Joshua "Josh" Viola is a
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 unive ...
/
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), 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 ...
/
horror writer best known for
Denver Moon,
The Bane of Yoto
''The Bane of Yoto'' is a thirteen-time award-winning science-fantasy novel by Josh Viola (creator) and Nicholas Karpuk, first published in June 2012 by music label FiXT Music owned by electronic rocker Klayton of Celldweller.
Logline: When a ...
and his publishing company
Hex Publishers. He is a 2021 Splatterpunk Award nominee (Psi-Wars: Classified Cases of Psychic Phenomena) and a 2022
Colorado Book Awards winner (Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas).
Background
In 2012, Viola collaborated with
Klayton
Klayton Albert (born Scott David Albert; June 17, 1969) is an American multi-instrumentalist from New York City who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Klayton has led several bands and has performed under a variety of stage names sin ...
and his music label/publisher,
FiXT Music
FiXT (pronounced "fixed") is an American independent media company with several divisions including a record label, an online music store, and a film/TV/video game music licensing arm. FiXT was founded and is owned by Klayton, the sole member o ...
, where Viola is the author of the novels ''
Blackstar
''Blackstar'' is an American animated science fantasy television series, produced in 1981 by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott for Filmation. The series was Filmation's second fantasy epic, the first being '' The Freedom Force'', a segment of '' ...
'' and ''
The Bane of Yoto
''The Bane of Yoto'' is a thirteen-time award-winning science-fantasy novel by Josh Viola (creator) and Nicholas Karpuk, first published in June 2012 by music label FiXT Music owned by electronic rocker Klayton of Celldweller.
Logline: When a ...
''.
He directed the “
Unshakeable” animated music video for
Celldweller
Celldweller is an American electronic rock project by multi-musician Klayton. Celldweller songs have been featured in many films, movie trailers, television shows and video games.
Career Precursors: Circle of Dust and Angeldust (1992–1999)
The ...
.
Viola is owner of publishing house
Hex Publishers. He edited their
Denver Post
''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
number one best selling horror anthology, ''
Nightmares Unhinged'', featuring Bram Stoker, Hugo and Nebula Award winners such as Jason Heller,
Steve Rasnic Tem,
Edward Bryant
Edward Winslow Bryant Jr. (August 27, 1945 – February 10, 2017) was an American science fiction and horror writer sometimes associated with the Dangerous Visions series of anthologies that bolstered The New Wave. At the time of his death, ...
and
Stephen Graham Jones
Stephen Graham Jones is a Blackfoot Native American author of experimental fiction, horror fiction, crime fiction, and science fiction. Although his recent work is often classified as horror, he is celebrated for applying more "literary" stylings ...
. He co-edited ''
Cyber World
''Cyber World'' is a science fiction/cyberpunk anthology edited by Hugo Award-winner Jason Heller and Joshua Viola published on November 8, 2016 (Election Day). It is the second anthology from Hex Publishers, preceded by ''Nightmares Unhinged'', a ...
'', a
cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...
anthology, with Jason Heller for Hex Publishers in 2016, which was a 2017
Colorado Book Award
The Colorado Book Awards are awards presented annually to Colorado authors, editors, illustrators, and photographers who exemplify the best in their category in the state during a given year. Awards have been presented since 1991. The awards are ...
finalist and named one of the best anthologies of 2016 by
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
. Blood Business, a paranormal crime anthology co-edited by Mario Acevedo, was a 2018 Colorado Book Award finalist. In 2019, his comic book collection,
Denver Moon: Metamorphosis, was included on the 2018
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 1 ...
Preliminary Ballot for Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel. He was nominated for his fourth Colorado Book Award in April 2020 for his Denver Moon sequel, The Saint of Mars, a year after the first book, The Minds of Mars, was nominated for the 2019 award. In 2021, he edited the StokerCon™ souvenir anthology for 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 ...
's first online convention (due to the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic), which included the 2020
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 1 ...
s. His 2020 anthology, Psi-Wars, was nominated for a 2021 Splatterpunk Award (award founded by Wrath James White and
Brian Keene
Brian Keene (born September 22, 1967) 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 a ...
