Supporting Faculty Bio

Jeffrey Ford

Part-Time Instructor of English

Education

Binghamton University

About

Born November 8, 1955 in West Islip, New York, Jeffrey Ford is an American writer in the speculative fiction tradition. He’s worked in the genres of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery, and The New Weird. He is a graduate of Binghamton University where he studied with the novelist, John Gardner.

Ford lives in Ohio and teaches writing part-time at Ohio Wesleyan University. He has also taught as a guest lecturer at the Clarion Workshop for Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers (2004 and 2012), The Antioch University Summer Writing Workshop (2013), LitReactor – 4 Week Online Horror Writing Course (2012), University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing (2011), The Richard Hugo House in Seattle, Washington, (2010).

Ford has contributed over 130 original short stories to numerous print and online magazines and anthologies – The Oxford Book of American Short Stories, Conjunctions, Puerto Del Sol, Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, MAD Magazine, Weird Tales, Clarkesworld Magazine, Tor.com, Lightspeed, Subterranean, Fantasy Magazine, Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, New Jersey Noir, Stories, The Living Dead, The Faery Reel, After, The Dark, The Doll Collection, etc. His fiction has been translated into around 20 languages and published around the world.

Novels

  • Vanitas (1988)
  • The Physiognomy (1997)
  • Memoranda (1999)
  • The Beyond (2001)
  • The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque (2002)
  • The Girl in the Glass (2005)
  • The Cosmology of the Wider World (2005)
  • The Shadow Year (2008)

Collections

  • The Fantasy Writer's Assistant (2002)
  • The Empire of Ice Cream (2006)
  • The Drowned Life (2008)
  • Crackpot Palace: Stories (2012)
  • A Natural History of Hell (2016)

