About / Bio
Dean M Drinkel is a published author, editor, script-doctor, award winning script-writer, film director and producer and was Associate Editor of FEAR Magazine. He has contributed several articles to various publications, in 2018 established the horror press DEMAIN Publishing (over 150 books published to date!) and in 2022 co-founded DrAx Productions Ltd (with Sharon Axcell) a horror/sci-fi film and tv production company. For DrAx, Dean produced the short film “Black Time” in December 2023 and then wrote/directed “The Devil Is In The Detail” (starring Kevin McNally, Dion Marcos and Richard Carnaby) in June 2024.
A member of the International Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences, he has been invited / selected to attend The Script Factory’s SCENE INSIDERS programme (2005), two BFI project labs (2019 – writing & producing), two Storyfutures (immersive technology) labs as well as in December 2020, a Sundance Institute programme in TV writing (ran early 2021) and an advanced TV writing lab in July – Sept 2021.
In 2020, one of Dean’s spec scripts reached the top 4% of submissions for the BBC Writer’s Academy; he joined the board of a Scottish based TV & Film production company and become an active member of both the WGGB’s Film & TV committees. Also in 2020, Dean and actor John Carrigan wrote a pilot tv script “The Other Side of Darkness” based on John’s life (and published book).
In February 2021 BBC Radio Kent broadcasted his “The Tale Eaters” (with Michael Chance, Keith Drinkel and Carolyn Seymour), later selected for the 2022 International Audio Drama Festival. His short story “Weird” was broadcast as a Cyro Pod Tape (Episode 5) in May 2021. In August, Dean helped produce (and was 1st AD on) the short film “Musketeer” (writer/director Philip Shaw).
Dean has over fifty credits to his name in the field of genre writing (including short stories, collections, novellas, anthologies); has written and directed fifteen theatrical plays in London and the South East of England and during the years 2002 – 2008, he wrote and directed several short experimental films. After living in France, in 2017 Dean returned to the UK and directed the short film “15” for Midas Light Films (screened at the Solaris Festival in Nice, the Med. Film Festival and the Malta International Film Festival amongst others) which in November 2018 was awarded Best European Film at Malta. In 2019 Dean was 1st AD on the horror / comedy “Dracula On Holiday” (Palm Tree Universal); in 2021 he directed the feature film “The Good Wife” for Fourstreete Productions.
Dean has won five awards for his script-writing, one for directing and was runner-up for the 2001 Sir Peter Ustinov Screenwriting Award (International Emmys) with his teleplay “Ghosts”.
Upcoming productions include the short movies “The Audition” (horror) and “A Night In Hell” (period drama/horror) and the feature films, “The Five Deaths Of Professor Arrowsmith” (horror) and “The Tragedy Of Napoleon The Second” (period drama).
As of Feb 2024 Dean was elected Chair of Bectu’s Writers Directors Producers Branch.
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Genres
Writer's credits
Stories include:
1998 Noctambulation iv MOSTLYPOETRY Saying It Louder
2001 The Machinator Millivres Press The Next Wave
2008 Why Do I Keep Counting Literal Translations Issue 11
2009 Lucifer’s Crown Literal Translations Issue 12
2009 A Rump’s Tail Literal Translations Issue 13
2009 The Black Death Literal Translations Issue 14
2009 The Fields Of Melancholy Literal Translations Issue 15
2010 Y Is For YHWH John Prescott Publishing M Is For Monster
2010 Monster Love Literal Translations Issue 18
2011 The Red Mercury Morpheus Tales Issue 11
2011 Zeusophobia Dark Continents Publishing Phobophobia
2012 The Liturgy Of The Hours Static Movement MonkPunk
2012 Same Kind As Bad as Me Western Legends Publishing Unnatural Tales
2013 Le Noir Static Movement Cities Of Death
2013 X Is For Xezbeth Western Legends Publishing Demonologia Biblica
2013 Der Engel Der Liebe Crystal Lake Publishing Fear The Reaper
2013 Q Is For Qareen Western Legends Publishing Bestiarum Vocabulum
2014 H Is For Hadephobia Western Legends Publishing Phobophobias
2017 The Pale Emperor TK Pulp Gruesome Grotesques
2017 Mothers Of The Disappeared TK Pulp Grues. Grotesques 2
2018 TdM TK Pulp Grues. Grotesques 3
2019 Antarctica TK Pulp Grues. Grotesques 4
2019 Weird TK Pulp Grues. Grotesques 5
2019 The Trail Of Tears Roberto Segate Grim Magazine
2020 St. Valentine & The Tree Of Flesh Roberto Segate Grim Magazine #18
2020 Oi Sphragides Roberto Segate Grim Magazine #19
2020 Thalassa Beyond Words Magazine June 2020 Edition
2020 Me, Because Of, You Roberto Segate Grim Magazine #20
2020 Made In Stone TK Pulp Phantasmagoria
