Mike Ashley is best known as a prolific anthologist and editor, primarily of science fiction, mystery, and fantasy. His Mammoth Book Of… series alone contains over 30 titles. Lives in Chatham, North Kent, England. Anthological maestro.
“The thrill isn't in discovering forgotten fiction worthy of reprinting -- though if I can get it back into print that's a bonus. The thrill is really like getting together all the pieces of a jigsaw. What I find remarkable is how little we often know about an author's output. That's not so bad in science fiction where there have always been good indexes and bibliographies, but in general fiction (and I'd include a lot of ghost stories and fantasy in this) we do not have the complete picture…There are lots and lots of good writers and good fiction out there but it's been forgotten because those authors have dropped out of print. My intent, in producing bibliographies or anthologies or any reference work I do, is to try and redress the balance a little and shine a light back down those aisles of literature and remind people what's there.”
— Mike Ashley
