Brian Keene (born 1967) is an American author, primarily of horror, crime fiction, and comic books. He has won two Bram Stoker Awards. His 2003 novel The Rising is often credited (along with Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comic and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later film) with inspiring pop culture's current interest in zombies. In addition to his own original work, Keene has written for media properties such as Doctor Who, Hellboy, Masters of the Universe, and Superman.
Background
Keene was born in 1967. He grew up in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and many of his books take place in these locales. After graduating high school, he served as a radioman in the U.S. Navy aboard an LPD. After his enlistment ended, Keene worked a variety of jobs before becoming a full-time writer. Among them were stints as a foundry worker, truck driver, data entry clerk, dockworker, telemarketer, customer service representative, repo man, bouncer, disc jockey, salesman, store manager, daycare instructor, custodian, and more. In interviews, he credits this diverse background as the key to the characters that populate his books.
Writing
Keene has won two Bram Stoker Awards. One in 2001 for non-fiction Jobs In Hell and one in 2003 for best first novel The Rising. He is also the recipient of the 2004 Shocker Award for non-fiction Sympathy for the Devil as well as many small and regional awards. Keene was the recipient of the Grand Master Award at the World Horror Convention in 2014.
In 2004 and 2005, Keene spearheaded a Books For Troops program, in which various horror authors supplied free, signed books to American troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere around the world. Keene was honored for this in 2005 by the 509th Logistics Fuels Flight Squadron based at Whiteman A.F.B. in Missouri.
Comics and graphic novels
In 2006, three stories from Keene's Fear of Gravity were adapted in the graphic novel Brian Keene's FEAR. The stories were "Castaways", "Red Wood", and the award-winning "The King, in: Yellow". In 2008, Marvel Comics announced that Keene would be writing for them. His first project for the company was the four-issue limited series for their MAX imprint: Dead of Night: Devil-Slayer. Keene has since gone on to write for DC Comics, Antarctic Press, and others, as well as media tie-in work for Hellboy, Doctor Who, and other franchises.
Film adaptations
- In 2004, The Rising was optioned for film and videogame adaptations.
- In 2005, City of the Dead was optioned for the same.
- In 2006, the short story "The Ties That Bind" was optioned for film, and it had its world premiere on April 4, 2009 at the Garden State Film Festival.
- In 2009, Dark Hollow was optioned for film by director Paul Campion.
- Ghoul was made into a TV movie directed by Gregory Wilson and starring Nolan Gould and debuted on the Chiller Network on April 13, 2012.
- In 2011, Darkness at the Edge of Town was optioned, and Castaways was optioned by Drive-In Films.
- On May 1, 2013, the screenplay adaptation written by Robert A. Masciantonio based on the Castaways (novel) was made available to the public. The script can be downloaded and the reader may leave their input and vote via stars. Enough attention may get the attention of Amazon Studios for development.
Personal life
Keene currently lives in York, Pennsylvania.
Bibliography
Novels
- The Rising (April 2003): Delirium Books.
- (January 2004) Leisure Books.
- Terminal (June 2004): Bloodletting Press.
- (June 2005): Bantam Spectra. Revised and expanded version of the Bloodletting Press edition.
- City of the Dead (January 2005): Delirium Books.
- (June 2005) Leisure Books.
- The Conqueror Worms (May 2006): Leisure Books.
- (September 2005) (first released in hardcover as Earthworm Gods): Delirium Books.
- Ghoul (February 2007) Leisure Books.
- (March 2007): Delirium Books.
- Clickers II: The Next Wave (with J.F. Gonzalez) (April 2007) Delirium Books.
- Dead Sea (August 2007) Leisure Books.
- (September 2007): Delirium Books.
- Shades, co-written with Geoff Cooper (November 2007): (Out of Print) Cemetery Dance Publications.
- Kill Whitey (April 2008): Cemetery Dance Publications.
- Dark Hollow (February 2008): Leisure Books.
- (July 2006): (first released in hardcover as The Rutting Season) Bloodletting Press.
- Ghost Walk (August 2008): Leisure Books.
- (September 2008): Delirium Books.
- Darkness On the Edge of Town (October 2008): Infernal House Press.
- (February 2010): Leisure Books. Revised and expanded version of previous edition.
- Castaways (February 2009): Leisure Books.
- (March 2009): Bloodletting Press.
- Urban Gothic (August 2009): Leisure Books.
- Clickers III: Dagon Rising (2010) Delirium Books.
- A Gathering of Crows (August 2010): Leisure Books.
- Earthworm Gods II: Deluge (2013) Deadite Press
Collections
- No Rest For The Wicked (2001): (Out of Print) Imaginary Worlds Publishing.
- No Rest For The Wicked Redux (October 2001): (Out of Print) Vox 13 Publishing.
Novellas & novelettes
- Tequila's Sunrise (2007): Bloodletting Press.
- Redemption (with Shane Ryan Staley) (2008): HM Press.
Anthologies edited
- In Delirium (January 2006): (Delirium Books). Published as a 26-copy leather-bound and a hardcover 274-copy limited hardcover.
- New Dark Voices II (January 2009): (Delirium Books). Published as a hardcover 150-copy limited hardcover.
References
External links
- Official website
- Brian Keene at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database