(Editor’s note: The 2025 Cryptid Quarterly Awards are based on the Cryptid Quarterly Top 10 Lists compiled by lionelraygreen.com in 2025. Today’s list features the Top 10 Authors of the Year. Later this month, lionelraygreen.com releases the Top 10 Books of the Year.)
Perusing my four Cryptid Quarterly charts from 2025 confirmed what I already knew: 2025 was another quality year for cryptid horror fiction. As I did in 2024, I’m releasing my lists honoring the Top 10 Cryptid Quarterly Authors of the Year (today) and the Top 10 Books of the Year (later this month).
First, the 2025 Authors of the Year. To be considered for the Top 10 list, authors simply had to have more than one cryptid horror fiction release either in the Top 10 or in the Honorable Mentions of my four quarterly charts. I include that caveat to ensure authors dedicated to writing cryptid horror fiction are highlighted. Authors who wrote one cryptid horror fiction book that made my lists in 2025 are considered in the Top 10 Books of the Year.
The 2025 Authors of the Year feature seven writers who return after making the 2024 list as they consistently deliver the goods for us cryptid horror fiction fans year after year. That means three newcomers are in the Top 10 for 2025.
A reminder: I use my personally developed point system for these awards, combining the rankings of the books on my quarterly Top 10 Lists and their Amazon/Goodreads ratings and reviews. Of course, I have my favorites, but my personal bias didn’t change any of the author rankings after I added up the scores and factored in the ratings.
My only motivation for compiling Cryptid Quarterly is to help fans of cryptid horror fiction like me find a new author or title that they may have missed in the wilds of the Amazon publishing jungle. There’s no controversy here. There’s no drama. I’m simply sharing my enjoyment and opinion of cryptid horror in my spare time. Feel free to comment below and recommend your favorite cryptid horror authors and books.
Without further ado, here are the 2025 Cryptid Quarterly Authors of the Year along with their top-ranked book titles, according to Cryptid Quarterly. Clicking on the titles takes you to their Amazon pages where the books can be purchased. Clicking on the authors’ names takes you to their websites or Amazon home pages.
#1. Luka T. Jacobs
After finishing No. 2 in 2024, Australian author Luka T. Jacobs rises to the top spot in 2025. Jacobs had the most titles (9) and the most number ones (2) featured on the four Cryptid Quarterly charts in 2025.
Her chart-toppers included Clash of the Cryptids: Part 2, the fourth book in her Nicole Beretti Thriller series. It was a riveting follow-up to Clash of the Cryptids: Part 1, which ended on a shocking cliffhanger that elevated the entire series by delving into Beretti’s past. Jacobs’ other chart-topper was Sasquatch Creek Massacre. Set in Montana on Christmas Eve, Sasquatch Creek Massacre is an old-fashioned creature feature about a town of locals defending themselves against enraged Sasquatches after a couple of humans accidentally encroach on their territory. While the Nicole Beretti Thriller series dominated the Cryptid Quarterly charts in 2025, another of Jacobs’ series – Forest of the Sasquatch – reached the chart three times, including the Book 4 finale. Jacobs is not slowing down in 2026. She released Book 8 in the Nicole Beretti Thriller series in January and Book 1 in a new series titled The Sycamore Run Estate Series in March.
Top-ranked books: Clash of the Cryptids: Part 2, Sasquatch Creek Massacre, The Beasts of Blood & Spirit, Wildman, Clash of the Cryptids: Part 1, Red Eyes, Forest of the Sasquatch 2, Forest of the Sasquatch 3, and Forest of the Sasquatch 4: Redemption.
#2. Jeffrey B Miley
The 2024 Cryptid Quarterly Author of the Year, Miley slips just one spot to No. 2 in 2025. With eight titles hitting the Cryptid Quarterly chart in 2025, Miley remains as productive as ever. His Sasquatch Adventure series and Cryptid Classics series capture the essence of cryptid horror fiction. His highest ranked book, Sasquatch Hunter 2, is about a former sniper who’s offered a job by a clandestine government program to eliminate man-killing Sasquatches. The mission: Go to the Great Smoky Mountains and hunt down three ruthless Sasquatches that have killed tourists and rangers. Miley, of course, is known for his Sasquatch books, but his Cryptid Classics series is just as entertaining. In 2025, he offered his take on other legends like the Swamp Lizard, the Jersey Devil, the Wendigo, and the Chupacabra. In 2026, Miley has already released Book 58 in his Sasquatch Adventures series and Book 12 in his Cryptid Classics series.
Top-ranked books: Sasquatch Hunter 2, Trail Cam , Snow Monster 3: The Glacier Fields, The Scape Ore Swamp Lizard Man, The Pine Barrens’ Jersey Devil, Sasquatch Hunter, The Great Lakes’ Wendigo: The Hunger, and The Cuero, Texas Chupacabra.
#3. Michael Cole
After finishing No. 8 in 2024, Michael Cole made the biggest jump – five spots – to No. 3 in 2025. With six titles reaching the Top 10, Cole entertained readers with his action-packed throwback brand of cryptid horror. His two top-ranked books were Nautilus and Unearthed. Book 3 in Cole’s G.O.R.E. Sector series, Nautilus is a deep-sea creature feature that follows the members of Raptor Pack as they investigate the disappearances of numerous vessels in the Pacific Ocean. Unearthed is a standalone novel about a rampaging mutated Spinosaurus, awakened and transformed by a meteorite. In 2026, Cole has already released Blood Viper and Black Site, Book 7 in his G.O.R.E. Sector series.