). He won the 2022 Colorado Book Award in the Anthology category for Shadow Atlas, co-edited by Carina Bissett and Hillary Dodge. In 2022, he became the Creative Director of Novelization and Comics for Random Games' Unioverse videogame franchise launched by a team of gaming and entertainment industry veterans behind titles such as
Grand Theft Auto
''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones (video game developer), David Jones and Mike Dailly (game designer), Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan Hous ...
,
Donkey Kong Country
''Donkey Kong Country'' is a 1994 platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a reboot of Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'' franchise and follows the gorilla Donkey Kong and h ...
, and
''Crackdown''. He is working directly with Brent Friedman, a master storyteller whose previous credits include writing on
Star Wars: The Clone Wars,
Halo 4
''Halo 4'' is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by 343 Industries and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. ''Halo 4''s story follows a cybernetically enhanced human supersoldier, Master Chief, a ...
,
The Walking Dead,
Call of Duty
''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter video game Media franchise, franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in World War II. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the Cold W ...
, and
Star Trek: Enterprise
''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...
.
Bibliography
Novels
* ''
The Bane of Yoto
''The Bane of Yoto'' is a thirteen-time award-winning science-fantasy novel by Josh Viola (creator) and Nicholas Karpuk, first published in June 2012 by music label FiXT Music owned by electronic rocker Klayton of Celldweller.
Logline: When a ...
'' with Nicholas Karpuk (FiXT, 2012)
* ''
Blackstar
''Blackstar'' is an American animated science fantasy television series, produced in 1981 by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott for Filmation. The series was Filmation's second fantasy epic, the first being '' The Freedom Force'', a segment of '' ...
'' (FiXT, 2015)
* ''
The Bane of Yoto
''The Bane of Yoto'' is a thirteen-time award-winning science-fantasy novel by Josh Viola (creator) and Nicholas Karpuk, first published in June 2012 by music label FiXT Music owned by electronic rocker Klayton of Celldweller.
Logline: When a ...
'' Re-Write with Mario Acevedo and Nicholas Karpuk (Hex Publishers, 2022)
Novellas
* ''
Denver Moon: The Minds of Mars'' with Warren Hammond (Hex Publishers, 2018)
* ''
Denver Moon: The Saint of Mars'' with Warren Hammond (Hex Publishers, 2019)
* ''
Denver Moon: The Thirteen of Mars'' with Warren Hammond (Hex Publishers, 2022)
Anthologies edited
* ''
Nightmares Unhinged'' (Hex Publishers, 2015)
* ''
Cyber World
''Cyber World'' is a science fiction/cyberpunk anthology edited by Hugo Award-winner Jason Heller and Joshua Viola published on November 8, 2016 (Election Day). It is the second anthology from Hex Publishers, preceded by ''Nightmares Unhinged'', a ...
'' with Jason Heller (Hex Publishers, 2016)
* ''Georgetown Haunts and Mysteries'' with Jeanne Stein (Hex Publishers & Ghost Town Writers Retreat, 2017)
* ''Blood Business: Crime Stories from this World and Beyond'' with Mario Acevedo (Hex Publishers, 2017)
* ''Psi-Wars: Classified Cases of Psychic Phenomena'' (Hex Publishers, 2020)
* ''It Came From The Multiplex: 80s Midnight Chillers'' (Hex Publishers & Colorado Festival of Horror, 2020)
* ''StokerCon™ 2021 Souvenir Anthology: The Phantom Denver Edition'' (Hex Publishers/
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 ...
