The son of two elementary school librarians, Joel Arnold grew up surrounded by books. The writing bug bit him early when he won a writing contest in his second grade class. His prize was a trip to the local A&W with his teacher. Since then, his writing has appeared in dozens of publications, ranging from Weird Tales and Chizine to American Road Magazine and Cat Fancy. His collection Bedtime Stories for the Apocalypse was released in 2009 from Sam's Dot Publishing. In 2010, Arnold won a Minnesota Artists Initiative Grant, as well as a Gulliver Travel Research Grant. He also entered the ebook market with a number of his collections and novels, including Death Rhythm,  Northwoods Deep, Bait and Other Stories, Bedtime Stories for the Apocalypse, Fetal Position and Other Stories and his YA novels, Snow Burn and Ox Cart Angel, which won the Midwest Book Award for Best YA Novel of 2011. Many of his stories can be heard in podcast form at Pseudopod. Read what he's been up to on his blog, Beneath the Trap Door, when you get a moment!    

2012 Midwest Book Award for Best YA Novel, 2011 for Ox Cart Angel
2010 Gulliver Travel Grant recipient
2010 Minnesota Artists Initiative Grant recipient
Winner of the 2009 Oceanview Publishing Short Story Contest
Winner of the 2002 World Horror/Weird Tales Short Story Contest