Paul Matthew Jessup (born August 24, 1977) is an American writer 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 ...

short stories, novels, poetry, and plays. He is also a video game designer, and solo developer/pixel artist for Riddle Fox Games, creator of the best selling game

Bad Writer Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect *Unhealthy, or counter to well-being *Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored trolley ...

. His short stories have had honorable mentions in several year's best anthologies, including Year's Best Horror, and the Year's best Fantasy and Horror, and Year's Best Science Fiction. His work has been translated into several different languages, with Open Your Eyes being published in Polish. In 2000 he was awarded Kent States Virginia Perryman Award for Excellence in Freshman Short Fiction.

Personal life

Paul Jessup grew up in the small town of

Geneva, Ohio Geneva is a city in northwestern Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,924 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area, northeast of Cleveland. The area which would become Geneva was originally se ...

, and went to

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

, where he won the Virginia Perryman award for excellence in short fiction in 2000. He and his friend Tim Miller started Six Gallery Press around this time, publishing weird experimental novels and poetry by various writers. In 2006 or so he started Grendelsong fantasy and horror magazine, publishing various genre writers like

Jay Lake Joseph Edward "Jay" Lake, Jr. (June 6, 1964 – June 1, 2014) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. In 2003 he was a quarterly first-place winner in the Writers of the Future contest. In 2004 he won the John W. Campbell Award for B ...

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Richard Bowes Richard Dirrane Bowes (January 8, 1944 – December 24, 2023) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy. Biography Richard Dirrane Bowes was born January 8, 1944, in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended school both in Boston and on L ...

Samantha Henderson Samantha Henderson is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and poet. Personal life Samantha Henderson lives in Covina, southern California with her family, and works as a church secretary. Writing career Henderson is a member of the Scie ...

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, and many others. Around this time he also started selling horror short stories to pro and semi-pro magazines, including ''

Pseudopod A pseudopod or pseudopodium (: pseudopods or pseudopodia) is a temporary arm-like projection of a eukaryotic cell membrane that is emerged in the direction of movement. Filled with cytoplasm, pseudopodia primarily consist of actin filaments and ...

'', ''

Postscripts ''Postscripts'' was a quarterly British magazine of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime fiction, first published in June 2004.

'', ''

Apex Magazine ''Apex Magazine'', also previously known as ''Apex Digest'', is an American Horror fiction magazine, horror and science fiction magazine. This subscription webzine, ''Apex Magazine'', contains short fiction, reviews, and interviews. It has been ...

'', ''

Clarkesworld ''Clarkesworld Magazine'' is an American Online magazine, online Fantasy magazine, fantasy and science fiction magazine edited by Neil Clarke (editor), Neil Clarke. It released its first issue October 1, 2006, and has maintained a regular monthl ...

'', and many more. He also gained cult following for his weird and surreal books, collections and more. Around 2020 he began creating video games as a fun side project. His most popular game (to date) was

, which became a best seller on

itch.io Itch.io (stylized in all lowercase) is a website for users to host, sell and download indie video games, indie role-playing games, game assets, comics, zines and music. Launched in March 2013 by Leaf Corcoran, the service hosts over 1,000,000 ...

and the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

. In 2022 his short story, Skinless Man Counts to Five made the Stoker awards recommended reading list. In 2023, he signed a three book deal with Underland Press for two horror novels and a short story collection.

Disability and Multiple Sclerosis

In 2008 Paul Jessup had his first attack of

optic neuritis Optic neuritis (ON) is a debilitating condition that is defined as inflammation of cranial nerve II which results in disruption of the neurologic pathways that allow visual sensory information received by the retina to be able to be transmitted to ...

, which eventually led to his diagnosis of

Multiple Sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

. In 2021 he was then diagnosed with

Diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

as well.

Books

* ''Daughter of the Wormwood Star'' (2024, published by Underland Press) * ''Skinless Man Counts to Five and other tales of the macabre'' (2024, published by Underland Press * ''Glass House'' (2023, published by Underland Press) * ''The Silence that Binds'' (2021, published by Vernacular Books) * ''Close Your Eyes'' (2018, published by Apex Books) * ''Glass Coffin Girls'' (2009, published by

PS Publishing PS Publishing is an independent book publisher based in Hornsea, UK. Background PS Publishing was founded in 1999 by Peter Crowther.Chronicle Books Chronicle Books is a San Francisco–based American publishing company that publishes books for both adults and children. History The company was established in 1967 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publish ...

) * ''Open Your Eyes'' (2009, published by Apex Books) (2013 published in Alamanach Fantastyki by Solaris, translated into Polish by Miroslaw Obarski)

Poetry

* ''All the houses on Sesame Street are haunted houses'' (2013, published in Interfictions) * ''That time I said hello to you, and you thought I was a bear'' (2012, published in

Word Riot ''Word Riot'' was an American online magazine that published poetry, flash fiction, short stories, novel excerpts, creative nonfiction, reviews, and interviews. History and profile The magazine was launched in March 2002 by author and publisher ...

) * ''The Basement'' (1997, published in Ashtabula Star Beacon) * ''Red Dirt'' (1997, published in Ashtabula Star Beacon)

Nonfiction

* ''So You Want to Build a Generation Ship'' (published in

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 ...

) * ''A Wave on the Sea'' (2018, published in

) * ''Surviving Times of Stagnation'' (2017, published in SFWA * ''Post-Novel Blues'' (2018, published in SFWA) * ''Finding Your Tribe'' (2017, published in SFWA) * ''Someone Changed the Bones in Our Homes'' (2017, published in

Nightmare Magazine John Joseph Adams (born July 31, 1976) is an American science fiction and fantasy editor, critic, and publisher. Career Editor Adams worked as Assistant Editor at ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' from May 2001 to December 2009. In ...

) * ''The Rebirth of Grue'' (2008, published in

) * ''Confessions of a Red Mage'' (2008, published in

) * ''Standing Still, Falling Behind'' (2008, published in Erie Life Magazine)

Editor

* ''Hatter Bones'' (2010, ENE Press) * ''Grendelsong'' (2004-2008 (print), 2015-2016 (online)) * ''Coffinmounth'' (2010) Publication History

Retrieved on 2010-7-11.

References

External links

* * *

Interviews

Paul Jessup “Open Your Eyes” Interview
October 2009)
Paul Jessup “Open Your Eyes” Interview
April 2009)
Paul Jessup “Fantasy Magazine” Interview
March 2009)
Paul Jessup interviewed for "Naked Street Theatre"
(February 2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jessup, Paul 1977 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male bloggers American bloggers American fantasy writers American male novelists American horror writers People from Geneva, Ohio American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers