Jonathan Janz


Jonathan Janz is the pen name of Craig Shaeffer, an American horror author of multiple novels.

Early life

Jonathan Craig Shaeffer grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was raised by his mother near a graveyard, where she would check out books on albums from the library. Early influences during this time include The Twilight Zone, In Search Of..., the works of Edgar Allan Poe, as well as the audio version of The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens. During childhood, he was prone to sleepwalking, and describes a time when he woke up in a pitch-black room of a friend's house, navigating his way through a maze of boxes because the family had just moved in. He adopted the pseudonym of Jonathan Janz as a way of honoring his maternal grandparents, who helped to raise him.

Career

In 2011, Janz published his debut novel, The Sorrows. The book received praise from author Brian Keene, who called it "the best horror novel of 2012." Keene would also describe Janz as "One of the best writers in modern horror to come along in the last decade."
Between 2011 and 2016, eight of Janz's novels were released by Samhain Publishing. After this, Janz signed a deal with Flame Tree Publishing, which published four more novels as well as reprintings of his earlier works. Other novels have been released through Sinister Grin Press, Earthling Publications, and Cemetery Dance.
His manager, Ryan Lewis, also works with Josh Malerman.
Janz cites multiple influences on his career, including Stephen King, Joe R. Lansdale, Brian Keene, Richard Matheson, among many others.
In March of 2023, Janz won the Wilburn-Thomas Award at the Scares That Care event in Williamsburg, Virginia. This is a charity event organized by author Brian Keene and the award is given to authors who have helped other writers and their community.

Personal life

Jonathan Janz is the pen name for Craig Shaeffer. Janz teaches high school English, film literature, and creative writing at West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School. He currently resides in Indiana with his wife and three children.

Novels

YearTitlePublisherPagesNotes
2011The SorrowsSamhain Publishing272
2012House of SkinSamhain Publishing312
2013The Darkest LullabySamhain Publishing272
2013Savage SpeciesSamhain Publishing315Originally published as a 5 part eBook
2013Bloodshot: Kingdom of ShadowsKindle Direct Publishing187Out of Print; Originally published as an eBook
2014Dust DevilsSamhain Publishing280
2014Castle of SorrowsSamhain Publishing337Sequel to The Sorrows
2015The Nightmare GirlSamhain Publishing304
2015Wolf LandSamhain Publishing314
2016Children of the DarkSinister Grin Press392Booklist Top Ten Horror Book of the Year for 2016; re-published in a revised edition by Cemetery Dance Publications in 2023
2017Exorcist FallsSinister Grin Press458contains the novella Exorcist Road
2018The Siren and the SpecterFlame Tree Publishing295Goodreads Choice Awards nominee for Best Horror 2018
2019The Dark GameFlame Tree Publishing352Library Journal Best Horror of 2019
2020The RavenFlame Tree Publishing245The Raven, Book One
2022Blood CountryFlame Tree Publishing320The Raven, Book Two
2022MarlaEarthling Publications288Limited to 500 copies
2022The DismemberedCemetery Dance Publications178
2024Children of the Dark 2: The Night FlyersCemetery Dance Publications396Sequel to Children of the Dark
2025VeilBlackstone Publishing360

Collections

YearTitlePublisherPagesNotes
2018Tales From the Shadow SideThunderstorm Books263Limited to 60 copies. Includes excepts from an unreleased novel, Garden of Snakes

Short Fiction

TitleTypeOriginally published inCollected inNotes
"Witching Hour Theatre"novellaKindle Direct Publishing Tales From the Shadow Side Originally published as an eBook
"Old Order"novellaKindle Direct Publishing Tales From the Shadow Side Originally published as an eBook
"The Clearing of Travis Coble"short storyKindle Direct Publishing Tales From the Shadow Side Originally published as an eBook
"Throwing Monsters"short storyPiercing the Darkness Tales From the Shadow Side
"Exorcist Road"novellaKindle Direct Publishing Appears revised in the paperback edition of Exorcist Falls Originally published as an eBook
"A Southern Evening"short storyLampLight Vol. 4, Issue 4 Tales From the Shadow Side
"Vanilla Sunshine"short storyClickers Forever: A Tribute to J.F. Gonzalez -
"Titan, Tyger"short storyLost Highways: Dark Fictions From the Road -
"Night and Day and In Between"short storyWelcome to the Show -
"The Kiss of Diana Antonov"novellaLeaders of the Pack: A Werewolf Anthology -
"Room For the Night"short storyClose to Midnight -
"The Humpers at the Threshold"short storyThe Drive-In: Multiplex -Set in the world of Joe R. Lansdale's The Drive-In
"Midwinter Tales"short storyLiterally Dead: Tales of Holiday Hauntings -
"Dobrogost"short storySwords in the Shadows: An Anthology -
"The Third Shannon"short storyMorbidologies -
"The Drolls"short storyFear of Clowns: A Horror Anthology -
"Stretch-Neck"short storyStretch-Neck: A VEIL Story -Short story set in the world of his novel Veil to be sent via e-mail to recipients of his newsletter and who pre-ordered the forthcoming book; a small number of pre-orders will receive a limited edition chapbook
"Lenora"short storyThe End of the World As We Know It: Tales of Stephen King's The Stand -Set in the world of Stephen King's The Stand

Non-Fiction

TitleTypeOriginally published inCollected inNotes
"Treating Fiction Like a Relationship"essayWriters on Writing, Vol. 3 -Originally published as an eBook
"Elizabeth: An Unnaturally Forgotten Novel"essayElizabeth by Ken Greenhall, Valancourt Books edition -
"Introduction"introductionMidnight in the Graveyard -
"They Come and They Go: An Introduction to Stephen Kozeniewski's Hunter of the Dead"introductionHunter of the Dead by Stephen Kozeniewski -
"Introduction: Step Into the Spinning Tunnel"introductionIllusions of Isolation -