Mort Castle (born 1946) is an American
horror
Horror may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Genres
*Horror fiction, a genre of fiction
**Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction
** Korean horror, Korean horror fiction
*Horror film, a film genre
*Horror comics, comic books focusing on ...
author
and writing teacher, with more than 500 short stories and 17 books to his credit, including ''Cursed Be the Child'' (
Leisure Books
Leisure Books was a mass market paperback publisher specializing in horror and thrillers that operated from 1957 to 2010. In the company's early years, it also published fantasy, science fiction, Westerns, and the Wildlife Treasury card seri ...
, 1994) and ''The Strangers''. Castle's first novel was published in 1967. Since then he has had pieces published in all sorts of places ranging from traditional
literary magazines
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and lett ...
to more off-the-wall or risqué markets. He has been nominated eleven times for the
Bram Stoker Award for Short Fiction The Bram Stoker Award for Short Fiction is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for short fiction.
Winners and nominees
This category was previously titled "best short story". Nomi ...
and was winner three times.
A dedicated writing teacher, Castle has been a working musician, a
standup comic
Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up.
Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...
, a stage
hypnotist
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
, a high school English teacher (for 11 years), and a magazine and
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...
editor. He is currently writer-in-residence for two high schools, and teaching "Researching and Writing Historical Fiction" and "Story In Graphic Form" and other classes at
Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is a private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduat ...
. He is a frequent keynote speaker at writing conferences, and has given over 1000 presentations to writers, would-be writers, and teachers of writing. One of his latest books, ''Writing Horror'', for which he served as
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, ...
, has become the "bible" for aspiring horror authors. It also includes interviews with some of horror's top stars, such as
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high ...
. Castle is also the
Executive Editor
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
o
Thorby Comics and currently fiction editor for ''
Doorways Magazine''.
Castle has been a regular contributor to Eureka Productions' ''
Graphic Classics
''Graphic Classics'' is a comic book anthology series published by Eureka Productions of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. ''Graphic Classics'' features adaptations of literary classics by authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle, H. P. Lovecraft, and Edgar All ...
'' series since 2006, with work in ''Graphic Classics:
Jack London
John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
,'' (second edition), ''Graphic Classics:
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by ...
'' (second edition), ''Graphic Classics:
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busin ...
'' (second edition), ''Graphic Classics:
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', '' Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
'' (second edition), ''Graphic Classics:
O. Henry
William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include " The Gift of the ...
'', and ''Graphic Classics:
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. ...
Classics''.
In August 2013 it was announced that Castle will be scripting the
Red Giant Entertainment
Red Giant Entertainment, Inc. is a Florida-headquartered comic book publisher and "transmedia" entertainment company established in 2005. Red Giant was founded by Benny R. Powell, former marketing writer for Priceline.com. Other key players in ...
comic book ''
Darchon'', an ongoing feature of their ''
Giant-Size Comics'' line of free print comic book titles set to debut on May 3, 2014, as part of
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and is often cross-promoted wi ...
. ''
Darchon'' will appear monthly in ''
Giant-Size Thrills'', their horror-focused title.
Mort Castle's short story, ''Oval Portrait'', was published in
3Elements Literary Review's fall issue no. 8, in October 2015.
[Mort Castle, ''Oval Portrait'']
Review''.
Fall Journal, Issue No.8 (October 2015)
Awards
Castle has been nominated for various awards, including the
Pushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors ar ...
, the
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 ...
(which he won three times), the ''DeMarco Prize'', and th
Emerson Fiction Award ''Leaders in the Arts for Chicago''.
Bibliography
Novels
* ''In Memoriam: Papa, Blake and HPL''
* ''The Deadly Election'' (1976)
* ''The Strangers'' (1984)
* ''Cursed Be the Child'' (1990)
Collections
* ''So Many Tomorrows: Three Stories About Children''
* ''Moon on the Water'' (2000)
* ''Nations of the Living, Nations of the Dead'' (2002)
* ''New Moon on the Water'' (announced by the now defunct Full Moon Press for 2010, currently being published by DarK Regions Press)
* ''Knowing When to Die'' (2018)
Anthologies edited
* ''Nukes: Four Horror Writers on the Ultimate Horror : Stories'' (1986)
* ''Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury'' with
Sam Weller (2012)
* "All American Horror of the 21st Century"
Non fiction
* ''Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror Writers Association'' (1997)
* "Writer's Digest Annotated Classics: Dracula"
See also
*
List of horror fiction authors
This is a list of some (not all) notable writers in the horror fiction genre.
Note that some writers listed below have also written in other genres, especially fantasy and science fiction.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
...
References
External links
*
Bibliography*
Interviews
One Woman's Writing Retreat: Interview* Barrantes, Guillermo y Martín Valiente
"Reportaje a Mort Castle,"''Boletín'' (Nov. 2003)
panish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castle, Mort
American horror writers
American fantasy writers
American comics writers
20th-century American novelists
1946 births
Living people
American male novelists
20th-century American male writers