John Everson (born March 14, 1966) is an American
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
of contemporary
horror,
dark fantasy,
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
and
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
fiction. He is the author of thirteen novels and four short fiction collections, as well as three mini-collections, all focusing on horror and the supernatural. His novel ''Covenant'', was originally released in a limited edition hardcover by
Delirium Books
Delirium Books, launched in the summer of 1999 by Shane Ryan Staley, is a horror publisher in the collector's market, producing low print-run limited editions intended for both collectors and readers alike. Delirium Books first published The Ri ...
in 2004 and won the
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 ...
for a First Novel the following year from the
Horror Writers Association
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of Horror and Dark fantasy writers.
Overview
HWA was formed in 1985 with t ...
. His sixth novel, ''NightWhere'', was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award in 2012.
Biography
Everson was born in 1966 and spent most of his childhood in
Tinley Park, IL
Tinley Park (formerly Bremen) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 55,971. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs ...
. He graduated from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
with a degree in
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...
in 1988 and worked for two years at ''The Star Newspapers'' in Chicago Heights, IL, where he began the weekly music review column "Pop Stops." He wrote this column for the newspaper for nearly 20 years, even after leaving ''The Star'' as a full-time reporter to serve as an editor for the ''Illinois Entertainer'' magazine for four years. His first two novels feature a reporter, Joe Kieran, as the lead character, drawing on his experience in journalism.
In 2000, his first collection of short fiction, ''Cage of Bones & Other Deadly Obsessions,'' appeared from
Delirium Books
Delirium Books, launched in the summer of 1999 by Shane Ryan Staley, is a horror publisher in the collector's market, producing low print-run limited editions intended for both collectors and readers alike. Delirium Books first published The Ri ...
, which also released his first novel, ''Covenant'', in 2004. ''Covenant'' was reissued by mass market paperback publisher
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 series ...
in 2008, which also reissued the sequel ''Sacrifice'' in 2009 as well as his next two novels, ''The 13th'' and ''Siren''. His fifth novel, ''The Pumpkin Man'' was released by Leisure's parent company,
Dorchester Publishing
Dorchester Publishing was a publisher of mass market paperback books. Although mostly known for romance, Dorchester also published horror, thriller and Western titles.
Publication lines
Dorchester was the original publisher of the ''Hard Case ...
.
After more than 1,000 Dorchester Publishing titles were acquired by Amazon Publishing in 2012, Everson's first five novels were re-issued by Amazon's 47North imprint. That same year, his sixth novel, ''NightWhere'', was issued by Samhain Publishing, which also released his subsequent novels ''Violet Eyes'' and ''The Family Tree.''
In 2013, Everson was commissioned by Amazon Publishing to help launch its new Kindle Worlds portal, which aimed to monetize
fan fiction by licensing popular fictional worlds and opening them for writers to work in. Everson wrote a novelette in the ''Vampire Diaries'' world entitled "Witch Trapped.".
Everson also contributed two stories to the
''V-Wars'' book series created and edited by Jonathan Maberry and published by IDW Publishing. His stories "Love Less" (from ''V-Wars'', 2012) and "Love Lost" (from ''V-Wars: Night Terrors'', 2015) created the characters of vampire sisters Danika and Mila Dubov, who appear in the first season of the Netflix series ''V-Wars'', which debuted on Dec. 5, 2019.
In addition to writing, Everson is the publisher of Dark Arts Books, which has released a dozen anthologies and single author collections since 2006. In 2008, the Dark Arts Books anthology ''Like A Chinese Tattoo'' was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award in the Anthology category.
Everson lives with his wife Geri and son Shaun in
Naperville, Illinois
Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city.
Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was ...
.
Awards and nominations
* ''Covenant'': 2004
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 ...
for First Novel Winner
* "Letting Go": 2007
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 ...
for Short Fiction Finalist
* ''NightWhere'': 2012
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 ...
