About Michael A. Arnzen

Michael A. Arnzen, Oct 2005 -- author photo by Renate Muller

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 (a short story collection) and Audiovile (a unique spoken word CD).

Gorelets.com now features a full bibliography and publication history, with free excerpts, links to reviews, and much more. Media photographs are available in the online gallery, and breaking news is always posted first to the Goreletter weblog.


"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

  • 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

    Professional Affiliations

  • Seton Hill University
  • International Thriller Writers Organization
  • Horror Writer's Association
  • Science Fiction Poetry Association
  • International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts


    • Featured Book:

    +++ Books / ProverbsForMonsters +++


    Posted 3 June 2009 in Arnzen Creations


    PROVERBS FOR MONSTERS

    Dark Regions Press, 2007


    Proverbs for Monsters (2007)
    Cover Art by Matt Schuster    '

    Collection

    Description: NEW Full-length collection of the best short horror stories and poems of Arnzen's career so far.

    THREE Editions:

    • Signed trade paperback, approx 300 pages
      ISBN: 1888993545 ($19.99)
    • Limited Editions
      Hardcover: 100 signed/numbered hardcover editions; ISBN: 1888993529 ($40)
      Slipcased Leatherbound: 26 signed/lettered editions ($125)
    HighlightsBRAM STOKER AWARD Winner for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection
     Features tales selected for
    THE YEAR'S BEST HORROR STORIES
    and also Rhysling Poetry Award nominees

    Cover and Interior Illustrations by Matt Schuster

    Order from:

    Contents:

    FICTION

    • Domestic Fowl
    • Exorcystland
    • How to Grow a Man-Eating Plant
    • Mr. Mouth
    • The Boblin
    • People Repellent
    • Help Yourself (co-written with Mark McLaughlin)
    • The Cow CafĂ©
    • Immaterial Girl
    • Mortichinery
    • Fluid Mosaic
    • The Blood Ran Out
    • Flunking the Assassin
    • An Eye for an Eye
    • Stretch
    • Stabbing for Dummies (co-written with Vincent W. Sakowski)
    • The Dead Lantern
    • Tugging the Heartstrings
    • Counterpoint
    • You're Not Getting Sleepy
    • Imaginary Trivia
    • Throb (co-written with Mark McLaughlin)
    • Voodoo Movie Trilogy
    • How to Put a Cat to Sleep
    • Spring Ahead, Fall Back
    • Screwy Louis
    • Obictionary
    • The Involunteer
    • Stress Toy

    POETRY


    from Proverbs for Monsters (2007)
    Interior illo by Matt Schuster
    • Proverbs for Monsters
    • The Scab
    • Unhinged
    • Not the Reaper
    • Rigormarole
    • Fuzzy Bunnies
    • Driving the Sick Elephant
    • Kids Watch in Horror as Clown Chokes to Death on Balloon!
    • Wicked Wickets
    • Brazilian Night
    • Writhe
    • Slay Pen
    • grenemean
    • Those Who Landed, Surprised to Discover that Zombies had Taken Over the Planet
    • Halloween Costumes I Wish I Would Have Seen
    • Boy's Heart is on the Outside of His Body
    • Laps
    • Six Short Films About Chauncey the Serial Killer
    • muscle boy
    • T-shirt Twirling Red Under Black Tires
    • Everfoetal
    • Woman, 36, Raped by Teen She Saved from Drowning
    • the oral surgeon removes his mask
    • The Rub
    • Zombeanie Babies
    • The Gentlest Monster
    • Nightmarried
    • In the Box
    • Needle Baby
    • Resuscitation
    • Woman Marries a Shark
    • Heartfelt
    • Why Zombies Lumber

    Praise/Reviews:

    "A diverse, amusing, and uniformly well written selection....Arnzen will have broad general appeal, and many of his stories are excellent...well worth your while and deserves to be an award contender." -- Don D'Ammassa, Critical Mass

    "Arnzen takes his readers on a guided tour of insanity and the macabre, with a few moments of touching grace combined with repulsive terror. This collection gives the reader a chance to watch Arnzen's growth as a writer over nearly two decades. And, if anything, those seventeen years have made him better than ever....Proverbs for Monsters does not disappoint...this book serves to document the evolution of a great writer." -- Scott Johnson, Dread Central

    "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 it has 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

    "Mr. Arnzen has been crafting some of the most gleefully vicious and original horror stories ever printed...I urge you to grab a copy of this collection, which features the full range of this author's wild imagination in poetry and prose. [Proverbs for Monsters] is crazy good horror with a sense of humor that leaves the reader with a nervous smile and a sense of unease." -- JL Comeau, Creature Feature

    "Deliciously bizarre short stories and poems...Arnzen knows how to spin an original, terrifying bedtime story. At his best, his imaginative style makes him an entertaining guide, capable of clever wordplay that leaves teethmarks. It's clear his writing picks up steam when he takes a few pages to flesh out his fables, waxing inventively..." -- Rue Morgue

    Buy Now at Dark Regions Press

    See also: Flash Fiction | Poetry | Humor | Tattoos | Zombies | Animals | New Releases | Awarded Works