Kristopher Triana (born 1977) is an American writer of horror, southern gothic, and crime fiction. He is a three-time winner of the Splatterpunk Award for Best Novel, winning for Full Brutal (2019), The Night Stockers (with Ryan Harding, 2022), and The Old Lady (2025).
Career Triana has published novels, collections, novellas, and short fiction. His work is exclusively horror and is associated with the splatterpunk movement, and is also in the genres of crime, noir, and western. He has also been a columnist for Backwoods Survival Guide magazine.
Reception A Baltimore Sun review of Gone to See the River Man said, "If you thought obsession was creepy, Triana takes it to a whole other level....What unfolds is a descent into pure depravity, where every page feels like it’s watching you back. By the time you reach the River Man himself, you’ll be hollowed out and you’ll love Triana for it."
A Publishers Weekly review of The Detained called it "Triana's pedestrian horror riff on The Breakfast Club" and that the author "rushes through the emotional meltdowns, recriminations, and drastic measures without allowing enough space for real chills".
Personal life According to ISFDB, Triana was born in New York in 1977. As of 2024, he lived in Connecticut.
Selected works The following bibliography is listed by Fantastic Fiction.
Series Gone to See the River Man Gone to See the River Man (2021) Along the River of Flesh (2023)
Novels The Ruin Season (2016) Body Art (2016) Shepherd of the Black Sheep (2018) Full Brutal (2018) Toxic Love (2019) The Long Shadows of October (2019) Blood Relations (2020) They All Died Screaming (2020) The Night Stockers (with Ryan Harding) (2021) And the Devil Cried (2021) A Fine Evening in Hell (2022) Ex-Boogeyman (2022) The Prettiest Girl in the Grave (2023) That Night in the Woods (2023) The Old Lady (2024) Because You're Mine (2024) I Don't Recognize This World Anymore (2025) Music to Sacrifice Virgins To (2025)
Collections Growing Dark (2015)
Novellas and short stories The Bone Orchard (2017) From the Storms, A Daughter (2017) Giving From the Bottom (2017) The Detained (2018) A Cold Place for Dying (2022)
Series contributions The Thirteenth Koyote (2020) — Splatter Western No. 8 Ballad of the Werevixens (2022) — Splatter Western No. 14
Awards and honors
Speculative fiction + Award Year Category Work Result Splatterpunk Award 2019 Best Novel 2020 Best Novel 2021 Best Novel Best Novel Best Collection 2022 Best Novel (with Ryan Harding) 2023 Best Novel 2024 Best Novel 2025 Best Novel Best Short Story Best Anthology (with Aron Beauregard, C. V. Hunt, and Daniel J. Volpe) 2026 Best Novel
References
External links Official website Personal website Kristopher Triana at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Kristopher Triana at Fantastic Fiction Interview with Kristopher Triana at Cemetery Dance