augustine Ward "Doc" Lowndes was an American science fiction author, editor and fan. He was known best as the editor of Future Science Fiction, Science Fiction, and Science Fiction Quarterly, among many other crime-fiction, western, sports-fiction, and other pulp and digest-sized magazines...
  
  .
• Robert E. Howard
  Robert E. Howard
  Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
  
  's World of Heroes (1989)
• The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories by Algernon Blackwood
  Algernon Blackwood
  Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T...
  
   (1989)
• When Spirits Talk (1990)
• The Giant Book of Myths and Legends (1995)
• Classical Stories (1996). Revised and expanded as The Giant Book of Heroic Adventure Stories (1997)
• Classical Whodunnits: Murder And Mystery from Ancient Greece And Rome (1996)
• Space Stories (1996). Published in the US as The Random House Book of Science Fiction Stories (1997)
• Fantasy Stories (1996). Published in the US as The Random House Book of Fantasy Stories (1997) *Shakespearean Whodunnits (1997)
• Shakespearean Detectives (1998)
• Royal Whodunnits: Tales of Right, Royal Murder And Mystery (1999)
• Phantom Perfumes and Other Shades: Memories of Ghost Stories Magazine (2000)
• A Haunting Beauty (2000). Collection of stories by Charles Birkin
  Charles Birkin
  Sir Charles Lloyd Birkin, 5th Baronet was an English author of horror short stories and the editor of the Creeps Library of anthologies...
  
  .
• The Merriest Knight: The Collected Arthurian Tales of Theodore Goodridge Roberts
  Theodore Goodridge Roberts
  Theodore Goodridge Roberts was a Canadian novelist and poet. He was the author of thirty-four novels and over one hundred published stories and poems.He was the brother of poet Charles G.D...
  
   (2001)
• The Mirror and Other Strange Reflections (2002). Collection of stories by Arthur Porges
  Arthur Porges
  Arthur Porges [pórdžIs], was an American author of numerous short stories, most notably in the 1950s and 1960s, though he continued to write and publish stories until his death.-Life:...
  
  .
• Thing of Darkness (2006). Collection of stories by G. G. Pendarves compiled with John Pelan
  John Pelan
  John C. Pelan is an American author, editor and publisher in the small press science-fiction, weird and horror fiction genres.He first founded Axolotl Press in 1986 and published several volumes by authors such as Tim Powers, Charles de Lint, Michael Shea and James P. Blaylock. Following this, he...
  
  .
• Great American Ghost Stories (2008)
• Unforgettable Ghost Stories by Women Writers (2008)
• Dreams and Wonders: Stories from the Dawn of Modern Fantasy (August 2010, ISBN 0-486-47775-4)
• The Duel of Shadows: The Extraordinary Cases of Barnabas Hildreth (2011) by Vincent Cornier

External links

• "Mike Ashley: researching the fantastic: an interview by Iain Rowan"
• "Starlight, Jelly and Shadows, Mike Ashley: interviewed by Andrew Hedgecock"
• http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/mike-ashley/