This Fleshy Side of the Bone
short_story · First published 2026
Author guide
John Langan Books in Order
John Langan is an American author of contemporary horror and dark fantasy. He has published two novels and six collections of short fiction, and co-edited Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters with Paul Tremblay. His work combines psychological, literary, and cosmic-horror elements. He has received Bram Stoker and This Is Horror awards, helped found the Shirley Jackson Awards, taught creative writing and gothic fiction, and reviewed horror and dark fantasy for Locus magazine.
horrorweird fictioncosmic horrordark fantasy
Catalog record updated .
John Langan's Newest Book
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
The Fisherman
The author's best-known standalone novel and winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel.
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies
A representative collection spanning Langan's literary, psychological, and cosmic horror.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (2)
- House of Windows
novel · 2009
When a young writer finds himself cornered by a beautiful widow in the waning hours of a late-night cocktail party, he seeks at first to escape, to return to his wife and infant son, but the tale she weaves, of her missing husband, a…
- The Fisherman
novel · 2016
In upstate New York, in the woods around Woodstock, Dutchman's Creek flows out of the Ashokan Reservoir. Steep-banked, fast-moving, it offers the promise of fine fishing, and of something more, a possibility too fantastic to be true. When…
Short fiction (7)
- Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters
short_story_collection · 2008
- The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies
short_story_collection · 2013
"I want to be like John Langan when I grow up, okay? He blends meticulously crafted traditional narratives with joyous genre-bending and narrative rule-breaking. His stories are fiercely smart, timely, timeless, heartbreaking, and of…
- Sefira and Other Betrayals
short_story_collection · 2019
A collection of horror short stories and the short novel Sefira; the short novel and the short story At home in the house of the Devil are original to this collection, the other six short stories have been previously published.
- Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies
short_story_collection · 2020
- Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies
short_story_collection · 2022
A family’s Halloween haunted house becomes a conduit to something ancient and uncanny; a young man’s effigy of a movie monster becomes instrumental in his defense against a bully; a family diminishes while visiting a seaside town, leaving…
- Lost in the Dark and Other Excursions
short_story_collection · 2025
- This Fleshy Side of the Bone
short_story · 2026
Edited works (1)
- Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters
anthology · 2011
Monsters: As old as the oldest of stories, as new as our latest imaginings. From the ancient stone corridors of the labyrinth to the graffitied alleyways of the contemporary metropolis, they stalk the shadows. Leering from the darkness of…
Frequently asked questions about John Langan
Who is John Langan?
John Langan is an American horror writer whose work is often described as literary gothic fiction. He has also taught creative writing at SUNY New Paltz.
Sources: us.macmillan.com (opens in a new tab)newpaltzcwprogram.wordpress.com (opens in a new tab)
What is John Langan’s professional and academic background?
He earned an M.A. from SUNY New Paltz and a Ph.D. from the CUNY Graduate Center. SUNY New Paltz has listed him as adjunct faculty in creative writing.
Source: newpaltzcwprogram.wordpress.com (opens in a new tab)
What influences John Langan’s writing?
Langan has cited Robert E. Howard, Stephen King, Peter Straub, Flannery O’Connor, William Faulkner, and Alan Moore as formative influences. He has also connected his use of nested narratives to the storytelling traditions of his family.
What awards has John Langan won?
Langan has received the Bram Stoker and This Is Horror Awards. The official Bram Stoker Awards record lists The Fisherman as the 2016 Novel winner.
Sources: us.macmillan.com (opens in a new tab)thebramstokerawards.com (opens in a new tab)
How has John Langan contributed to the horror community?
Beyond his fiction, Langan helped found the Shirley Jackson Awards, which recognize achievement in horror, psychological suspense, and the dark fantastic. He has also served on the awards’ board of directors.
Sources: nightmare-magazine.com (opens in a new tab)shirleyjacksonawards.org (opens in a new tab)