Richard Thomas (born November 21, 1967) is an American author. His focus is on neo-noir fiction, typically including elements of violence, mental instability, breaks in reality, unreliable narrators, and tragedies. His work is rich in setting and sensory details—often called maximalism. It has also been called transgressive and grotesque. He was Editor-in-Chief at Dark House Press (2012-2016) and is currently Editor-in-Chief of Gamut Magazine.
Thomas was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Webster Groves. He earned a Bachelor of Science at Bradley University, in Peoria, Illinois, and in 2012 an MFA at Murray State University. He currently lives in Chicago.
Thomas was Editor-in-Chief at Dark House Press[1], an imprint of Curbside Splendor Publishing that launched in 2014 with The New Black.He is also the Editor of Gamut Magazine, [2] a new online publication focusing on neo-noir, speculative fiction with a literary bent, that was funded by a successful Kickstarter, raising over $55,000. It was launched on January 1, 2017.
In addition to his fiction he writes a Storyville[3] column at LitReactor.com, book reviews for The Nervous Breakdown, and articles for BuzzFeed and Flavorwire. He has taught creative writing at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival[4], Story Studio Chicago[5], and LitReactor.com[6].
Novels and short story collections
Transubstantiate (Otherworld Publications) 2010
Herniated Roots: Stories (Snubnose Press) September, 2012
Staring Into the Abyss: Stories (Kraken Press) April, 2013
Disintegration (Random House Alibi) May, 2015
Breaker (Random House Alibi) January, 2016
Tribulations: Stories (Crystal Lake Publishing / Cemetery Dance) April, 2016 [7] [8]
The Soul Standard (Dzanc Books) with Caleb J. Ross, Nik Korpon, and Axel Taiari, June, 2016
Nominations, awards and contests
Winner, "Enter the World of Filaria" contest, 2009, at ChiZine for "Maker of Flight." [9]
Winner of the 2011 Cafe Doom / One Buck Horror short story contest for "Wicker Park Pause."
“Terrapin Station,” Pear Noir #5, January 2011 (Pushcart nomination)
“Fireflies,” Polluto #8, May 2012 (Honorable mention, Best Horror of the Year) [10]
“The Jenny Store,” Qualia Nous, Written Backwards, October 2014 (Bram Stoker-nominated anthology) [11]
"From Within," Slave Stories: Scenes from the Slave State, Omnium Gatherum, April 2015 (Honorable mention, Best Horror of the Year) [12]
"White Picket Fences," Shadows over Main Street, Hazardous Press, January 2015 (Honorable mention, Best Horror of the Year) [13]
Bram Stoker Award, 2016: nominated for Best Anthology—Chiral Mad 3 edited by Michael Bailey ("The Offering on the Hill") AND Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories edited by Doug Murano and D. Alexander Ward ("Repent") | 2014: nominated for Best Anthology—Burnt Tongues, Medallion Press (Co-Editor) and Qualia Nous, Written Backwards ("Jenny Store"); nominated for Best Short Story Collection: After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones, Dark House Press (Publisher); nominated for Non-Fiction: Horror 101: The Way Forward, Crystal Lake Publishing ("The Journey: Rudy Jenkins Buries His Fears").
Shirley Jackson Award. 2015: nominated for Best Anthology: Exigencies, edited by Richard Thomas; nominated for Best Short Fiction: "Wilderness" by Letitia Trent, in Exigencies (Editor and Publisher) | 2014: nominated for Best Short Story Collection: After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones, Dark House Press (Publisher)
This is Horror, 2014: Winner for Best Anthology: Burnt Tongues, Medallion Press (Co-Editor); Winner for Best Short Story Collection: After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones, Dark House Press (Publisher).
Disintegration (Random House Alibi), 2015: Best Fiction Books of 2015 (Entropy Magazine); Top Ten Books of 2015 (Cultured Vultures); Favorite Reads of 2015 (Shotgun Logic). Best Fiction Reads of 2015 (Quiet Fury Books).
Best Horror of the Year: VOLUME EIGHT: "Wilderness" by Letitia Trent, in Exigencies (Editor and Publisher).
"Repent," Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories, Crystal Lake Publishing and "The Offering on the Hill," Chiral Mad 3, Written Backwards, 2016 (Bram Stoker-nominated anthologies) [14]
International Thriller Writers Awards. 2016: Finalist for Best eBook Novel: Breaker (Penguin Random House Alibi)
Million Writers Awards. 2016: Notable story, "From Within" (reprinted online at Cease, Cows).
