Neil Clarke (born 1966) is an American editor and publisher, best known as the founder and editor-in-chief of Clarkesworld Magazine.
In 2006, Clarke launched Clarkesworld Magazine as a companion to his online bookstore Clarkesworld Books (2000-2007). He serves as the editor-in-chief of the digital publication. Fiction published in Clarkesworld has been nominated for or won the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Locus, Ditmar, Aurealis, Shirley Jackson, WSFA Small Press and Stoker Awards. Clarkesworld has been a finalist for the Hugo Award in the Best Semiprozine category four times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013) winning in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Clarke has been a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Editor: Short Form in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.2013 Hugo Award Statistics, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved March 15, 2022 He received the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award from Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in May 2019 and won the Locus Award for Best Editor in 2024.
When Clarke closed his bookstore in 2007, he launched Wyrm Publishing, which has since published books by Gene Wolfe, Charles Stross, Catherynne M. Valente and others. Clarkesworld Magazine is currently published by Wyrm in online, digital, audio and print editions. He launched Forever Magazine in 2015 and became the editor of The SFWA Bulletin in early 2016. He edits The Best Science Fiction of the Year series for Night Shade Books. He is also the ebook designer for Cheeky Frawg Books, Prime Books, Wyrm Publishing and several magazines.
As of 2022, Clarke and his family reside in New Jersey.
Health In 2012, Clarke suffered a severe heart attack while attending Readercon, and had a defibrillator implanted. He has credited this event with having led him to become a full-time editor.About, at Neil-Clarke.com; retrieved march 14, 2022The day it nearly ended, by Neil Clarke, at Neil-Clarke.com; published July 12, 2017; retrieved March 14, 2022
Bibliography
Magazines (edited) Clarkesworld Magazine, 2006 - Forever Magazine, 2015 - The SFWA Bulletin, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, 2016 - 2019 Berlin Quarterly Issue 4, special guest fiction editor Internazionale (Guest Editor, Storie Issue), Issue 1338, December 2019
Anthologies (edited) Clarkesworld: Year Three, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2013 Clarkesworld: Year Four, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2013 Clarkesworld: Year Five, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2013 Clarkesworld: Year Six, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2014
Clarkesworld: Year Seven, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2015 Clarkesworld: Year Eight, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2016 The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 1, Night Shade Books, 2016 Galactic Empires, Night Shade Books, 2017 Touchable Unreality, China Machine Press, 2017 The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 2, Night Shade Books, 2017 More Human Than Human, Night Shade Books, 2017 The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 3, Night Shade Books, 2018 Clarkesworld: Year Nine, Volume One, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2018 Clarkesworld: Year Nine, Volume Two, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2018 The Final Frontier, Night Shade Books, 2018 Not One of Us, Night Shade Books, 2018 The Eagle has Landed, Night Shade Books, 2019 The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 4, Night Shade Books, 2019 Clarkesworld: Year Ten, Volume One, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2019 Clarkesworld: Year Ten, Volume Two, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2019 Clarkesworld: Year Eleven, Volume One, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2019 Clarkesworld: Year Eleven, Volume Two, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2019 The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 5, Night Shade Books, 2020 Clarkesworld: Year Twelve, Volume One, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2021 Clarkesworld: Year Twelve, Volume Two, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2021 The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 6, Night Shade Books, 2022 New Voices in Chinese Science Fiction, (with Xia Jia and Regina Kanyu Wang), Clarkesworld Books, 2022 The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 7, Night Shade Books, 2023 The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 8, Night Shade Books, 2024 Clarkesworld: Year Thirteen, Volume One, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2024 Clarkesworld: Year Thirteen, Volume Two, (with Sean Wallace), Wyrm Publishing, 2024
Critical studies and reviews of Clarke's work Upgraded
Awards Nominee, World Fantasy Special Award: Non-Professional, 2009, 2010, 2012 Winner, World Fantasy Special Award: Non-Professional, 2014 Finalist, Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine, 2009 Winner, Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine, 2010, 2011, 2013 Finalist, Hugo Award for Best Editor Short Form, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Winner, Hugo Award for Best Editor Short Form, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 Winner, Locus Award for Best Editor, 2024, 2025, 2026 Nominee, Chesley Award for Best Art Director, 2017, 2021 Winner, Chesley Award for Best Art Director, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2023 Recipient, The Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award, 2019
References
External links Clarkesworld Magazine Forever Magazine Wyrm Publishing Neil Clarke's Blog Video Interview with Neil Clarke for Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction (October 2013, aired June 2013) (June 2013)