Every Friday, we meet a member of the BFS and peer deep into their soul (or, at least, a form they filled out). Want to be featured? Email us: online@britishfantasysociety.org
Name:
David Barnett (He/Him)
Which region are you based in?
West Yorkshire, originally from Lancashire
If you write, which genre:
Sci-fi, fantasy, and horror
Are you drawn to any specific SFFH sub-genres?
I’ve always read widely across genre, and at different times in my life have leaned more towards SF, or fantasy, or a mix of both. Currently I’m reading and writing more in the horror genre, specifically — but not constrained to — folk horror, which I find really interesting in what it can say about the modern world.
Your influences
Tell us about the book/film/thing that got you into SFFH: What was it? How old were you? What impact did it have on you?
I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t into the genre. I was seven when Star Wars came out and queued to watch it at the cinema, but long before that I was into SF and fantasy. I read Marvel and DC comics from a very young age and probably they formed part of the foundations of my love of SFFH, but they were built on with films, TV and books. Anything with a whiff of the unknown, the uncanny or the impossible appealed to me. My English teachers begged me to widen my reading beyond SF (which I did, of course) and pleaded with me at primary school to write a story that for once didn’t feature a ghost, aliens or a monster (I didn’t).
How does that early influence show up for you (in life/writing/agenting/publishing/editing/reading) now?
As I said, they were the foundations on which everything was built, so it’s only natural they inform my writing and reading now. I think it’s helpful (but not essential) to have some kind of genre knowledge of what’s gone before when you’re writing, mainly so you don’t repeat well-worn tropes and think you’ve come up with something new that’s been done for decades. That said, I don’t believe in gatekeeping the genre, and anyone is welcome to write in SFFH, whatever their background and knowledge. Genre has to be kept fresh, and people have to bring new ideas, or new perspectives on old ideas, for it to survive.
Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?
All around me. As a journalist I absorb information quite quickly and believe that my writing should, in some way, reflect our modern world and contemporary concerns, through the lens of the fantastic.
Who do you look to as a genre hero? Why?
After relatively recent events I’m done with heroes. They often turn out to have feet of clay, or even worse.
Your Work
You’re stuck in an elevator for 60 seconds with that hero, and they want you to describe your work. Give us the pitch.
“I write contemporary horror with a folklorish flavour and relevance to modern life, striving for originality, scares and strong characters, that hopefully make the reader think once they turn the final page.”
What are you working on right now?
I’ve just done final edits (is there even such a thing?) on SCRATCH MOSS, my third folk horror novel for Canelo. With the first two, WITHERED HILL and SCUTTLER’S COVE, I wanted to explore the boundaries of what I think of as folk horror, and SCRATCH MOSS is the next stage of that — looking at folklore in an industrial/post industrial setting. After that I’m writing my fourth Canelo novel, TWISTED PIKE. The first three are standalone novels that are connected in a wider world. The fourth brings everything together.
(Pictured: David with a folkloric-flavoured friend)
Thinking about all the stories/work you’ve done, what sticks out most in your mind? Why?
I think WITHERED HILL because at the time I was mainly known for commercial fiction, though I did have a genre background, and writing a folk horror novel was so refreshing and, for a lot of people used to my other work, surprising. It was so validating for people to like it, and to get shortlisted for the best horror novel in the British Fantasy Awards was a genuinely gobsmacking moment.
Where and when do you create/are you at your most creative?
I’m lucky that writing is now my full time job, alongside journalism and comic book writing, so I get to fold it into my working day. Creativity can strike at any moment, though, as the Notes app on my phone testifies. To be honest, I’ve no idea what these snippets of middle-of-the-night stream of consciousness mean half the time, though!
What’s the best advice you’ve received about creativity?
Obvious, really, but just get on with it and do the work. Writing books is still a job, and you have to treat it as such. Be disciplined, be professional, and put the work in.
What’s your writing soundtrack?
It doesn’t matter. I just zone out when I’m writing and don’t pay attention to anything around me.
The Quick-Fire Round
Sci-fi, fantasy or horror?
Currently, horror
Quiet or loud?
Are we talking books? Dunno. Depends what mood I’m in.
Dark or light?
Dark, of course, but you can’t have one without the other.
Strict lines or genre blend?
I do like a mix up of genres.
Awards or bestseller?
Yeah, show me the money. I’m not going to say no to an award though. *raises eyebrow at audience*
Fiction or non-fiction?
Both.
Poetry or prose?
Prose.
Plotter or pantser?
Bit of both. I don’t do extensive outlines and notes, but can’t start writing until I’ve got the whole book fixed in my head.
Reading or listening?
Do we mean audiobooks? I struggle with audiobooks because my attention wanders and I have to keep skipping back.
Notebook or computer?
Laptop. I do shorthand notes for journalism but document notes for fiction.
Favourite SFFH book of all time?
That’s a terrible question! And one that would have a different answer every day. Maybe Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury.
Last book you read?
The Sound of the Dark by Daniel Church, forthcoming from Angry Robot this October. Excellent, scary horror.
Any SFFH author on auto-buy?
Oh, God, too many to name.
Favourite podcast?
You know, I should listen to more podcasts. I love SCARRED FOR LIFE because it deals with the stuff from my era, the ’70s and ’80s.
The Home Stretch
What’s the best thing about being part of the SFFH community?
I like that there are so many people with differing tastes but you get these Venn diagram crossovers that means you’ve generally always got something to talk about with someone. And like all communities, it’s a mixed bag of people, but I’ve always found everyone very welcoming and positive.
Time to plug your stuff! Where can we find you and your work? What have you got coming up? Consider this your advertising space.
My most recent books are WITHERED HILL and SCUTTLER’S COVE, standalone but interconnected folk horror novels from Canelo. I have two more out with them in 2026, SCRATCH MOSS and TWISTED PIKE. After that I’m probably going to write something still in the horror space. I also write comics, with a series running in 2000AD later this year, the second season of HERNE & SHUCK, which is a kind of folk-horror adjacent strip about a wandering magician and his talking dog, and a couple of other comics projects I can’t really talk about!
Or head to: davidbarnett.wordpress.com
(Pictured: David with his many and varied novels)
Ed note: David will also be part of our Something Monstrous event tomorrow, 4 October, and take part in our next BFS panel about the supernatural in folklore and fantasy at Waterstones, Covent Garden, London, on Tuesday 7 October. And keep an eye on that British Fantasy Award nomination for best horror novel – winners announced at the end of this month!
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