Elizabeth Engstrom is an American

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

writer.

Biography

She was born Bette Lynn (Betsy) Gutzmer, but she legally changed her name to Elizabeth Engstrom a few years after publishing her first novel under that pseudonym. She is married to Al Cratty, and sometimes writes under the name Liz Cratty as well. She was nominated for a 1992

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since 1 ...

for Best Fiction Collection for her book ''Nightmare Flower''. Her

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

''Dead on Demand: The Best of Ghost Story Weekend'' spent six months on the ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' "Best Seller List." Her short story, "Crosley", was picked to be included in ''The Thirteenth Annual Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'', edited by

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award (Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her career ...

. Her work has been published in ''

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher a ...

'', ''Horror Show'', ''American Fantasy Magazine'', and '' Cemetery Dance''. Elizabeth Engstrom also gives writing seminars on subjects like Structural Fiction, Sensual Fiction, Kick Start Your Novel, and The Architecture of Fiction. She was the owner of TripleTree Publishing, but she sold the business to Richard Ramsey in 2007. Under Engstrom's aegis, TripleTree published 19 books and put more than 200 authors in print for the first time. She was an instructor and eventually Director of the Maui Writers Retreat and its Department of Continuing Education. She has her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and

Writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...

, a Master's in Applied

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and a Certificate of Pastoral Care and Ministry, all from

Marylhurst University Marylhurst University was a private applied liberal arts and business university in Marylhurst, Oregon. It was among the oldest collegiate degree-granting institutions in Oregon, having awarded its first degree in 1897. Marylhurst was founded as ...

. She gives a large portion of book sales on her website to the ''

Melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

Research Foundation''. She was a founding member o
Wordcrafters in Eugene
a literary community, and is a former faculty member at the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree lev ...

. Engstrom's novel ''Candyland'' has been adapted as a film by Motorcycle Boy Productions of Vancouver, B.C., written and directed by Rusty Nixon, starring James Clayton,

Chelah Horsdal Chelah Horsdal (born June 19, 1973) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her regular roles in the television series ''Hell on Wheels'', ''When Calls the Heart'', and ''The Man in the High Castle'', recurring roles on ''Stargate SG-1'', '' Lev ...

and

Gary Busey Gary Busey (; born 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics ...

. The film ''Candiland'' was released in February 2017. Her novel ''When Darkness Loves Us'' has been optioned for film by Light in the Dark Productions. Recently, her two first books
When Darkness Loves Us
an
Black Ambrosia
were re-released b
Valancourt Books
with introductions by

Grady Hendrix Grady Hendrix is an American author, journalist, public speaker, and screenwriter known for his best-selling 2014 novel '' Horrorstör''. Hendrix lives in Manhattan and was one of the founders of the New York Asian Film Festival. Life and career ...

, as a part of their Paperbacks from Hell imprint. Valancourt has recently republished a volume of her short stories, ''Nightmare Flower''

Selected works

Novels

* ''

Lizzie Borden Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ost ...

'' * ''When Darkness Loves Us'', foreword by

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...

( William Morrow, 1985) * ''Black Ambrosia'' (

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...

, 1986) * ''Lizard Wine'' * ''Black Leather'' * ''Candyland'' * ''The Northwoods Chronicles'' * ''York's Moon'' (February 2011) * ''Baggage Claim'' (February 2013) ASIN B00BDSS3FW * ''Guys Named Bob'' (October 2018) * ''The Itinerant'' (November 2021)

Short story collections

* ''The Alchemy of Love'' (introduced by

Jack Ketchum Dallas William Mayr (November 10, 1946 – January 24, 2018), better known by his pen name Jack Ketchum, was an American horror fiction author. He was the recipient of four Bram Stoker Awards and three further nominations. His novels inclu ...

and illustrated by Alan M. Clark) * ''Nightmare Flower'' (Tor Books) (Valancourt Books) * ''Suspicions''

Anthologies

* ''Mota 9: Addiction'' * ''Imagination Fully Dilated'' co-edited with Alan M. Clark * ''Imagination Fully Dilated Volume II'' co-edited with Alan M. Clark * ''Dead on Demand: The Best of Ghost Story Weekend''

Nonfiction

* ''The Maui Writers Conference Presents: Word by Word: An Inspirational Look at the Craft of Writing'' co-authored with John Tullius (also features

Terry Brooks Terence Dean Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two film novelizations. He has written 23 ''New York Times'' bestsellers during his writing career, and has ...

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, Michael Eberhardt,

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, Kenneth C. Davis,

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Mike Scully Michael C. Scully (born October 2, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, M ...

and many more). * ''How to Write a Sizzling Sex Scene'' (2015) * ''Divorce by Grand Canyon'' (2019)

Lectures on audio

Elizabeth Engstrom has made some of her seminars available on CD and

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

* ''The Art of the Short Story'' * ''Writing a Well-Crafted Sex Scene'' * ''Creating Memorable Characters''

References

External links and references

*
Blog
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Engstrom, Elizabeth 20th-century American novelists American women short story writers 1951 births Living people Marylhurst University alumni 21st-century American novelists Women horror writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women novelists People from Elmhurst, Illinois Novelists from Illinois 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers