...Contact Stanley Wiater

Seriously, I've wanted to a professional writer since I was twelve, after devouring the wonderfully terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury. I sold my first magazine article (to the paranormal journal Fate) when I was sixteen.

I've been a professional writer since 1975, upon graduating from the University of Massachusetts with a BDIC degree in Writing and Cinema. Since then I've been published more than 700 times in the United States and abroad, and been translated in nine languages.

I divide my writing time fairly equally between fiction and non-fiction. (My very first published story was the sole winner of a competition judged by Stephen King. It's entitled "The Toucher," and I've included it for your enjoyment.) Along the way, I've had the pleasure to edit two anthologies of original short stories: Night Visions 7 and After the Darkness.

 

(See Bibliography/Availability for complete listing of contents, as well as Reviews and Book Cover Art for details on all books mentioned here.)

My short stories have appeared in several prestigious anthologies, including the Masques series, the Borderland series, and the British Narrow Houses series. One of them, "End of the Line," was adapted into a short film in 1996. Another, "Stress Test HR51," was optioned for production in England in 1998.

I've done work in the comic book medium, mostly in the form of original scripts for the unbelievably popular "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" universe. I also worked for a time with artist Dan Berger on the daily comic strip. (My association with Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, also lead to the opportunity to write the only authorized history of this worldwide phenomenon in The Official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Treasury.) More recently, Mr. Laird and I collaborated on an original feature screenplay entitled Berserker.

For the computer games industry, I've formulated an original CD-ROM script for a yet unpublished game entitled Jon Dark: Psychic Eye. I created the entire universe and all the characters and storyline for the adult RPG. I've also created, for the edutainment market, an educational tool to help pre-schoolers learn the alphabet. Called "AlphaSaurs," they are a series of baby dinosaurs who are each characters of the alphabet.

In the late 1970's I began to specialize in the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres, both as a fiction writer and as a freelance journalist. I realized then my forte in journalism was as a celebrity interviewer. I then began to market my skills to a variety of popular culture magazines, both here and abroad. I eventually became a contributing editor to several leading media publications, including Fangoria, New Blood, Horrorstruck, and England's Fear.

I ultimately took the best of my interviews with 26 of the world's greatest horror writers and produced Dark Dreamers: Conversations with the Masters of Horror. (In 1991, that book won the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association.) A companion volume entitled Dark Visions: Conversations with the Masters of the Horror Film, was on the final ballot of the Bram Stoker Award for 1992. This volume dealt with my exclusive interviews--surprise!--with 24 of the world's best known talents in the motion picture industry.

I'm regarded as the premier interviewer in the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres, having profiled more authors, artists, actors, and filmmakers than any other contemporary journalist. (See Personalities Interviewed for listing of major interviews and interview book contents.) I believe I hold the record for most individual magazine interviews with an obscure young writer named....Stephen King. (Please see my exclusive interviews with Stephen King and Peter Straub, Anne Rice, Clive Barker, Dean Koontz.)

Thanks again to Peter Laird, I had the opportunity to meet acclaimed comic book artist and writer Stephen R. Bissette. (Best known for his work on Swamp Thing.) Our professional respect for one another lead me to ask him to collaborate on my third collection of original interviews, Comic Book Rebels: Conversations with the Creators of the New Comics. Originally published in 1993, this volume was nominated for both a Harvey Award and an Eisner Award from the comic book industry. (A signed limited edition has recently been published.)

1997 saw the publication of a "best of" compilation of interview material, Dark Thoughts: On Writing. The subtitle says it all: "Advice and Commentary from Fifty Masters of Fear and Suspense." This volume won the Bram Stoker Award the following year from the Horror Writers Association.

Please refer to Bibliography/Availability for more information on these books, as well as my published stories, scripts, articles, and interviews. Nearly all of my work is available for reprint, option, or development worldwide.

Among my Works In Progress are a new collaborative collection of text and photographs entitled SHADOWS, three humor books (illustrated by Dan Berger), and a new comic book series. I'm also contracted to write books on the films of Wes Craven and the fiction of Stephen King.

When time permits, I also teach workshops in freelance writing and genre fiction at the University Of Massachusetts. IYou can register for my popular courses ("Selling Your Words--For Fame and Fortune" and "Writing Horror, Mystery, and Suspense Fiction") in their on-line catalog.

For editorial advice and consultation, I have formed ShadoWind Editorial Services.

 

 

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