for Best Novel Finalist
* ''Le Pacte Des Suicides'': 2017
Masterton Award for Translated Novel
Bibliography
Novels
* ''Covenant'' (Delirium Books, 2004; Leisure Books, 2008)
* ''Sacrifice'' (Delirium Books, 2007; Leisure Books, 2009)
* ''The 13th'' (Necro Publications, 2009; Leisure Books, 2009)
* ''Siren'' (Bad Moon Books, 2010; Leisure Books, 2010)
* ''The Pumpkin Man'' (Delirium Books, 2011; Dorchester Publications, 2011)
* ''NightWhere'' (Samhain Publishing, 2012; Dark Arts Books, 2017)
* ''Violet Eyes'' (Samhain Publishing, 2013; Sinister Grin Press, 2016; Dark Arts Books, 2017)
* ''The Family Tree'' (Samhain Publishing, 2014; Sinister Grin Press, 2017; Dark Arts Books, 2017)
* ''Redemption'' (Dark Arts Books, 2017)
* ''The House By The Cemetery'' (Flame Tree Press, 2018)
* ''The Devil's Equinox'' (Flame Tree Press, 2019)
*''Voodoo Heart'' (Flame Tree Press, 2020)
*''Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds'' (Flame Tree Press, 2022)
Short story collections
* ''Cage of Bones & Other Deadly Obsessions'' (2000, Delirium Books)
* ''Vigilantes of Love'' (2003, Twilight Tales Books)
* ''Needles & Sins'' (2007, Necro Publications)
* ''Sacrificing Virgins'' (2015, Samhain Publishing; Dark Arts Books, 2017)
Mini Short Story Collections
* ''Candy In the Dumpster'' (2006, Dark Arts Books)
* ''Creeptych'' (2010, Delirium Books)
* ''Deadly Nightlusts: A Collection of Forbidden Magic'' (2010, Blasphemous Books)
* ''Christmas Tales'' (2010, E3)
Novelettes
* ''Failure'' (2006)
* ''Violet Lagoon'' (2010)
* ''THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: Witch Trapped'' (2013)
* ''NIGHTWHERE: Field of Flesh'' (2017)
Anthology Appearances
* ''SPGA Showcase'' - "Warmin' The Women" (June 1996)
* ''Distant Journeys'' - "Biological Imperative" (Fall 1996)
* ''Nasty Snips'' - "Mirror Image" (Fall 1999)
* ''TransVersions'' - "Calling of the Moon" (Fall 2000)
* ''The Dead Inn'' - "Sacrificing Virgins" (February 2001)
* ''Bloodtype CD Anthology'' - "Mutilation Street" (Spring 2001)
* ''Dark Testament'' - "Mary" (February 2002)
* ''Freaks, Geeks & Sideshow Floozies'' - "Love & Sex & Rope & Screams: A Circus in 3 Acts" (Spring 2002)
* ''Tourniquet Heart'' - "Anniversary" (Summer 2002)
* ''Decadence 2'' - "Dead Girl on the Side of the Road" (Summer 2002)
* ''MOTA 3: Courage'' - "Spirits Having Flown" (Summer 2003)
* ''Damned: An Anthology of the Lost'' - "Green Green Glass" (Spring 2004)
* ''Peepshow Vol. 1'' - "Star on the Beach" (Spring 2004)
* ''Small Bites'' - "Faux" (Fall 2004)
* ''Spooks!'' - "The Tapping" (October 2004)
* ''Cold Flesh'' - "Camille Smiled" (Summer 2005)
* ''In Delirium'' - "The House That Shane Built" (January 2006)
* ''Dark Doorways'' - "My Aim Is True (Spring 2006)
* ''Fear'' - "Long Distance Call" (September 2006)
* ''On Writing Horror'' - chapter on "Small Press" (November 2006)
* ''Kolchak: The Night Stalker'' - "The Strange Events at Vishnu Springs" - February 2007
* ''Echoes of Terror'' - "Ice Cold Shakes" (Spring 2007)
* ''A Dark and Deadly Valley'' - "The Devil's Platoon" (Spring 2007)
* ''Darker Discoveries'' - "The Eyes Have It" (Spring 2008)
* ''Horror Library, Vol. 3'' - "Fish Bait" (2008)
* ''Infernally Yours'' - "And Then Shall The Reign of Lucifer End" (2009)
* ''The Death Panel'' - "The Mouth" (2009)
* ''Terrible Beauty, Fearful Symmetry'' - "In Memoryum" (2009)
* ''Best New Zombie Tales Vol. 2'' - "Camille Smiled" (2010)
* ''Fell Beasts'' - "Yellow" (2011)
* ''Gothic Blue Book'' - "The Tapping" (2011)
* ''Best New Vampire Tales Vol. 1'' - "When Barrettes Brought Justice to a Burning Heart" (2011)
* ''The Green Hornet Casefiles'' - "The Black Widow" (2011)
* ''The Necro Files: Two Decades of Extreme Horror'' - "Every Last Drop" (2011)
* ''V-Wars'' - "Love Less" (2011)
* ''Relics and Remains'' - "Nailed" (2012)
* ''All-American Horror of the 21st Century: The First Decade 2000-2010'' - "The Pumpkin Man" (2013)
* ''The Carnival 13'' - "Prologue/Chapter One" (Round Robin Novella, 2013)
* ''Equilibrium Overturned: The Heart of Darkness Awaits'' - "Amnion" (2014)
* ''Qualia Nous'' - "Voyeur" (2014)
* ''Suspended in Dusk'' - "Spirits Having Flown" (2014)
* ''Eulogies III'' - "The Hole To China" (2015)
* ''V-Wars: Night Terrors'' - "Love Lost" (2015)
* ''Dread'' - "Amnion" (2016)
* ''Drive-In Creature Feature'' - "Ghoul Friend In A Coma" (2016)
* ''Cemetery Riots'' - "Driving Her Home" (2016)
* ''Into Painfreak'' - "Sing Blue Silver" (2016)
* ''Fearful Fathoms: Collected Tales of Aquatic Terror Vol. 1'' - "Seastruck" (2017)
* ''Chopping Block Party'' - "The Most Dangerous Game" (2017)
* ''Midnight in the Graveyard'' - "The Cemetery Man" (2019)
* ''Survive With Me'' - "Forest Butter" (2020)
* ''Beyond the Veil'' - "Arnie's Ashes" (2021)
References
External links
John Everson's HomepageDedicated micro-site for the novel THE PUMPKIN MANDark Arts BooksThe archives of "Pop Stops," Everson's music column for The Star Newspapers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Everson, John
1966 births
21st-century American novelists
American horror writers
American male novelists
Living people
21st-century American male writers