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01/31/2026 Author Spotlight: Stephen Kozeniewski

  • Writer: Candace Nola
    Candace Nola
  • 2 days ago
  • 4 min read

This week's Spotlight is on Stephen Kozeniewski. Stephen is a wonderfully talented author, a great friend and mentor, and a publisher with an eye for talent. He's been in the industry for a while now and is someone to admire, look up to, and seek advice from.


MEET STEPHEN KOZENIEWSKI


Introduce yourself in 4 sentences or less.

My name is Steve and I’m an author of horror and science fiction. You probably know me from either Braineater Jones or The Hematophages. I’ve won the World Horror Grossout Contest twice and a Splatterpunk Award for my short story “My Octopus Master.” I’m also a newish publisher and I’ve had some shocking successes with my boutique agency, French Press Publishing, including the Imadjinn Award-winning You’re Mine by Somer Canon and the British Fantasy Award Finalist Millionaires Day by Kit Power.



Describe your style of writing in 2 sentences or less.

As straightforward as possible but never pandering. Ha, that’s even less than two sentences. Well, not anymore. And now I’ve really fucked up. Disregard the last four.



What is your favorite type of horror to write?

I love combining sci-fi and horror. I don’t know why it’s so vanishingly rare as a genre mashup. It seems to me they should go hand-in-glove because exploring the unknowns of technology and the universe would, one presumes, regularly lead to horrific outcomes. But the two genres seem to be fatally torn asunder, so I guess I’ll just continue go to broke trying to knit them back together like some kind of Frankensteinian monstrosity. (You know, Frankenstein, the first science fiction or horror novel depending on your outlook? Get it? Get it?)



What is your favorite book or character you’ve written so far?

My favorite tends to remain The Ghoul Archipelago. I mean, the puppet scene, man, if nothing else.



Who are your top 5 favorite authors?

Let’s set aside personal friends, because that would unbalance the whole list. My favorite author writing today is Jason Pargin, always an instabuy. Also living I’m a big fan of Mike Brooks and Brian Keene. Dead…well, William Hope Hodgson is in there because of one particular piece that I re-read at least once a year. Oh, and Douglas Adams. I’ve re-read his stuff more than anyone else’s, probably literally hundreds of times.



What most inspires you to keep writing when imposter syndrome hits the hardest?

I mean, it’s a bitch, because you have to somehow have confidence that you are writing well enough that readers would appreciate you, but somehow not become arrogant. I guess just keeping the pulse of the industry in as clear-eyed a manner as humanly possible helps me. I can say, “Well, that arrogant asshole can’t write, and he got a seven-figure deal, so there’s hope for me.” But then you risk becoming bitter doing that, right? It’s a tricky balancing act.



Is there a genre, sub-genre, or trope you’ve not written, that you’d like to try?

I would like to get into fantasy. I have an idea for an offbeat fantasy that I’ve been working on since 2007 in various forms. Everyone’s lost a sock, or, you know, the world has lost Amelia Earhart, so things just kind of disappear with no explanation. This fantasy is set in kind of the universe’s drain grate, where all of the detritus we otherwise can’t account for just disappears to. So, there’s a constant threat that you could be standing there and be struck by a lost dog appearing out of thin air – or equally by the lost Library of Alexandria – and all of these strange people, animals, and creatures from across time and space have to stitch together a semi-functional society.



What is your hope for your writing career for the next five years? As in where do you see yourself?

My hope? Well, this is a very different thing from where I see myself. My hope would be to have a Big 5 deal and be writing full time. Where I see myself in more likelihood is slowly raising my profile as both a publisher and an author to where I’m fairly well known and respected.



Pitch your current WIP in three sentences or less.

Well, I’m putting together all of my readings from the last ten years or so and intercutting each with advice for authors on public speaking. I’m pretty excited for the print version of this one, but the audiobook should be dynamite.



Where can we find you online and where can readers see you next?

I will be appearing at Authorcon 6 by Scares That Care in Williamsburg, VA. Feb. 28-March 1. Putting on my publisher’s cap, I’ll be taking live pitches for authors interested in publishing with French Press at the event, so come ready to pitch me.


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Bio for Stephen Kozeniewski:

Stephen Kozeniewski (pronounced "causin' ooze key") is a Splatterpunk Award-winning author and two-time World Horror Grossout Contest champion. His published work has also been nominated for the Voice Arts and Indie Horror Book Awards, among other honors. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and their two cats above a fanciful balloon studio.



Owner: Candace Nola

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