About Michael A. Arnzen
Award winning author and writing professor Michael Arnzen was born in Amityville, NY — hometown of the infamous horror house.
After a brief stint in the US Army overseas, where he began writing horror stories to entertain his fellow soldiers, he moved to Colorado where he launched his career in publishing to much success. By the mid-nineties he received the coveted Bram Stoker Award — the highest accolade in the horror genre — for his first novel, Grave Markings. Shortly thereafter, he went on to earn a Master’s degree while working on his second novel, soon followed by his Ph.D. in English at the University of Oregon, where he studied horror and nostalgia in 20th century culture in a dissertation called The Popular Uncanny (soon to be published by Guide Dog Books).
Arnzen now lives near Pittsburgh with his wife and cats. He is a tenured Professor of English at Seton Hill University, where he teaches in an innovative Master’s degree program in Writing Popular Fiction. His latest works include Proverbs for Monsters (winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Fiction Collection), Audiovile (a unique spoken word CD featuring original music), and Many Genres, One Craft (an instructional guide for novelists, co-edited with Heidi Ruby Miller). The Gorelets Omnibus — a new compendium of twisted “gorelets” coming in 2012 from Raw Dog Screaming Press — will feature the best of his online work via this website and elsewhere over the past dozen years.
Gorelets.com now features a full bibliography and publication history, with free excerpts, links to reviews, and much more. Media photographs (perhaps less crazed than the nutty shot above) are available in the online gallery, and breaking news is always posted first to the Goreletter weblog.
Contact Michael Arnzen. You can also follow him on google+ or your favorite social network.
“In a little over a decade, Michael A. Arnzen has achieved what few writers manage in a lifetime. He has become the master of a brand of literature that is uniquely his own, and I do not doubt that his approach to horror will soon (if not already) be referred to as ‘Arnzenian.’ When you begin an Arnzen story, you embark on a journey where the old maps do not apply. Soon you find yourself deep in new territory, barreling through landscapes more fascinating and twisted than any previously encountered. Be assured: you will be amazed, startled, amused, and creeped out along the way, but whatever the road has in store, you will not be able to stop reading until the story ends. Horrifying, captivating, ironic — Arnzenian! — the works of Michael A. Arnzen are in a class all their own. Fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride!” Lawrence C. Connolly, author of Veins
Major Awards and Career Highlights
- Professor of the Year (Seton Hill University), 2010-11.
- Bram Stoker Award for Fiction Collection (Proverbs for Monsters), 2007.
- Bram Stoker Award for Poetry Collection (Freakcidents), 2005.
- Bram Stoker Award for Alternative Forms (The Goreletter), 2003.
- Bram Stoker Award for First Novel (Grave Markings), 1994.
- International Horror Critics Guild Award for First Novel (Grave Markings), 1994.
- Best Fiction Writer, Genre Writers Association, 1995.
- Best New Writer, Small Press Writers and Artists Organization, 1992.
- Appearances in The Year’s Best Horror Stories (DAW Books), 1992 & 1993.
- Ph.D. in English and American Literature, U Oregon, 1999. M.A. in English (Creative Option), U Idaho, 1994.
- Bram Stoker Award Finalist: Fiction Collection (100 Jolts, 2004); Poetry Collection (Gorelets: Unpleasant Poems, 2003; Paratabloids, 2001); Alternative Forms (The Goreletter, 2004).
Media Features/Interviews
- Author Magazine interview with editors Michael Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller (podcast, July 2011).
- International Thriller Writers interview with editors Michael Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller (June 2011).
- Spotlight on editors Michael Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller (April 2011).
- NHRS: Winter Chills with Mike Arnzen (Dec 2010).
- Snark Infested Waters interview (itunes podcast, Oct 2010).
- Odyssey Workshops Interview Michael Arnzen (Dec 2009)
- Interview with The Black Glove magazine (Oct 2009)
- “Writer’s Talk” NPR Spot for WCBE radio (Ohio State U’s Center for Study of Teaching and Writing, Oct 2008, podcast).
- “Audiovile” Interview with Zombie Mall (Sept 2008)
- “Horror Writer Does his Best Work Having Fun” (Textbook & Academic Authors Association, August 2008, .pdf).
- “Ghost in the Machine” Interview by Gail Z. Martin (July 2008, podcast)
- “Ghoulish Goals” (Pittsburgh Pro Magazine, June 2008, .pdf)
- Interview with Fearzone (2008)
- “Little Things Mean a Lot in Writing Horror” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2007)
- “Oh, The Horror!” Feature by Michael Sims (.pdf, Rezoom magazine, 2007)
- ‘About Audiovile’ Interview (Raw Dog Screaming Press newsletter, 2007)
- Pod of Horror #37 Interview (Aug 2007, .mp3)
- “The Amityville Horror (Writer)” (Doorways Magazine, with Stephen M. Wilson, 2007)
- “Pick Six” Interview with Heidi Ruby Miller (2007)
- “New Directions in Horror” (Dissections, 2006)
- “Arnzen Walks the Plank” (Vanderworld, 2006)
- “Horror Writer Goes Dark For His Stories” (Tribune-Review, 2005)
- Interview with Dark Discoveries (by James R. Beach, Summer 2005, .pdf)
- “Seton Hill Prof Scares Up Laughs” (Laurel Mountain Post, Fall 2005, .pdf)
- “Grossing Out Teacher” (The Broadsheet, 2005)
- “A Shockingly Short Q&A” (SHU Forward, 2004)
- “Horror Literature” Feature (Bella Online, 2003)
- “Featured Author Michael Arnzen” (Dream People, Oct 2003)
- “On Writing Flash Fiction” (FlashFictionFlash, 2003)
- “Roses are Red, Your PDA is Dead” (MJ Rose, Wired Magazine, 2002)
- “On Arnzen and Rhyme” (Jobs In Hell, 2002)
- “Scare Tactics” (Pittsburgh City Paper, 2001)
- “Horror, Poetry, and Tabloid Truth” (Dark Echo, 2000)
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