1995: Horror story

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Tags: Arts, awards and prizes, books, journalism and communication, summer-2010

Gary Kemble, BA

Gary Kemble

Like most horror fans, Gary Kemble remembers the exact moment he was truly scared by a book; it was while reading Stephen King’s The Shining in high school.

He has been hooked on horror writing ever since.

The UQ graduate is one of the winners of the 2009 One Book Many Brisbanes competition, which aims to develop new and emerging Brisbane writers.

Bug Hunt – about survivors trying to escape Brisbane after an infestation of giant cockroaches – was published in One Book Many Brisbanes 5.

Mr Kemble, who has had more than 20 short stories published, works for the Brisbane-based ABC News Online service.

He started with the ABC in 2002, sub-editing radio and TV copy for the web.

He was also one of the journalists behind the 2005 launch of Articulate, ABC News Online’s arts blog.

Articulate was created to give staff an opportunity to cover any arts related news they come across in their day-to-day lives, and tends to feature a broad spectrum of pop culture themes.

Mr Kemble is currently ABC News Online’s social media coordinator, working on developing and implementing social media strategy.

“Our reporters have found Twitter to be a treasure trove of story ideas; it’s a great social-networking tool,” he said.

Outside of work, Mr Kemble continues to read and write horror and science fiction novels.

“I read heaps of science fiction and thriller novels when I was growing up, and still do, which is why my own writing tends to blend these genres,” Mr Kemble said.

He said he believes the key to powerful horror writing is building believable characters.

“Unless you care about the characters, why would you be worried about what happens to them?” he said.

He also produces his own blog, The Kemblog, which discusses his fiction writing endeavours.

For aspiring journalists, Mr Kemble’s advice is to be flexible.

“Don’t be fussy when you get out of uni, but also keep an eye on where you would like your career to go, and be ready to take advantage of any opportunities which come your way,” Mr Kemble said.

His next project is a novel about a bio-terrorism attack on Brisbane, where a biological agent wipes out about 90 percent of the population. The protagonists are a counter-terrorism agent and a major underworld figure, who team up and fight their way out of the city.

By Allison Rock

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