Michael Arnzen
Encyclopedia
Michael A. Arnzen is a horror author and writer of the Bram Stoker Award
-winning novel, Grave Markings (Dell Books). He won his second Bram Stoker Award for his newsletter (The Goreletter) and his third for his poetry collection, Freakcidents.
Arnzen was born in Amityville, New York
. 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
. 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 the role of horror
and nostalgia
in 20th century culture in a dissertation called The Popular Uncanny.
100 Jolts (Raw Dog Screaming Press) features 100 of his very best flash fiction stories. His short story collection, Fluid Mosaic (Wildside Press
) collects his best stories from the 1990s. His poetry chapbooks include Freakcidents, Gorelets: Unpleasant Poetry, Dying (With No Apologies to Martha Stewart), Paratabloids, Chew, Sportuary, and Writhing in Darkness. His most recent published work is Play Dead, a crime thriller with a poker
theme.
Arnzen holds a Ph.D. in English and presently teaches graduate studies in "Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction Program http://fiction.setonhill.edu" and undergraduate English courses at Seton Hill University
in Greensburg, Pennsylvania
, where he lives with his wife and cats.
He also keeps a weblog devoted to teaching.
Bram Stoker Award
The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA...
-winning novel, Grave Markings (Dell Books). He won his second Bram Stoker Award for his newsletter (The Goreletter) and his third for his poetry collection, Freakcidents.
Arnzen was born in Amityville, New York
Amityville, New York
Amityville is a village in the town of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. The population was 9,441 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. After a brief stint in the US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
overseas, where he began writing horror stories to entertain his fellow soldiers, he moved to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, where he launched his career in publishing to much success. By the mid-nineties he received the coveted Bram Stoker Award
Bram Stoker Award
The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA...
-- the highest accolade in the horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
. 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
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, where he studied the role of horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
in 20th century culture in a dissertation called The Popular Uncanny.
100 Jolts (Raw Dog Screaming Press) features 100 of his very best flash fiction stories. His short story collection, Fluid Mosaic (Wildside Press
Wildside Press
Wildside Press is an independent publishing company located in Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1989 by John Gregory and Kim Betancourt. While the press was originally conceived as a publisher of speculative fiction in both trade and limited editions, it has broadened out somewhat since then, both...
) collects his best stories from the 1990s. His poetry chapbooks include Freakcidents, Gorelets: Unpleasant Poetry, Dying (With No Apologies to Martha Stewart), Paratabloids, Chew, Sportuary, and Writhing in Darkness. His most recent published work is Play Dead, a crime thriller with a poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
theme.
Arnzen holds a Ph.D. in English and presently teaches graduate studies in "Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction Program http://fiction.setonhill.edu" and undergraduate English courses at Seton Hill University
Seton Hill University
Seton Hill University is a small Catholic liberal arts university of about 2100 students in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Formerly a women's college, it became a coeducational university in 2002....
in Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...
, where he lives with his wife and cats.
He also keeps a weblog devoted to teaching.
Select bibliography
- Grave Markings (Dell Books)
- Bitchfight (Bad Moon BooksBad Moon BooksBad Moon Books is a publishing company owned by Roy K. Robbins in Garden Grove, California. In the middle of 1986, they began as a bookseller only, but in 2007 they began publishing. Their works include many Black Quill Award and Bram Stoker Award winners and nominees...
, 2008) - Play Dead
Short story and flash fiction collections
- 100 Jolts (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
- Fluid Mosaic
Poetry
- Freakcidents
- Gorelets: Unpleasant Poetry
- Dying (With No Apologies to Martha Stewart)
- Paratabloids
- Chew
- Sportuary
- Writhing in Darkness