Short Stories

  • “The Thyme Fiend” on TOR.com, edited by Ellen Datlow, (forthcoming) (2015).
  • “Word Doll” in The Doll Collection, edited by Ellen Datlow for TOR, (forthcoming) March (2015).
  • “The Order of the Haunted Wood” in Letters to Lovecraft, edited by Jesse Bullington for Stone Skin Press, (forthcoming) Dec. (2014).
  • “Hibbler’s Minions” in Nightmare Carnival, edited by Ellen Datlow for Dark Horse (2014).
  • “Mount Chary Galore” in Fearful Symmetries, edited by Ellen Datlow for Chizine Press (2014).
  • "La Madre Del Orro" in Dead Man's Hand, edited by John Joseph Adams, Titan Books (2014).
  • “The Prelate’s Commission” in Subterranean Magazine, edited by Jonathan Strahan, Jan. (2014).
  • "A Terror" on TOR.com, edited by Ellen Datlow, TOR, July (2013).  
  • "Rocket Ship to Hell" on TOR.com, edited by Ann VanderMeer, TOR, July (2013).
  • "Spirits of Salt" in Fearsome Journeys, edited by Jonathan Strahan, Solaris, Summer (2013).
  • "The Fairy Enterprise" in Queen Victoria's Book of Spells, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, TOR, Spring (2013).
  • "A Meeting in Oz" in Oz Reimagined, edited by John Joseph Adams and Doug Cohen, 47 North, Spring (2013).
  • "The Pittsburgh Technology" in The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination, edited by John Joseph Adams, TOR (2013).
  • "Blood Drive" in After, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, TOR (2012).
  • "The Angel Seems" in Dark Faith: Invocations, edited by Jerry Gordon and Maurice Broaddus, Apex Books (2012).
  • "A Natural History of Autumn" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July/August issue (2012). 
  • "Glass Eels" in New Jersey Noir, edited by Joyce Carol Oates, Akashic Press, (2012).
  • "The Summer Palace" in Ghosts By Gaslight, edited by Jack Dann and Nick Gevers, Harper Collins, (2011).
  • "Relic" in Dr. Lambsdhead's Cabinet of Curiosities, edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, Harper Collins, (2011).
  • "Daddy Long Legs of the Evening" in Naked City: New Tales of Urban Fantasy, edited by Ellen Datlow, St. Martin's Press, (2011).
  • "The Last Triangle" in Supernatural Noir, edited by Ellen Datlow, Dark Horse, (2011).
  • "Sit the Dead" in Teeth, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Harper Collins, (2011).
  • "Dr. Lash Remembers" in Steampunk Reloaded, edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, Tachyon Press, (2011).
  • "Down Atsion Road" in Haunted Legends, edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamamatas, TOR,   (2010).
  • "Polka-dots and Moonbeams" in Stories, edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio, Harper Collins, (2010). 
  • "Ganesha" in The Beastly Bride , edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Viking Juvenile, forthcoming (2010).
  • "86 Deathdick Road" in The Book of Dreams, edited by Nick Gevers, Subterranean Press, forthcoming (2010).
  • "The Coral Heart" in Eclipse#3, edited by Jonathan Strahan, Night Shade Books, Nov. 2, 2009. 
  • "Weiroot" in Weird Tales Magazine #353, Spring 2009. 
  • "The War Between Heaven and Hell Wallpaper" in Interfictions 2, edited by Chris Barzak and Delia Sherman, Small Beer Press, Fall 2009. 
  • "The Golden Dragon" in The Drowned Life (an original for the collection), Nov. 4th 2008. 
  • "The Seventh Expression of the Robot General" in Eclipse #2, edited by Jonathan Strahan, Night Shade Books, Nov. 15, 2008.
  • "The Dismantled Invention of Fate" in The Starry Rift, edited by Jonathan Strahan, Viking Juvenile, Apr. 17, 2008. 
  • "The Fat One" in The Drowned Life (an original for the collection), Nov. 4th 2008.
  • "After Moreau" in Clarkesworld Magazine (online), Isuue #19, 2008.
  • "The Dream of Reason" in Extraordinary Engines, edited by Nick Gevers, Solaris, Oct. 6, 2008.
  • "Daltharee" in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Ellen Datlow, Del Rey, April 9, 2008.  Also in Year's Best Fantasy #9, edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, TOR, Spring 2009.  Also in Best American Fantasy #3, edited by Kevin Brockmeier, forthcoming (2010).  Also in Year's Best Fantasy & Science Fiction 2009, edited by Richard Horton, Prime Books, forthcoming (2010). 
  • "The Manticore Spell" in Wizards, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois, Berkley, May 1, 2007.  Also in Tails of Wonder and Imagination, edited by Ellen Datlow, Night Shade Books, forthcoming (2010).
  • "The Drowned Life" in Eclipse#1, edited by Jonathan Strahan, Night Shade Books, Oct.1, 2007.  Also in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, St. Martins, Sept. 30, 2008.  Also in Best American Fantasy 2, edited by Matthew Cheney, Jeff VanderMeer and Anne VanderMeer, Prime Books, Nov. 29, 2008. Also in The Oxford Book of American Short Stories 2012.
