Mike Rusetsky is an award-winning Ukrainian-American author of speculative fiction with a satirical bite.
Mike grew up in Ukraine, reading Russian translations of Agatha Christie, Stephen King, and Roger Zelazny. At age 13, he moved to Ohio to attend Junior High and write cringe-worthy poetry in his third language, English. During college, several of his original play scripts received local stage productions, and his one-act plays Angel of Death and The Plight of Smitty were met with critical acclaim.
He has written several stage adaptations for a children’s theater in Columbus, Ohio and has attempted stand-up comedy exactly four times — usually to impress a girl.
His work has appeared in The Brussels Review, Carnage House, Tales from the Crosstimbers, Sometimes Hilarious Horror, Trollbreath Magazine, The Morbid Forest podcast, and numerous themed anthologies of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and crime fiction. His debut novella Max Demons Slayed, LLC was published by Black Hare Press in May 2026.
Mike is an active member of the Horror Writers Association and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association. He lives in central Ohio with his beautiful wife and their growing TBR pile of books.
Bibliography:
- 2024
- Christmas horror story “The Christmas Wish” appeared in Christmas Chaos: Twisted Tales of Holiday Terror, an anthology of festive horror from Outsider Publishing.
- Flash story “Cry Uncle” appeared in Year Six, a horror anthology from Australian publisher Black Hare Press (and on their Patreon).
- 2025
- Comedy-horror story “Dead in the Water” appeared in the Spring 2025 volume of the periodical Tales from the Crosstimbers.
- Dystopian love story “Flowery Outcome” appeared on Black Hare Press’s Patreon and in the Year Seven anthology.
- Medical horror story “Head of Surgery” appeared on Black Hare Press’s Patreon and in the Year Seven anthology.
- Dark fantasy story “Battle Fatigue” appeared in Legends of Camelot: Knights of the Round Table, an anthology of Arthurian knight tales from Outsider Publishing.
- Japanese ghost story “Yūrei Disgrace” appeared on Black Hare Press’s website and in the Year Seven anthology.
- Supernatural rom-com story “Meet Cute” appeared in Sometimes Hilarious Horror magazine, Volume 3 Issue 1.
- Witchy tale “Picky Eater” appeared in Flash of the Dead: Reloaded, an anthology of flash horror by Wicked Shadow Press.
- Horror-comedy story “Dinner/Date” appeared in Vampire Visions, an anthology of multi-genre vampire fiction from Storm Dragon Publishing.
- Suburban horror story “Red Meat Diet” appeared in Behind the Shadows III: Dark Secrets, an anthology of secret-themed horror from Inkd Publishing.
- Comedy/horror/scifi story “Trespassers” appeared in Tales from the Lark Side, a comedy-horror anthology from WeirdWideWeb.org.
- Nonfiction autobiographical essay Dark Nights and Soviet Frights appeared in Trollbreath Magazine, Volume 5 – Fall 2025 issue.
- Quiet horror story “Shut-In” appeared in Alone, a flash horror anthology from Black Hare Press.
- Sci-Fi story “Sister Zynn” appeared in Beyond, a sci-fi anthology from Inkd Publishing.
- Beyond won the award for “Best Anthology” from Critters Annual Readers Poll 2025
- Mike’s story “Sister Zynn” was separately nominated for the Washington Science Fiction Association’s Small Press Award
- Dystopian satire “The Birthday Girl” appeared on Black Hare Press’s Patreon and in the Year Seven anthology.
- Scifi/horror story “Aeternum” appeared in Occupying Bodies, a body horror anthology by Black Hare Press.
- Crime comedy story “Easy as Pie” appeared in The Perp Wore Pumpkin II: A Humorous Crime Anthology to Benefit Second Harvest Food Bank and Feeding America.
- Dark comedy “The Etymology of Murder” appeared in the the Winter 2025 volume of the periodical Tales from the Crosstimbers.
- Suburban horror/comedy “Byzantium” appeared in More Monsters Next Door, a creature-feature anthology by Critical Blast Publishing.
- Wild-west horror short “Showdown at High Moon” appeared in Trembling with Fear, an online publication of HorrorTree.com.
- Christmas horror tale “Non-Denominational Office Gathering” appeared on the Horrific Scribes web archive.
- Previously only Patreon-accessible micro-stories “Flowery Outcome”, “Head of Surgery”, “Yūrei Disgrace,” and short story “The Birthday Girl” appeared in Year Seven, an anthology of 2025 horror archive by Black Hare Press.
- 2026
- Quiet horror story “The Waiting Friends” appeared as the January Featured Story on Whisper House Press’s website.
- Holiday horror tale “Carol of the Hells” appeared in YULEHIDE: The Red Book, an anthology of festive winter horror by Wicked Shadow Press.
- Micro-fiction thriller “Lesson Learned” appeared among the February-featured fiction on Flash Phantoms.
- Supernatural horror tale “Bad News” appeared on Black Hare Press’s Patreon and in the upcoming Year Eight anthology.
- Nonfiction article “How I Write Horror with Heart… and Teeth” appeared on Burial Books’ website.
- Body horror story “The Blight” appeared in Carnage House #10 by Carnage House Publishing.
- Sci-fi mystery tale “Trouble on the Artemis” appeared in the Hidden Villains: Duos anthology by Inkd Publishing.
- Supernatural horror nanofic “Shattered” appeared in Trembling with Fear on HorrorTree.com.
- YA Literary fiction story “Slaying the Hydra” appeared in Across the Margin.
- Literary fiction tale “Boss-Lady” appeared in The Brussels Review.
- Retro ghost story “The Siblings by the Fire” appeared in the Noncorporeal IV: Phantom Dusk anthology by Inkd Publishing.
- Dark absurdist drabble “Termination Notice” appeared in Rat Bag Literary.
- Sci-fi/comedy/horror novella Max Demons Slayed, LLC was published by Black Hare Press.
- Slow-burn horror story “Homebound” appeared in the Summer 2026 issue of Tales from the Crosstimbers.
- Suburban thriller tale “Next Door” appeared in the Heightened Anxiety anthology by Inkd Publishing.
- Grief-horror story “Journeys End in Lovers Meeting” appeared in the Behind the Shadows IV anthology by Inkd Publishing.
- Dark fantasy short “The Changeling” appeared as the story of the day on 101 Words.
- Alien invasion tale “Defiant Digits” appeared in the Beyond 2026 anthology by Inkd Publishing.
- Ghost story “Celestial Bodies” was produced as the season 7, episode 2 episode of horror podcast The Morbid Forest.
- Weird short “Pursuit” appeared as the story of the day on Every Day Fiction.
