Writer
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| name | Bentley Little
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| image | Bentleylittle.jpg
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| pseudonym |
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| birth_date | 1960
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| birth_place | Arizona
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| occupation | Novelist
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| genre | Horror
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| debut_works | ''The Revelation''
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| influences | Stephen King
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(born 1960) is an
American author of numerous
horror novels. He was discovered by
Dean Koontz.
Personal History
Bentley Little was born in
Arizona in
1960, one month after his mother attended the world premiere of ''
Psycho''. He published his first novel, ''The Revelation'', with St. Martin's Press in 1990. After reading it,
Stephen King became a vocal fan of Little's work, and Little won the
Bram Stoker Award for "Best First Novel" in 1990. He moved to New American Library for his next two novels, but was dropped from the company after he refused to write a
police procedural as his next novel. He eventually returned to New American Library, where he continues to publish his novels.
Little has stated on several occasions that he considers himself a horror novelist, and that he writes in the horror genre, not the "suspense" or "dark fantasy" genres. He is an unabashed supporter of horror fiction. He has also been referred to as a disciple of Stephen King, a label he wears with pride.
Little has stated in the past that he does not like computers, and he refuses to operate an official
web site; though you can glean a web presence via the following sites created by his ardent fans - (e.g.)
http://www.geocities.com/bentley_little/ and
http://www.bentleylittle.homestead.com -- http://www.geocities.com/bentley_little/ -- http://www.bentleylittle.homestead.com/
Recurring Themes
Recurring themes in Bentley Little's works include a distrust of conformity (''The Association'', ''The Ignored''), distaste for large corporations (''The Store'', ''The Policy''), and
taboo subjects such as incest and unusual sexuality (''The Town'', ''University'', ''Dominion'', ''The Store'', ''The Mailman''). Nearly all of his novels have extremely simple titles. There is also a recurring character in several of his novels called Phillip Emmons, after a
pseudonym he used for an early novel. Little's novels tend to contain overtly supernatural forces rather than relying on pseudo-scientific explanations like many other horror authors. A somewhat bumbling F.B.I. agent, Greg Rossiter, also makes an appearance in several of his books playing supporting roles.
Adaptations
So far there have been few adaptations of Bentley Little's work in the media. However, Little's short story "
The Washingtonians" was adapted by the horror anthology ''
Masters of Horror'' under the direction of
Peter Medak.
On July 30, 2007, the Hollywood Reporter
reported that a film adaptation of ''The Store'' is under works from Strike Entertainment. The script is going to be adapted by Jenna McGrath, with production duties handled by Marc Abraham and Eric Newman, and executive production by Vince Gerardis, Eli Kirschner and Tom Bliss, with supervision by Brie Neimand.