Bentley Little (born 1960 in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...

) is an American author of

horror fiction Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defin ...

. Publishing an average of a novel a year since 1990, Little avoids publicity and rarely does promotional work or interviews for his writing.

Early life

Little is an

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

native who, according to his professional biography, was born one month after his mother saw the world premiere of

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's film '' Psycho''. He studied at California State University Fullerton, from which he earned a BA in

Communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

and an MA in

Comparative Literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

. His

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

for the latter was his first novel, ''The Revelation'', which was later published and won a

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

Style and recognition

Little's novels tend to have brief titles (many use the construction "The oun, like ''The Mailman'' and ''The House'') and fall squarely into the horror genre. He dislikes his work being categorized as "suspense" or "supernatural thriller", preferring the more straightforward genre label. His work has been championed by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

and

Dean Koontz Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945) is an American author. His novels are billed as thriller (genre), suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror fiction, horror, fantasy, science fiction, Mystery fiction, mystery, and sati ...

, leading to increased recognition.

Adaptations

In 2007 Little's short story " The Washingtonians" was adapted for the TV show ''

Masters of Horror ''Masters of Horror'' is a horror anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Origin In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherm ...

'', becoming the twelfth episode of its second season. Directed by

Peter Medak Péter Medák (born 23 December 1937) is a Hungarians in the United Kingdom, Hungarian-British film and television director. Early life Born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamounstein) and Gyula Med ...

, it significantly lightened the tone of the author's original work, aiming for camp over the short story's dark humour. It was negatively received by critics. That same year ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' announced that a film adaptation of the novel ''The Store'' was in development at Strike Entertainment, with a script by Jenna McGrath, production duties handled by Marc Abraham and Eric Newman, and executive production by Vince Gerardis, Eli Kirschner, and Tom Bliss. As of 2025 the project has not yet come to fruition. On November 18, 2021, it was revealed that a TV series based on Little's novel ''The Consultant'' has been ordered by

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

Bibliography

Novels

* '' The Revelation'' (1990) *'' The Mailman'' (1991) *''Death Instinct'' (1992) (writing as Phillip Emmons), also known as ''Evil Deeds'' *''The Summoning'' (1993) *''Night School'' (1994) – released as ''University'' in 1995 *''Dominion'' (1996) *''The Ignored'' (1997) *''Guests'' (1997) – released in the U.S as ''The Town'' in 2000 *''The Store'' (1998) *''The House'' (1999) *''The Walking'' (2000) *''The Town'' (2000) – updated re-release of ''Guests'' (1999, UK) *''The Association'' (2001) *''The Return'' (2002) *''The Policy'' (2003) *''The Resort'' (2004) *''Dispatch'' (2005) *''The Burning'' (2006) *''The Vanishing'' (2007) *''The Academy'' (2008) *''His Father's Son'' (2009) *''The Disappearance'' (2010) *''The Haunted'' (2012) *''The Circle'' (2012) *''The Influence'' (2013) *''The Consultant'' (2016) *''The Handyman'' (2017) *''The Bank'' (2020) *''Gloria'' (2021) *''DMV'' (2023) *''Behind'' (2024)

Collections

*''Murmurous Haunts'' (1997) *''The Collection'' (2002) *''Four Dark Nights'' (2002) (with Douglas Clegg, Christopher Golden, and Tom Piccirilli) *''Indignities of the Flesh'' (2012) *''Walking Alone: Short Stories'' (2018)

Short stories

*''Witch Woman'' (1985) *''The Show'' (1987) *''Looney Tune'' (1987) *''The Janitor'' (1988) *''The Sanctuary'' (1989) *''Miles to Go Before I Sleep'' (1991) *''The Potato'' (1991) *''The Washingtonians'' (1992) *''The Man in the Passenger Seat'' (1993) *''Monteith'' (1993) *''From the Mouths of Babes'' (1994) *''The Numbers Game'' (1994) *''The Pond'' (1994) *''See Marilyn Monroe's Panties!'' (1995) *''Life With Father'' (1998) *''Connie'' (1999) *''The Theatre'' (1999) *''After the Date'' (2005) *''Pop Star in The Ugly Bar'' (2005) *''Brushing'' (2007) *''The Miracle'' (2012)

Awards

*1990

winner for Best First Novel ('' The Revelation'') *1993

nominee for Best Novel (''The Summoning'') *2012

nominee for Best Novel (''The Haunted'')

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Bentley 1960 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American horror writers American horror novelists American male novelists American male short story writers Novelists from Arizona Writers from Mesa, Arizona