Mike Allen (born 1969) is an American news reporter and columnist, as well as an editor and writer of

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

and

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

Life

Allen is married to Anita Allen, with whom he runs Mythic Delirium Books.Allen, Mike.
Descent into Light: Mike Allen’s Home Page. About Mike Allen
" In his day job, he is a news reporter and arts and culture columnist for a daily newspaper in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

, where he currently lives.

Literary career

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' has described Allen as being " ong the better-known practitioners of speculative poetry" Strange Wisdoms of the Dead by Mike Allen
PopMatters.com; accessed June 6, 2017. and said his poems "work best when his bizarre lyricism is put in the service of a scary and taut narrative." He served as president of the

Science Fiction Poetry Association The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) is a society based in the United States with the aim of fostering an international community of writers and readers interested in poetry pertaining to the genres of science fiction, fantasy, ...

from 2004 to 2006. He created the

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. However, when a distinction ...

poetry journal ''Mythic Delirium'' in 1998. Published biannually, the journal has included poems by authors such as

Suzette Haden Elgin Suzette Haden Elgin (born Patricia Anne Suzette Wilkins; November 18, 1936 – January 27, 2015) was an American researcher in experimental linguistics, construction and evolution of languages and poetry and science fiction writer. She founded t ...

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

Theodora Goss Theodora Goss (born September 30, 1968) is a Hungarian-American fiction writer and poet. Her writing has been nominated for major awards, including the Nebula, Locus, Mythopoeic, World Fantasy, and Seiun Awards. Her short fiction and poetry ...

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American people, American science fiction author and former college professor. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974), which was inspired by his experiences as a combat soldier ...

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...

Darrell Schweitzer Darrell Charles Schweitzer (born August 27, 1952) is an American writer, editor, and critic in the field of speculative fiction. Much of his focus has been on dark fantasy and horror, although he does also work in science fiction and fantasy. ...

Sonya Taaffe Sonya Taaffe is an American author of short fiction and poetry based out of Massachusetts. She grew up in Arlington and Lexington, Massachusetts and graduated from Brandeis University in 2003 where she received a B.A. and M.A. in Classical Stu ...

Catherynne M. Valente Catherynne Morgan Valente (born May 5, 1979) is an American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic. For her speculative fiction novels she has won the annual James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Andre Norton Award, and Mythopoeic Award. Her short ficti ...

, Ian Watson, and

Jane Yolen Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 400 books, of which the best known is '' The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. H ...

. In 2013, Allen used the

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

website

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

to convert ''Mythic Delirium'' into a quarterly digital journal that publishes fiction and poetry.Defying the Traditional Model: Crowdfunding in Sci-Fi and Fantasy
PublishersWeekly.com, November 21, 2014 Allen closed the journal in 2018 after publishing 20 digital issues and 50 issues overall.''Mythic Delirium'' Closes
locusmag.com, April 18, 2018; accessed August 4, 2019 For his work on ''Mythic Delirium'', Allen was nominated for a

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

in 2019.2019 World Fantasy Awards Finalists
locusmag.com, July 25, 2019; accessed August 4, 2019 Allen also used Kickstarter to continue publishing ''Clockwork Phoenix'', a fantasy fiction anthology series he began editing in 2008. ''

Strange Horizons ''Strange Horizons'' is an online magazine, online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and non-fiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables. History and profile It was launched in S ...

'' called the first crowdfunded volume, ''Clockwork Phoenix 4'', a look into "the future of publishing, in which a crowd-sourced publication from a very small press can produce, and can present professionally and beautifully, work which is at the height of what is being written in genre."

Recognition

Allen's short story "The Button Bin" was a finalist for the 2008

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short sto ...

