Mark Finn (born October 1969) is the pseudonym of Mark Farr-Nash, an American

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 ...

and

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 ...

writer, essayist, and playwright. In 2007 he was nominated for World Fantasy Special Award: Professional.

Biography

Finn's earliest published work was a series of

comic book 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 ...

stories that he wrote and drew for Absolute Comics, notably the “Punk” series he created with William Traxtle and Shane Campos, among others, from 1991 to 1994. He left comics in the mid-90s to concentrate on fiction writing. He also wrote a number of essays and articles for

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

’s online website before establishing his own weekly self-distributed column, “Finn's Wake.” Finn worked for Chessex Manufacturing for a year, serving as their editor-in-chief, where he worked on a number of product lines including ''Lost Worlds'', ''Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective'', and helped design a variety of ancillary game product tie-ins for ''Vampire: the Masquerade'', ''Call of Cthulhu'', Chessex' Speckled Dice line, and others. Finn returned to Texas in the late 1990s and formed

Clockwork Storybook Clockwork Storybook (CWSB) was a writer's collective and independent book publisher based in Austin, Texas. It specialized in the fantasy, horror and adventure genres. History Clockwork Storybook was formed in the late 1990s by fellow Austin-b ...

with fellow writers Chris Roberson,

Matthew Sturges Lilah Sturges (; born Matthew Sturges, October 1970) is an American writer of comics and fantasy novels. She is best known for co-writing with Bill Willingham the Eisner-award-nominated '' Jack of Fables'', and other comics published by Vertigo C ...

, and

Bill Willingham William Willingham (born 1956) is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series ''Elementals (Comico Comics), Elementals'' and ''Fables (comics), Fables''. Career William Willingham was born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. ...

. Their monthly

shared world A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...

anthology of

urban fantasy Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy which places imaginary and unreal elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with quixotic plot-drivers, unusual character traits, and a platform for cl ...

centered on the fictitious city of San Cibola, California, and the magical inhabitants that lived side-by-side with the normal citizens. From this collective, Finn published the novels ''Gods New & Used'' and ''Year of the Hare'', the first collection of stories revolving around Sam Bowen. Finn later became a contributing editor for RevolutionSF.com and wrote a number of articles and reviews to the website. Finn served as the creative director for the

Violet Crown Radio Players Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...

, an

audio theater Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

troupe based in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, from 2002 to 2007. He has written several original scripts to critical acclaim and also adapted novels and short stories to an

old time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

format, most notably “The Adventures of

Sailor Steve Costigan Sailor Steve Costigan is a fictional character created by American writer Robert E. Howard. He is a merchant sailor on the ''Sea Girl'' and is also its champion boxer. His only true companion is a bulldog named Mike (after his brother and fellow ...

”, and “

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

”, which was nominated for a B. Iden Payne award. He has been active in Robert E. Howard studies since 2002 and is now considered to be a scholar in the field. His biography of Howard, '' Blood & Thunder: The Life & Art of Robert E. Howard'' ( Monkeybrain, Inc.), was released in November 2006 at the

World Fantasy Convention The World Fantasy Convention is an annual science fiction convention, convention of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of fantasy. The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the event. Other features include an art sh ...

and was a finalist for the 2007

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

Awards for Best Non-Fiction. For his work on ''Blood & Thunder'', Finn was nominated for the 2007

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

in the Special Award Professional category. Finn won the 2005 Cimmerian Awards for Outstanding Achievement, Best Essay (for “Fists of Robert E. Howard” from ''The Barbaric Triumph''), and the Emerging Scholar plus the 2007 Awards for Outstanding Achievement, Book By A Single Author (for ''Blood & Thunder'') and Outstanding Achievement, Website (along with

Leo Grin Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...

Rob Roehm Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob (s ...

and

Steve Tompkins Steve Tompkins is an American television writer. He attended Harvard University and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon; he graduated in 1988. He has worked on such television shows such as ''The Critic'', ''In Living Color'', ''Entourage'', ''The Bernie ...

for The Cimmerian blog). In 2013, 2014 and 2016 Finn was named one of the top movie critics in Texas by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors awards. Finn is a founding member o
the Gentlemen Nerds
podcast.

