Pride Month Interviews: Meet Haralambi Markov

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you contribute to the horror genre.

Hello, my name is Haralambi Markov and I’m a Bulgarian-born writer working in English. I also work as an editor here and there, and when I’m not writing I create collages. I’m on a very slow quest to try every single art form. Hopefully, I’ll end in my 70s. 

I’ve been writing weird and horrific stories for the past 15 years, and am putting out my first short story collection The Language of Knives: Stories on July 7, 2026 from Mythic Delirium Books.

What drew you to the horror genre?

I didn’t come into writing horror until way, way later into my writing journey, having been raised on works by Pratchett and Tolkien in translation. My fascination with high fantasy didn’t last long and my interests slowly shifted towards dark fantasy and urban fantasy, then weird fiction and horror. Horror has been much more present in my life as a viewer. There’s nothing quite like getting scared out of your skin and it’s that catharsis that brings me back to the genre. I love how light I feel after a good scare and I wanted to chase the same release in my own fiction. 

If you could recommend one creation of horror that everyone should consume that is queer or queer coded, whether that be a book, podcast, movie, art, etc., what would you recommend?

I’m so torn on what to choose! Ultimately, I’d say Queer for Fear, which is a documentary series that interviews horror creators and explores the history of queerness in horror across literature and film. As someone based outside the United States, I had a challenging time educating myself on queer horror for quite some time. I’d pick up bits and pieces from online spaces, but Queer for Fear feels like a proper education. It’s four episodes from Carmen Maria Machado to Peaches Christ.

What are some areas of queer horror you think are under-explored?

I would say horror that’s not solely rooted in our trauma as queer people, but rather horror that befalls characters who happen to be gay.

I say this as someone who has explored trauma related to queerness in my fiction. I am well aware that living in a violent world doesn’t really predispose towards decentering homophobia in our narratives, and there’s a lot of power in processing such experiences in horror. I have included queer joy in my collection The Language of Knives before the horror kicks in. 

If we’re talking about genre, I’d like more zombie fiction with queer representation.

What do you find scary within the horror genre?

Ghosts and body horror aside, I find the uncertainty in reality and truth utterly chilling. The idea of safety anywhere (be it in your home, or mind, or body) being completely compromised terrifies me, especially when there’s not much you can do about it but figure out how to survive. 

What advice would you give to the next generation of queer horror content creators coming into the horror genre?

I’m going to go with advice that I’ve been given. Read your contemporaries and read your predecessors. There’s such power to knowing where you belong in the context of queer and queer-coded horror.

As a horror fan in a small country, the only easily accessible horror media I’ve had prior to the Internet have been blockbusters and old movies that would occasionally find their way on late night cable TV. Certainly nothing queer. Right now, we’re privileged to live in a time when we can find queer narratives with ease, but that wasn’t always the case and might not always be the case with the way the political pendulum swings. It’s important to know each other and keep a record of each other’s work.

Where can folks find you these days?

I mostly stay away from online spaces, but you can find me on Facebook and Instagram.

Bio:


Haralambi Markov is a Bulgarian fiction writer and editor with a background in content creation. They were the first ever Bulgarian to be accepted to attend the Clarion Writers’ Workshop in 2014. Their short story “The Language of Knives” was long-listed for the Nebula award for Best Short Story and their essay “My Father, My Private Monster” made it onto the Stoker long list for non-fiction in 2025. Their work has appeared in Reactor, Uncanny Magazine, Evil in Technicolor, Weird Fiction Review, Stories for Chip, Eurasian Monsters and Fractured Reveries. They were part of the team of BonFIYAH 2021.
 
Their debut short story collection, The Language of Knives: Stories, is scheduled to come out on July 7, 2026 from Mythic Delirium Books.