Patrick Barb

Patrick Barb is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of weird, dark, and spooky tales, currently living (and trying not to freeze to death) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His published works include the sci-fi/horror novel Abducted; dark fiction collections The Children’s Horror and Pre-Approved for Haunting; and the novellas The Big One, The Nut House, Night of the Witch-Hunter and JK-LOL. He is the editor and publisher of the anthology And One Day We Will Die: Strange Stories Inspired by the Music of Neutral Milk Hotel. His interview column “Your Favorite Author’s Favorite Author” appears regularly online in Shortwave Magazine. In addition, his 2023 short story “The Scare Groom” was selected for Best Horror of the Year Volume 16.

patrickbarb.com

✎ Editor's Pick

Night of the Witch-Hunter

Killer VHS Series, #6

Patrick Barb

Haunting Lessons

Patrick Barb

Your Favorite Author’s Favorite Author: Robert Ottone on John Langan

John Langan is the author of two novels and six collections of stories. That previous sentence is a direct lift from the biography he provided me for this opening. As far as understatements go, it’s an impressive. Langan is a master of the short story whose collections never grow stale and showcase an evolving, yet supremely confident author who has fun playing with the weird, the horrific, and the phantasmagorical…

Your Favorite Author’s Favorite Author: A.C. Wise on Silvia Moreno-Garcia

When I first turned my attention and efforts to writing genre fiction prose, I learned early on that I could not simply rely on reading the old classics…

Your Favorite Author’s Favorite Author: John Langan on Salman Rushdie

John Langan is the author of two novels and six collections of stories. That previous sentence is a direct lift from the biography he provided me for this opening. As far as understatements go, it’s an impressive. Langan is a master of the short story whose collections never grow stale and showcase an evolving, yet supremely confident author who has fun playing with the weird, the horrific, and the phantasmagorical…

Your Favorite Author’s Favorite Author: Elizabeth Broadbent on William Faulkner

Elizabeth Broadbent is a force of nature. Since making her acquaintance, I have found Eliza to be a friendly, passionate, and caring person. Her love for both writing and her fellow writers is palpable, whether you’re interacting with her online or in person at conventions. And she’s not only a cheerleader of her contemporaries, but a serious player in the writing game, putting up truly impressive stats…

Your Favorite Author’s Favorite Author: Cynthia Pelayo on Samuel Beckett

Back during the height of the pandemic, when the HWA held a virtual version of their annual StokerCon, Cynthia Pelayo was one of the first authors who really welcomed me to the fold, who made me feel like I belonged and that I was part of something bigger than myself and my work alone. I’ve never forgotten that little bit of kindnes…

Your Favorite Author's Favorite Author: Pedro Iniguez on Ray Bradbury

This month, I had the chance to chat with the incredibly talented Pedro Iniguez about a favorite author that’s shared between the two of us: Ray Bradbury. Throughout this conversation, I found myself considering and re-considering Bradbury and his oeuvre as a result of the different perspective that Pedro provided…

Your Favorite Author's Favorite Author: Kristina Ten on Mariana Enriquez

In writing this column, I get to learn about new-to-me authors and I get a chance to see some familiar favorites through the eyes of others whose writing I admire. Additionally, this column and the immensely positive response it’s received has allowed me to connect with newer authors who’ve reached out to share their kind words about this project. Kristina Ten is one such author…

Your Favorite Author's Favorite Author: Tanya Pell on Christopher Golden

As an author, I am incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to conventions, signings, and other events where I have the chance to meet fellow scribes up and down the ladders of success in their careers. One author who I met both online and then later in-person, who has always impressed me with her passion, sense of fun, and supportive nature for all her fellow writers is this week’s interviewee: Tanya Pell…

Your Favorite Author’s Favorite Author: Donyae Coles on Francesca Lia Block

Donyae Coles is the author of Bram Stoker nominated novel, Midnight Rooms. She is currently working on her sophomore Gothic horror, The Sunken, The Adored. Her short work has been published in a variety of places and she can be found on Blue Sky and Instagram. She is also a recent-ish transplant to my neck of the woods in the Midwest, making the ranks of the weird and creative just that much stronger out here in the middle of the States…

Your Favorite Author's Favorite Author: Rachel Harrison on Paul Tremblay

Rachel Harrison is one of the most prolific authors currently working in horror fiction. Having established a niche all her own in the genre, she is one creator who never fails to pair big ideas and beloved tropes with fresh approaches informed by character and the realities of modern life. The accolades and her catalog almost speak for themselves.

Your Favorite Author's Favorite Author: Christi Nogle on Stephen King

When I first turned my attention to writing short fiction and found myself in the submissions trenches, there was one name that came up again and again. One author who was selling stories at a rapid clip—quite often to markets that I wanted to crack but hadn’t yet…

Your Favorite Author's Favorite Author: Richard Thomas on Stephen Graham Jones

Here are at Your Favorite Author’s Favorite Author, I’m always thrilled whenever a new conversation opens up exciting firsts for myself and you, dear readers. Somehow, some way, this seems to happen with every column though! This month’s conversation is no exception…

Your Favorite Author's Favorite Author: Laird Barron on Roger Zelazny

Barron is an expat Alaskan and the author of several books including The Imago Sequence and Other Stories, Swift to Chase, and Not a Speck of Light. Currently, he lives in the Rondout Valley of New York State…

Your Favorite Author's Favorite Author: Hailey Piper on Carmen Maria Machado

Hailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, All the Hearts You Eat, The Worm and His Kings series, and other books of horror. She’s also the author of…

Your Favorite Author's Favorite Author: Maxwell I. Gold on Dante

And now for something…slightly different. Speculative literature comes in many varieties. Questions of “what if?”, “what was that?”, and “how could this be?” are posed and answered across varying mediums and forms…

November 25, 2025

Shortwave Books Named INGRAM 2025 HORROR EDITORIAL SELECTIONS

Congrats to Nat Cassidy, Todd Keisling, Philip Fracassi, and Patrick Barb, whose titles were all named a 2025 Ingram Horror Editorial Selection today…

October 1, 2024

Shortwave Launches 2025 Quarterly Book Box!

Happy October! Our 2025 Quarterly Book Box campaign is now live! This is our first time offering our catalog as an annual subscription…

June 14, 2024

New Deal Announcement – NIGHT OF THE WITCH-HUNTER

Today we are excited to announce the acquisition of Night of the Witch-Hunter, by Patrick Barb, as the sixth entry in our popular Killer VHS Series…

June 29, 2023

New Title Announcement – HAUNTING LESSONS

Today we’re excited to announce “Haunting Lessons”, a short story by Patrick Barb, published in this new chapbook featuring five original illustrations by Caitlin Mareau…