Rod Labbe

Rod Labbe (November 2, 1952) is an American freelance writer, author, and novelist. His work has appeared in such publications as Fangoria, Gorezone, Starlog, Famous Monsters of Filmland, Muscle & Fitness, and Autograph Collector magazine.

Labbe was born on November 2, 1952, in Waterville, Maine. 

He attended Catholic school from grades 1-5 and graduated from Waterville High School in 1971. 

His interest in writing started young as he wrote short stories for his own enjoyment.

In 1976-1981, he attended the University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in filmmaking. In 1982-85, he did his master's in Creative Writing from the University of Maine, Orono, Maine.

Labbe began his freelance writing career in the fall of 1977 while attending the University of Southern Maine; he was a reporter with The University Free Press weekly newspaper for the university. From 1977 to 1981, he contributed articles every week to the publication, ranging from theatre reviews to editorials to sports pieces. While at the university, he also edited the campus literary magazine, The Presumpscot Review, published annually. Labbe continued his freelance writing as a graduate student at the University of Maine. During the summer of 1984, he also began writing for a Maine magazine called Mainely Local.

From December 1985 to December 2000, he ran a comic-related retail store named The Comic Vault.

In 1985, he sold his first interview to body building monthly magazine MuscleMag International.

Over the years, as a freelance writer and journalist, Labbe has written for many renowned publications including, Fangoria, Gorezone, Starlog, Famous Monsters of Filmland, Muscle & Fitness, and Autograph Collector magazine. His primary subjects of interest are nostalgia, horror films, and bodybuilding/fitness.

In May 2014, Labbe published his first novel The Blue Classroom with Samhain Publishing. He had begun writing the novel in August 1989. Diabolique magazine praised the book, writing that "Labbe does a good job with the fright fest elements of the narrative, but his strength is psychological insight into the characters" and that the book "is a horror novel with a reverence for the genre." Horrornovelreviews.com gave the book a 5 out of 5 while praising Labbe as "a man who catches your attention immediately with his talent for the use of language. He’s quite simply a highly skilled and fluid writer."

Labbe currently teaches writing on the collegiate level. He is also working on a second novel and a short story collection, which will include two stories that were finalists in Fangoria’s Weird Words competition. He is an Active Member of The Horror Writer's Association.

Rondo award nominations:

• Best Article 2005: "Don't Open That Coffin--a Baby Boomer's Adventures in the Land of Dark Shadows," Scary Monsters #55.
• Best Interview 2011: "On Stage and in Shadows, an interview with Marie Wallace," Scary Monsters #77.
• Best Interview 2012: "Eve of Destruction, an interview with Dark Shadows' Marie Wallace," Fangoria, May 2012.