American author and podcaster (born 1967)
Brian Keene
(born September 22, 1967)
[1]
is an American author and podcaster, primarily known for his work in
horror
,
dark fantasy
,
crime fiction
, and
comic books
. He has won the 2014 World Horror Grandmaster Award and two
Bram Stoker Awards
. In addition to his own original work, Keene has written for media properties such as
Doctor Who
,
Thor
,
Hellboy
,
Alien
,
Masters of the Universe
, and
The X-Files
.
Early life
[
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]
Keene was born in 1967. He grew up in both
Pennsylvania
and
West Virginia
, and many of his books take place in these locales.
[2]
After graduating high school, he served as a radioman in the
U.S. Navy
aboard an
LPD
. After his enlistment ended, Keene worked a variety of jobs before becoming a full-time writer. Among them were stints as a foundry worker, truck driver,
data entry clerk
, dockworker, telemarketer, customer service representative, repo man, bouncer, disc jockey, salesman, store manager, daycare instructor, custodian. In interviews, he credits this diverse background as the key to the characters that populate his books.
[3]
Bibliography
[
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]
The Rising Series
[
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]
- The Rising
(2003):
Delirium Books
- City of the Dead
(
2005
):
Delirium Books
- The Rising: Selected Scenes from the End of the World
(2013). Deadite Press.
- The Rising: Deliverance
(2015). Deadite Press.
- The Fall
(Coming Soon)
Earthworm Gods Series
[
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]
- Earthworm Gods
(2005):
Delirium Books
,
- Republished as
The Conqueror Worms
(2006).
Leisure Books
.
- Republished again under its intended title
Earthworm Gods
(2012). Deadite Press.
- Earthworm Gods II: Deluge
(2013). Deadite Press. (originally serialized on his website)
- Earthworm Gods: Selected Scenes From the End of the World
(2013). Deadite Press.
Levi Stoltzfus Series
[
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]
- Dark Hollow
(2006): (released in hardcover as
The Rutting Season
)
Bloodletting Press
. (
February 2008
):
Leisure Books
.
- Ghost Walk
(August 2008):
Leisure Books
- A Gathering of Crows
(August 2010):
Leisure Books
- The Last of the Albatwitches
(2015). Deadite Press.
- Clickers II: The Next Wave
(2007). Delirium Books.
- Clickers III: Dagon Rising
(2010). Delirium Books.
- Clickers vs. Zombies
(2014). Deadite Press.
The Lost Level Series
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]
- Hole in the World
(2019). Apex Publications.
- The Lost Level
(2015). Apex Publications.
- The Chinese Beetle
(2016). Thunderstorm Books. (chapbook)
- Return to the Lost Level
(2018). Apex Publications.
- Beneath the Lost Level
(Coming Soon)
The Labyrinth Series
[
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]
- The Seven
(2015?18). Online serial. Self-Published through
Patreon
and physically in 2021
- Submerged
. Online serial. Self-published through Patreon and physically in 2022
- Splintered
. Online serial. Self-published through Patreon and physically in 2023
The Rogan Series (w/Steven L. Shrewsbury)
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]
- King of the Bastards
(2015). Apex Publications.
- Throne of the Bastards
(2017). Apex Publications.
- Curse of the Bastards
(2022). Apex Publications.
Non-Series
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- Terminal
(2004).
Bloodletting Press
. Revised and expanded (
2005
):
Bantam Spectra
- Ghoul
(2007)
Leisure Books
(2007):
Delirium Books
- Dead Sea
(2007)
Leisure Books
(2007):
Delirium Books
- Shades
(with Geoff Cooper) (2007): (Out of Print)
Cemetery Dance Publications
- Kill Whitey
(2008):
Cemetery Dance Publications
(2008):
Delirium Books
- Darkness on the Edge of Town
(2008): Infernal House Press (2010):
Leisure Books
. Revised and expanded version of previous edition.
- Castaways
(2009):
Leisure Books
(2009).
Bloodletting Press
- Urban Gothic
(2009):
Leisure Books
- The Girl on the Glider
(2010) Cemetery Dance Publications
- Entombed
(
2011
). Deadite Press. (takes place in same world as
Dead Sea
but not a direct sequel)
- Take the Long Way Home
(2011). Deadite Press.
- Jack's Magic Beans
(2011). Deadite Press.
- Scratch
(2011) Cemetery Dance Publications
- The Damned Highway
(2012) Dark Horse Publishing
- Alone
(2012). Thunderstorm Books.
- The Cage
(2012) Deadite
- Sundancing
(2013). Thunderstorm Books.
- An Occurrence in Crazy Bear Valley
(2014). Deadite Press.
- Sixty-Five Stirrup Iron Road
(2014). Deadite Press.
- The Complex
(2016). Deadite Press.
