2015 HWA Election Platforms

Per HWA’s bylaws, two officer positions (Vice President and Treasurer) and four Trustee positions are to be elected in odd-numbered years. HWA’s Election Search Committee has assembled a slate of ten candidates for the Trustee positions, and one candidate each for the Vice President and Treasurer positions.

Please review the platform statements below.

Voting will begin on 12/23 with a link to the ballot sent out via email on 12/23. You may only vote once.

Please remember that only Active and Lifetime members are eligible to vote in elections. If you are in one of these two categories and have not received your ballot by end of day on 12/23, email ballotmaster at horror.org and Angel McCoy will help you.

Thank you for your patience, and we apologize again for the delay in getting the elections started this year. — Lisa Morton

The candidates offer statements of purpose and experience below to help you in choosing where to place your votes.

Vice President Statement

John Palisano

For the past few years I’ve been working behind the scenes of the HWA in a few significant areas. I spearheaded the Publisher’s Liaison position, along with Eric J. Guignard a few years ago. We started with nothing more than an idea. Soon we amassed a large list of publishers from around the world, and across many levels of publishing, in order to gain a more diverse group of works submitted for the Bram Stoker Awards.

I’ve mentored several great people who have gone on to wonderful things. Aaron J. French has released many novels and short fiction collections and is now the managing editor of Dark Discoveries magazine. Usman T. Malik went on to win not only the Bram Stoker Award, but practically every other award, for his short fiction.

Working as Co-Chair of the Los Angeles Chapter of the HWA, we’ve grown from four or five of us on a couch at the back of the Iliad bookstore into a much larger group of over 35 regular attendees. We’ve run many events, such as the LA Times Festival of Books, An Evening of Horror at the Pasadena Library, Long Beach Comic Con, and many more. It’s taken a lot to gather and retain such high quality people. We’ve implemented some wonderful new programs where we offer wonderful benefits to both new and veteran authors. Most notably, I began a Local Mentorship Program that acts as a mini-mentorship. It’s proven extremely popular and very beneficial.

My bottom line with the LA Chapter has and always will be to seek out what we can offer our members. What will make it worth their time? Their sixty-nine bucks a year? When you offer appearing at events and panels, and signings, and specific market listings, people respond. It’s that kind of response and concern for our members that I will bring to the position of Vice President. My kind of leadership is one that empowers and enables those standing next to me to succeed and thrive. I hope to carry those attributes with me in this position, and will do whatever I can to bring the HWA forward, while helping to maintain its wonderful and rich history.

Treasurer Statement

Les Klinger

As a lawyer and in my role of Treasurer, I assisted in the change of exempt status of HWA to a nonprofit educational organization and continue to provide guidance about the applicable rules. I hope to expand the educational activities of HWA, to aid new writers as well as those who desire to become writers and those who are already mid-career.

Leslie S. Klinger is the New York Times-best-selling editor of the Edgar®-winning New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, New Annotated Dracula, and New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft (all from W. W. Norton) and Annotated Sandman (Vertigo/DC Entertainment). He also edited several anthologies in the horror field, In the Shadow of Dracula: Classic Vampire Stories (IDW) and In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe: Classic Horror Tales (Pegasus Books). He co-edited with Laurie R. King the anthologies A Study in Sherlock and the Anthony®-winning anthology In the Company of Sherlock Holmes. He is currently co-editing Anatomy of Innocence with Laura Caldwell, true stories about the experiences of exonerees (to be published by Liveright/W. W. Norton, 2016), as well as another anthology with Laurie R. King, Echoes of Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Sherlock Holmes Canon (Pegasus Books, 2016). His next book for W. W. Norton is New Annotated Frankenstein, due out in October 2017. Les is the former Chapter President of the SoCal Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and served on the National Board for four years. He has been a member of the Horror Writers Association since 2007, served as a member of the Bylaws Committee when the Bram Stoker Awards® were substantially revamped, was a Trustee of HWA from 2009-2011 and has served as Treasurer of HWA from 2012 to the present. In his spare time, Les practices law in Los Angeles in the fields of tax, estate planning, and business and lives in Malibu with his wife Sharon, a large Rottweiler named Jenny, and three cats, Xander, Buffy, and Spike.

Trustee Statements

(Alphabetical Order by Name)

Colleen Anderson

I have served on SF Canada’s board as President, Vice President, member-at-large and for the publicity department. I was responsible to mandating a new and more extensive website for the members (and HWA’s was used as a template though it’s veered far from there). I’ve chaired the bylaw review committee as well as been part of the award review committee. With HWA, I have been a member about three years and have volunteered for the Stoker juries twice (though I had to withdraw due to publishing conflicts this year). In the past I served as VP for the BC Glass Arts Association and specialized in bylaw adherence. The copy editor in me sometimes likes this weird part.

