Thomas Gaffney (he/him) was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He started writing as a child, making his own comic books and Choose Your Own Adventure® novels for the neighborhood. But then he fell in love with all things horror while reading a beat-up copy of Stephen King's IT that his mother brought home in a grab bag of used books.
After surviving twelve years of Catholic school, Gaffney embarked on several careers—computer programmer, barista, account manager—that allowed him to explore the Philadelphia suburbs and meet an eclectic array of people and personalities that have made their way into his stories. Much like Henry Bemis in the Twilight Zone episode “Time Enough at Last,” Gaffney considers himself “a bookish little man whose passion is the printed page” and has been reading, writing, and annoying his Facebook friends with Goodreads updates in his spare time.
His collection of short stories, Stranger Things Have Happened, was named a 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist for e-Book Fiction, a 2019 New Apple Literary Official Selection for Short Stories, a 2020 Book Excellence Award Winner for Horror, a 2020 Elite Choice Award Winner for Horror, and a 2020 International Book Awards Finalist for Horror.
Gaffney currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his ever-patient wife and spends too much time and money in random coffee shops. He is a recent MFA Graduate of Emerson College's Popular Fiction & Publishing Program, and he is an active member of the Horror Writers Association.