I was born in Massachusetts in 1970, but spent most of my life in the South. I studied literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at the University of New Orleans. Among other things, I’ve been a cook on oil rigs and barges, a waiter, and a bartender in New Orleans.
My most recent book is called The Strange. I am also the author of Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell, from Saga Press, and North American Lake Monsters, from Small Beer Press. I’ve won two Shirley Jackson Awards, and have been shortlisted for the World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Bram Stoker Awards. My stories also appear in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023, Body Shocks: Extreme Tales of Body Horror, Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, and several other anthologies.
My novella “The Visible Filth” was made into a movie called Wounds, from Annapurna Pictures. It’s written and directed by Babak Anvari and stars Armie Hammer, Zazie Beetz, and Dakota Johnson. My collection North American Lake Monsters was adapted into the Hulu series Monsterland by Mary Laws, with Babak Anvari and Lucan Toh as Executive Producers.
In 2024, Tor Nightfire will publish Crypt of the Moon Spider, the first in a trilogy of lunar gothic novellas.
I live in Asheville, NC.
Nathan Ballingrud 
Such beautiful writings, Nathan. A gift.
And your eyes, another gift. From your dad.
Love you. Aunt Bobbi
Aunt Bobbi, what a wonderful surprise! Thank you so much. This really brightened my evening. I love you too.
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You forgot to say you can make a roux.
I enjoyed North American Monsters very much, excited by your mention of a Mars NOVEL, looking forward to reading more of your stories, Very Best, Glyn Jackson
Nathan, I told you you’d win last year at the Shirley Jackson awards. They announced your book second in the tie, but I was so nervous right before and crushed when they announced the first winner. I was so sure! And then the tie was announced, and I was thinking, ‘I told him that around this time last year!’
I’m so gratified to see that I was right. The only thing that could have been better was to see you there.
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Hi Nathan,
I’m on vacation in Asheville and just picked up Lake Monsters, which looks wonderful. Was surprised to see we’ve both been published by Andy Cox. Black Static?
All best,
Tim Lees
I must say it was hard to find your website in google.
You write awesome content but you should rank your
blog higher in search engines. If you don’t
know how to do it search on youtube: how to
rank a website Marcel’s way
Just starting North American Lake Monsters. Sir, I must know what bar(s) you tended in New Orleans.
Thoroughly enjoyed The Visible Filth. Egad, that visual of the thing crawling out of that person’s throat! I’m a former bartender as well, and working on some horror writing of my own. Glad you could mine your experience from the bar to come up with a kick ass tale.