Thomas F. Monteleone

In 2017, The Horror Writers Association honored him with their Lifetime Achievement Award.

In a 1992 interview, Monteleone stated he was "registered as Independent". More recently, Monteleone has described himself as a libertarian. Discussing the issue of drug prohibition, Montelone has stated that "Now just because I'm not into the drug scene doesn't mean I'm any less of a good Libertarian. I think all drugs should be legalized". Monteleone argues that the War on Drugs cannot be won, that criminalization creates a "phantom economy" dominated by violent criminals, and that drug prohibition is a violation of individual liberty. Monteleone is an admirer of Ayn Rand, and has described her book Atlas Shrugged as a "personal barometer". Monteleone has also criticized the Clinton Administration for bringing an antitrust suit against the Microsoft corporation.

Monteleone's five collections of selected short fiction are Dark Stars and Other Illuminations (1981), Rough Beasts and Other Mutations (2003),The Little Brown Book of Bizarre Stories (2004), Fearful Symmetries (2004), and "Dark Arts" (2014). His novels, The Resurrectionist and Night of Broken Souls, global thrillers from Warner Books, received rave reviews and have been optioned for films. The Reckoning (2000), a sequel to The Blood of the Lamb, and The Eyes of the Virgin (2002) have been published by Forge. His omnibus volume of essays about the book and film industries entitled The Mothers And Fathers Italian Association was recently published by Borderlands Press (www.borderlandspress.com) and won the Bram Stoker Award for Non-Fiction. He is also the author of the bestseller, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Novel (2004), and is currently at work on his latest novel, an historical thriller. His books and stories have been translated into fourteen foreign languages.

Monteleone has been a professional writer since 1972. Monteleone's first story appeared in Amazing Stories magazine in 1972. His first novel, Seeds of Change was the lead-off title in the critically unsuccessful Laser Books line of science fiction titles. He became a popular writer of supernatural thrillers. He has published more than 100 short stories in numerous magazines and anthologies. His best-selling novel, Blood of the Lamb was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Monteleone was raised in Sudbrook Park, Maryland, by his parents, Mario and Marie Monteleone. Monteleone attended a Jesuit high school, Loyola Blakefield, one year ahead of Tom Clancy. Monteleone studied at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he received degrees in English and Psychology. From 1969 to 1978 Monteleone worked as a psychotherapist in the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center in Jessup, Maryland, while studying English at the graduate level.

In 1967, while a student at the University of Maryland, Monteleone was involved in a UFO hoax, claiming that aliens had taken him to the planet "Lanulos." This story seemed to confirm the experiences of alleged contactee Woodrow Derenberger and was investigated by journalist John Keel. Keel discusses the incident in several books (see chapter 14 of The Mothman Prophecies) and seems to have taken it seriously at the time, though Monteleone later confirmed it was a prank. He came to regret the publicity and harassment that the hoax generated.

Thomas Francis Monteleone (born April 14, 1946, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American science fiction author and horror fiction author.