Jonathan Janz
Jonathan Janz | |
|---|---|
 Jonathan Janz with his wife at Scares That Care in Williamsburg, VA on March 31, 2023 | |
| Born | October 27, 1973 Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author, teacher |
| Period | 2010–present |
| Genre | |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | |
| jonathanjanz | |
Jonathan Janz (born October 27, 1973) is the pen name of Craig Shaeffer, an American horror author of multiple novels.
Early life
[edit]Jonathan Craig Shaeffer grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was raised by his mother near a graveyard, where she would check out books on albums from the library. Early influences during this time include The Twilight Zone, In Search Of..., the works of Edgar Allan Poe,[1] as well as the audio version of The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens.[2] During childhood, he was prone to sleepwalking, and describes a time when he woke up in a pitch-black room of a friend's house, navigating his way through a maze of boxes because the family had just moved in.[3] He adopted the pseudonym of Jonathan Janz as a way of honoring his maternal grandparents, who helped to raise him.[4]
Career
[edit]In 2011, Janz published his debut novel, The Sorrows. The book received praise from author Brian Keene, who called it "the best horror novel of 2012."[5] Keene would also describe Janz as "One of the best writers in modern horror to come along in the last decade."[6]
Between 2011 and 2016, eight of Janz's novels were released by Samhain Publishing. After this, Janz signed a deal with Flame Tree Publishing, which published four more novels as well as reprintings of his earlier works.[7] Other novels have been released through Sinister Grin Press, Earthling Publications, and Cemetery Dance.
His manager, Ryan Lewis, also works with Josh Malerman.[8]
Janz cites multiple influences on his career, including Stephen King, Joe R. Lansdale, Brian Keene, Richard Matheson, among many others.[9][10]
In March of 2023, Janz won the Wilburn-Thomas Award at the Scares That Care event in Williamsburg, Virginia.[11] This is a charity event organized by author Brian Keene and the award is given to authors who have helped other writers and their community.
Personal life
[edit]Jonathan Janz is the pen name for Craig Shaeffer.[12] Janz teaches high school English, film literature, and creative writing at West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School.[12][13] He currently resides in Indiana with his wife and three children.[14]
Novels
[edit]| Year | Title | Publisher | Pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Sorrows | Samhain Publishing | 272 | |
| 2012 | House of Skin | 312 | ||
| 2013 | The Darkest Lullaby | 272 | ||
| Savage Species | 315 | Originally published as a 5 part eBook | ||
| Bloodshot: Kingdom of Shadows | Kindle Direct Publishing | 187 | Out of Print; Originally published as an eBook | |
| 2014 | Dust Devils | Samhain Publishing | 280 | |
| Castle of Sorrows | 337 | Sequel to The Sorrows | ||
| 2015 | The Nightmare Girl | 304 | ||
| Wolf Land | 314 | |||
| 2016 | Children of the Dark | Sinister Grin Press | 392 | Booklist Top Ten Horror Book of the Year for 2016;[15] re-published in a revised edition by Cemetery Dance Publications in 2023 |
| 2017 | Exorcist Falls | 458 | contains the novella Exorcist Road | |
| 2018 | The Siren and the Specter | Flame Tree Publishing | 295 | Goodreads Choice Awards nominee for Best Horror 2018[16] |
| 2019 | The Dark Game | 352 | Library Journal Best Horror of 2019[17] | |
| 2020 | The Raven | 245 | The Raven, Book One | |
| 2022 | Blood Country | 320 | The Raven, Book Two | |
| Marla | Earthling Publications | 288 | Limited to 500 copies | |
| The Dismembered | Cemetery Dance Publications | 178 | ||
| 2024 | Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers | 396 | Sequel to Children of the Dark | |
| 2025 | Veil | Blackstone Publishing |
Collections
[edit]| Year | Title | Publisher | Pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Tales From the Shadow Side | Thunderstorm Books | 263 | Limited to 60 copies. Includes excepts from an unreleased novel, Garden of Snakes |
Short Fiction
[edit]| Title | Type | Originally published in | Collected in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Witching Hour Theatre" | novella | Kindle Direct Publishing (July 2005) | Tales From the Shadow Side (2019) | Originally published as an eBook |
