Edo van Belkom

Edo van Belkom (born 1962) is a Canadian author of horror fiction.

Early life and education

Edo van Belkom was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1962.[1] he graduated from York University with an honors degree in creative writing.[1] He worked as a full-time journalist for five years, first as a sports reporter at The Brampton Times from 1987 to 1990, then as a police reporter with the North York Mirror for two months, and then he had the position of assistant sports editor for the Cambridge Reporter.[2][3] He re-evaluated his career and his finances and then became a full-time freelance writer in 1992.[1] He has also taught short story writing for the Peel Board of Education, was an instructor at Sheridan College, and has lectured on horror and fantasy writing at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University.[1]

Early in his career, he admired writers such as Kurt Vonnegut and Ray Bradbury before deciding that the horror genre was the best fit for him.[3]

Career

Van Belkom is the author of the Dragonlance setting novel Lord Soth (1997),[1] and the novels Wyrm Wolf,[4] Mister Magick,[1] Teeth,[5] Martyrs,[6] Scream Queen,[7] Army of the Dead and Wolf Pack,[7] amongst others. He is also the editor of Aurora Awards: An Anthology of Prize-Winning Science Fiction (1999).

He has published about 200 stories[8] of science fiction, fantasy, horror and mystery in such magazines as Parsec, Storyteller, On Spec and RPM, and the anthologies Northern Frights 1, 2, 3, 4, Shock Rock 2, Fear Itself, Hot Blood 4, 6, Dark Destiny, Crossing the Line, Truth Until Paradox, Alternate Tyrants (where his story "The October Crisis" was featured), The Conspiracy Filed, Brothers of the Night, Robert Bloch's Psychos, The Year's Best Horror Stories 20 and Best American Erotica 1999.[1] His short story collection, Death Drives a Semi, which includes twenty of his stories, was published by Quarry Press in 1998.[1] His non-fiction book, Northern Dreamers: Interviews with Famous Authors of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, published by Quarry Press in 1998, has interviews with twenty-two of the best writers in Canada.[1] He also wrote a how-to book, Writing Horror.[9]

He was hired as an on-air host at Scream TV in 2001.[9]

Van Belkom has been described by the Vancouver Sun as "one of Canada's leading writers of erotica",[10] mostly under the pseudonym Evan Hollander.[10] He wrote the how-to book Writing Erotica (2001).[11]

Outside of the horror genre, for several years he wrote a magazine serial for Truck News that recounts the adventures of a former private investigator who becomes a trucker.[12]

Awards

Wyrm Wolf is a Locus bestseller and a finalist for the 1995 Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.[1] In 1997, he won the Bram Stoker Award for Short Fiction from the Horror Writers Association for "Rat Food" (co-authored with David Nickle).[1][13] His story, "The Rug" was a 1998 Stoker finalist.[1] Other stories have twice been nominated for both the Aurora Award and the Arthur Ellis Award (presented by the Crime Writers of Canada).[1] He has also won the Ontario Library Association's Silver Birch award.

Personal life

He lives in Brampton, Ontario, with his wife Roberta and son Luke.[1] Roberta is a librarian.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Edo Van Belkom". Archived from the original on February 24, 2009.
  2. ^ Malich, Rob (January 19, 1995). "Former journalist turns talents to dark world of horror stories", Toronto Star, p. BR6.
  3. ^ a b c Marchand, Philip (August 28, 2000). "Writer gets teeth into horror: A genre that has made the least inroads in Canada", Toronto Star, p. E1.
  4. ^ "Pen & Paper listing for Edo van Belkom". Archived from the original on February 27, 2005.
  5. ^ D'Ammassa, Don (November 2001). "Teeth", Science Fiction Chronicle 22 (11): 43.
  6. ^ D'Ammassa, Don (May 2002). "Martyrs", Science Fiction Chronicle 23 (5): 39.
  7. ^ a b Doolan, Susan (July 30, 2004). "Helping local writers tap into their talent: Award-winning author Edo van Belkom will be in Innisfil next week to help aspiring writers", Barrie Examiner, p. C1.
  8. ^ Depko, Tina (October 28, 2005). "Local author writes sequel to award-winning novel", The Brampton Guardian, p. 1.
  9. ^ a b Keene, Brian (December 2001). "Oh, the horror!", Science Fiction Chronicle 22 (12): 55.
  10. ^ a b Wigod, Rebecca (June 2, 2001). "A much-published writer of erotica isn't some old guy, hunched over the keyboard, drooling", The Vancouver Sun, p. D15.
  11. ^ Moore, Kerry (May 31, 2001). "If you write about sex, don't make jokes", The Province, p. A33.
  12. ^ Taylor, Bill (September 26, 2002). "Sleuth drives a semi", Toronto Star, p. B5.
  13. ^ Volmers, Eric (March 26, 2003). "Fright king takes on horrors of rejection: Success as writer can be a long, hard road, Edo van Belkom tells Guelph students", Guelph Mercury, p. B6.