Mike Allen wears many creative hats, at least one of them tailor-made by his wife and partner-in-crime Anita.
An author, editor and publisher of science fiction, fantasy and horror, Mike has written, edited, or co-edited thirty-nine books, among them his latest dark fantasy novel
Trail of Shadows, his sidearms, sorcery, and zombies sequence
The Black Fire Concerto and
The Ghoulmaker's Aria, and his newest horror collection,
Slow Burn.
Unseaming and
Aftermath of an Industrial Accident, his first two volumes of horror tales, were both finalists for the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Story Collection, and his dark fable "The Button Bin" was a nominee for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. Another collection,
The Spider Tapestries, contains experiments in weird science fiction and fantasy.
As an editor and publisher, Mike has been nominated twice for the World Fantasy Award: first, for his anthology
Clockwork Phoenix 5, the culmination of the
Clockwork Phoenix series showcasing tales of beauty and strangeness that defy genre classification; and then, for
Mythic Delirium, the magazine of poetry and fiction he edited for twenty years.
He's a three-time winner of the Rhysling Award for poetry. His six poetry collections include
Strange Wisdoms of the Dead, a
Philadelphia Inquirer Editor's Choice selection, and
Hungry Constellations, a Suzette Haden Elgin Award nominee.
With Anita, he runs Mythic Delirium Books, based in Roanoke, Virginia. Their cat Pandora assists.