, 2021)
* ''Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas'' with Carina Bissett and Hillary Dodge (Hex Publishers, 2021)
* ''Unioverse: Stories of the Reconvergence'' with Angie Hodapp (Hex Publishers/Random Games, 2023)
Comic books
* ''Tooth and Claw'' with Angie Hodapp and Aaron Lovett (Hex Publishers, 2017)
* ''
Denver Moon: Murder on Mars'' with Warren Hammond and Aaron Lovett (Hex Publishers, 2018)
* ''
Denver Moon: Rafe's Revenge'' with Warren Hammond and Aaron Lovett (Hex Publishers, 2018)
* ''
Denver Moon: Transformations'' with Warren Hammond and Aaron Lovett (Hex Publishers, 2018)
* ''
Denver Moon: Metamorphosis'' with Warren Hammond and Aaron Lovett (Hex Publishers, 2018)
* ''Unioverse: Reyu'' with Angie Hodapp and Ben Matsuya (Hex Publishers/Random Games, 2023)
* ''Unioverse: Krishah'' with Angie Hodapp and Ben Matsuya (Hex Publishers/Random Games, 2023)
* ''Unioverse: Tor Gret'' with Angie Hodapp and Ben Matsuya (Hex Publishers/Random Games, 2023)
* ''Unioverse: Annill'' with Angie Hodapp and Ben Matsuya (Hex Publishers/Random Games, 2023)
* ''Unioverse: Vella Janx'' with Angie Hodapp and Ben Matsuya (Hex Publishers/Random Games, 2023)
* ''Unioverse: Silas'' with Angie Hodapp and Ben Matsuya (Hex Publishers/Random Games, 2023)
Children's books
* ''Boomer and Friends!'' with Lindsey Bell and Aaron Lovett (JAM Publishers, 2017)
Short stories
* "Luna One" (Hex Publishers, 2014)
* "The Camera" (Hex Publishers, 2015)
* "The Librarian" (Hex Publishers, 2015)
* "Needles" with Dean Wyant (Hex Publishers, 2015)
* "Scarecrows" (Hex Publishers, 2015)
* "Fangs" as J.V. Kyle (Hex Publishers, 2015)
* "Bathroom Break" as J.V. Kyle (Hex Publishers, 2015)
* "Finder's Fee" (RMFW Press, 2016)
* "Outsorcery" (The Literary Hatchet, 2016)
* "Notches" with Sean Eads (Blood Bound Books, 2017)
* "Straight to the Top" as Trevor Jones (Hex Publishers, 2017)
* "
Denver Moon: Metamorphosis" with Warren Hammond (Hex Publishers, 2018)
* "For the Road is Heaven" with Sean Eads (Hex Publishers, 2018)
* "Our Hero" with Sean Eads (RMFW Press, 2018)
* "Many Carvings" with Sean Eads (Corpus Press, 2018)
* "Eunuch's Code" with Sean Eads (Blood Bound Books, 2019)
* "Grave Mistake" with
Carter Wilson
Carter Wilson is an American novelist and short-fiction writer based in Erie, Colorado. He is best known for his works of domestic and psychological suspense. Wilson is an author of eight books.
Biography
Wilson was born in New Mexico and gr ...
(Denver Horror Collective, 2019)
* "BFG" with Sean Eads (Birdy Magazine, 2020)
* "The Sommelier" with Sean Eads (Birdy Magazine, 2020)
* "Bright Rain" with Sean Eads (Birdy Magazine, 2020)
* "The Jarheads" with Sean Eads (Hex Publishers, 2020)
* "The Devil's Reel" with Sean Eads (Hex Publishers, 2020)
* "The Recall" (Bloodshot Books, 2020)
* "When the Trumpet Sounds" (Birdy Magazine, 2020)
* "Flashpoints" with
Keith Ferrell
Henry Keith Ferrell (July 7, 1953–April 11, 2020) was an American author with over a dozen published works including science fiction/fantasy, biographical and video game guides. Ferrell also edited the popular Omni Magazine in the 1990s.
O ...
(Birdy Magazine, 2021)
* "The Disciple of Many Faces" (Birdy Magazine, 2021)
* "Diminished Seventh" with Sean Eads (Black Spot Books/Crystal Lake Publishing, July 2022)
* "Ballad of the Overeager Gun" with Sean Eads (Brigids Gate Press, August 2022)
Anecdotes
* "Introduction: Reclaim Your Fears" (Hex Publishers, 2015)
* "Cyber Punks" (
Locus Magazine
''Locus: The Magazine of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field'', founded in 1968, is an American magazine published monthly in Oakland, California. It is the news organ and trade journal for the English-language science fiction and fantasy (genre ...
, 2016)
* "Introduction: Metamorphosis" (Hex Publishers, 2016)
* "The Holy Appendix" as Jay Vee (Birdy Magazine, Issue 083, 2020)
[Birdy Magazine]
"The Holy Appendix"
''Birdy Magazine''. Retrieved on 19 October 2020.
References
External links
Westword
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viola, Josh
21st-century American novelists
American male novelists
Living people
1983 births
Writers from Denver
American science fiction writers
21st-century American male writers
Novelists from Colorado