- Pressure
(2016) Thomas Dunne Books
- School's Out
(2017)
- White Fire
(2018). Deadite Press.
Collections
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- No Rest For The Wicked
(2001): (Out of Print) Imaginary Worlds Publishing.
- No Rest For The Wicked Redux
(2001): (Out of Print) Vox 13 Publishing.
- Fear of Gravity
(2004). Delirium Books.
- A Little Silver Book of Streetwise Stories
(2007) Borderlands Press.
- Unhappy Endings
(2008). Delirium Books.
- A Conspiracy of One
(2012). Thunderstorm Books.
- Blood on the Page
(2014) Self-Published
- Apocrypha
(2014). Thunderstorm Books.
- Libra Nigrum Scienta Secreta
(
The Black Book of Secret Knowledge
) with
J. F. Gonzalez
(
2015
) Arcane Wisdom (Limited release)
- Where We Live and Die
(
2015
) Lazy Fascist Books
- The Cruelty of Autumn
(2015). Thunderstorm Books. Published as a limited hardcover.
- All Dark, All the Time
(
2016
) Self-Published
- Good Things for Bad People
(2017). Thunderstorm Books. Published as a limited hardcover.
Novellas & novelettes
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- Tequila's Sunrise
(2007).
Bloodletting Press
.
- Redemption
(with Shane Ryan Staley) (2008): HM
- Dead Man Living
(Ongoing). Self published through
Patreon
- With Teeth
(2021). Death’s Head Press.
Non-fiction
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]
- End of the Road
(2016). Cemetery Dance. Weekly column.
- Brian Keene's Complete History of Horror Fiction
(2017-Ongoing). Cemetery Dance. Ongoing column.
Anthologies edited
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]
- In Delirium
(
January 2006
): (
Delirium Books
). Published as a 26-copy leather-bound and a hardcover 274-copy limited hardcover.
- New Dark Voices II
(2009): (
Delirium Books
). Published as a hardcover 150-copy limited hardcover.
- The Daughters of Inanna
(2015). Thunderstorm Books. Published as a limited hardcover.
- Clickers Forever: A Tribute to J.F. Gonzalez
(2018). Thunderstorm Books.
Awards
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- 2004 Shocker Award for Non-Fiction (for "Sympathy for the Devil")
[6]
- 2014 World Horror Grand Master Award
[7]
- 2015 Imaginarium Film Festival Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Short Film Genre, and Best Short Film Overall (for "Fast Zombies Suck")
[8]
2016 Imadjinn Award for Best Fantasy Novel (for "King of the Bastards")
[9]
- 2017 This Is Horror Award for Nonfiction Podcast of the Year (for The Horror Show with Brian Keene).
[10]
In 2004 and 2005, Keene spearheaded a Books For Troops program, in which various horror authors supplied free, signed books to American troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere around the world. Keene was honored for this in 2005 by the 509th Logistics Fuels Flight Squadron based at Whiteman A.F.B. in Missouri.
[11]
In 2014, an American flag was flown in Keene's honor in Afghanistan and presented to him by the United States Army International Security Assistance Force.
[12]
Keene is one of the few writers who has spoken inside the headquarters of the
Central Intelligence Agency
in several closed sessions.
[13]
Comics and graphic novels
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]
In 2006, three stories from Keene's
Fear of Gravity
were adapted in the
graphic novel
Brian Keene's FEAR
. The stories were "Castaways", "Red Wood", and the award-winning "The King, in: Yellow".
In 2008,
Marvel Comics
announced that Keene would be writing for them. His first project for the company was the four-issue
limited series
for their
MAX
imprint:
Dead of Night: Devil-Slayer
.
[14]
Keene wrote the 25-issue series "The Last Zombie" for
Antarctic Press
.
Keene's work for
DC Comics
has included
Doom Patrol
, the 2010 "DCU Halloween Special", and "Masters of the Universe: The Origin of Hordak". He was originally part of the writing team for
Future's End
but left the project along with writer
Greg Rucka
, also walking away from writing
Animal Man
and
Booster Gold
.
[15]
In 2017, Keene returned to DC Comics to spearhead "DC House of Horror".
[16]
Film adaptations
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]
- In 2006, the short story "The Ties That Bind" was turned into a short film, and it had its world premiere on April 4, 2009, at the Garden State Film Festival.
[17]
- In 2009,
Dark Hollow
was optioned for film by director
Paul Campion
.
[18]
- Ghoul
was made into a TV movie directed by Gregory Wilson and starring
Nolan Gould
[19]
and debuted on the Chiller Network on April 13, 2012.
- In July, 2015, a film adaptation of Keene's short story "Fast Zombies Suck" was released for free via YouTube.
[20]
- In December, 2016,
The Naughty List
, a film adaptation of Keene's short story "The Siqquism Who Stole Christmas" was released for free via YouTube and Vimeo.
