HORROR · FICTION
Michael A. Arnzen
Also known as: Michael Arnzen, Arnzen, Michael
Michael Arnzen is an award-winning author of horror fiction and an English professor at Seton Hill University, where he has taught writing since 1999. His trophy case includes four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing stories. Join his social network at michaelarnzen.com.
Most acclaimed
100 Jolts
Released as a paperback in 2004 this ground-breaking collection is considered by many to be a pioneering work in the flash fiction movement. It broke publishing barriers to micro-fiction, inspired many authors, has been adapted to film and audio, and was also a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award. The expanded hardcover edition contains “Aftershocks,” a battery of newly added stories, as well as bonus writing prompts in an included reader’s/teacher’s guide, and a brand new Afterword. 100 Jolts actually features one hundred short shots of fiction guaranteed to stun. Arnzen has honed his craft to deliver the highest voltage using the fewest words. According to the author “Horror is the genre of the jolt, the shock, the spark. The horror story’s conflict is always a matter of life and death, but death…almost always comes too soon—that’s why we fear it.” And now readers have a new reason to be afraid. One hundred new reasons! From the grotesque to the hilarious these bits of micro-fiction will keep you entertained long after you put the book down. Praise Finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. “…this collection will be a treasured favorite for any collector of horror literature and indispensable reference material for any writer, horror genre or not.” —The Horror Library “The impact of each of these devastating tales is incredible, out of proportion to the brevity of the story…This book is like a little gift, each page revealing a new present, a mini-story told with more flair and style than most novels.” —Verbicide “If you crave a spin down the surreal side, and if you already love where horror poetry has come the last few years, you will appreciate the twilight zone between prose and poetry that Arnzen navigates so well.” —William D. Gagliani for Flesh & Blood
Chew and other ruminations
An early poetry collection, produced in 1991 under Arnzen’s nascent imprint, Mastication Publications. Features twenty-one speculative poems, many of which are original to this collection. Chew also features fantastic artwork from five remarkable artists who had worked with Arnzen in various small press magazines: Marge Simon, Bob Crouch, Ree Young, Virginia Rubio and Renate Muller. Numbered to 234 copies. Praise: “A collection of well-developed work from one of the best horror poets in the small press. Michael Arnzen makes one cringe with the words of Chew and a few pages later you will giggle over the imagery.” –Atsatrohn “Arnzen reveals the fearful power of love and the unease it can generate. Good stuff!” –Jim Lee, Scavenger’s Newsletter “Concisely brilliant…slyly macabre.” –Denise Dumars, Dumars Reviews
Gorelets
Gorelets is a 64-pg chapbook collection of “sudden horror poetry”: 52 ultra short shockers by Michael Arnzen guaranteed to make you squirm! Originally written on (and for) handheld computers as part of a successful online experiment at Arnzen’s gorelets.com, each of these little “caplets of gore” pack a powerful punch. With titles like “Zombeanie Babies,” “Teasing the Cyborg,” “Brain Chunks,” and “The Embolism of Evil” you know you’re in for an unpleasant surprise. Published in 2003 by Fairwood Press. Simultaneously released in an “expanded” e-book edition in 2003 from Double-Dragon books. An extensive "Omnibus" edition was released by Raw Dog Screaming Press in 2012 to commemorate it's 10th anniversary. Praise 2003 Finalist for the Bram Stoker Award “Like one of those stubborn and painful scabs, only Arnzen could pull this one off. Served up with humor both vitreous and gut-wrenching, Gorelets delivers its tasty mind-morsels in palatable portions both raw and rare. If you haven’t tried one yet, grab a plate and dig in.” –Kurt Newton “Gorelets are a sign of horror’s rebirth.” –Pittsburgh City Paper