Photo by Zach Lyons

Photo by Casey Schlickeisen

Photo by Casey Schlickeisen

Photo by Casey Schlickeisen

Richard Z. Santos' debut novel, Trust Me, was a finalist for the Writer's League of Texas Book Awards and was named one of the best debuts of the year by Crime Reads. He's the editor of the acclaimed collection "A Night of Screams: Latino Horror Stories."

He is currently seeking representation for his second novel: Every Family Is A Conspiracy Theory and a collection of short stories.
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His fiction has been nominated for The Pushcart, Best of the Net, the International Thriller Writers Awards, and has appeared as a Distinguished Story in Best American Mystery and Suspense. His nonfiction and essays have appeared in Texas Monthly,  Slate, The Rumpus, Los Angeles Review of Books, Like the Wind, and more. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Austin Noir (Akashic Books), Lone Stars Rising (Harper Wave), Sandra Cisneros: Portraits of a Writer (Texas A&M Press), and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. 

He is the former Executive Director of Austin Bat Cave, an organization that provides creative writing workshops to students in under-resourced areas. An experienced teachers, Richard has delivered craft seminars and workshops for multiple organizations, and has taught courses at Georgetown University and Texas State University.

He is a former Board Member of The National Book Critics Circle and has judged contests for The Kirkus Prize, The NEA, and many more. In a previous career, he taught high school English and Social Studies, and in a career before that he worked for some of the nation's top consulting firms, political campaigns, and labor unions. 
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Richard has an MFA from Texas State University and has taught at Texas State, Georgetown University, and The University of the District of Columbia.