ALESSANDRO MANZETTI (born in Rome, Italy, in 1968), also known by the pen names Caleb Battiago and Maestro Goku N. Hanzo, is an author of dark and fantastic fiction, an editor, scriptwriter, and essayist. He is a three-time winner of the prestigious Bram Stoker Award® and a fourteen-time finalist, as well as an Elgin Award winner and a nominee for several other international awards.
Caleb Battiago is the long-standing pseudonym under which he has published much of his Italian work. For his English-language publications, however, he has traditionally used his real name, Alessandro Manzetti. Maestro Goku N. Hanzo is his newest pen name, introduced in 2026 with the novella, Namiguro – The Black Kaiju, marking the first time he has used a pseudonym for an English-language work.
He has published numerous Italian-language works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction with various publishers, including the novels Naraka 2 – Rebels (2022), Nuova Sodoma (2019), Samsara (2018), Il Custode di Chernobyl (2018), Naraka (2013), Shanti (2014), and Kiki: The Beginning (2016); the short-story collections Il Giovane Sade (2026), Amerika (2025), Kannibalika (2016), Il Giardino delle Delizie (2017), I Figli di Uxor 77 (2018), I Figli del Re Nero (2020), Perifernalia (2023, with Paolo Di Orazio), and Splatterpork (2025, with Paolo Di Orazio); the novellas Namiguro – Il Kaiju Nero (2026), Giovanna D’Arco – La Battaglia Segreta (2024), Lust – Nello Stomaco di Boleskine House (2023), Vessel – Terra Santa Pulp (2021), Vessel – Tafur Armageddon (2022), Vessel – Sidone Delirium (2024), and Area 52 (2016); the poetry collection Nextparnasse (2026); and the nonfiction books Monster Masters (2015), Guida ai Migliori 150 Libri Horror (2021), Squisite Diavolerie (2022), and Horror Guru (2023).
His work as a scriptwriter includes the graphic novels Calcutta Horror (2019), L’Orrore a Red Hook (2020), Kiki: Sonagachi Pulp (2020), and L’Abitatore del Lago (2021).
Among his works published in English are the novels Shanti: The Sadist Heaven (2019) and Naraka: The Ultimate Human Breeding (2018); the novellas Namiguro - The Black Kaiju (2026) and The Keeper of Chernobyl (2019); the short-story collections Weird West: Tales of Blood and Brimstone (2026), The Radioactive Bride (2020), The Garden of Delight (2017), The Monster, the Bad and the Ugly (2016, with Paolo Di Orazio), and The Massacre of the Mermaids (2015); and the dark poetry collections Kubrick Rhapsody (2022, with Karen Runge), Dancing with Maria’s Ghost (2021), Whitechapel Rhapsody (2020), The Place of Broken Things (2019, with Linda Addison), WAR (2018, with Marge Simon), No Mercy (2017), Eden Underground (2016), Sacrificial Nights (2015, with Bruce Boston), and Venus Intervention (2014, with Corrine De Winter).
His English-language graphic novels include Calcutta Horror (2019, with S. Cardoselli), Her Life Matters (2020, with S. Cardoselli), The Inhabitant of the Lake (2021, with S. Cardoselli), Kraken Inferno (2022, with S. Cardoselli), and The Sixth Sentinel (2023, with Stefano Fantelli). He is also the author of the nonfiction guide 150 Exquisite Horror Books (2021).
As an editor, he has edited the English-language anthologies The Beauty of Death (2016), The Beauty of Death Vol. 2 – Death by Water (2017, with Jodi Renee Lester), Monsters of Any Kind (2018, with Daniele Bonfanti), Rhysling Anthology (2021), and Enter Boogeyman (2024); and, in Italian, Horror Academy Vol. 1 (2021), Horror Academy Vol. 2 (2022), Brutal Vol. 1 (2021), Brutal Vol. 2 (2022), Brutal Vol. 3 (2023), and Figli del Buio (2022).
His short fiction and poetry have appeared in magazines and anthologies in Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Russia, and Poland. His work has appeared in English-language magazines including Weird Tales Magazine, Dark Moon Digest, Splatterpunk Zine, Disturbed Digest, Space and Time Magazine, Darker Magazine, The Horror Zine, Illumen, Devolution Z, Hinnom, Recompose, Polu Texni, Nothing’s Sacred, and Okolica Strachu.
His work has also appeared in anthologies including The Best Horror of the Year Vol. 13, Classic Monsters Unleashed, Splatterpunk Forever, Best Hardcore Horror of the Year Vols. 2, 4, 5, and 6, The Big Book of Blasphemy, Midnight Under the Big Top, Rhysling Anthology (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), HWA Poetry Showcase Vols. 3, 4, and 9, World of Light and Darkness, One of Us, Hybrid: Misfits, Monsters and Other Phenomena, Shakespeare Unleashed, Bestiary of Blood.
