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Douglas Clegg was one of the most prolific authors around when I first discovered the small press, and he had quite a few books published by the big houses as well. I bought everything he put out back in the Shocklines days. Shocklines owner Matt Schwartz was friends with Clegg and lived near him, so you could get your books signed and inscribed, so I own a ton of his stuff. He doesn't seem to have published anything new in over a decade, and his official page hasn't been updated in over a year, and before that one update, the last was in 2021. Retired? Ill? Vanished off the face of the Horror community...?
Posted : September 16, 2026 6:16 pm
I've no idea, but I've questioned the same thing a few times over the years. He's not the only major player in the scene who effectively disappeared, but he's certainly one of the more prominent ones.
I remember seeing him at a Barnes & Noble in Seattle way back in the day. He was touring with a female author whose name escapes me at the moment -- you'd all know it, and I'm frustrated I can't think of it, but anyway -- and he was very nervous, admittedly holding onto his coat for comfort, but came across as a genuine, affable guy. I enjoyed most of his work, read probably the lion's share of it, and it's a shame that it came to an end.
Posted : September 16, 2026 6:34 pm
Posted : September 17, 2026 1:19 am
TacomaDiver reacted
I remember seeing him at a Barnes & Noble in Seattle way back in the day. He was touring with a female author whose name escapes me at the moment -- you'd all know it, and I'm frustrated I can't think of it, but anyway --
As things usually do, it came to me while I was no longer trying to rack my brain: Elizabeth Engstrom. This would've been in the mid-1990s, IIRC.
Posted : September 18, 2026 6:00 pm
As things usually do, it came to me while I was no longer trying to rack my brain
I worked in software for many years - seems like most answers came when I stopped trying to force them 🙂
Posted : September 19, 2026 12:58 am
Last I heard, he was doing some screenwriting, but that was a while ago. Doug Clegg, Dick Laymon, and Al Sarrantonio were always super kind when responding to all the questions 14 year old me would spam them with when I found their AOL email addresses in the HWA membership listings in the early '90s. 🤣
In fact, Doug was the one who recommended me to this little publisher in Maryland back in the summer of 2000 when they were looking for someone to help with some marketing work over summer break. I was in college at the time and never met them in person until after I talked them into hiring me full-time two years later... 🙃
Posted : September 19, 2026 4:05 am
TacomaDiver reacted
His novels Breeder and Neverland are classics.
I have his massive collection Machinery of Night, but never got around to reading it.
I need to rectify that someday.
B
Posted : September 20, 2026 3:38 am
That's a great story, Brian!
I have no clue what I'd be doing these days without Doug making that connection for me. I was getting a Communication Journalism degree at the time and had absolutely no interest in any of the jobs it was pointing me toward... and no idea what I would do after graduation. Yet, for several years by then I had been doing all kinds of online marketing and web design for authors and was have quite a bit of fun and success... so Doug just made sure to redirect me toward the super obvious career path I should have been looking at all along!
Brian
Posted : September 20, 2026 4:03 am