Spontaneous Human Combustion is a Bram Stoker Award Finalist!

It’s official! Spontaneous Human Combustion has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award in the Fiction Collection category! The email just went out. Best of luck to everyone on the ballot—so many friends, peers, and students. Very exciting.
I Did a Podcast—Retro Ridoctopus, and Had a Blast!
Posted on March 14, 2023 Leave a Comment

“We locked him up in THE BRIG to talk about his newest release “Spontaneous Human Combustion” which has made the final ballot for the 2022 Bram Stoker Awards! The discussion turns to famous authors who have helped him along the way and plenty of stuff about the craft itself. And later on, Richard reads us his story “Undone” in its entirety!”
Spontaneous Human Combustion Makes the Locus 2022 Recommended Reading List!
Posted on February 1, 2023 Leave a Comment

Glad to see that my fourth collection of stories, SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION, made the 2022 Locus Recommended Reading List. My hybrid work often combines horror with fantasy or science fiction, so it means a lot to be on this list. I didn’t plan on my novelette, “Ring of Fire” (which closes out the collection) being a science fiction/horror story, but when I look back on the influences (The Warren by Brian Evenson, and the films Moon and Ex Machina) I can see how it turned out that way. Good luck everyone!
Preliminary Bram Stoker Ballot for Spontaneous Human Combustion!
Posted on January 23, 2023 Leave a Comment

I’m thrilled to announce that my fourth short story collection, SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION, has made the Preliminary Bram Stoker ballot in the Fiction Collection category. If you are an active member and would like a PDF please DM/PM me or email me at richardgthomasiii@gmail.com. THANKS! Best of luck to everyone, in every category. Very exciting.
Story Acceptance! Azathoth Anthology.
Posted on January 23, 2023 Leave a Comment

Big announcement! It’s official!! I will have a short story in the cosmic horror anthology Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao edited by Aaron J. French to be released in May 2023 from JournalStone.
Thank you, Aaron, for putting together an amazing anthology. Thrilled to share this space with so many amazing authors and friends.
• Ordo ab Chao: Toward That Endlessness (Poem) by Maxwell Ian Gold
• Expatriate by Jamieson Ridenhour
• Making a Difference by Brian Evenson
• Agent of Chaos by Ursula Vernon
• The Recreationist by Kaaron Warren
• The Root King by Lauri Taneli Lassila
• The Blind God’s Game by Matthew Cheney
• Church of the Void by Donald Tyson
• Upon an Iron Bed, Under the Eyes of Chaos by Richard Gavin
• …And Peer Aloft to Glimpse Some Fragment by Ruthanna Emrys
• In The Grove by Erica Ruppert
• The Infinite Beat by Nathan Carson
• The Door at 21 bis rue Xavier Privas by R. B. Payne
• An Unusual Pedigree by Richard Thomas
• The Revelations of Azathoth by Lena Ng
• Dust-Clotted Eyes by Samuel Marzioli
• Primordial Jack by Akis Linardos
• Respect Your Elders by Adam Nevill
I Can Edit Your Novel in 2023
Posted on December 1, 2022 Leave a Comment
Hey everyone! I have some room in my schedule early in 2023 for your novel edits. Whether it’s a read and response edit, a developmental edit, or a full edit—whether you are self-publishing, or getting ready to submit to a small press or agent—let me help you get there! For more information on rates click HERE. For a full list of my past clients and students, see below. Drop me a note to richardgthomasiii@gmail.com with questions.
Books Edited by Richard Thomas

ANTHOLOGIES
- Burnt Tongues – with Chuck Palahniuk and Dennis Widmyer, Medallion Books (Bram Stoker nominee; This is Horror, INDIEFAB and USA Books News Best winner for Best Anthology of the Year)
- Exigencies – Dark House Press (Shirley Jackson nominee)
- Lineup: 20 Provocative Women Writers, The – Black Lawrence Press
- New Black, The – Dark House Press

COLLECTIONS
- After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones, Dark House Press (Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson nominee, This is Horror winner for Best Collection)
- Beyond the Rail by Ichabod Ebenezer (self-published)
- Dead Reckoning by Dino Parenti, Crystal Lake Publishing
- Vile Men by Rebecca Jones-Howe, Dark House Press
MAGAZINES
- Gamut magazine, 12 issues, from 2016 to 2018
NON-FICTION
- La Folie Forty by Thierry Tellier and Jennifer Jones, Baer Books Press

NOVELLAS
- Beneath Ash and Bone by D. Alexander Ward, Necro Publications
- Black Canyon by Jeremy Bates, Ghillinnein Books (Lou Allin Memorial Award winner)
- Box of Bones by Jeremy Bates, Ghillinnein Books
- Federales by Christopher Irvin, Shotgun Honey
- Neighbors by Jeremy Bates, Ghillinnein Books
- Rewind by Jeremy Bates, Ghillinnein Books
- Run by Jeremy Bates, Ghillinnein Books
- Six Bullets by Jeremy Bates, Ghillinnein Books
- Wild Spaces by S. L. Coney, Tor

NOVELS (Published)
- Alone on the Shield by Kirk Landers, Academy Chicago Publishers
- Bald New World by Peter Tieryas, Perfect Edge Books
- Bone Weaver’s Orchard, The by Sarah Read, Trepidatio Publishing (Bram Stoker winner, This is Horror winner)
- Catacombs, The by Jeremy Bates, Ghillinnein Books (Australian Horror Writers Association Shadows Award and IPPY Bronze Medal/Horror winner)
- Echo Lake by Letitia Trent, Dark House Press
- Four Days by Eli Wilde and Anna DeVine, Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing
- Greylock by Paula Cappa, Crispin Books (Chanticleer Book Award winner)
- Helltown by Jeremy Bates, Ghillinnein Books
- Island of the Dolls by Jeremy Bates, Ghillinnein Books (Foreword INDIES Horror Book of the Year Award Gold Medal winner)
- Mind is a Razorblade, The by Max Booth III, Kraken Press
- Milk-Blood by Mark Matthews, Wicked Run Press
- Mjolnir by Brian James, CreateSpace
- Neophyte by Eli Wilde and Anna DeVine, Matador Publishing
- New America Utopia Calling by Jeremy Bates, Ghillinnein Books
- Old Farmer’s Road by Isaiyan Morrison, CreateSpace
- Paper Tigers by Damien Angelica Walters, Dark House Press
- Ragnarok by Brian James, America Star Books
- Ramblings of a Revenant, The by David Tromblay, CreateSpace
- Robin Randle Stories, The by Wood Dickinson, CreateSpace
- Scratch by Steve Himmer, Dark House Press
- Seeking Redemption by Elizabeth Zguta, EZ Indie Publishing
- Toxicity by Max Booth III, Post Mortem Press
- Truth About the Moon and the Stars, The by Brian Jacobson, Montag Press
- United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas, Angry Robot Books (Seiun Award for Best Translated Novel 2017)
- Until Death by Kari Kilgore, Spiral Publishing
- Whitesands by Johann Thorsson, Headshot Books

NOVELS (Being Shopped)
- Archmage by David Newman
- Changing Night, The by Kristin Peterson
- Chosen Deaths by Christiaan Morris
- Deadfall, The by Lisa Holden
- Desert Helix, The by Ian Vogel
- Disappeared by Zachary T. Wiser
- Draugr by Brian James
- Dropping the Veil by Erik Bergstrom
- Eternity by Amy Strong
- Gesture of Balance, A by Larry Geni
- Glitch by Selene dePackh
- Guns and Almond Milk by Mustafa Marwan
- Hell in a Bucket by Matthew Brockmeyer
- Lotus Eaters, The by Joshua Blair
- Nightjar by D. Alexander Ward
- Of Noble Blood by Erin Cochran
- Oh, Wonderful World by Amy Strong
- Penumbra of Innocence by Roni Stinger
- Radiance of Memory by Julianne Sutton
- Seekers, The by Letitia Trent
- Trypophobia by Joseph Sale
- Sweet Things and Dark Animals by Jeremy Mallory
- Two Strangers and a Train by Jennifer Howard and Joshua James
- Whisper Us Home by Janet Roberts

SHORT FICTION
Other clients and students have published short stories at/in Tor, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Black Static, Pseudopod, The Missouri Review, Fantasy Magazine, Vastarien, Unnerving, and Dark Matter, as well as in the following anthologies: The Best Horror of the Year, Nightscript, Gorgon, Arterial Bloom, and Chiral Mad 5.
Spontaneous Human Combustion ON SALE!
Posted on November 15, 2022 Leave a Comment

Both the hardcover and paperback of SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION are on sale right now. 37% off the HC ($20.10) and 22% off the PB ($15.50). Best prices I’ve seen. ENJOY! I think it’s some of my best work to date. The perfect gift for the horror fan in your life.
OTHER REVIEWS:
“Thomas breathes fresh air into the genre of dark speculative fiction with a brilliant collection that teems with haunting elements, dark nostalgia for lost love, dysfunctional families, and self-torment. Equally devastating and refreshing, this is a collection to be savored by horror fans and literary readers alike.”—Starred Review at Publishers Weekly
“Fans of science fiction, horror, and dark fiction will relish immersing themselves in this collection for all its grit, lyricism, and unquestionable profundity.” —Starred Review at Library Journal
“This chilling collection of short stories, with plenty of twists and turns, as well as echoes of Lovecraft and Bradbury, probes the dark corners between the horrors humans inflict on each other and those that haunt our nightmares. This volume will please Thomas’s existing fans and will surely create new ones.” —Starred Review at Shelf Awareness
“Horror fans will be drawn to this compelling anthology.”—Booklist
“Each story is filled with vivid and evocative details and provides a fascinating journey that explores the dark places of our existence and engages its readers throughout…[Richard Thomas] does not disappoint.”—New York Journal of Books
Featured Author for October at SCLS.
Posted on October 26, 2022 Leave a Comment
What a nice profile of me over at the Somerset County Library System of New Jersey. I always appreciate the kind words. Click over to read more or just glance below.

Signed Copies of Spontaneous Human Combustion
Posted on May 3, 2022 2 Comments

I do have a few copies of SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION on hand if you’d like a signed copy. Email me at richardgthomasiii@gmail.com or PM/DM me for details. $25 for paperback and $35 for hardcover, which includes shipping inside the USA. Outside, ask for rates.
Excellent Review of SHC at Locus Magazine by Gabino Iglesias!
Posted on April 22, 2022 Leave a Comment

First in print, and now online, an excellent review for SHC at Locus Magazine by Gabino Iglesias.
“Richard Thomas is a seasoned professional and one of the best short story writers out there. Spontaneous Human Combustion might be his best yet.”