Simon Schothans

Author & Gothicist

Welcome to the author page of Simon Schothans. Learn more about his passion for literature, his creative and academic works, and where to find him.

Literary Criticism

Atypical Minds

Atypical Minds collects the findings of two years of research on the representation of mental atypicality in fin-de-siècle Gothic short fiction. Presented in a popular arts style, it discusses topics ranging from pseudoscience to the occult, and from causes to mental institutions.

Ex Libris Ad Tenebras

This Latin mantra sums up the attitude of Simon Schothans' writing. He views his work as a medium of transference for tragedy, gloom, and the macabre onto the reader, hoping to inspire reflection on the themes of his narratives.

© Simon Schothans. All rights reserved.

Simon Schothans

Simon Schothans is a Dutch author and gothicist, whose writing relies heavily on dark and tragic themes. He brings these together in his distinct style of fiction, which is best understood as an amalgamation of philosophical writing, literary fiction, and realism haunted by the spectral mode of the Gothic. It is no secret that the gothicist has a predilection for the latter tradition, as the field of Gothic Studies heavily underlies his approach to literary theory and research.

   Given his interest in the Gothic, it should come as no surprise that Simon's first works of creative fiction are rooted in it. His first publication, Atypical Minds (2023), was a work of literary criticism decorated with six short stories meant to adapt, illustrate, and critique his findings on fin-de-siècle Gothic short fiction. The book was the culmination of an extracurricular honours programme, in which he spent two years researching the latter subject while pursuing his Bachelor's degree. Genre fiction, however, is not where his heart lies, as the author has since expressed that he finds it too limiting to express himself to his fullest extent.
   Upon graduating from grammar school in 2020, Simon pursued a Bachelor's degree in English Language and Culture at the Radboud University of Nijmegen, during which he completed a minor abroad in creative writing and the American Gothic at the University of Hull, as well as the Radboud Honours Programme Arts. Since receiving his degree, Simon has completed the Gothic Summer School programme at Manchester Metropolitan University, and pursued a Master's programme in Literary Studies at the University of Groningen, which he is currently concluding while simultaneously attending a Research Master's programme in Literary Studies at the Radboud University of Nijmegen.

Bibliography

The published works of Simon Schothans

Literary Criticism

Atypical Minds

Atypical Minds collects the findings of two years of research on the representation of mental atypicality in fin-de-siècle Gothic short fiction. Presented in a popular arts style, it discusses topics ranging from pseudoscience to the occult, and from causes to mental institutions.

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Literary Criticism

Atypical Minds

Atypical Minds collects the findings of two years of research on the representation of mental atypicality in fin-de-siècle Gothic short fiction. Presented in a popular arts style, it discusses topics ranging from pseudoscience to the occult, and from causes to mental institutions.
  In addition to literary criticism, the collection provides six original pieces of short fiction, which serve to illustrate, adapt, and criticise fin-de-siècle traditions.

Short Fiction

The Reclaimed Conservatory

A forester makes a horrifying discovery when an unexpected sound lures him into an abandoned conservatory...
  The Reclaimed Conservatory is a story that explores a range of themes in a limited amount of words, daring to simultaneously investigate the horrors of finiteness, floral decolonisation, and the refusal to let go. Written in the slipstream genre, it reimagines traditional elements of noir fiction, science fiction, and speculative fiction that, combined with the author's unique style of fiction and an undertone of macabre romanticism, prove a potent concoction.

Short Fiction

The Reclaimed Conservatory

A forester makes a horrifying discovery when an unexpected sound lures him into an abandoned conservatory...

Short Fiction

The Reclaimed Conservatory

A forester makes a horrifying discovery when an unexpected sound lures him into an abandoned conservatory...

In the Autumn of 2024, Simon's short story The Reclaimed Conservatory was published in issue V of the Gothic Nature Journal, bearing the title of being his first work of fiction not written for the sake of illustrating literary criticism, but for the sake of expression. His beginnings in writing thus lie in Gothic fiction, albeit that