"The Goosle" by Margo Lanagan. Copyright © 2008 by Margo Lanagan. First published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Ellen Datlow, Del Rey Books. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Beach Head" by Daniel LeMoal. Copyright © 2008 by Daniel LeMoal. First published in On Spec, Summer, #73 volume 20 number 2. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"The Man from the Peak" by Adam Golaski. Copyright © 2008 by Adam Golaski. First published in Worse Than Myself, Raw Dog Screaming Press. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"The Narrows " by Simon Bestwick. Copyright © 2008 by Simon Bestwick. First published in We Fade to Grey, edited by Gary McMahon, Pendragon Press. Reprinted by permission of the author.
I'd like to dedicate this volume to James Frenkel,
packager of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror
for its twenty-one volume run.
Also, to my co-editors Terri Windling,
and then Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant.
Acknowledgements to John Kenny, Frank Ludlow, David Murphy, Eugene Myer, Sheila Williams, Brian Bieniowski, Harlan Ellison, and Charles Tan.
Thanks to Gavin J. Grant for suggesting I approach the editors at Night Shade about spinning off a new best of the year in horror annual.
I'd like to acknowledge the following magazines and catalogs for invaluable information and descriptions of material I was unable to obtain: Locus, All Hallows, Publishers Weekly, Washington Post Book World, and Prism (the quarterly journal of fantasy given with membership to the British Fantasy Society). I'd also like to thank all the editors who made sure I saw their magazines during the year, the webzine editors who provided printouts, and the book publishers who provided review copies in a timely manner. Also, the writers who sent me printouts of their stories when I was unable to acquire the magazine or book in which they appeared.