  • ”Ariadne's Mother" in The Flash, edited by Peter Wild, Social Disease Press, Apr. 2007. 
  • "The Bedroom Light" in Inferno, edited by Ellen Datlow, TOR, Dec. 10, 2007. 
  • "A Few Things About Ants" in Journal of Mythic Arts (online), edited by Terri Windling and Midori Snyder,  2007.
  • "Quitting Dreams" with Matthew Cheney in Electric Velocipede Magazine #11, edited by John Klima, 2007.
  • "Under the Bottom of the Lake" in Subterranean Magazine #7, edited by Ellen Datlow, 2007.  Also in Year's Best Fantasy #8, edited by Kathryn Cramer and David Hartwell, Tachyon Press, 2008.
  • "The Dreaming Wind" in Coyote Road: Trickster Tales, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Viking Juvenile, July 19, 2007.  Also in Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year vol. 2, edited by Jonathan Strahan, Night Shade Books, 2007.
  • "The Way He Does It" in Electric Velocipede Magazine, Issue #10, 2006. 
  • "The Night Whiskey" in Salon Fantastique, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Running Press, Sept. 25, 2006.  Also in The Best Sceince Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Vol. #1, edited by Richard Horton, Prime Books, 2007.  Also in Year's Best Fantasy and Horror # 20, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, St. Martins, 2007. 
  • "A Man of Light" in SciFiction Magazine (online), edited by Ellen Datlow, SciFi.com, 2005.
  • "Giant Land" in Journal of Pulse Pounding Narratives Magazine #2, edited by Alex Irvine and Thom Davidsohn,  2005.
  • "The Scribble Mind" in SciFiction Magazine (online), edited by Ellen Datlow, SciFi.com, 2005.  Also in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror #19, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, St. Martins, 2006. 
  • "Figurative Synesthesia" in The Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases, edited by Jeff Vander Meer and Mark Roberts, Night Shade Books, 2005. 
  • "Euroborean Lordosis" in  The Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases, edited by Jeff Vander Meer and Mark Roberts, Night Shade Books, 2005.
  • "The Boatman's Holiday" in The Book of Voices, edited by Mike Butscher, Flame Books, March, 2005.  Also in Fantasy: Very Best of 2005, edited by Jonathan Strahan, Night Shade Books, 2006.  Also in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Oct./Nov., 2005. 
  • "Botch Town" in The Empire of Ice Cream (an original for the collection), Golden Gryphon Press, April 1, 2006.  Also in Best Short Novels, edited by Jonathan Strahan, Prime Books, 2007.  
  • "The Trentino Kid" in The Dark, edited by Ellen Datlow, TOR, 2004. 
  • "A Night in the Tropics" in Argosy Magazine #1, edited by Lou Anders, 2004.  Also in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror #18, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, 2005. 
  • "The Weight of Words" in Leviathan #3, edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Forrest Aquirre, Wild Side Press,  Aug. 19, 2004.
  • "Jupiter's Skull" in Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy, edited by Al Sarrantonio, Harper Collins, 2004. 
  • "The Annals of Eelin-Ok" in The Faerie Reel: Tales of the Twilight Realm, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Viking Juvenile, 2004. 
  • "Coffins on the River" in Polyphony #3, Edited by Jay Lake and Deborah Lane, Wheatland Press, 2003.
  • "Present From the Past" in The Silver Gryphon, edited by Marty Halpern, Golden Gryphon Press, 2003. 
  • "The Yellow Chamber" in Trampoline, edited by Kelly Link, Small Beer Press, 2003. 
  • "The Empire of Ice Cream" in SciFiction Magazine (online), edited by Ellen Datlow, 2003.  Also in Nebula Award Showcase, edited by Jack Dann, Roc, March 1, 2005.  Also in Starship Sofa Anthology, edited by Tony Smith, StarShipSofa, Fall 2009.  Also in The New Fantasy, edited by Peter Beagle, Tachyon Press, forthcoming (2010). 
  • "The Beautiful Gelreesh" in Album Zutique, edited by Jeff VanderMeer, Ministry of Whimsy Press, March 1, 2003. 
  • "Spicy Detective #3" in Journal of Pulse Pounding Narratives #1, edited by Alex Irvine and Thom Davidsohn, 2002. 
  • "Something By the Sea" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, edited by Gordon Van Gelder, Oct./Nov., 2002. 
  • "The Green Word" in The Green Man: Tales From the Mythic Forest, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Viking Juvenile, May 27, 2002.  Also in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror #16, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, St. Martins, 2003.  Also in Year's Best Fantasy #3, edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, TOR, 2003. 
  • "What's Sure to Come" in Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet Magazine # 10, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, 2002.  Also in The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, Del Rey, 2007. 