Top-ranked books: Nautilus, Unearthed, Half-Moon Trench, Rampage, Beast of Death Cavern, and Bigfoot’s Curse.
#4. D.A. Roberts
After finishing No. 3 in 2024, D.A. Roberts remains in the Top 5 thanks to two books – one from his Dark Frontiers series and the other from his Lakeview Man series. Book 4 in the Dark Frontiers series, The Demon of Palo Duro Canyon topped the Cryptid Quarterly V chart in 2025. It has Declan Caine and his Nightmare Hunters on a mission to save a ranch from Bigfoot-like creatures – and an ancient enemy far worse. Roberts’ other title on the list, Dead of Winter, is Book 4 in The Lakeview Man Series. Set in the Ozarks, Dead of Winter begins as a terrifying encounter with a clan of Bigfoot but morphs into an unfathomable nightmare when unseen figures manipulate the darkness and ancient forces rise to claim their prey. In 2026, Roberts has released Book 5 in his Code Name: Wild Hunt series titled Leviathan Down.
Top-ranked books: The Demon of Palo Duro Canyon and Dead of Winter.
#5. William Meikle
After landing at No. 4 in 2024, Meikle maintains his spot in the Top 5 with Books 18 and 19 in his S-Squad series cracking the Top 10 in 2025. Operation Below (Book 18) takes the squad members to the Austria-Germany border where they tangle with beasts of legend. In Operation Fenland (Book 19), the squad – under a new commanding officer – is sent to storm-torn East Anglia where they encounter the ghostly dog known as Black Shuck.
Top-ranked books: Operation Below and Operation Fenland.
At No. 6, Edward J. McFadden III has the highest debut of any new author to the chart with two of his novels reaching the Top 10 in 2025. Purgatory Beach is about a fallen surf legend who must summon his lost courage to face hungry creatures of the deep that threaten to cancel The Funnel Big Wave Competition. CRYPSIS introduces the Saberonis – a specter of blood, bone, and fury – that’s able to vanish in the veil between light and shadow. When it goes on a killing spree, a security chief must terminate the beast before the situation spirals out of control. In 2026, McFadden has released Books 2 and 3 in his Ellis Parker Adventure Thrillers series.
Top-ranked books: Purgatory Beach and CRYPSIS.
Another first timer to Authors of the Year, Robby “Jed” Raines writes the Shadow-Walkers series. Book 3 in the series, The Terror of the Wampus Cat, cracked one of the Top 10 lists for 2025, but Raines also had three titles earn Honorable Mentions in 2025, including the first two Shadow-Walkers books. The Terror of the Wampus Cat is about two monster hunters who retreat to the Smoky Mountains for a vacation, but a gruesome attack shakes the nearby woods, and massive feline tracks turn up near a tourist cabin. The monster hunters are pulled into an investigation that uncovers ancient Cherokee myths and evidence of a secretive research facility hidden deep in the forest. With three books completed in his Shadow-Walkers series, Raines started a new series in 2026 called Wild Hunt: Shadow-Hunters. The first book, Project Manticore, was released in January. In 2025, Raines also released two books in an adventure series called G.R.A.I.L.
Top-ranked book: The Terror of the Wampus Cat.
#8. Brian Gatto
After finishing No. 10 in 2024, Brian Gatto moves up two spots to No. 8 in 2025. With five titles earning Honorable Mentions in 2025, Gatto produced a flurry of fun, fast reads packed with B-movie creature feature vibes and old-school 1980s action. Among his notable releases was his homage to Jaws titled Deep Sea Predator. Gatto also released two prehistoric action thrillers (Saurian Safari and Carnivores) and a couple of reptilians-gone-wild titles (Crocodilian and Croc Attack). In 2026, Gatto has already released Croc Attack 2, The Objective, and Piranha Park plus a re-release of Bog Beast.
#9. Eric S. Brown
After laying claim to the No. 7 spot in 2024, Eric S. Brown finishes No. 9 on the 2025 chart. With two titles (Gators and Frozen Metal) earning Honorable Mentions in 2025, Brown remains one of the most dependable classic action-horror writers in the cryptid horror genre. Gators is vintage Brown as he blends a 1980s-style action lead character with a B-movie mutated creature feature to create a fast-paced ride for his readers. Frozen Metal is a straight-up cryptid thriller as a military transport plane runs into a seemingly freak electro-magnetic event and crashes in the Alaskan wilderness – where legendary monsters live. In 2026, Brown has released a jungle survival thriller titled Titanoboa.
#10. Rebecca Fernfield
Rebecca Fernfield is another first timer to Authors of the Year on the strength of her Kielder Experiment series. The Kielder Spawn (Book 4) is about a woman who rescues a young child from a secure research facility and goes on the run. However, the child hides a deadly secret. In The Kielder Hunt (Book 5), a cryptid hunter books his friend’s stag party at an isolated holiday cottage close to the infamous no-go zone within Kielder’s forest. When sightings of a wolfman-like creature are reported, the cryptid hunter leads his party on a drunken expedition into the forest and into danger.
Top-ranked books: The Kielder Spawn and The Kielder Hunt.
RELATED LINKS
2024 Cryptid Quarterly Authors of the Year – LIONEL RAY GREEN
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