Brian Keene (born September 22, 1967) is an American author and podcaster, primarily known for his work in

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction ** Korean horror, Korean horror fiction *Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing on ...

, dark fantasy,

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

, and

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

. He has won the 2014 World Horror Grandmaster Award and two

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

s. In addition to his own original work, Keene has written for media properties such as '' Doctor Who'', ''

Hellboy Hellboy is a fictional superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a t ...

'', '' Alien'', ''

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ada ...

'', and ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

''.

Early life

Keene was born in 1967. He grew up in both

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

, and many of his books take place in these locales. After graduating high school, he served as a radioman in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

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 A data entry clerk, also known as data preparation and control operator, data registration and control operator, and data preparation and registration operator, is a member of staff employed to enter or update data into a computer system. Data is o ...

, 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.

Bibliography

The Rising Series

#'' The Rising'' ( April 2003): Delirium Books ( January 2004)

Leisure Books Leisure Books was a mass market paperback publisher specializing in horror and thrillers that operated from 1957 to 2010. In the company's early years, it also published fantasy, science fiction, Westerns, and the Wildlife Treasury card seri ...

#'' City of the Dead'' ( January 2005): Delirium Books( June 2005)

#''The Rising: Selected Scenes From the End of the World'' (

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

) Deadite Press #''The Rising: Deliverance'' (

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

) Deadite Press #''The Fall'' (Coming Soon)

Earthworm Gods Series

#'' Earthworm Gods'' ( September 2005): Delirium Books, Republished as ''The Conqueror Worms''( May 2006):

, Republished again under its intended title ''Earthworm Gods'' ( December 2012) Deadite Press #''Earthworm Gods II: Deluge'' (

) Deadite Press (originally serialized on his website) #''Earthworm Gods: Selected Scenes From the End of the World'' (

) Deadite Press

Levi Stoltzfus Series

#'' Dark Hollow'' ( July 2006): (released in hardcover as ''The Rutting Season'') Bloodletting Press. ( February 2008):

. #''Ghost Walk'' ( August 2008):

#''A Gathering of Crows'' ( August 2010):

#''The Last of the Albatwitches'' (

) Deadite Press

Clickers Series (with J. F. Gonzalez)

#''Clickers II: The Next Wave ( April 2007) Delirium Books #''Clickers III: Dagon Rising'' (

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

) Delirium Books #''Clickers vs. Zombies'' (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

) Deadite Press

The Lost Level Series

#''Hole in the World'' (

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

) Apex Publications #''The Lost Level'' (

) Apex Publications #''The Chinese Beetle'' ( 2016) Thunderstorm Books (chapbook) #''Return to the Lost Level'' (

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

) Apex Publications #''Beneath the Lost Level'' (Coming Soon)

The Labyrinth Series

#''The Seven'' (2015–18). Online serial. Self-Published through

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a com ...

and physically in 2021 #''Submerged'' (Ongoing). Online serial. Self-published through

The Rogan Series (w/Steven L. Shrewsbury)

#''King of the Bastards'' (

) Apex Publications #''Throne of the Bastards'' (

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

) Apex Publications #''Curse of the Bastards'' (

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

) Apex Publications

Non-Series

*''Terminal'' ( June 2004): Bloodletting Press Revised and expanded ( June 2005):

Bantam Spectra Bantam Spectra is the science fiction division of American publishing company Bantam Books, which is owned by Random House. According to their website, Spectra publishes "science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative novels from recognizab ...

*''

Ghoul A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cer ...

'' ( February 2007)

(

March 2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

): Delirium Books *''

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...

'' ( August 2007)

( September 2007): Delirium Books *''Shades'' (with Geoff Cooper) ( November 2007): (Out of Print)

Cemetery Dance Publications Cemetery Dance Publications is an American specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense. Cemetery Dance was founded by Richard Chizmar, a horror author, while he was in college. It is associated with ''Cemetery Dance'' magazine, which ...

* ''Kill Whitey'' ( April 2008):

(

September 2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

): Delirium Books * ''Darkness On the Edge of Town'' ( October 2008): Infernal House Press ( February 2010):

. Revised and expanded version of previous edition. * ''Castaways'' ( February 2009):

( March 2009): Bloodletting Press * ''Urban Gothic'' ( August 2009):

*''The Girl on the Glider'' (

) 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 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

) Dark Horse Publishing *''Alone'' (

) Thunderstorm Books *''The Cage'' (

) Deadite *''Sundancing'' (

) Thunderstorm Books *''An Occurrence in Crazy Bear Valley'' (

) Deadite Press *''Sixty-Five Stirrup Iron Road'' (

) Deadite Press *''The Complex'' ( 2016) Deadite Press *''Pressure'' ( 2016) Thomas Dunne Books *''School's Out'' (

