The 85 Weirdest: 1923-2008
Readers wrote us in record numbers when we asked you who, in your book, are the weirdest of the weird: the most influentially strange authors and artists and talespinners of all kinds to work their magic on the world in the 85 years since 1923, when Weird Tales was born. We asked that you not limit your suggestions to just fiction writers, and you responded enthusiastically, naming hordes of filmmakers, songwriters, cartoonists, and more. We took your ideas, added a few of our own, called some top fantasy professionals to put in their two cents, and then dove into the long and arduous process of winnowing the list down to a mere 85 names.
Our 85th anniversary issue — featuring fiction by Michael Moorcock, Sarah Monette, and Tanith Lee, nonfiction by Cherie Priest, and Jeff VanderMeer’s interview with China Míeville, and is still available for purchase online — introduced the 85 Weirdest Storytellers individually. If one of your favorite weirdos didn’t make the list, you can share your weird and let us know! Our 90th anniversary isn’t that far away…
Meanwhile:
WEIRD TALES presents: The 85 Weirdest Storytellers 1923-2005
- DOUGLAS ADAMS
- CHARLES ADDAMS
- LAURIE ANDERSON
- J.G. BALLARD
- NICK BANTOCK
- CLIVE BARKER
- ART BELL
- BJÖRK
- DAVID BOWIE
- RAY BRADBURY
- MARGARET BRUNDAGE
- WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS
- TIM BURTON
- KATE BUSH
- OCTAVIA BUTLER
- ANGELA CARTER
- NICK CAVE
- LON CHANEY SR.
- CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
- JOEL & ETHAN COEN
- ALICE COOPER
- DAVID CRONENBERG
- R. CRUMB
- ROALD DAHL
- SALVADOR DALI
- SAMUEL R. DELANY
- PHILIP K. DICK
- STEVE DITKO
- HARLAN ELLISON
- M.C. ESCHER
- VIRGIL FINLAY
- CHARLES FORT
- NEIL GAIMAN
- TERRY GILLIAM
- EDWARD GOREY
- GUNTHER VON HAGENS
- JIM HENSON
- ROBERT E. HOWARD
- SHIRLEY JACKSON
- FRANZ KAFKA
- FRIDA KAHLO
- ANDY KAUFMAN
- STEPHEN KING
- STANLEY KUBRICK
- MADELEINE L’ENGLE
- GARY LARSON
- TANITH LEE
- THOMAS LIGOTTI
- H.P. LOVECRAFT
- DAVID LYNCH
- GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ
- DAVE MCKEAN
- RAND & ROBYN MILLER
- MICHAEL MOORCOCK
- ALAN MOORE
- CATHERINE L. MOORE & HENRY KUTTNER
- GRANT MORRISON
- JOYCE CAROL OATES
- MERVYN PEAKE
- PENN & TELLER
- BILL PLYMPTON
- THOMAS PYNCHON
- ANNE RICE
- ROD SERLING
- DR. SEUSS
- ALICE SHELDON, a.k.a. JAMES TIPTREE JR.
- CHUCK SHEPHERD
- CLARK ASHTON SMITH
- STEPHEN SONDHEIM
- REV. IVAN STANG
- OSAMU TEZUKA
- HUNTER S. THOMPSON
- KOOL KEITH THORNTON, a.k.a. DR. OCTAGON
- KURT VONNEGUT
- TOM WAITS
- ALICE WALKER
- KARA WALKER
- ANDY WARHOL
- SYLVIA TOWNSEND WARNER
- JOHN WATERS
- ROGER WATERS
- WIM WENDERS
- THORNTON WILDER
- ROBERT ANTON WILSON
- WARREN ZEVON
Kudos to them all: creative geniuses whose work, in whatever form and flavor, has shown an affinity of spirit with the brilliantly freaky storytelling that’s been the hallmark of Weird Tales since the magazine was born 85 years ago this very month.
(Don’t see one of your favorites here? Help us compile more weirdness! Go to the Share the Weird page and tell your fellow readers about the weird storytellers you love the most!)
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