A Guide to the Best Unknown Authors in the Horror Genre

If I said King or Wes Craven, you would undoubtedly know who I was talking about. Did you know there are great authors out there that get published from small presses that are as good or better than the authors who's book you see on the shelves of Borders and Barnes & Noble?

Brian Keene has written some of the most outstanding horror novels I've had the pleasure of reading. His books include, Ghoul, Clickers II: The Next Wave who he co-wrote with J.F. Gonzalez, City Dead, The Rutting Season and Conqueror Worms. His writing is unlike anything I've read and will capture your attention from the very first page. The cool thing about getting books from small presses is you might find deals you wouldn't be able to find otherwise. Like if you order one of these books from Clarkesworld books, you can have it autographed at no additional cost.

James Newman is a nice guy that chats with readers and fans in many forums on the net. When was the last time you were able to chat with Stephen King on a forum message board? James Newman is by far the best Horror author the small presses are publishing. His first Mass Market publication Midnight Rain, is my favorite out of the books he's written so far. His other books include, Wicked, Love Bites (Chapbook) and The Church of Dead Languages (Chapbook) who was co-written with Jason Brannon. This is one author we should keep an eye on, his writing style, wonderful characters and vivid imagination are going to propel him right on the shelves of book stores everywhere.

Tim Lebbon writes dark twisted and brilliant stories. If you've never heard of him, here's your chance to do yourself a favor and look his works up. Some of his novels include, Dawn, Berserk, Desolation, Face, and Changing of Faces. If you like dark, terrifying reads this is the author you should find, just don't read them at night because you never know when the lights might mysteriously go off. You don't wanna suddenly be sitting in a dark room after reading his book.

Wrath James White writes some of the most outrageous stories I've ever read. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, on the contrary. I think the horror genre needed a good swift kick in the butt, something to hold the attention of the 'new' generation of horror readers. These books are not for the underage, the easily upset or people not ready for something different.. His novels include, Succulent Prey and The Book of A Thousand Sins. His stories are sometimes hard to read, mostly because this author is so vivid in his descriptions you can imagine what it is you are reading. His writing is a combination of intense violence, perverted sexual scenes and horrors you wouldn't normally imagine.

Jeff Strand writes some of the all time greatest horror novels you can find anywhere. His books include, Pressure and The Sinister Mr. Corpse, Mandible. His stories contain a bit of comedy and horror, twisted just enough to make you squirm.

Jason Brannon has written The Cage and Winds of Change among others. He writes to scare you, to make you think things are waiting for you right around the corner. This author writes to scare you, to make you afraid of going out after dark just in case there might be something hiding in the shadows waiting for you. While reading his books you may have to put them down from time to time just to catch your breath.

If you are a reader or lover of good books, then why overlook the small press publications? Just because they aren't published in the mainstream really shouldn't stop you from buying and reading their novels. If you're a serious about finding well written novels then any market that can produce them should be open to you. With the internet being as big as it is, you can find just about anything online. Just because an author may not have an entire bookshelf full of books at Border's book store doesn't mean they aren't great writer's.

A few small press publishers you should check out are, Bloodletting Press, Clarkesworld Books, Biting Dog Press, Raw Dog Screaming Press and Necessary Evil Press.