[21]
Podcast
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]
From 2015 to 2020, Keene hosted a weekly podcast called
The Horror Show With Brian Keene
.
[22]
Keene and co-hosts Dave Thomas and Mary SanGiovanni discussed horror-related news and events, writing and publishing, and interviewed various horror authors, publishers, musicians, actors, and filmmakers.
Personal life
[
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]
Keene currently lives in
York, Pennsylvania
.
Since 2012, he has been in a romantic relationship with fellow author
Mary SanGiovanni
.
[23]
The two were married on May 27, 2023.
On June 5, 2018, he suffered first and second degree
burns
to his face, and second and third degree burns to his arm after an accident while burning brush on a friend's property (during flood clean-up), and was sent to recuperate in a burn unit. Due to a lack of insurance, a
GoFundMe
was set up to pay the medical bills.
[24]
[25]
Philanthropy
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]
Keene is actively involved in fundraising for the Scares That Care charitable organization.
[26]
In August 2017, Keene was made a member of the board of directors for the Scares That Care charitable organization.
[27]
References
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]
- ^
"BrianKeene on Twitter"
.
Twitter
. September 22, 2016
. Retrieved
September 22,
2016
.
- ^
"He's Keene on horror Award-winning author makes his living writing about the dead,"
York Sunday News
(PA), May 29, 2005.
- ^
"Interview With Brian Keene on Xomba"
.
Hellnotes
. Retrieved
22 November
2015
.
- ^
Past Stoker Nominees & Winners
Archived
October 15, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
, Horror Writers Association Website, accessed May 27, 2011.
- ^
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zombies
By Nathan Robert Brown
- ^
Dragos-Valentin Radulescu.
"Brian Keene - The Last Zombie - Rising Dead LOTD Community Forum"
.
rising-dead.com
. Retrieved
22 November
2015
.
- ^
"2014 Grand Master Award Winner: Brian Keene | World Horror Convention 2014"
. Archived from
the original
on 2014-06-06
. Retrieved
2014-06-03
.
- ^
"2015 Film Festival Awards"
.
Locus
. 21 August 2013
. Retrieved
29 August
2017
.
- ^
"2016 Imadjinn Award Winners"
.
Locus
. 17 October 2016
. Retrieved
22 August
2017
.
- ^
"2017 This Is Horror Awards Winners"
.
Locus
. 19 April 2018
. Retrieved
22 August
2017
.
- ^
Rue Morgue Magazine #43, 2005
- ^
"Brian Keene Talks About Stephen King, Ghoul and Why Horror Matters"
.
The Huffington Post
. September 2015
. Retrieved
22 November
2015
.
- ^
"Brian Keene Talks About Stephen King, Ghoul and Why Horror Matters"
.
The Huffington Post
. September 2015
. Retrieved
22 November
2015
.
- ^
NY Times
review of
The Rising
- ^
"Talking With Horror Master Brian Keene About A Life In Dark Fiction And Why He Isn't Writing Futures End, Animal Man, Or Booster Gold - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News"
.
Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News
. October 2014
. Retrieved
22 November
2015
.
- ^
Terror, Jude (10 July 2017).
"DC Sets 80 Page House Of Horror Anthology For October Release From Top Horror Authors And Brian Keene"
.
Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News
. Retrieved
22 August
2017
.
- ^
"The Ties That Bind (Short 2009) - IMDb"
.
IMDb
.
- ^
Alex Billington.
"Brian Keene's Dark Hollow Headed to the Big Screen"
, FirstShowing.net, April 5, 2009; accessed May 27, 2011.
- ^
"Modern Family" tyke to star in "Ghoul" TV movie
Archived
2015-09-24 at the
Wayback Machine
, reuters.com, May 3, 2011.
- ^
"Watch Brian Keene's Fast Zombies Suck Online For Free - Dread Central"
.
Dread Central
. Retrieved
22 November
2015
.
- ^
"BRIAN KEENE'S THE NAUGHTY LIST"
.
Gingernuts of Horror
. 11 January 2017
. Retrieved
30 January
2017
.
- ^
"The Horror Show With Brian Keene-About"
.
- ^
"A Handy Guide to Passive-Aggressive Sexism, or, How To Avoid Misidentifying Partners As Secretaries"
.
Postcards From Space
. Retrieved
22 August
2017
.
- ^
"Brian Keene Badly Burned in Fire, Seeks Help with Medical Bills"
. 6 June 2018.
- ^
"Horror novelist Brian Keene badly burned in Lower Windsor TWP. Mishap"
.
- ^
"Interview with Brian Keene"
.
Apex Magazine
. Retrieved
22 November
2015
.
- ^
Ripple, Joe.
"welcome Brian Keene to our Board of Directors"
.
Scares That Care
. Retrieved
22 August
2017
.
External links
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