Personally, I live in BC and while I have a Canadian perspective in some things, I have an international perspective in others. I did Women in Horror month blog interviews one year and believe very strongly in equality and in supporting writing. I’ve been a book buyer, an editor, copy editor, book rep, and writer. I also try to see things from different perspectives, weighing pros and cons fairly, without favoritism. These qualities can be of use to HWA.

Ron Breznay

I have had three terms as Trustee and would like to be considered for a fourth term. During my first terms, I participated in innumerable discussions and votes, and I volunteered to be the Trustee Member of the Bram Stoker Awards® Committee (I am also Co-Chair of that Committee).

I live in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and have been a member of the HWA, including various chapters, for 14 years and an Active member for 10 years. I’ve met many HWA members, as well as non-members, at various conventions: Stoker conventions, NECON, and Horrorfind Weekend. I’ve been a proofreader for the HWA newsletter for 10 years, and I’ve contributed many articles and photos to the newsletter, including a series of interviews of new members.

I write both fiction and non-fiction. I had a monthly column, “The Old Masters of Horror,” in Hellnotes from November 2002 through October 2010 (and several columns have been reprinted at other web sites). I had a contest-winning story, “The Absinthe Club,” posted at the Writing Show web site, and my story “The Devil’s Vein” was published in Inhuman magazine. I have a novel, several short stories, and several still in the works.

My day job is litigation paralegal at a personal injury law firm. I get to write as part of my job, including various types of papers filed with the court and letters used in settlement negotiations.

I became hooked on horror in the late 1970s after reading some Stephen King and Peter Straub books. Most of what I’ve read since then has been horror, but I also read in other genres as well as non-fiction.

I do what I can to promote horror locally. When I realized that there had been only one horror book-signing that I knew of in the Wilkes-Barre area, I organized a multi-author horror book signing in October 2006, and have had eight more since then, with varying degrees of success (I’ve found that weather is an important factor in attendance at book-signings: both nice weather and bad weather keep people away). Several times, I put together a basket of horror books for the silent auction at our church’s annual bazaar.

Continuing as a Trustee, I would represent the emerging writer, the one who has had some publications or hasn’t been published yet. I will continue to do what I can to promote reading horror because without readers, there’s no audience for writers.

Tracy L. Carbone

I would like to be added in for consideration for one of the opening Trustee positions.  I have been an HWA Member for many years. I believe I first joined in 2003. A couple of years ago, I was granted Active status.

A year ago I moved to the Los Angeles area and quickly joined the HWA LA group. I have been to every meeting this year, as well as several events. I submitted a story to the local anthology, and also have participated twice in the HWA LA pilot program for their six week mentor program.

Before relocating across the country, I spent several years on the board of the New England Horror Writers (“NEHW”), formerly HWA New England. I started as the Events Coordinator and later became Co-Chair. In my time as Co-Chair we grew from about 75 members to over 300. We wrote By-Laws and founded a formal board. I made a Facebook group and together we designed NEHW t-shirts.

While in that role, I also edited the NEHW’s first member anthology, which went on to be nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. We held fundraisers and I fronted all the expenses for the anthology until after publication when I could recoup the costs. I mention that to show that when I am involved, I become very involved and do whatever is needed to improve an organization.

I am adept at multitasking, networking, and striking a balance between when to push people, and when to back down. I also have a paralegal certificate and have written and read my share of contracts.

From a writing standpoint, I’ve published five novels, including a medical thriller co-written with F. Paul Wilson. I also have a short story collection under my belt, and dozens of short stories published in the U.S. and Canada. I’m currently editing a new novel, co-editing a horror anthology, and writing new stories when I can.

Like many people involved in the HWA, I hear a lot of complaints and not enough praise. The organization and the great work it has done should receive more praise but people generally only notice when something is wrong.   Most don’t offer solutions only grievances. I would like to help work through some of the issues and to have the many members grasp that change does not happen overnight and that everything isn’t broken. There is a lot of good in the HWA and I’d like to help bring that to the surface.

I think I would make a good Trustee because I am temperate, organized, and good with people.

Guy Anthony De Marco

My name is Guy Anthony De Marco, and I’m running for one of the open trustee positions for the HWA. I worked as a volunteer running the Keymaster position for a long stretch, while also dabbling as one of the stand-by website gurus for the HWA Webmistress and as a mentor. I worked closely with several committees, particularly the new membership group, as I introduced the incoming folks to the HWA’s private access area and forums. I also provided customer service for any access-related issues.

In 2011, the HWA was kind enough to present the Silver Hammer Award to me for my volunteer work. I also write the occasional newsletter article for the “Sailing on Digital Seas” column.

