Brief Bio:
Mark Cantrell is a novelist and journalist as well as an occasional poet. Both his fiction and poetry has appeared in a number of small press journals and anthologies over the years, while his novel Citizen Zero, a hard-hitting science fiction thriller, was published by Smashwords early in 2011.
By day, he works in Manchester for a publisher of trade journals and often rattles out rough drafts of his latest writing projects while jammed in amongst his fellow commuters. Born and bred in Bradford, West Yorkshire (hence the preponderance of 'tyke' in his usernames), he went to university in Liverpool and then London, and now lives in Stoke-on-Trent.
Fiction:
Citizen Zero
Dystopian science fiction thriller available from Smashwords in a variety of digital formats, and through good third party retailers, such as Barnes & Noble, Apple iTunes, Diesel eBooks and more.
With the Government cracking the whip on cutbacks, it seemed like a timely moment for the book to put in an appearance. Citizen Zero combines the stark social commentary of 'The Boys From The Blackstuff', the millennial anarcho-chic of 'The Matrix', and the uncompromising force of 'V for Vendetta' into one devastating portrayal of tomorrow's Britain. It's a grim climax to an ordeal that has its roots in our own age of austerity. More information at www.zerocitizen.blogspot.com
'Vampires, Zombies & Ghosts, Oh My! (and other creatures of the night stories)'
Edited by Eve Paludan. Published by NoTreeBooks.com: October 2010. Featured the short story, Of Unicorns & Vampyres under the title of Baron Blood. Available from Amazon.
Isolation Space, a melange of short fiction
A collection of both previously published and unpublished short stories covering a range of genres, from horror, SF, fantasy to satire. Published in paperback by Lulu.com (April 2009), and later re-issued in digital formats through Smashwords. For more information visit my books sites.
Featuring: Window Gazers | Affordable Housing | Brain Drain | Time Changeth The Man | The Rise & Fall Of Sisyphus | A Walk In The Woods | To Heal The World | Of Unicorns & Vampyres | Sinners In Streaming Video | At Death's Door | The Ghost Of Sarajevo | There Is No Sanctuary Here | One For The Road | Shopping For Katie | One Way Trip | Nathan's Friend | Deadly Night Shade | Joe's Last Meal | An Englishman's Home Is A… | Taste Of The Night Life.
Find out more at www.mark-books.blogspot.com or visit www.lulu.com/tyke21
Writer's Muse #45 October 2008
Featured the satirical short story Coming Home To Roost.
"In Workers' Paradise", fourth novel completed, June 2008 (Unpublished).
The Writers' Compass – October 2007
Featured the short story Sinners In Streaming Video.
Writers' Muse #39, September 2007
Featured the short story The Rise & Fall Of Sisyphus.
Writers of Worlds – Citizen Zero & Silas Morlock – May 2007
Both novels accepted for publication on the launch list of this new-start UK publisher. Unfortunately, after languishing for some time, the venture failed to get off the ground.
Attack of the 50-foot Verbose Mutant Killer Fountain Pens From Mars
A slightly-tongue in cheek wrapping for a collection of short stories, articles and essays self-published as a free PDF ebook: circa October 2006. Catch it in a variety of ebok formats at Many Books.
Monomyth #40 2006
Featured the short story Deadly Night Shade.
Silas Morlock, third novel, completed in May 2006 (Unpublished).
The Doppelganger Broadsheet Vol 13 #48 circa 2004
Featured the short story Time Changeth The Man.
Citizen Zero, second novel, completed in circa June 2001 (Published by Smashwords, see above).
Love, Sex, Death & Carrots
Edited by Lynette Shaw McKone, Rahel Guzelian and Phil Wainman. Published by Interchange (Bradford Writers' Network): March 2001. Multi-author compilation of fiction and poetry. Featured The Ghost Of Sarajevo.
Wrightlines #16 August 2000
Featured the short story The Ghost of Sarajevo.
