Since making his first fiction sale in 1980 to Eldritch Tales, and his first national fiction sale to Twilight Zone’s NIGHT CRY MAGAZINE in 1985, Gary A. Braunbeck has written around a dozen novels and 200 short stories and novellas. Though most associated with horror and dark fiction, he has also written westerns, literary fiction, mysteries, humor (really!), fantasy, and poetry.
Gary’s writing and editing have been recognized with seven Bram Stoker Awards, one International Horror Guild Award, and two Shocklines Shocker Awards. He has also been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and World Fantasy Award. His stories have been translated into Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. In 2005-2006, he served as President of the Horror Writer’s Association and is currently active in Authors Against Banned Books.
Many of his stories are set in the Cedar Hill universe, a fictionalized version of Newark, Ohio, where he was born in 1960 to union factory workers Frank and Mary. He spent much of his childhood watching movies at the Midland theater (a location familiar to readers of the Cedar Hill stories), which formed the basis of his encyclopedic knowledge of cinema.
Gary speaks openly about mental health, life with bipolar disorder and his three visits to The Bin (psychiatric hospitalizations) following suicide attempts, as well as physical disability due to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
Starting in 2019, Gary took some time away from writing to recover from a stroke that affected his ability to recognize letters and words.
Gary lives in Dayton, Ohio with his wife Andy, partner Janet, and a ghost named Carlos whom he picked up while house-hunting.