About

I’m a writer of fiction and nonfiction. For more than two decades my work has explored the intersection of religion, horror, creativity, consciousness, and culture.

In my fiction, this has often taken the form of weird or cosmic horror. In my nonfiction, it emerges as reflection on creativity, spiritual awakening, and the mysterious forces that shape both artistic and inner life.

Occasionally, I engage in one-to-one dialogical work with writers and thinkers who find themselves navigating difficult creative, philosophical, or spiritual terrain.

Official bio (for interviewers, journalists, and event hosts)

Matt Cardin is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work explores the intersection of horror, religion, creativity, consciousness, and culture. His books include To Rouse Leviathan and What the Daemon Said, which examine the convergence of the macabre and the metaphysical, and Writing at the Wellspring, a guide to creativity, spiritual awakening, and the inner sources of artistic work.

His work has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, long-listed for the Bram Stoker Award and BookLife Prize, and recommended for the British Fantasy Award. His books and essays have been translated into multiple languages and praised by outlets including Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Library Journal, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Rue Morgue, and The New York Review of Science Fiction, as well as by writers such as Thomas Ligotti, Laird Barron, John Langan, and Adam Nevill.

He has appeared as a reader and panelist at the World Fantasy Convention, the World Horror Convention, and Baylor University’s Faith and Film Symposium, and as a guest on programs including Weird Studies, The Creative Penn, Expanding Mind, and This Is Horror. He holds a Ph.D. in leadership and an M.A. in religious studies, and has worked as an English professor, high school teacher, media producer, academic administrator, and videographer for country and pop music legend Glen Campbell. He is also a lifelong pianist.

He currently serves as a college vice president and lives with his wife in North Arkansas, where he publishes ongoing reflections at The Living Dark.

Stay in touch

The best way to follow my current work is through my Living Dark newsletter, where I explore consciousness, creativity, the weird, and the metacrisis of the modern world.

You can also write to me through the contact form.

Selected Press and Interviews