Sci-Fright #6 circa March 2000
Featured the short story A Walk In The Woods.
Peridot Books (online) – June 1999
Featured the short story Sinners In Streaming Video.
The Asphalt Jungle #3 Spring 1999
Featured the short story Time Changeth The Man.
Spirit Of Darkness, ghost and horror stories
Multi-author collection published by Clover Books in 1998. Feature the short stories Shopping For Katie and Nathan's Friend.
The Velvet Vampyre #23 1994
Featured the short story Blood Feud, an early version of Deadly Night Shade.
Alternaties #16 1994
Featured the short story Time For A Change, an early version of Time Changeth The Man.
Uranium Fist, a rather clunky attempt at a first novel completed around November 1993 shortly after graduating from university. Later revised it in 1999. Both stages conducted largely as an exercise in handling book-length material (Unpublished).
Telegraph & Argus newspaper, Bradford, March 1992
First short story published in a supplement to the local newspaper: White Fur (appeared as End Of The Innocents).
Poetry
Deus Ex Insomnia (collection)
Published through Lulu: 2007. Later reissued in digital formats by Smashwords (2011).
A collection of 80 poems and several prose essays. Visit my books blog for more information.
In The Words Of Chairman Me (collection)
Self-published chapbook containing a collection of humorous and political/satirical poems. Appeared in 2004 and since re-issued as a free PDF on Scribd.
Not Quite Opposite Morrisons Enough! (appearance in a multi-author collection)
Edited by Geoff Hattersley. Published by Beehive Poets, Bradford, 2003.
Sundoves, Bumblebees & Blue Streak Bananas (appearance in a multi-author collection)
Edited by Seema Gill and Richard Healey. Published by Bradford Poets4Peace 2002.
Confessions of a Poetry Virgin (collection)
Self-published chapbook featuring some 40 poems. First appeared in 2002 since re-issued as a free PDF through Scribd.
Between 2001 and the present, further poems have featured in: Decanto | Horace | 4th Dimension | Walk This World | The Bellywarmer | The Scottish Fold | Quarry | Awen | Bard | Read Herrings Literary Journal | Monomyth Supplement | Not quite poetry, but was invited to write the foreword to Diary of a Schizo, edited by Courtesy Orchis and published by Nine Hearts Publishing | "Garbaj"
Journalism
On Literature,
Selected Journalism of Mark Cantrell (2011)
A selection of my essays and journalistic writings detailing the exploits of my native creative writing scene in Bradford, pulled together in this small volume published free via Smashwords.
Excel Publishing, Manchester
The day job since 2006, writing news and features for monthly print-based trade journals and material for websites and email newsletters. Other snippets of media work include:
Writers' News magazine, freelance news reporting between 2000 to 2006.
Tyke Writer, monthly newsletter for Interchange (Bradford Writers Network) between 2001 and 2004.
World Textile Publications, Bradford, a publisher of print journals for the global textile industry. As the staff writer, wrote news and features between 1998 and 1999.
Sphinx Magazine, student magazine at the University of Liverpool, writing articles and generally odd-jobbing between 1990 and 1994.
One off contributions include: Your Sinclair | Adventure Coder | Lexikon magazine | Morning Star newspaper | Writing Magazine | Linkway | Print R@dio | Decanto | Aesthetica Magazine | The Yorkshire Journal | Old Yorkshire Magazine | Telegraph & Argus newspaper
Oddball Origins
'Nebula Designs Software'/Zenobi Software – 1987 to 1990
Computer adventure games for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computers. Produced four titles, initially self-published, and then published by Zenobi Software after the final game won Best Mail Order Adventure of The Year in 1990.
Websites:
The Word On The Wall | www.mark-cantrell.blogspot.com
Everything from poetry and fiction, to news, reviews and comment.
Books By Mark | www.mark-books.blogspot.com
Information about my books, from purchasing details, reviews and new developments all in one easy source.
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