Bentley Little was born in Arizona in 1960 to parents Lawrence and Roseanne Little. He was educated at California State University, Fullerton, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Communications and a Master's degree in English. During his time at CSU, he served as editor of the university newspaper.
His professional life has seen hold a variety of jobs: He has worked as a newspaper reporter/photographer, video arcade attendant, window washer, rodeo gate keeper, telephone book delivery man, library aide, typesetter, furniture mover, sales clerk, technical writer and of course author (though not necessarily in that order!).
He wrote The Revelation for his master's thesis. It went on to become his first published novel in 1990. It also won him the 1990 Bram Stoker Award.
Bentley is a prolific writer who has penned over a dozen horror novels, over 100 short stories and nearly 300 articles and essays. His novels include, but are not limited to The Mailman, The Store, The Ignored , The Revelation and his most recent release, The Disappearance. His short stories have appeared in such magazines as Cemetery Dance, Eldritch Tales, The Horror Show, New Blood and many more. They have also appeared in many anthologies such as 999, Bad News, Hot Blood, Borderlands and Shivers just to name a few. He has also had one of his best short stories, The Washingtonians, made into an episode of the television program Masters of Horror.Bentley is one of those rare authors who prefer to be judged by the merit of their work and not through self promotion. That being said, he avoids going on-line and has no regular access to the Internet. Though he does occasional interviews to get the word out about his new books, he generally avoids getting involved in major promotional activities. You can read and hear some of these interviews in our site's "Interviews" section.
His works are generally set in the southwestern United States- particularly Arizona. His horror is raw and frequently viscerally disturbing. In his pursuit of true horror, there are no holds barred.
You WILL squirm when reading his work.
He is not afraid to speak his mind and stick to his principles. He writes and says pretty much whatever he wants to – he doesn't pander to critics or marketing trends. Because of this, he has burnt many bridges and made many enemies in the writing and publishing industry. I for one, admire a person who can write like that and not give a damn about what other people think of him. He knows he has a loyal following of fans who love his writing, and always will.
Bentley currently lives in Fullerton, California with his wife Wai Sau (a school teacher) and their son. He divides his time between Southern California and his "writing territory", Arizona. He generally produces one major novel and various short stories each year.
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