Welcome

I'm a science fiction and horror writer from London, and I've been published in a number of short fiction markets such as The Book of Dark Wisdom, Neo Opsis and Midnight Street. In this site is an overview of my writing and publishing history so far, book reviews from my own reading, and links which might be of interest to other writers.

I am also a member of the London-based writers' group The T-Party.

News

11-Apr-2010: "The Turning of the Screw" (Midnight Street issue 12) gets an Honourable Mention in "The Best Horror of the Year", compiled by Ellen Datlow (of Year's Best Fantasy & Horror fame) published on her blog (link here).

25-Nov-2009: Double Bummer -- unfortunately I've lucked out in the War of the Words contest as well. However, hearty congratulations have to go to the winner, R J Frith, author of "The Nemesis List", for being chosen as the lucky writer who will be getting the deal with Tor. I'll certainly look forward to reading the book when it comes out, and the fact I got so close should hopefully give me a good advantage when I'm pitching "Creations" to agents and editors. Fingers crossed! (For the winner announcement itself, look here.)

23-Sep-2009: Bummer -- the story I had in the finals of Writers of the Future hasn't been picked as a winner. However there is still an opportunity to be picked as a "published finalist" if the twelve 2009 winners form a shorter-than-average anthology. I'll have to decide whether to go for that, then cross my fingers all over again while the third- and fourth-quarter winners are chosen (then hope that they pick shorter stories as winners, and that mine is the best of the also-rans). Congratulations to those that did get through, and I'll post the news here if I'm lucky in the final sweep.

08-Sep-2009: Well, I seem to have found myself in the unusual position of being a finalist in two major writing competitions at once. I heard yesterday from the SciFiNow / Tor UK War of the Words contest that I'm in the final 10, with the winner to be picked sometime before the end of November. The prize is a publishing deal with Macmillan, and while there's no guarantee of success (for this or "Writers of the Future") I'm still pretty chuffed to have got this far. Fingers crossed! (The novel is titled "Creations", and for the full shortlist, look here.)

20-Jun-2009: A story of mine has been announced as a finalist in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. I can't say which story at present (the rules require anonymous judging so nothing linking my name to the title can appear online) but I'm down to the final 8 from which the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will be picked. I'll post the result when I get it...

18-Jun-2009: Another review of "The Turning of the Screw" (Midnight Street issue 12) has been written, by Nick Jackson - reproduced on the Midnight Street website itself.

...Conan Doyle on a speed trip... ...spins towards a gratuitously gory conclusion...

03-May-2009: Another review of "The Turning of the Screw" (Midnight Street issue 12) has been posted here on the SF Crowsnest site by Gareth D Jones.

...Mitchell's Victorian gentleman is an enjoyable narrator for this classic story...

29-Apr-2009: A review of my story "The Turning of the Screw" (Midnight Street issue 12) has been posted here on The British Fantasy Society website, by Steve Redwood.

...but I still don’t think you would anticipate this marvellous story and its masterly climax...

17-Apr-2009: Midnight Street issue 12 is now out, featuring my story "The Turning of the Screw".

08-Apr-2008: Short-but-sick "Sectioned" (widely regarded as the nastiest, most horrific piece ever to pass through my crit group) has sold to Midnight Street.

24-Jan-2008: A review of my story "Junk Wars" (Neo-Opsis Issue 13) has been posted here at The Fix online, by Marshall Payne.

...A good helping of suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy “Junk Wars,” but nevertheless, I did.

22-Sep-2007: Neo-Opsis issue 13 is now out, containing my story "Junk Wars".

07-Jun-2007: Humorous SF short "Junk Wars" has sold to Neo-Opsis magazine.

21-May-2007: Another review of "Horrors Beyond" has been posted on the Amazon.com site (here), by a reviewer logged in as "Brian".

...This is a great mystery that involves the sole survivors of a mysterious ship sinking succumbing to the same horrible death...

26-Apr-2007: Another review of "Horrors Beyond" has been posted here on the SFReader site, by Jeff Edwards.

...Mitchell's elegant prose sustains a Lovecraftian mood while also evoking scenes from "The Exorcist"...

28-Aug-2006: A welcome bit of critical acclaim -- the 2006 Year's Best Fantasy and Horror has given an honourable mention to my story "His Wonders in the Deep", published in the Elder Signs Press anthology "Horrors Beyond".

08-Mar-2006: Gothic Fairground Slaughterfest (not my description!) "The Turning of the Screw" has sold to Midnight Street.

08-Jan-2006: At last! My credentials as a writer are now complete as I recieve my first bad review (well, mixed at least). It's for my "Horrors Beyond" story ("His Wonders in the Deep") and was posted in a blog by Steven Kaye. (Note: the blog entry itself appears to no longer be visible online so look here (in the "Reviews and Accolades" section) to see the text relating to my story.)

15-Dec-2005: The Book of Dark Wisdom Issue #7 is now out, containing my story "Second Sight".

01-Aug-2005: Chance meeting with an existing member leads to me joining The T-Party writer's group.

29-Jul-2005: Another review of "Horrors Beyond" has been posted on the Amazon.com site (here), by John W. Oliver.

...The suspense and mystery of the story is well-paced ... The characters are interesting. The anthology definitely keeps its strength with its second story...

25-Jul-2005: Two reviews of "Horrors Beyond" have been posted here on the Nightscapes site, by Matthew Carpenter and James Ambuehl.

...seems to carry more than a touch of HPL's [H.P.Lovecraft's] The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, in this mad scientist romp...

...well written, enjoyable...

23-Jun-2005: A review of "Horrors Beyond" has been posted here on the LSU site, by Mario Guslandi.

...a fine example of powerful material narrated in elegant prose...

01-May-2005: In print at last -- Elder Signs Press have released their anthology "Horrors Beyond", containing my story "His Wonders in the Deep". Got my contributor's copy and am impressed -- the quality of the other stories and the quality of the book's overall design and printing are as good as I'd expect from a big name publisher.

25-Feb-2005: Another Lovecraftian horror -- "His Wonders in the Deep" has sold to Elder Signs Press for their "Horrors Beyond" anthology.

24-Oct-2004: Vatican-based Lovecraftian horror "Second Sight" has sold to The Book of Dark Wisdom.