Dark Word #021: Brian Keene

The Dark Word

What's changed? Everything. Brian Keene says the thing that’s changed the most in the years since he sold his first story in 1997 is the rise of the indie press. “The Big Five weren’t publishing horror novels in the mid 90s so you saw the indie press grow and blossom.”

And now, maintains the wildly successful author of over fifty books, the gap between the Big Five and indie presses hasn't just narrowed, it's disappeared.

Keene writes novels, comic books, short stories, and nonfiction, mostly in the horror, crime, and fantasy genres. They have been translated into over a dozen different languages and have won numerous awards. He's mentor to four promising young authors, including Stephen Kozeniewski, the author of the excellent and terrifying Skinwrapper.

He has also written for such media properties as Doctor Who, Thor, Aliens, Harley Quinn, The X-Files, Doom Patrol, Justice League, Hellboy, Superman, and Masters of the Universe.

From 2015 to 2020, he hosted the immensely popular The Horror Show with Brian Keene podcast. He also hosted (along with Christopher Golden) the long-running Defenders Dialogue podcast.

Several of Keene’s novels and stories have been adapted for film, including Ghoul, The Naughty List, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development. Keene also served as Executive Producer for the feature length film I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday.

Keene’s work has been praised by The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN, The Huffington Post, Bleeding Cool, Publisher’s Weekly, Fangoria, Bloody Disgusting, and Rue Morgue.

Keene also serves on the Board of Directors for the Scares That Care 501c charity organization.

He's starting his own IP studio. And if you're looking for one of the greatest Jack Ketchum stories you'll ever hear, it's at about the :31 min mark.