Stephen Howard

Stephen Howard (he/him) is an English novelist and short story writer from Manchester, now living in Cheshire with his wife, Rachel, and their daughter, Flo. He was always an avid reader but finally decided that, aged twenty, perhaps he too could write stories people might enjoy. This eventually led to the self-publication of his first novel, Beyond Misty Mountain (2013), inspired by an enduring love of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. Beyond Misty Mountain was rereleased in 2020.

Stephen has a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from the Open University, gaining First Class Honours. His short fiction has been published by Lost Boys Press, The No Sleep Podcast, Factor Four Magazine, Metastellar, and others. Stephen's released three collections of short fiction, Condemned To Be (Amazon, 2019), Ophelia in the Underworld and Other Melancholy Tales (Alien Buddha Press, 2023), and Little Book of Horrors: Volume I (Amazon, 2024). Stephen is also a x2 winner of the Northwich Lit Fest short story contest (2022, 2024).

A horror novella, This House Isn’t Haunted But We Are, was published April 2025 through Wild Hunt Books as part of their Northern Weird Project. A sci-fi / fantasy novel, An Invincible Summer, is coming through Infested Publishing in late 2026.

Outside of writing, Stephen supports Manchester United and tries to get to Old Trafford when he can, though he does enjoy watching the match in the pub. He is also a keen pub quizzer - you may even have caught his brief appearance on Mastermind in 2017.