Author name: John Allen

John is an award winning science fiction, horror and fantasy writer. He is also a public speaker and consultant and has worked with Time to Change - a campaign to end mental health stigma - and for Wellment - an organisation that delivers mental health at work training. He loves science fiction, fantasy and horror stories and novels. His work has appeared in Vector Magazine, Ink Pantry, Sci-Fi Bloggers, The Huffington Post and more. His short fantasy "Thanks for Applying" won an Honourable Mention Award in the Writers of the Future competition in 2017. HIs short horror "By the Boiler's Hand" was longlisted for the 2018 James White Award and won an Honourable Mention in the Writers of the Future competiton the same year. John has spoken at several events including the Nine Worlds Geekfest in London, Bristol Con 2018, and the Moorfields NHS Trust. He has delivered masterclasses on ending mental health stigma in the workplace for Time to Change. He lives with his wife and a pile of books in the UK.

A confused John with a PS5 controller
Blog

Why so silly?

The other day I realised I began this blog 14 years ago when I was broke, clinically depressed, and trying to find my way into earning money as a writer. Fast forward to today, and I’m a little less broke, a little more optimistic (despite the latest dire straits of the creative sector and the […]

ScreenSkills + Script Angel logos
Blog, Writing

A bursary, a baby, and a gothic story

“Time, like latinum, is a highly limited commodity.” So said the character of “Brunt, FCA!” from Star Trek DS9. Whilst the show is now over 30 years old, I was recently watching it during a 3am feed for my newborn son, and that line from Brunt really struck home. Of course, it’s a fun riff

Blog, Mental Health, Writing

Goodbye Gutleech – For all the good people, upstairs

In 2023, I discovered a connection problem with the upstairs and downstairs parts of my brain. My “upstairs” which controls things like thinking, empathy, play etc. can severely malfunction and tip me into the “the downstairs” which controls basic functions like breathing, blinking, pooing and our fight or flight responses. Now before you go thinking,

Photo of Harriet's Melody being performed at Queen's Theatre.
Blog, Writing

Writing my way out of a hole

Antisocial media Every now and then I remember I have a tool that can be better than any social media platform could ever be for me. It’s called my own website. And I should use it more often. I recently shut down my Twitter account. The rich egotist who bought it might have been the

John with the Autumn 2022 edition of Sci-fi lampoon
Blog

With apologies to the world

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote a blog post. Two years in fact. I would write a 50,000-word epic about it all, but that would probably bore people to death. Plus, there’s quite enough gloom and doom for everyone to feast on, and I refuse to add to it. This post

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