I am currently writing full-time, and have quite a bit of spare time to focus on a position as trustee. I’ve worked and interacted with many of our members, whether as a mentor or as the Keymaster, and I look forward to serving the organization and the genre. I would appreciate your vote.

J.G. Faherty

I am running for re-election as a Trustee for the Horror Writers Association. This is a position I’ve held since 2012, during which time I like to think I’ve had a positive impact on the organization of which I’ve been a member of for more than 13 years.

In the short time I’ve had the honor of being a Trustee, I’ve focused my efforts on several distinct, but inter-related, areas:

1. The Library Program
2. The Literacy Program
3. Young Adult (YA) Horror
4. Partnerships Outside the Genre
5. Increasing the HWA’s Visibility

To date, here is what I, in partnership with the Board, other trustees, and committees made up of dedicated volunteers, have achieved:

• A partnership with the American Library Association’s United For Libraries program, which includes having all HWA members listed in the UFL’s database, which can be accessed by libraries looking for writers to come in and give presentations. Normally this would be $49 per year for a writer, but it is now a perk of being an HWA member.
• Multiple panels at American Library Association annual meetings, including one at the upcoming 2016 annual meeting in June, which is the largest library/literacy convention in the US each year.
• The creation and upgrade (currently in progress) of the HWA’s library database, which members can access in order to get contact information for local libraries interested in horror writers.
• The establishment of the HWA’s Young Adult Horror program and committee. I also worked with Angel McCoy and the Board to create a YA Horror page for the HWA’s website, which now features articles and information for both YA readers and YA librarians.
• The establishment of the HWA’s presence at New York ComicCon, which has since been managed by the New York City/Long Island chapter of the HWA.
• The HWA’s first SOPs for individuals and chapters wishing to host tables at conventions, including new policies, a submission request form, and various pieces of promotional items that can all be found in a single place on our website.
• The placement of several articles on the HWA and our YA program in various library and literacy resources, including VOYA  (Voice of Youth Advocates) Magazine.
• Working relationships with individuals outside the horror genre, such as artist Ray Billingsley (creator of the CURTIS comic strip), musician Richard Christy, and actress Amber Benson, all of whom have contributed in one way or another to the HWA’s literacy program.
• The development of a special page on the HWA website devoted to librarians, which not only provides information about the horror genre, but also includes links to our recommended reading lists, YA page, and past Bram Stoker Award winners and nominees.
• The annual placement of HWA brochures and flyers at all the major regional and state library conferences each year in order to increase our name recognition among librarians.

If I am re-elected my goals for the next 2 years will continue in the same vein. In conjunction with other board members, I am working on a project to create informational videos on various writing topics and to also record panels at the upcoming StokerCons in 2016 and 2017. These videos would then be made available for educational purposes to schools and libraries.

Additional information about me:

• I’ve been a member of the HWA for more than 13 years.
• I’ve been a Mentor since 2007, during which time I’ve mentored six writers (all of them published now).
• I currently Chair the HWA Library & Literacy Committee.
• I’ve volunteered at several HWA Stoker weekends and moderated several popular panels at HWA and WHC events.
• I chaired the Stoker Screenplay Jury for 3 years.
• I speak regularly at local libraries in my area on topics such as YA horror and Literacy.
• I am a member of the SFWA, MWA, RWA, and ITW, which, while it might not seem to have a bearing on being an HWA Trustee, it does, because it means exposure to how other organizations do things, and our Board and the boards of other organizations are working on ways to help each other grow and serve our members in new ways.
• I occasionally find time to write, with 5 novels, 9 novellas, and more than 50 short stories published since I joined the HWA. (Do I consider that a part of my success story? I do! I had no publications before that.)

In closing, I would like to say that no single Board member or Trustee achieves anything alone. We operate as a team, developing and sharing ideas, recommending changes or improvements, and doing everything we can to move the organization forward in ways that best meet the needs of our membership. Our successes are truly a team effort):

Nancy Holder

I’m so proud of the work we have already accomplished and I’d like to help HWA move forward. I’m a charter member of HWA (joining at the first meeting back when it was HOWL!) and a former trustee, and I would love to serve in this capacity once again.

Jonathan Maberry

I’ve been an Active Member of the HWA for ten years and have seen the organization grow and mature in many important ways. I like the direction in which it’s going and would like to contribute to that process.

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of serving as a mentor –officially and unofficially—for several HWA members, and have been pleased to see some of them make sales. Guidance, sharing, and networking are crucial.

I spent some years as chairman of the Pennsylvania-New Jersey chapter and used the meetings as mini-workshops to help members improve the craft of writing and their understanding of the business of publishing.