2020 The Meat Puppets TK Pulp / Splatterpiece The Distended Table
2021 A Letter From a Lunatic TK Pulp Grues. Grotesques 6
2021 Don’t Chase The Dead Roberto Segate Grim Magazine #21
2021 They Dreamt Of Albert Too TK Pulp Phantasmagoria
2022 Nuit L’Enfer Russell Smeaton Weird Quarterly
2023 Timothee: Armed By His Own Reflection Roberto Segate Grim Magazine #22
2023 The Skin I’m In Isn’t Mine Russell Smeaton Weird Quarterly
2023 Creatio Ex Nihilo / Creatio Ex Amore Dei Nora B. Peevy Weird Quarterly
Novellas
2015 The Curse Of The Vampire Hersham Horror Books
2016 Descensus Christi Ad Inferos The Exaggerated Press
2018 Le Chemin De La Croix Lycopolis Press
2019 Dirty Paws Demain Publishing
Collections
1996 The Burial Minerva
2015 Within A Forest Dark Lycopolis Press
Anthologies
2011 Phobophobia Dark Continents Publishing Compiler / Editor
2013 The Demonologica Biblica Western Legends Publishing Compiler / Editor
2013 Cities Of Death Static Movement Compiler / Editor
2013 The Bestiarum Vocabulum Western Legends Publishing Compiler / Editor
2014 Phobophobias Western Legends Publishing Compiler / Editor
2014 Kneeling In The Silver Light The Alchemy Press Compiler / Editor
2015 The Grimorium Verum Western Legends Publishing Compiler / Editor
2015 Tales Of The Titanic Lycopolis Press Compiler / Editor
2015 Demonology Lycopolis Press Compiler / Editor
2015 Masks Knightwatch Press Compiler / Editor
2016 Chromatics Lycopolis Press Compiler / Editor
2016 The Thirteen Signs Nocturnicorn Press Compiler / Editor
2016 The Junk Merchants Nocturnicorn Press Compiler / Editor
2017 The Whirling World Tickety-Boo Compiler / Editor
2017 Twelve Dark Days Nocturnicorn Press Compiler / Editor
2018 Into The Night Eternal Lycopolis Press Compiler / Editor
2018 The Darkest Battlefields Demain Publishing Compiler / Editor
2019 The Thread Of The Infinite Snowbooks Compiler / Editor
2019 Junk Merchants (Volume II) Nocturnicorn Press Compiler / Editor
2020 All Hope Abandoned TK Pulp Compiler / Editor
Non-Fiction
2012 In The Name Of The Son Filament Press Co-writer
Articles
2014 “The Magus” Book Review Ginger Nuts Of Horror
2015 “Lisey’s Story” Book Review ‘King For A Year’ Blog
2016 “Meet The Writer” Personal Review WGGB Website
2016 “Dracula Pere et Fils” Film Review WBD Unsung Horrors V1
2018 “The Iron Rose” / “Shiver Of The Vampire” Film Reviews WBD Unsung Horrors V2
2019 Vincent Price / Oscar Wilde Play Review Into The Velvet Darkness
Films
1993 The Cage Short Film Director / Writer
2002 The Monster Short Film Director / Writer
2003 The Army Of The Seven Short Film Director / Writer
2003 The Lazar House Short Film Director / Writer
2003 The Chase Short Film Director / Writer
2004 Al-Baqarah Short Film Director / Writer
2004 The Coenobite Short Film Director / Writer
2005 The Imp Of The Perverse Short Film Director / Writer
2005 Sete (Thirst) Short Film Director / Writer
2005 Bitten Short Film Director / Writer
2006 Midnight Wired Short Film Director
2007 The Crumps Short Film Director / Writer
2008 Ruby Short Film Director / Writer
2017 15 Short Film Director
2019 Dracula On Holiday Feature Film 1st AD
2021 Musketeer Short Film Producer / 1st AD
2021 The Good Wife Feature Film Director
2023 Black Time Short Film Producer
2024 Devil In The Detail Short Film Writer/Director
Theatre
2002 The Monster In Me Hazlitt Theatre (Maidstone) Writer
2004 Lucifer’s Crown Cockpit Theatre (London) Writer / Director
2004 Zero Cockpit Theatre (London) Writer / Director
2004 A Rump’s Tail Cockpit Theatre (London) Writer / Director
2005 Ruby Cockpit Theatre (London) Writer / Director
2005 The Catskills (part one) Little Brook Theatre (Chatham) Writer / Director
2005 Frankenstein In Love Barons Court Theatre (London) Director
2006 The Catskills (part two) Cockpit Theatre (London) Writer / Director
2006 The Catskills (parts one – three) White Bear Theatre (London) Writer / Director
2006 The Crumps Little Brook Theatre (Chatham) Writer / Director
2006 Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show Little Brook Theatre (Chatham) Writer / Director
2006 Frankenstein in Love Rehearsed Reading Fantasycon
2007 The Crumps White Bear Theatre (London) Writer / Director
2007 The Catskills (part four) Cockpit Theatre (London) Writer / Director
2007 The Catskills v The Crumps Pleasance Theatre (London) Writer / Director
Awards
2001 Ghosts Sir Peter Ustinov Screen. Award /
International Emmys Runner Up
2012 Bright Yellow Gun Monaco Int. Film Festival Best Thriller Screenplay
2013 Splinter Monaco Int. Film Festival Best Action Screenplay
2014 Stella Maris Monaco Int. Film Festival Best Action Screenplay
2016 Tragedy of Reichstadt Monaco Int. Film Festival Best Historical Drama &
Best Independent Spirit
2018 15 Malta Int. Film Festival Best European Film