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Jonathan Janz

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American writer (born 1973)

Jonathan Janz
Born (1973-10-27) October 27, 1973 (age 51)
Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
OccupationAuthor, teacher
Period2010โ€“present
Genre
Children3
Website
jonathanjanz.com

Jonathan Janz (born October 27, 1973) is the pen name of Craig Shaeffer, an American horror author of multiple novels.

Early life

Jonathan Craig Shaeffer grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was raised by his mother near a graveyard, where she would check out books on albums from the library. Early influences during this time include The Twilight Zone, In Search Of..., the works of Edgar Allan Poe, as well as the audio version of The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens. During childhood, he was prone to sleepwalking, and describes a time when he woke up in a pitch-black room of a friend's house, navigating his way through a maze of boxes because the family had just moved in. He adopted the pseudonym of Jonathan Janz as a way of honoring his maternal grandparents, who helped to raise him.

Career

In 2011, Janz published his debut novel, The Sorrows. The book received praise from author Brian Keene, who called it "the best horror novel of 2012." Keene would also describe Janz as "One of the best writers in modern horror to come along in the last decade."

Between 2011 and 2016, eight of Janz's novels were released by Samhain Publishing. After this, Janz signed a deal with Flame Tree Publishing, which published four more novels as well as reprintings of his earlier works. Other novels have been released through Sinister Grin Press, Earthling Publications, and Cemetery Dance.

His manager, Ryan Lewis, also works with Josh Malerman.

Janz cites multiple influences on his career, including Stephen King, Joe R. Lansdale, Brian Keene, Richard Matheson, among many others.

In March of 2023, Janz won the Wilburn-Thomas Award at the Scares That Care event in Williamsburg, Virginia. This is a charity event organized by author Brian Keene and the award is given to authors who have helped other writers and their community.

Personal life

Jonathan Janz is the pen name for Craig Shaeffer. Janz teaches high school English, film literature, and creative writing at West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School. He currently resides in Indiana with his wife and three children.

Novels

Year Title Publisher Pages Notes
2011 The Sorrows Samhain Publishing 272
2012 House of Skin 312
2013 The Darkest Lullaby 272
Savage Species 315 Originally published as a 5 part eBook
Bloodshot: Kingdom of Shadows Kindle Direct Publishing 187 Out of Print; Originally published as an eBook
2014 Dust Devils Samhain Publishing 280
Castle of Sorrows 337 Sequel to The Sorrows
2015 The Nightmare Girl 304
Wolf Land 314
2016 Children of the Dark Sinister Grin Press 392 Booklist Top Ten Horror Book of the Year for 2016; re-published in a revised edition by Cemetery Dance Publications in 2023
2017 Exorcist Falls 458 contains the novella Exorcist Road
2018 The Siren and the Specter Flame Tree Publishing 295 Goodreads Choice Awards nominee for Best Horror 2018
2019 The Dark Game 352 Library Journal Best Horror of 2019
2020 The Raven 245 The Raven, Book One
2022 Blood Country 320 The Raven, Book Two
Marla Earthling Publications 288 Limited to 500 copies
The Dismembered Cemetery Dance Publications 178
2024 Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers 396 Sequel to Children of the Dark
2025 Veil Blackstone Publishing

Collections

Year Title Publisher Pages Notes
2018 Tales From the Shadow Side Thunderstorm Books 263 Limited to 60 copies. Includes excepts from an unreleased novel, Garden of Snakes

Short Fiction

Title Type Originally published in Collected in Notes
"Witching Hour Theatre" novella Kindle Direct Publishing (July 2005) Tales From the Shadow Side (2019) Originally published as an eBook
"Old Order" novella Kindle Direct Publishing (September 2010) Tales From the Shadow Side (2019) Originally published as an eBook
"The Clearing of Travis Coble" short story Kindle Direct Publishing (March 2013) Tales From the Shadow Side (2019) Originally published as an eBook
"Throwing Monsters" short story Piercing the Darkness (February 2014) Tales From the Shadow Side (2019)
"Exorcist Road" novella Kindle Direct Publishing (September 2014) Appears revised in the paperback version of Exorcist Falls (2017) Originally published as an eBook
"A Southern Evening" short story LampLight Vol. 4, Issue 4 (June 2016) Tales From the Shadow Side (2019)
"Vanilla Sunshine" short story Clickers Forever: A Tribute to J.F. Gonzalez (February 2018) -
"Titan, Tyger" short story Lost Highways: Dark Fictions From the Road (July 2018) -
"Night and Day and In Between" short story Welcome to the Show (August 2018) -
"The Kiss of Diana Antonov" novella Leaders of the Pack: A Werewolf Anthology (January 2020) -
"Room For the Night" short story Close to Midnight (October 2022) -
"The Humpers at the Threshold" short story The Drive-In: Multiplex (Fall 2023) - Set in the world of Joe R. Lansdale's The Drive-In
"Midwinter Tales" short story Literally Dead: Tales of Holiday Hauntings (October 2023) -
"Dobrogost" short story Swords in the Shadows: An Anthology (October 2023) -
"The Third Shannon" short story Morbidologies (October 2023) -
"The Drolls" short story Fear of Clowns: A Horror Anthology (September 2024) -
"Lenora" short story The End of the World As We Know It: Tales of Stephen King's The Stand (Forthcoming) - Set in the world of Stephen King's The Stand

Non-Fiction

Title Type Originally published in Collected in Notes
"Treating Fiction Like a Relationship" essay Writers on Writing, Vol. 3 (April 2016) - Originally published as an eBook
"Elizabeth: An Unnaturally Forgotten Novel" essay Elizabeth by Ken Greenhall, Valancourt Books edition (April 2017) -
"Introduction" introduction Midnight in the Graveyard (October 2019) -
"Introduction: Step Into the Spinning Tunnel" introduction Illusions of Isolation (February 2023) -

References

  1. "Interview with one of my FAVOURITE US Horror writers โ€“ Jonathan JANZ". WordPress. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  2. "AUTHOR INTERVIEW: JONATHAN JANZ". Tim Meyer Author. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  3. "AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jonathan Janz". Meghan's House of Books. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  4. "The Therapeutic Power of Horror: A Deep Dive with Jonathan Janz". The Lineup. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  5. "Jonathan Janz". Ginger Nuts of Horror. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  6. "How Acclaimed Horror Author Jonathan Janz Writes: Part One". Podglomerate. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  7. "Quoth 'The Raven' An interview with horror writer Jonathan Janz". Book & Film Globe. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  8. "Quoth 'The Raven' An interview with horror writer Jonathan Janz". Book & Film Globe. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  9. "Modern Horror's Shining Light: Kendall Reviews talks to the brilliant Jonathan Janz". Kendall Reviews. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  10. "[Interview] Jonathan Janz Talks Earliest Writings, Horror Favorites and the Future". Horror Novel Reviews. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  11. "AuthorCon Recap". TRANSMISSIONS FROM BLACK HOLE PLANET 3. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  12. ^ Harris, Hadassah (February 6, 2024). "Local high school teacher reveals his secret career as an author". WLFI News 18. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  13. "AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jonathan Janz". Meghan's House of Books. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  14. "Modern Horror's Shining Light: Kendall Reviews talks to the brilliant Jonathan Janz". Kendall Reviews. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  15. "Top 10 Horror: 2016". Booklist. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  16. "Best Horror 2018". Goodreads. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  17. "Best Horror 2019". Library Journal. Retrieved October 7, 2024.

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