  • "Creation" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, edited by Gordon Van Gelder, March, 2002.  Also in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror #16, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, St. Martins, 2003.  Also in Very Best of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction 60th Anniversary, edited by Gordon Van Gelder, Tachyon Books, 2009. 
  • "Bright Morning" in The Fantasy Writer's Assistant (an original for the collection), Golden Gryphon Press, 2002.  Also in Feeling Very Strange: A Slipstream Anthology, edited by John Kessel and James Patrick Kelly, Tachyon Books, 2006. 
  • "The Fantasy Writer's Assistant" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, edited by Gordon Van Gelder,
  • "Summer Afternoon" in Fantastic Metropolis (online), edited by Luis Rodriguez, 2001. 
  • "Floating in Lindrethool" in SciFiction Magazine (online),edited by Ellen Datlow, SciFi.com, 2001. 
  • "Out of the Canyon" in Fantastic Metropolis (online), edited by Luis Rodriguez, 2001. 
  • "Exo-Skeleton Town" in Black Gate Magazine #1, edited by John O'Neal, 2001.
  • "The Honeyed Knot" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, edited by Gordon Van Gelder, May, 2001.  Also in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror #15, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, 2002. 
  • "Horrors By Waters" in Fantastic Metropolis (online), edited by Luis Rodriguez, 2001.  Also in Breaking Windows: A Fantastic Metropolis Sampler, edited by Luis Rodriguez, Prime Books, 2003.
  • "Quiet Days in Purgatory" in Fantastic Metropolis (online), edited by Luis Rodriguez, 2001. 
  • "The Far Oasis" in SciFiction (online), edited by Ellen Datlow, SciFi.com, 2001. 
  • "High Tea With Jules Verne" in Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet Magazine #7, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, 2001. 
  • "Malthusian's Zombie" in SciFiction (online), edited by Ellen Datlow, SciFi.com, 2000.  Also in The Living Dead, edited by John Joseph Adams, Night Shade Books, 2008. 
  • "Pansolapia" in Event Horizon (online), edited by Ellen Datlow and Robert Killheffer, 2001.  Also in Digital Domains: A Decade of Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Ellen Datlow, Prime Books, forthcoming (2010). 
  • "At Reparata" in Event Horizon (online), edited by Ellen Datlow and Robert Killheffer, 2000.  Also in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror #13, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, St. Martins, 2000.  Also in The New Weird, edited by Jeff and Anne VanderMeer, Tachyon Press, 2009. 
  • "Grass Island" in Puerto Del Sol Magazine, New Mexico State University, Summer 1995. 
  • "The White Man" in Aberrations Magazine, edited by Michael Andre-Druisi, 1995.  Also in Paraspheres, edited by Rusty Morrison and Ken Keagen, Omnidawn Publishing, 1996.
  • "Rabbit Test" in MSS Magazine, edited by Robert Mooney, SUNY Binghamton, Fall 1995.
  • "On the Road to New Egypt" in Aberrations Magazine, edited by Michael Andre Druisi, 1995.  Also in Cross of Centuries: 25 Imaginative Tales About the Christ, edited by Michael Bishop, Thunders Mouth Press, May 7, 2007.  Also in Sympathy For the Devil, edited by Tim Pratt, Night Shade Books, forthcoming (2010).
  • "The Delicate" in Space & Time, edited by Gordon Linzner, 1994.
  • "The Woman Who Counts Her Breath" in The Northwest Review Vol. 32 #3, 1994. 
  • "A Hole in the Day" in Space & Time, edited by Gordon Linzner, Fall 1993.
  • "Every Richie There Is" in Puerto Del Sol, New Mexico State University, Winter 1993.
  • "The Colossus of Roads" in Kiosk, Spring 1993.
  • "The Eighth Wonder" in MSS Magazine, edited by Liz Rosenberg, SUNY Binghamton, Fall 1992.
  • "Couch Dancing" in Kiosk, Spring 1992.
  • "The Place Where nothing Moved" in Timbuktu, Spring 1991.
  • "Eclipse" in The Nantucket Review, (?).  Also in Buffalo Spree Magazine, Winter 1991.
  • "The Last Half" in Hayden's Ferry Review, Arizona State University, Fall 1990.
  • "The Cosmology of the Wider World" in MSS Magazine, edited by Liz Rosenberg, SUNY Binghamton, 1990.
  • "The Alchemist, Becalmed At Sea" in Space & Time, edited by Gordon Linzner, Summer 1989.
  • "Never" in Hayden's Ferry Review, Arizona State University, Spring 1989.
  • "Rose Country" in Timbuktu, Spring 1989.
  • "The Master of Fiction" in MSS Magazine Vol. VI #2, edited by Liz Rosenberg, SUNY Binghamton, 1988.
  • "Rapture of the Deep" in MSS Magazine Vol. IV #3, SUNY Binghamton, edited by Liz Rosenberg, 1985. 
  • "Legacy" in MSS Magazine Vol. III #2 and #3, edited by John Gardner and Liz Rosenberg, SUNY Binghamton, 1984. 
  • "The Casket" in MSS Magazine, edited by John Gardner, Fall/Winter 1981.

Non-Fiction

  • Introduction to Will Ludwigsen’s short story collection, In Search Of, Lethe Press, 2013.
  • Introduction to John Langan's short story collection, The Wide Carnivorous Sky, Hippocampus Press, 2013.
  • Introduction to Michael Cisco's novel, The Traitor, Cenitpede Press, 2012.
  • Introduction to Ekaterina Sedia's short story collection, Moscow, But Dreaming, Prime Books, 2012.
  • Introduction to David Herter's novel, October Dark, Earthling Books, November 2009.
  • Introduction to Robert Wexler's novel, The Painting and the City, PS Publishing, UK, 2008.
  • Essay on "The Metaphysics of Fiction Writing" included in end matter with story collection, The Drowned Life, 2008.
  • Essay on "Anatomy of Sleep" by Shelley Jackson for online magazine, Heliotrope, Fall 2007.
  • Essay "I Love a Mystery" for LitBlog Co-op site, May 4, 2006.
  • Introduction to Richard Bowes' story collection, Streetcar Dreams, PS Publishing, UK, 2006.
  • Essay on "Lull" by Kelly Link for online magazine Fantastic Metropolis, Jan. 1, 2005.
  • Introduction to John Gardner's Grendel, Fantasy Masterworks Series #41, Gollancz, UK, 2004
  • Introduction to Jeff VanderMeer's story collection, Secret Life, Golden Gryphon Press, 2004.
  • Essay on "The Man Upstairs" by Ray Bradbury for Fantastic Metropolis, Dec. 27, 2004.
  • Essay on "The Friends of the Friends" by Henry James for Fantastic Metropolis, Dec. 24, 2004.
  • Essay on "The Hell Screen" by Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Fantastic Metropolis, Dec. 21, 2004.
  • Introduction to Lucius Shepard's short novel, Floater, PS Publishing, UK, 2003.
  • Curiosities Column, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, on The Other Side of the Mountain by Michel Bernanos, June 2000.
  • Curiosities Column, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, on Katter Murr by E. T. A. Hoffmann, April 1999.

Critical Recognition

Ford’s novels and stories have been favorably reviewed in The New York Times (The Physiognomy was a NYT Notable Book of the Year), The Washington Post, The LA Times, Salon.com, The Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, and have garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, etc.

Award Nominations

His stories and novels have been nominated multiple times for the World Fantasy Award, the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award, the International Horror Guild Award, the Fountain Award, Shirley Jackson Award, the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the Locus Award, the Seiun Award (Japan), the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire (France), the Nowa Fantastyka Award (Poland), and the Hayakawa Award (Japan).

Awards

  • The Physiognomy (1998) (World Fantasy Award for novel)
  • The Fantasy Writer's Assistant (2003) (World Fantasy Award for collection)
  • "Creation" (2003) (World Fantasy Award for story)
  • "Botch Town" (2007) (World Fantasy Award for novelette)
  • "The Empire of Ice Cream" (2004) (Nebula Award for novelette)
  • "Exo-Skeleton Town" (2005) (Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for translated story)
  • "The Annals of Eelin-Ok" (2005) (The Fountain Awardfor excellence in the short story)
  • The Girl in the Glass (2005) (Edgar Allan Poe Award for Paperback Original)
  • “The Empire of Ice Cream” (2005) (Hyakawa Award for translated story)
  • The Shadow Year (2009) (World Fantasy Award for novel)
  • The Shadow Year (2008) (Shirley Jackson Award for novel)
  • The Drowned Life (2009) (World Fantasy Awards for collection)
  • “A Natural History of Autumn” (2012) (Shirley Jackson Award for story)
  • Crackpot Palace (2012) (Shirley Jackson Award for collection)