Richard Thomas Chizmar (born 1965) is an American writer, the publisher and editor of Cemetery Dance magazine, and the owner of Cemetery Dance Publications. He also edits anthologies, produces films, writes screenplays, and teaches writing.
Writing Richard Chizmar is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author.
He is the co-author (with Stephen King) of the novella, Gwendy's Button Box and the founder/publisher of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than 35 anthologies and his short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including multiple editions of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA's Board of Trustee's award.
Chizmar (in collaboration with Johnathon Schaech) has also written screenplays and teleplays for United Artists, Sony Screen Gems, Lions Gate, Showtime, NBC, and many other companies. He has adapted the works of many bestselling authors including Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Bentley Little.
Chizmar is also the creator/writer of the online website, Stephen King Revisited. His fourth short story collection, The Long Way Home, was published in 2019. With Brian Freeman, Chizmar is co-editor of Dark Screams horror anthology series published by Random House imprint, Hydra.
His latest book, The Girl on the Porch, was released in hardcover by Subterranean Press, and Widow’s Point, a novella about a haunted lighthouse written with his son, Billy Chizmar, was recently adapted into a feature film.
Chizmar's work has been translated into more than fifteen languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor.
Publishing
Chizmar is the founder of Cemetery Dance, a literary publisher that runs a magazine by the same name and a book imprint, Cemetery Dance Publications. He founded Cemetery Dance magazine in 1988 while attending the University of Maryland's College of Journalism. It features dark fantasy, horror fiction, and articles related to those subjects. Metro Silicon Valley called it "America's longest-running independent horror-themed magazine".
The book imprint, Cemetery Dance Publications was first launched in 1992 and has produced more than 300 different autographed limited edition, lettered edition hardcover novels, novellas, and anthologies. It also publishes chapbooks, trade hardcovers, and a few paperbacks.
Screenplays and Chesapeake films Richard Chizmar co-founded Chesapeake Films with Johnathon Schaech, with whom he also co-writes screenplays. Their produced screenplays include 2006's Road House 2 (based on the story by Miles Chapman) and Showtime's Masters of Horror presentation of The Washingtonians (based on Bentley Little's story) from 2007. They also wrote the screenplay for an unproduced adaptation of From a Buick 8 based on Stephen King's novel.
Selected awards Work Year & Award Category Result Ref.Cemetery Dance1990 World Fantasy Special Award—Non-professional1991 World Fantasy Special Award—Non-professional1993 World Fantasy Special Award—Non-professional1994 World Fantasy Special Award—Non-professional1995 World Fantasy Special Award—Non-professional1996 British Fantasy AwardSmall Presshttps://www.sfadb.com/British_Fantasy_Awards_19961997 British Fantasy AwardSmall Presshttps://www.sfadb.com/British_Fantasy_Awards_19971998 World Fantasy Special Award—Non-professional1999 World Fantasy Special Award—Non-professional2007 Black Quill AwardDark Genre Short Fiction Magazine (Editors' Choice)http://www.darkscribemagazine.com/1st-annual-winners/2008 Black Quill AwardDark Genre Short Fiction Magazine (Readers' Choice)http://www.darkscribemagazine.com/2nd-annual-winners/Midnight Promises1997 World Fantasy AwardCollectionBest of Cemetery Dance1998 Bram Stoker AwardAnthology1998 International Horror Guild AwardAnthologyhttps://horroraward.org/prevrec.htmlSubterranean Gallery (with William Schafer)1999 International Horror Guild AwardAnthologyhttps://horroraward.org/prevrec.htmlOctober Dreams: A Celebration of Halloween (with Robert Morrish)2000 International Horror Guild AwardAnthologyhttps://horroraward.org/prevrec.html2001 Locus AwardAnthologyhttps://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_2001Night Visions 102001 International Horror Guild AwardAnthologyhttps://horroraward.org/prevrec.html2002 Locus AwardAnthologyhttps://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_2002Trick or Treat: A Collection of Halloween Novellas2001 Bram Stoker AwardAnthologyShivers2002 Bram Stoker AwardAnthologyShivers III2004 Bram Stoker AwardAnthologyShivers V2009 Black Quill AwardsDark Genre Anthologyhttp://www.darkscribemagazine.com/3rd-annual-bqa-nominees/A Long December2016 Bram Stoker AwardFiction CollectionChasing the Boogeyman2021 Goodreads Choice AwardsHorrorhttps://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-horror-books-2021Gwendy's Final Task (with Stephen King)2022 Goodreads Choice AwardsHorrorhttps://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-horror-books-20222023 Locus AwardAnthologyhttps://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_2023Becoming the Boogeyman2023 Goodreads Choice AwardsHorrorhttps://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-horror-books-2023
Books
Gwendy trilogy
Gwendy's Button Box (with Stephen King) (2017) Gwendy's Magic Feather (2019) Gwendy's Final Task (with Stephen King) (2020)
Boogeyman series
Chasing the Boogeyman (2021) Becoming the Boogeyman (2023) Killing the Boogeyman (2026)
Standalone novels
Darkness Whispers (with Brian James Freeman) (2017) The Girl on the Porch (2019) Memorials (2024) Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting (with WH Chizmar) (2025)
Short stories and novellas
Dirty Coppers (with Ed Gorman) (1997) Devil's Night: A Halloween Short Story (2012) Brothers (2015) Widow's Point (2018) The Washingtonians (with Bentley Little and Johnathon Schaech (2018) The Man Behind the Mask (2024)
See also List of horror fiction authors
References
External links