Corey Farrenkopf
twitter: @CoreyFarrenkopf
Corey Farrenkopf is a writer living on Cape Cod with his wife, Gabrielle. He is also the assistant director of Sturgis Library in Barnstable, MA. He is responsible for fiction acquisitions, and as a result, has grown both the horror and short story collections. Recommending weird/unusual fiction brings him great joy. He received his BA in English/Creative Writing and M.ed from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
His writing explores the socio-economic challenges of working class life, typically through the lens of horror. He also writes on the subjects of environmental protection and the flaws of capitalism. His work drifts between horror, science fiction, and dark realism. His short stories have been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes and a Best of the Net Award.
Corey teaches free creative writing classes at his library and local community centers around Cape Cod, focused on short stories and flash fiction.
Beyond writing, Corey is involved with local environmental and conservation work, hosting events at the library trying to convince people of the importance of growing native trees, seed sharing, and leaving undeveloped land for the wildlife that depends on it to exist. He plays bass, guitar, and drums, is active in a local Dungeons and Dragons group, and goes for long nature walks with his wife and their tiny dog, Ooli.
He is currently working on a literary/horror/dark fantasy novel with his agent, Marie Lamba of the Jennifer De Chiara Agency, that sits somewhere between Karen Russell and Neil Gaiman on the speculative fiction spectrum. He is also compiling a short story collection and working on his second novel.
His list of favorite authors is vast and difficult to whittle down. Towards the top of the list are Kelly Link, Karren Russell, Laird Barron, Paul Tremblay, Aimee Bender, Caitlin R Kiernan, George Saunders, John Langan, Nathan Ballingrud, Livia Llewellyn, Dan Chaon, Leni Zumas, Nadia Bulkin, Andy Davidson, Carmen Maria Machado, Jeff VanderMeer, Samantha Hunt, and Elizabeth Hand.
Sitting on his nightstand at the moment are Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Swift to Chase by Laird Barron, and Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong.
website: CoreyFarrenkopf.com
ig: Farrenkopf451
facebook: CoreyFarrenkopf451
selected publications:
- “Beach Reads” – Redivider
- “Exorcism” – Monkey Bicycle
- “Breaking and Entering for Would Be Marine Biologists” – Catapult
- “Someone Cleans the Bathrooms” – Hobart
- “The Great New England Clothing Heap” – Third Point Press
- “Moth Season” – Cotton Xenomorph
- “The Bones” – Slush Pile Magazine