. In 2015, his debut short story collection ''Unseaming'' was a finalist for the

Shirley Jackson Award The Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and dark fantasy are presented at Rea ...

for best single author collection. In 2017, an anthology he edited, ''Clockwork Phoenix 5'', was a finalist for the

World Fantasy Award—Anthology The World Fantasy Awards are given each year by the World Fantasy Convention for the best fantasy fiction published in English during the previous calendar year. The awards have been described by book critics such as ''The Guardian'' as a "pres ...

. In 2021, Allen received a second Shirley Jackson Award nomination for his 2020 collection ''Aftermath of an Industrial Accident: Stories''. Allen has won the

Rhysling Award __NOTOC__ The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best speculative poetry, science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. The award name was dubbed by Andrew Joron in reference to a character in a science fiction story: the bl ...

for best speculative poem three times, in 2003, 2006, and 2007.The Locus Index to SF Awards
sfadb.com; accessed June 6, 2017. * "Epochs in Exile: A Fantasy Trilogy" (co-authored with Charles M. Saplak),

, Best Long Poem, 2003 (winner) *"The Strip Search,"

, Best Short Poem, 2006 (winner) *"The Journey to Kailash,"

, Best Long Poem, 2007 (winner) *"The Button Bin,"

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

, Best Short Story, 2008 (nominee) *''Unseaming'',

, Best Collection, 2014 (nominee) *''Clockwork Phoenix 5'',

, Best Anthology, 2017 (nominee) *

, Special Award—Non-professional, for ''Mythic Delirium'', 2019 (nominee) *''Aftermath of an Industrial Accident: Stories'',

, Best Collection, 2020 (nominee)

Bibliography

Short story collections

*''Unseaming'' (Antimatter Press, 2014) *''The Spider Tapestries: Seven Strange Stories'' (Mythic Delirium Books, 2016) *''Aftermath of an Industrial Accident: Stories'' (Mythic Delirium Books, 2020)

Poetry collections

*''Disturbing Muses'' (

Prime Books Sean Wallace (born January 1, 1976) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologist, editor, and publisher best known for founding the publishing house Prime Books and for co-editing three magazines, ''Clarkesworld Magazine'', '' ...

, 2005) *''Strange Wisdoms of the Dead'' (

Wildside Press Wildside Press is an independent publishing company in Cabin John, Maryland. It was founded in 1989 by John Betancourt and Kim Betancourt. While the press was originally conceived as a publisher of speculative fiction in both trade and limite ...

, 2006) *''The Journey to Kailash'' ( Norilana Books, 2008) *''Hungry Constellations'' (Mythic Delirium Books, 2014)

As editor

*''The Alchemy of Stars: Rhysling Award Winners Showcase'' (with Roger Dutcher, Science Fiction Poetry Association, 2005) *''Mythic'' (Mythic Delirium Books, 2006) *''Mythic 2'' (Mythic Delirium Books, 2006) *''Clockwork Phoenix: Tales of Beauty and Strangeness'' ( Norilana Books, 2008) *''Clockwork Phoenix 2: More Tales of Beauty and Strangeness'' ( Norilana Books, 2009) *''Clockwork Phoenix 3: New Tales of Beauty and Strangeness'' ( Norilana Books, 2010) *''Clockwork Phoenix 4'' (Mythic Delirium Books, 2013) *''Mythic Delirium'' (with Anita Allen, Mythic Delirium Books, 2014) *''Mythic Delirium: Volume Two'' (with Anita Allen, Mythic Delirium Books, 2015) *''Clockwork Phoenix 5'' (Mythic Delirium Books, 2016)

References

External links

* *
A Conversation with Mike Allen at The Mumpsimus
* Mike Allen's Unsettling Collection "Unseaming"br>Mike Allen: The Allure of the ForbiddenPostscripts to Darkness Author Interview: Mike Allen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Mike Poets from Virginia American science fiction writers American short story writers Living people 1969 births American male short story writers Rhysling Award for Best Long Poem winners Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem winners American male poets American male novelists Date of birth missing (living people) Novelists from Virginia 21st-century American poets 21st-century American male writers