In addition to his Bram Stoker Award® honors, Manzetti has won the SFPA Elgin Award and received multiple nominations for it, as well as multiple nominations for the Splatterpunk Awards, the This Is Horror Awards, and the Rhysling Awards.
Caleb Battiago is the long-standing pseudonym under which he has published much of his Italian work. For his English-language publications, however, he has traditionally used his real name, Alessandro Manzetti. Maestro Goku N. Hanzo is his newest pen name, introduced in 2026 with the novella, Namiguro – The Black Kaiju, marking the first time he has used a pseudonym for an English-language work.
He has published numerous Italian-language works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction with various publishers, including the novels Naraka 2 – Rebels (2022), Nuova Sodoma (2019), Samsara (2018), Il Custode di Chernobyl (2018), Naraka (2013), Shanti (2014), and Kiki: The Beginning (2016); the short-story collections Il Giovane Sade (2026), Amerika (2025), Kannibalika (2016), Il Giardino delle Delizie (2017), I Figli di Uxor 77 (2018), I Figli del Re Nero (2020), Perifernalia (2023, with Paolo Di Orazio), and Splatterpork (2025, with Paolo Di Orazio); the novellas Namiguro – Il Kaiju Nero (2026), Giovanna D’Arco – La Battaglia Segreta (2024), Lust – Nello Stomaco di Boleskine House (2023), Vessel – Terra Santa Pulp (2021), Vessel – Tafur Armageddon (2022), Vessel – Sidone Delirium (2024), and Area 52 (2016); the poetry collection Nextparnasse (2026); and the nonfiction books Monster Masters (2015), Guida ai Migliori 150 Libri Horror (2021), Squisite Diavolerie (2022), and Horror Guru (2023).
His work as a scriptwriter includes the graphic novels Calcutta Horror (2019), L’Orrore a Red Hook (2020), Kiki: Sonagachi Pulp (2020), and L’Abitatore del Lago (2021).
Among his works published in English are the novels Shanti: The Sadist Heaven (2019) and Naraka: The Ultimate Human Breeding (2018); the novellas Namiguro - The Black Kaiju (2026) and The Keeper of Chernobyl (2019); the short-story collections Weird West: Tales of Blood and Brimstone (2026), The Radioactive Bride (2020), The Garden of Delight (2017), The Monster, the Bad and the Ugly (2016, with Paolo Di Orazio), and The Massacre of the Mermaids (2015); and the dark poetry collections Kubrick Rhapsody (2022, with Karen Runge), Dancing with Maria’s Ghost (2021), Whitechapel Rhapsody (2020), The Place of Broken Things (2019, with Linda Addison), WAR (2018, with Marge Simon), No Mercy (2017), Eden Underground (2016), Sacrificial Nights (2015, with Bruce Boston), and Venus Intervention (2014, with Corrine De Winter).
His English-language graphic novels include Calcutta Horror (2019, with S. Cardoselli), Her Life Matters (2020, with S. Cardoselli), The Inhabitant of the Lake (2021, with S. Cardoselli), Kraken Inferno (2022, with S. Cardoselli), and The Sixth Sentinel (2023, with Stefano Fantelli). He is also the author of the nonfiction guide 150 Exquisite Horror Books (2021).
As an editor, he has edited the English-language anthologies The Beauty of Death (2016), The Beauty of Death Vol. 2 – Death by Water (2017, with Jodi Renee Lester), Monsters of Any Kind (2018, with Daniele Bonfanti), Rhysling Anthology (2021), and Enter Boogeyman (2024); and, in Italian, Horror Academy Vol. 1 (2021), Horror Academy Vol. 2 (2022), Brutal Vol. 1 (2021), Brutal Vol. 2 (2022), Brutal Vol. 3 (2023), and Figli del Buio (2022).
His short fiction and poetry have appeared in magazines and anthologies in Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Russia, and Poland. His work has appeared in English-language magazines including Weird Tales Magazine, Dark Moon Digest, Splatterpunk Zine, Disturbed Digest, Space and Time Magazine, Darker Magazine, The Horror Zine, Illumen, Devolution Z, Hinnom, Recompose, Polu Texni, Nothing’s Sacred, and Okolica Strachu.
His work has also appeared in anthologies including The Best Horror of the Year Vol. 13, Classic Monsters Unleashed, Splatterpunk Forever, Best Hardcore Horror of the Year Vols. 2, 4, 5, and 6, The Big Book of Blasphemy, Midnight Under the Big Top, Rhysling Anthology (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), HWA Poetry Showcase Vols. 3, 4, and 9, World of Light and Darkness, One of Us, Hybrid: Misfits, Monsters and Other Phenomena, Shakespeare Unleashed, Bestiary of Blood.
In addition to his Bram Stoker Award® honors, Manzetti has won the SFPA Elgin Award and received multiple nominations for it, as well as multiple nominations for the Splatterpunk Awards, the This Is Horror Awards, and the Rhysling Awards.
