Richard Thomas (author)

Richard Thomas (born November 21, 1967) is an American author. His focus is on neo-noir fiction, typically including elements of violence, mental instability, breaks in reality, and tragedies. His work is rich in setting and sensory details, and often has a sexual element to it. It has also been called transgressive and grotesque. He is also Editor-in-Chief at Dark House Press and Gamut Magazine.

Thomas was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Webster Groves. He earned a Bachelor of Science at Bradley University, in Peoria, Illinois, and in 2012 an MFA at Murray State University. He currently lives in Chicago.

Thomas is Editor-in-Chief at Dark House Press[1], an imprint of Curbside Splendor Publishing that launched in 2014 with The New Black.He is also the Editor of Gamut Magazine, [2] a new online publication focusing on neo-noir, speculative fiction with a literary bent, that was funded by a successful Kickstarter, raising over $55,000. It will launch on January 1, 2017.

In addition to his fiction he writes a Storyville[3] column at LitReactor.com, book reviews for The Nervous Breakdown, and articles for BuzzFeed and Flavorwire. He has taught creative writing at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival[4], Story Studio Chicago[5], and LitReactor.com[6].

• Transubstantiate (Otherworld Publications, 2010)
• Herniated Roots: Stories (Snubnose Press) September 2012
• Staring Into the Abyss: Stories (Kraken Press) April 2013
• Disintegration (Random House Alibi) May 2015
• Breaker (Random House Alibi) January 2016
• Tribulations: Stories (Crystal Lake Publishing / Cemetery Dance, April, 2016)
• The Soul Standard (Dzanc Books) with Caleb J. Ross, Nik Korpon, and Axel Taiari, June 2016

• Remp, Timothy P. (April 23, 2011). "Book reviews: Transubstantiate by Edward Thomas". Shroud magazine. 
• Skelhorn, Barry (February 16, 2013). "Kraken Press Announces 'Staring into the Abyss', by Richard Thomas". Sanitarium magazine. 
• Ben (August 19, 2013). "Book Review: Richard Thomas - Herniated Roots". Dead End Follies. 
• Lockley, Craig (October 14, 2013). "Staring Into The Abyss by Richard Thomas. Book review". The British Fantasy Society. 
• Buchan, P. M. (March 8, 2013). "Book Review: Staring Into the Abyss". Starburst Magazine. 
• "Disintegration | Richard Thomas | 9781101882627". NetGalley.com. 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2015-12-15. 
• "Soul Standard (9781938103049): Richard Thomas, Caleb Ross, Axel Taiari, Nik Korpon: Books". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2015-12-15. 

• Winner, "Enter the World of Filaria" contest, 2009, at ChiZine for "Maker of Flight." [1]
• Winner of the 2011 Cafe Doom / One Buck Horror short story contest for "Wicker Park Pause."
• “Terrapin Station,” Pear Noir #5, January 2011 (Pushcart nomination)
• “Fireflies,” Polluto #8, May 2012 (Honorable mention, Best Horror of the Year)
• “The Jenny Story,” Qualia Nous, Written Backwards, October 2014 (Bram Stoker-nominated anthology)
• Bram Stoker Award, 2014: nominated for Best Anthology—Burnt Tongues, Medallion Press (Co-Editor) and Qualia Nous, Written Backwards ("Jenny Store"); nominated for Best Short Story Collection: After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones, Dark House Press (Publisher); nominated for Non-Fiction: Horror 101: The Way Forward, Crystal Lake Publishing ("The Journey: Rudy Jenkins Buries His Fears").
• Shirley Jackson Award. 2015: nominated for Best Anthology: Exigencies, edited by Richard Thomas; nominated for Best Short Fiction: "Wilderness" by Letitia Trent, in Exigencies (Editor and Publisher) | 2014: nominated for Best Short Story Collection: After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones, Dark House Press (Publisher)
• This is Horror, 2014: Winner for Best Anthology: Burnt Tongues, Medallion Press (Co-Editor); Winner for Best Short Story Collection: After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones, Dark House Press (Publisher).
• Disintegration (Random House Alibi), 2015: Best Fiction Books of 2015 (Entropy Magazine); Top Ten Books of 2015 (Cultured Vultures); Favorite Reads of 2015 (Shotgun Logic). Best Fiction Reads of 2015 (Quiet Fury Books).
• Best Horror of the Year: "Wilderness" by Letitia Trent, in Exigencies (Editor and Publisher).

• "Final Ballot for Bram Stoker Awards 2014". Horror Writers Association. February 23, 2015. 
• "2015 Shirley Jackson Awards Nominees". Shirley Jackson Awards. May 2016. 
• "2014 Shirley Jackson Awards Nominees". Shirley Jackson Awards. May 2015. 
• "This Is Horror Awards 2014: Winners". This is Horror. February 24, 2015. 
• "Best of 2015: Best Fiction Books". Entropy Magazine. December 8, 2015. 
• "Top 10 Books of 2015". Cultured Vultures. December 7, 2015. 
• "Favorite Reads of 2015". Shotgun Logic. December 18, 2015. 
• "Best Fiction Reads of 2015". Shotgun Logic. January 5, 2016. 
• "Best Horror of the Year 8". Night Shade Books. June 7, 2016.