Ryan Cole is a speculative fiction writer who lives in Virginia with his husband and snuggly pug child. He is a winner of the Writers of the Future Contest, and is a full member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) and the Horror Writers Association (HWA).

Published Work

  • FORTHCOMING

  • “We Don’t Talk About the Sink”, in This Way Lies Madness, an anthology by Flame Trees Press

  • “What the God-Mouth Wants”, in Cast of Wonders

  • “Home Is Where the Heart Is Buried” in Speculative City

  • “Like Velvet on His Neck”, in Don’t Ask, Ghosts Tell, an anthology by Tundra Swan Press

  • 2025

  • “The Interdimensional Rift at the Lucky Sunrise Bingo Palace, in Escape Pod (available here)

  • “From Enceladus, with Love”, in Clarkesworld (available here)

  • “Every Brain Makes It Stronger,” in Cosmic Horror Monthly (available here)

  • “In the Fire of Her Eyes”, in Small Wonders (available here)

    Originally published in MetaStellar (available here)

  • 2024

  • “My Neck-Mouth Can Sing Louder Than Yours”, in Voyage YA by Uncharted (available here)

  • “Tic-tac-toe and Tequila at Sunset” in Factor Four (available here)

  • “If These Floorboards Could Talk”, in Xanax Hamster, Vol. 1 (available here)

  • “Who Should I Feed to the Dragonfly Tomorrow?”, in Murderbugs, an anthology by Wonderbird Press (available here)

  • “Final Illustration of a Disappearing Chalk Artist”, in Factor Four (available here)

  • “The Museum of Living Color”, in PodCastle (available here)

    • Originally published in Museum Piece, an anthology by Metaphorosis Publishing (available here)

  • “What Is Hers Should Be Mine”, in Dragon Gems (Winter 2024 Edition), an anthology by Water Dragon Publishing (available here)

  • “A Strongly Worded Letter to the Fungus on My Pinky Toe”, in Voyage YA by Uncharted (available here)

  • 2023

  • “Waffles Are Only Goodbye for Now”, in Clarkesworld (available here)

  • “Thread in the Mouth”, in Gallery of Curiosities (available here)

  • “Hell Is a Five Letter Word”, in Dragon Gems (Fall 2023 Edition), an anthology by Water Dragon Publishing (available here)

  • “All Hail the Worm God, Master of Souls”, in The Colored Lens (available here)

  • “A Ghost in the Fruit”, in Voyage YA by Uncharted (available here)

  • “The Boy He Wove”, in Murderbirds, an anthology by Wonderbird Press (available here)

  • 2022

  • “The Bone Child”, in Mother: Tales of Love and Terror, an anthology by Weird Little Worlds Press (available here)

    • Bram Stoker Award nomination, Superior Achievement in an Anthology (2023)

  • “Make Way, Make Way for the Thistle Burr Queen”, in Ember: A Journal of Luminous Things (available here)

  • 2021

  • “A Demon Hunter’s Guide to Passover Seder”, in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Vol. 37 (available here)

    • Won 3rd place in the Q4 2021 Writers of the Future Contest