Category / Publications

by Warren Benedetto

“Blame” published in Brave New Weird, Vol. 1

My techno-horror story Blame has been published in Brave New Weird: The Best New Weird Horror, Vol 1 (in print and ebook) by Tenebrous Press.

Blame is a “found footage” story consisting of emails, Slack conversations, Reddit threads, phone transcripts, and more unusual artifacts like git commits, JIRA tickets, door entry logs … even a Walmart receipt.

Like many found footage tales, the story is ultimately pieced together based on incomplete information. Multiple reads of the story should reveal new hidden details that may change your interpretation of the ending.

Content warning: misogyny, sexual assault (mentioned), suicide (mentioned)

Blame also made the preliminary ballot for the Stoker Awards, for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction. Voting closes next week, so if you’re an HWA member, please check it out and (hopefully) give it your vote!

by Warren Benedetto

Four drabbles published in the Love Me, Love Me Not anthology

Four of my horror drabbles have been published in Love Me, Love Me Not: Dark Tales of Love, Lust, and Lunacy by Black Hare Press.

Content warnings: Stalking, terminal illness, suicide

  • First Kiss. Their first kiss is their last.
  • Holding Hands. In sickness and in health, until death do them part.
  • Only We. How close can a couple get before they’re no longer a couple at all?
  • A Hallmark Ending. It’s the perfect fairy tale: a city girl returns to her small home town to reunite with her hunky high school crush … whether he likes it or not.
by Warren Benedetto

“Before” published in Dose of Dread

My microfiction horror story Before has been published in Dose of Dread by Dread Stone Press. It’s about a baby in the womb who suddenly realizes she’s not alone.

Content warning: Pregnancy

I don’t know where she came from, or when she appeared. I just know that I’m not alone in here anymore. There is another now. A Not-Mother. A Not-Me. A Third.

by Warren Benedetto

“Set For Life” published in MYTHIC #20

My cyberpunk story Set For Life has been reprinted in MYTHIC #20. It’s the prequel to my novella Override, about a man’s first day on the job picking up bodies for Syntech and the disturbing secret about where they come from.

Lifting bodies wasn’t like lifting boxes. Boxes were symmetrical. Structured. You could lift properly: squat down, straighten your spine, lift with your legs. Bodies were limp. Awkward. Their limbs flopped in odd directions. He still hadn’t figured out the best way to lift one without damaging it. Or himself. Or both.

by Warren Benedetto

“Wine List for the Apocalypse” published by The Weekly Humorist

My post-apocalyptic satire Wine List for the Apocalypse, Courtesy of Your Olive Garden Sommelier has been published by The Weekly Humorist. Listen in as tonight’s sommelier, Giovanni, reviews the wine list against a backdrop of flickering firelight from our ruined Earth.

Our Pinot Grigio? Unfortunately, we’re unable to properly chill it to our satisfaction, mostly due to the lack of refrigeration and basic human sanitation. Without electricity, the closest thing we have to refrigeration is the cold realization that all is lost.

by Warren Benedetto

“Die On Your Feet” published by Havok Magazine

My short horror story Die On Your Feet has been published as part of Havok’s Thriller Thursday series. It’s only free to read for the next 24 hours, so catch it while you can.

The story is about a group of survivors huddling close to the ground to avoid whatever is lurking in the fog just overhead. It’s an allegory about what happens to people who deny the reality of their situation, despite all the evidence telling them they are wrong.

Content warning(s): mild gore

“It ain’t real,” Grady insisted. “Think! Have you ever actually seen one of the things up there?”

“No, but I’ve seen what it does to people.”

by Warren Benedetto

Listen to “Scrapple” on the NoSleep Podcast

My microfiction horror story Scrapple is featured as the cold open on this week’s episode of The NoSleep Podcast. The story starts at 2:07. Listen for free on your favorite podcast app.

Content warning(s): domestic violence (implied)

by Warren Benedetto

“What It Feels Like to Die” published in Martian Magazine

My sci-fi drabble What It Feels Like to Die has been published in Issue 7 of Martian: The Magazine of Science Fiction Drabbles. When you wake up in a Rejuvenator, you don’t remember anything about how you died … even if someone killed you.

“Mama?” Madelyn asked. “What does it feel like to die?”

“It’s like falling asleep. Except when you fall asleep, you wake up in the same place. When you die, you wake up in a Rejuvenator.”