Richard Gordon Thomas, III Member Member since 2007

New-weird, speculative, literary fiction.

Fiction Nonfiction

BIO: Richard Thomas is the award-winning author of nine books: four novels—Incarnate, Breaker, Disintegration, and Transubstantiate; four collections—Spontaneous Human Combustion, Tribulations, Staring Into the Abyss, and Herniated Roots; and one novella of The Soul Standard. He has been nominated for the Bram Stoker (twice), Shirley Jackson, Thriller, and Audie awards. His over 180 stories in print include The Best Horror of the Year (#11 and #17), Cemetery Dance (twice), Behold!: Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders (Bram Stoker Award winner), The Hideous Book of Hidden Horrors (Shirley Jackson Award winner), Weird Fiction Review, The Seven Deadliest, Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories, Qualia Nous (#1&2), Chiral Mad (#2-4), PRISMS, and Shivers VI. He has also edited five anthologies. Visit www.whatdoesnotkillme.com for more information.

Black and white photo of Richard Thomas (© John Geiger)

Black and white photo of Richard Thomas (© Erik Wilson)

Location:: Chicago, Illinois
Birthdate:: 21 November (59 years old)
Social:: Blog/web
Bluesky
Facebook
Instagram
Threads
X (Twitter)

Interview with Richard Gordon Thomas, III

Where do you prefer to do your creative work?

I'm a feast or famine author—it's all or nothing for me. One day I get nothing, the next I write a 6,000-word story to completion, submit for midnight deadline, and become the anchor story in an anthology that wins a Bram Stoker Award. I have a hard time writing every day, and don't like to take a year to write a novel

Do you read literary journals and magazines regularly? If so, which are your favorites?

Sure, all the time. Just got done being a judge for the World Fantasy Awards. Mostly I read speculative fiction, so anything that might appear in Best Horror of the Year, Best American SF&F, or Best American. Favorites are probably The Dark, Nightmare, F&SF, Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Cemetery Dance, etc.

Who are your literary (or artistic) heroes?

Growing up I read anyone I could get my hands on—starting with my grandmother's Agatha Christie collection. I've read more Stephen King than any other author. I love popular authors like Grisham and Chrichton. The authors who've influenced me the most—Stephen Graham Jones, Brian Evenson, Shirley Jackson, Jeff VanderMeer, Clive Barker, China Mieville, PKD, Bee, Chuck Palahniuk, Mary Gaitskill, Haruki Murakami, Benjamin Percy, etc.

If you could only take one book on a ten-year voyage, what book would you choose?

Oh man that's tough. Maybe Weaveworld or The Stand, I'd also consider Perdido Street Station. If I can take a trilogy, maybe VanderMeer's Southern Reach series. Of King's The Dark Tower.

How much of a typical day (or week) are you able to dedicate to your creative work?

Not nearly enough. I spend a lot of time editing and teaching, as a writing coach. I need to write that next novel, and more short stories. 135 stories in 18 years is pretty good, but this year has been tough—no new stories yet.

What makes you procrastinate when you could be doing your creative work? What are your strategies for finding focus?

Mostly things I do to get rid of anxiety and stress. That and doing OTHER work—editing, teaching, coaching.

How do you celebrate your successes, such as acceptances? How do you handle rejections and other setbacks?

I tell my close friends and family of course, I'm not shy about posting up on social media. Was a judge for the World Fantasy Awards this year, got a story in Best Horror of the Year, a story in LIghtspeed last year—all good news. Rejections are a part of the submission process. Setback at my age (58) can be tough, but I have a lot of love and success to fall back on, so I'm okay. LOL.

How much time do you spend reading for pleasure or edification?

Not enough. For my workshops, I read three anthologies (Best Horror, Best SF&F, Best American). I try to read a few books a year on top of that, and my students/clients.

Do you have a personal creative style? How would you describe it?

I'm a maximalist, so heavy setting and sensory details. I lean into the uncanny, so what I'd call "new-weird." I write slipstream/hybrid work so it might have fantasy, SF, horror, and other genres/subgenres all woven together. Tend to write first person, past tense.

Where do you find inspiration?

Everywhere—film, television, music, art, stories, novels, life.

What single creative achievement are you most proud of?

I think being a Bram Stoker finalist for my last collection, Spontaneous Human Combustion. In a year where there were 64 recommended collections, making the top 5/6 really validated the work I've been doing for 18 years. I'd like to think I came in 2nd, but honestly, just making the final ballot meant the world to me.

What fictional character would you most like to be?

Probably somebody heroic. A character that makes a difference.

If you could choose to be born in any era, which one would you choose and why?

That's tough. Growing up in the 70s and 80s wasn't bad. 90s for alternative rock. 50s/60s were tough, and now it's such a mess. I'm curious to see what the future holds.

What advice would you give to a young, budding writer (or artist) with less experience than yourself?

Be yourself. Write the stories that only YOU can tell, based on your education, gender, community, culture, orientation, family, country/city, history, etc. That's how you can break through. We don't need another Stephen King, we need your voice, style, and POV. Editing Gamut magazine twice it was so exciting to read submission form all of the world. My first Baba Yaga story or golems or skinwalkers and shapeshifters. Seeing how different countries formulate their supernatural—all across the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa—what a mix of fables, mythes, and histories.

For your first draft (or sketch), do you prefer analog or digital tools, or a mix?

I use Word. Nothing fancy. If I get on a roll, it's like the "body without organs" that the philosopher Deleuze talks about, being in the zone—it all fades away, and I become the character, a bit of method writing.

Do you incorporate generative AI/LLMs into your creative process? If so, how?

No. I mean we all do research via Google or whatever—what plants are in Arizona, what animals live in the mountains of Colorado, was there paper money in the 1800s in Virginia? But nothing generative, no.

What is your favorite word and why?

I've always been drawn to vainglorious—feels good rolling off the tongue. Transubstantiate was the title of my first book, loved that word, too. Maybe antidisestablishmentarianism.

What would you like your epitaph to say?

He made the world a better place. There's a saying: you are never truly forgotten until the last person utters your name. So I'd like to be remembered and read for a long time. May we all live forever.

Are you an unreliable narrator?

Me or my stories, my characters? LOL I guess I have to say YES on both. I mean, as authors, we all lie for a living.

Last Updated: 05 Oct 2026