| "Old Order" | novella | Kindle Direct Publishing (September 2010) | Tales From the Shadow Side (2019) | Originally published as an eBook |
| "The Clearing of Travis Coble" | short story | Kindle Direct Publishing (March 2013) | Tales From the Shadow Side (2019) | Originally published as an eBook |
| "Throwing Monsters" | short story | Piercing the Darkness (February 2014) | Tales From the Shadow Side (2019) | |
| "Exorcist Road" | novella | Kindle Direct Publishing (September 2014) | Appears revised in the paperback version of Exorcist Falls (2017) | Originally published as an eBook |
| "A Southern Evening" | short story | LampLight Vol. 4, Issue 4 (June 2016) | Tales From the Shadow Side (2019) | |
| "Vanilla Sunshine" | short story | Clickers Forever: A Tribute to J.F. Gonzalez (February 2018) | - | |
| "Titan, Tyger" | short story | Lost Highways: Dark Fictions From the Road (July 2018) | - | |
| "Night and Day and In Between" | short story | Welcome to the Show (August 2018) | - | |
| "The Kiss of Diana Antonov" | novella | Leaders of the Pack: A Werewolf Anthology (January 2020) | - | |
| "Room For the Night" | short story | Close to Midnight (October 2022) | - | |
| "The Humpers at the Threshold" | short story | The Drive-In: Multiplex (Fall 2023) | - | Set in the world of Joe R. Lansdale's The Drive-In |
| "Midwinter Tales" | short story | Literally Dead: Tales of Holiday Hauntings (October 2023) | - | |
| "Dobrogost" | short story | Swords in the Shadows: An Anthology (October 2023) | - | |
| "The Third Shannon" | short story | Morbidologies (October 2023) | - | |
| "The Drolls" | short story | Fear of Clowns: A Horror Anthology (September 2024) | - | |
| "Lenora" | short story | The End of the World As We Know It: Tales of Stephen King's The Stand (Forthcoming) | - | Set in the world of Stephen King's The Stand |
Non-Fiction
[edit]| Title | Type | Originally published in | Collected in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Treating Fiction Like a Relationship" | essay | Writers on Writing, Vol. 3 (April 2016) | - | Originally published as an eBook |
| "Elizabeth: An Unnaturally Forgotten Novel" | essay | Elizabeth by Ken Greenhall, Valancourt Books edition (April 2017) | - | |
| "Introduction" | introduction | Midnight in the Graveyard (October 2019) | - | |
| "Introduction: Step Into the Spinning Tunnel" | introduction | Illusions of Isolation (February 2023) | - |
References
[edit]- ^ "Interview with one of my FAVOURITE US Horror writers – Jonathan JANZ". WordPress. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "AUTHOR INTERVIEW: JONATHAN JANZ". Tim Meyer Author. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jonathan Janz". Meghan's House of Books. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "The Therapeutic Power of Horror: A Deep Dive with Jonathan Janz". The Lineup. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
- ^ "Jonathan Janz". Ginger Nuts of Horror. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "How Acclaimed Horror Author Jonathan Janz Writes: Part One". Podglomerate. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "Quoth 'The Raven' An interview with horror writer Jonathan Janz". Book & Film Globe. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "Quoth 'The Raven' An interview with horror writer Jonathan Janz". Book & Film Globe. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "Modern Horror's Shining Light: Kendall Reviews talks to the brilliant Jonathan Janz". Kendall Reviews. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "[Interview] Jonathan Janz Talks Earliest Writings, Horror Favorites and the Future". Horror Novel Reviews. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "AuthorCon Recap". TRANSMISSIONS FROM BLACK HOLE PLANET 3. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ a b Harris, Hadassah (February 6, 2024). "Local high school teacher reveals his secret career as an author". WLFI News 18. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jonathan Janz". Meghan's House of Books. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "Modern Horror's Shining Light: Kendall Reviews talks to the brilliant Jonathan Janz". Kendall Reviews. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "Top 10 Horror: 2016". Booklist. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
- ^ "Best Horror 2018". Goodreads. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
- ^ "Best Horror 2019". Library Journal. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
External links
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