Talk:Dave Zeltserman

Page incomplete

The page is missing the following easily verified information:

winner of the 2026 Edgar Award for Best Short Story

novel titles:

Alles Endet Hier -- published this February in Germany by Pulp Master, and making Germany's Crime Jury top 10 list in March and April:

As well as Trust Nothing

Also, why are there issues being displayed? All the information on the page has citations. If there are any issues that need to be addressed, please let me know. I'd rather have this page removed than have incomplete/wrong information DaveZeltserman (talk) 03:15, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

References

This does not require the use of the admin toolset, so I am making it a standard help request; any editor may help you with these concerns. Administrators have no more authority than any other editor, just extra tools that would be irresponsible for the entire community to possess.

Article content is only as good as those who provide it and how timely they do so. Please see WP:ABOUTYOU. 331dot (talk) 08:26, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

And I have changed it to {{edit coi}}, which is what seems to be being requested.

Note that there is a backlog of requests for such edits, and it may take a while for a volunteer to get around to it. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 11:39, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

I have added the award and removed the issue tags. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 11:44, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

 Done: Thank you for the request. I have added the missing novels. I think that covers everything here, so I'm marking this as answered. Cheers, MediaKyle (talk) 19:28, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

COI Request

I am the subject of this article. The current 'official site' under external links points to a gambling website that has parked under a domain using my name. Could an editor please remove this? DaveZeltserman (talk) 12:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

 Done Spencer^T•C 18:11, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

COI Request

I am the subject of this article. The link for reference 8 to RUSA doesn't work and should be replaced by this link:

https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2011/01/top-genre-fiction-titles-named-2011-rusa-reading-list

thanks in advance, DaveZeltserman (talk) 22:49, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

I've added the edit request tag for you. This needs to be done to draw attention to the request. 331dot (talk) 19:37, 24 May 2026 (UTC)

Done DiscoursesonLivvy (talk · contribs) 02:47, 25 May 2026 (UTC)

thanks! DaveZeltserman (talk) 04:34, 25 May 2026 (UTC)

COI Request

I am the subject of this article. I'd like to add the following to the page to get a photo added:

Dave Zeltserman
Genre	Crime, mystery, horror, thriller fiction
Notable works	Small Crimes, Pariah, Killer, The Caretaker of Lorne Field, Monster: A Novel of Frankenstein, the julius Katz mystery series
Notable awards	Edgar Award (2026) Shamus Award (2010) Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Award (2010, 2013) Derringer Award (2009)

I'd also like to add the Writing Style and Hardluck Stories sections below, and replace the introductory paragraph with the following:

Dave Zeltserman (born May 23, 1959 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American novelist and short story writer known for his works in noir, crime, mystery, thriller, and horror genres. A former software engineer, Zeltserman has published more than 20 novels, and has gained widespread critical acclaim for his gritty, uncompromising spin on contemporary noir. His Small Crimes (2008) was selected by NPR as one of the five best crime and mystery novels of 2008, by the Washington Post as one of the best novels of the year, and was later adapted into a 2017 Netflix original film of the same title starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau . His extensive short fiction includes the celebrated Julius Katz mystery series, which won the Edgar Award for Julius Katz Draws a Straight Flush, Shamus and Derringer awards for Julius Katz, and Ellery Queen Readers Awards for Archie’s Been Framed and Archie Solves the Case . His horror writing, such as The Caretaker of Lorne Field (2010) and Monster: A Novel of Frankenstein (2012), has also earned year-end accolades from the ALA , Booklist , and WBUR .

Writing Style

Critics have often commented that Zeltserman’s crime novels are written in a clean, spare prose, with ample suspense and twists, and fast-paced plots, as well as brilliant psychological insight into tortured souls. Maureen Corrigan on picking Pariah as one of The Washington Post best mystery novels of 2009, wrote that it was a “doozy of a doom-laden crime story.” Publishers Weekly said of Killer (2010) “Spare prose and assured pacing place this above most other contemporary noirs.” NPR said of Small Crimes and Pariah that they are “about as nasty and clever as noir can get”, and called Outsourced “a dark gem of a story” and “a macabre delight to read.” Author Ken Bruen said of Zeltserman’s first novel, Fast Lane: “Hilarious in the darkest fashion, violent, bitter, psychotic and unputdownable.”

Critic have often commented on the uniqueness, humor and tragic heroes in Zeltserman’s horror fiction. Publishers Weekly in a starred review called The Caretaker of Lorne Field a “superb mix of humor and horror" while Locus Magazine called it “a very darkly funny dark fantasy" . Publishers Weekly notes that in Monster: A Novel of Frankenstein Friedrich is an articulate and likable hero and that the novel is a “rich and fun response to Shelley's classic.” Publishers Weekly in a starred review says about The Boy Who killed Demons: “The sympathy that Zeltserman invokes on behalf of Henry is heartbreaking” while Kirkus Reviews notes that humor outweighs the horror in this amusing look at a 15-year-old saving the world. Booklist says in a starred review that Husk “is at once tender, brutal, fantastic, and vibrantly real. A unique and splendid novel.”

Critics call the writing of Zeltserman’s Julius Katz mysteries fresh, clever and funny. Publishers Weekly says the narrator of these stories, Katz’s sidekick Archie (who is a compact piece of AI), lifts these tales into a higher dimension.

Hardluck Stories

Zeltserman created and ran the quarterly crime fiction webzine Hardluck Stories from 2002 to 2006 , often using guest editors that included Ed Gorman, Jeremiah Healy, Michael A. Black, and O’Neil De Noux. What made Hardluck Stories unique during that time period was that each issue had a different theme, such as Psycho Noir, Femme Fatales, Weird Noir, Bank Jobs, and Western Noir. Authors who had original stories published by Hardluck Stories include Ed Gorman, Ken Bruen, Bill Crider, Bentley Little, Steve Hockensmith, Allan Guthrie, Manuel Ramos, William Boyle, Charles Ardai, Jon Bassoff and Adrian McKinty . The Western Noir issue was later developed into the anthology On Dangerous Ground: Stories of Western Noir published by Cemetery Dance Publications in 2011. Ed Gorman, Zeltserman, and Martin H. Greenberg edited the anthology and it received a starred review from Library Journal, calling it “classic noir fiction at its very best.”

DaveZeltserman (talk) 14:24, 24 June 2026 (UTC) DaveZeltserman (talk) 22:37, 21 June 2026 (UTC)