) *''White Fire'' (

) Deadite Press

Collections

*''No Rest For The Wicked'' (

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

): (Out of Print) Imaginary Worlds Publishing. *''No Rest For The Wicked Redux'' ( October 2001): (Out of Print) Vox 13 Publishing. *''Fear of Gravity'' (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

) Delirium Books *''A Little Silver Book of Streetwise Stories'' (

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

) Borderlands Press *''Unhappy Endings'' (

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

) Delirium Books *''A Conspiracy of One'' (

) Thunderstorm Books *''Blood on the Page'' (

) Self-Published *''Apocrypha'' (

) Thunderstorm Books *''Libra Nigrum Scienta Secreta (The Black Book of Secret Knowledge)'' with J. F. Gonzalez (

) Arcane Wisdom (Limited release) *''Where We Live and Die'' (

) Lazy Fascist Books *''The Cruelty of Autumn'' (

): Thunderstorm Books. Published as a limited hardcover. *''All Dark, All the Time'' ( 2016) Self-Published *''Good Things for Bad People'' (

) Thunderstorm Books. Published as a limited hardcover.

Novellas & novelettes

*''Tequila's Sunrise'' (

): Bloodletting Press *''Redemption (with Shane Ryan Staley)'' (

): HM *''Dead Man Living'' (Ongoing). Self published through

Non-Fiction

*''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

*''In Delirium'' ( January 2006): ( Delirium Books). Published as a 26-copy leather-bound and a hardcover 274-copy limited hardcover. *''New Dark Voices II'' ( January 2009): ( Delirium Books). Published as a hardcover 150-copy limited hardcover. *''The Daughters of Inanna'' (

): Thunderstorm Books. Published as a limited hardcover. *''Clickers Forever: A Tribute to J.F. Gonzalez'' (2018): Thunderstorm Books.

Awards

2001

for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction (for "Jobs In Hell") 2003

for Superior Achievement in First Novel (for "The Rising") 2004 Shocker Award for Non-Fiction (for "Sympathy for the Devil") 2014 World Horror Grand Master Award 2015 Imaginarium Film Festival Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Short Film Genre, and Best Short Film Overall (for "Fast Zombies Suck") 2016 Imadjinn Award for Best Fantasy Novel (for "King of the Bastards") 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. 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.

Comics and graphic novels

In 2006, three stories from Keene's ''Fear of Gravity'' were adapted in the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

''Brian Keene's FEAR''. The stories were "Castaways", "Red Wood", and the award-winning "The King, in: Yellow". In 2008,

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

announced that Keene would be writing for them. His first project for the company was the four-issue

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered * Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...

for their MAX imprint: '' Dead of Night: Devil-Slayer''. Keene wrote the 25-issue series "The Last Zombie" for

Antarctic Press Antarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes "Amerimanga" style comic books. The company also produces "how-to" and "you can" comics, instructing on areas of comic book creation and craft. Beginning in ...

. Keene's work for

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

has included

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has ...

, 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 "Future's End" is a two-part episode from the third season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager'', the eighth and ninth of the season and the 50th and 51st overall. "Future's End" made its debut on American t ...

but left the project along with writer

Greg Rucka Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series '' Whiteout'', '' Queen & Country'', ''Stumptown'' and '' Lazarus'', as well as ...

, also walking away from writing

Animal Man Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" th ...

and

Booster Gold Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, the character first appeared in '' Booster Gold'' #1 (February 1986) and has been a member of the Justice League ...

. In 2017, Keene returned to DC Comics to spearhead "DC House of Horror".

Film adaptations

*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. *In 2009, ''Dark Hollow'' was optioned for film by director Paul Campion. *''Ghoul'' was made into a TV movie directed by Gregory Wilson and starring

Nolan Gould Nolan Gould (born October 28, 1998) is an American actor known for his role as Luke Dunphy on the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family''. Early life and education Gould was born in New York City, the son of Angela and Edwin Gould. Shortly after his b ...

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. *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.

Podcast

Keene hosts a weekly podcast called ''The Horror Show With Brian Keene''. Keene and co-hosts Dave Thomas and Mary SanGiovanni discuss horror-related news and events, writing and publishing, and interview various horror authors, publishers and filmmakers.

Personal life

Keene currently lives in

York, Pennsylvania York (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

. Since 2012, he has been in a romantic relationship with fellow author Mary SanGiovanni. On June 5, 2018, he suffered first and second degree

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

s 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 GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

was set up to pay the medical bills.

Philanthropy

Keene is actively involved in fundraising for the Scares That Care charitable organization. In August 2017, Keene was made a member of the Board of Directors for the Scares That Care charitable organization.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keene, Brian 1967 births Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American novelists American horror writers American male novelists Living people Writers from York, Pennsylvania Novelists from West Virginia American male short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Pennsylvania