Partial bibliography

# "

Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

With a Dick" - RevolutionSF, 2001 # ''Gods New & Used'' - Clockwork Storybook, 2001 () # ''Year of the Hare'' - Clockwork Storybook, 2002 () # "Diary of a Dinopunk" - RevolutionSF, December 2002 # "The Transformation of Lawrence Croft" - RevolutionSF, (serialized) 2003 # "Fists of Robert E. Howard" (essay) - ''The Barbaric Triumph'',

Wildside Press Wildside Press is an independent publishing company in Cabin John, Maryland, United States. It was founded in 1989 by John Betancourt and Kim Betancourt. While the press was originally conceived as a publisher of speculative fiction in both trade ...

, 2004 () # “Bare Knuckles & Bulldogs”, (intro) - ''Waterfront Fists: The Complete Fight Stories of Robert E. Howard'', Wildside Press, 2004. () # "Something About Harry" - ''Projections: Science Fiction in Literature and Film'', Monkeybrain, Inc., 2004 () # "Robert E. Howard" (an interview with Rusty Burke) - ''Conversations with Texas Writers'', -

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texan ...

, 2005. () # "Robert E. Howard: Lone Star Fantasist" - '' Conan: The Frost-Giant's Daughter and Other Stories'',

Dark Horse Books Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

, 2005 () # "The Chronicler of Conan: Robert E. Howard On His Most Famous Creation" - ''Conan: The God In the Bowl and Other Stories'', Dark Horse Books, 2005 () # "The Bridge of Teeth" - ''Adventure, Volume 1'', Monkeybrain, Inc., 2005 (honorable mention in

Gardner Dozois Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American people, American science fiction author and editing, editor. He was the founding editor of ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of ...

’ ''Year's Best Science Fiction'') () # “A Whim of Circumstance” - ''Cross Plains Universe: Texans Celebrate Robert E. Howard'', Monkeybrain, Inc., 2006 () # '' Blood & Thunder: The Life & Art of Robert E. Howard 2nd edition'', The Robert E. Howard Foundation Press., 2014 () # “ The Transformation of Lawrence Croft: The Con-Dorks Saga Volume 1”, Monkeyhouse Publishing, 2014 () # “ The Chance of a Lifetime: The Con-Dorks Saga Volume 2”, Monkeyhouse Publishing, 2014 () # “

Road Trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey on the road. Typically, road trips are long distances travelled by automobile. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by t ...

”, Monkeyhouse Publishing, 2014 () # “ Year of the Hare: The Sam Bowen Chronicles Volume 1”, Monkeyhouse Publishing, 2014 () # “ The Adventures of Sailor Tom Sharkey”, Fight Card Publishing, 2014 () # “ Bowen's Bluff: The Sam Bowen Chronicles Volume 2”, Monkeyhouse Publishing, 2015 () # “ One in a Million: The Con-Dorks Saga Volume 3”, Monkeyhouse Publishing, 2014 () # “Bones of the Rebellion” - ''Asian Pulp'', Pro Se Press, 2015 () # “Sic Semper Draconis” - ''HEROIKA 1: Dragon Eaters'', Perseid Press, 2015 () # “Shabby Chic” - ''Debris & Detritus: The Lesser Greek Gods Running Amok'', Story Spring Press, 2017 ()

References

External links

Finn's Wake blog

* ttp://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=3510 Baker's Dozen with Mark Finn
"Hemingway With a Dick"

"Diary of a Dinopunk"

"The Transformation of Lawrence Croft"

"Mark Finn as guest host on Chicken Fried Radio"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finn, Mark 1969 births American biographers American male biographers American science fiction writers American short story writers American comics writers Living people Pulp fiction writers Robert E. Howard American male short story writers American male novelists