I’m deeply invested in community-building for writers, both in and out of the HWA. I ran the Writers Room of Bucks County and the Writers Corner, co-founder the philanthropic Liars Club, and launched the free Writers Coffeehouses. Those Coffeehouses are now opening across the country, open to all writers. I’m delighted to say that quite a few HWA members, including Stoker Award winners, join with me in facilitating these free events which benefit writers of all genres and levels of publishing success.

I am currently editing the HWA’s first young adult anthology, Scary Out There, which was sold to Simon & Schuster via my agent, Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger, Inc. The anthology includes original stories by some of today’s top horror writers as well some talented newcomers, and proceeds benefit the HWA. Contributors to the anthology include R.L. Stine, Brenna Yovanoff, Ellen Hopkins, Carrie Ryan, Cherie Priest, Zac Brewer, Josh Malerman, Madeleine Roux, Lucy Snyder, Nancy Holder,  Neal Shusterman, Marge Simon, Linda Addison, Jade Shames, Rachel Tafoya, Steve Rasnic Tem, Christopher Golden, Kendare Blake, Rachel Caine, Tim Waggoner, and Ilsa Bick.

I wrote a popular blog, also called Scary Out There, which was included on the HWA website. In it I interviewed dozens of top writers of teen horror fiction including Charlie Higson, Darren Shan, Ellen Hopkins, Gretchen McNeil, Holly Black, Ilsa Bick, James Rollins, Jeff Hirsch, Kami Garcia, Kendare Blake, Kim Harrison, Maggie Stiefvater, Melissa De La Cruz, Rachel Caine, Rick Yancey, Barry Lyga, Tonya Hurley, and many others.

I have served as a judge for several Stoker Award Juries, most recently the Screenplay Jury.

I am already scheduled to be a workshop leader for the very first StokerCon in Las Vegas…and I simply cannot wait!

I am a full-time working writer, a New York Times bestseller, author of more than twenty novels (including three Bram Stoker Award winners); twenty-eight nonfiction books (including a Stoker Award winning book on folklore); fifteen graphic novels (including one Stoker Award winner); as well as more than twelve hundred feature articles; three thousand-plus columns, reviews and blog posts; two plays, and more.

I am a frequent workshop leader, guest of honor, and keynote speaker for writing and genre events around the country and around the world. I am very active in helping emerging writers make their step, as well as aiding my season colleagues move their careers forward. The writing world is tough, we all know that, but cooperation, the free sharing of information, and mutual support will help us all rise.

Alessandro Manzetti

I’m a HWA Member since 2001, the first Italian Member, and I’ve served our Association in different volunteer roles, as the editor of the column ‘The Italian Horror Machine’ in the HWA Newsletter, as a part of the Membership Committee and now as the Italian Representative and Italy Chapter founder.

I’ve always worked on spreading our association in Italy, and supporting the exchange of experiences and projects between members from different countries. As the editor of some Italian Publishers, and through my publishing company, I have contributed to the publication, in Italian language, of many works by HWA members, some published for the first time, including: Rocky Wood, Gene O ‘Neill, Joe McKinney, Corrine De Winter, Gary Braunbeck, Lisa Mannetti Lucy Snyder, Lisa Morton and many others.

From my experience over these years in the HWA I realized how important it is to broaden our horizons, engaging European authors and professionals in order to transform our Association into a real international network, rooted not only in individual countries. I believe that the potential growth of HWA, in these terms, could be very important and yet to be fully discovered.

For these reasons I decided to run to serve as a Trustee, in order to strengthen projects dedicated to involve various European horror movements in our activities.

I have several years of experience in writing and publishing, both as a writer and publisher, and as an editor, translator and foreign rights manager, for several publishers and publishing companies, so I know the European market and I’m specialized in many fields of publishing, including marketing and communication.

Therefore, my future plans involve the spread of HWA in Europe, through various dedicated activities, among which the implementation of Italian, French, Spanish and German language sections on our website, the organization of an European convention (I’m organizing the Italy Chapter Convention in Milan, in June, 2016) and marketing and advertising project targeted on most influential European specialized media and major book festivals.

I hope to serve as a Trustee of the HWA, if you want me on board; it would be an important signal of our Association to the countries actually less represented in HWA.

Marge Simon

These recent years involved with HWA have been a most rewarding experience!

I’ve served on the Board for two terms as Chair.  We have accomplished more together than any Board ever, in my estimation. Our Trustee group discussion board has greatly facilitated discussions and group decisions –thanks to Lisa Morton for the design.

I’ve contributed news to “From the Trenches”, and maintained my Dark Poets Columns (including other articles pertinent to writing) in the HWA NL.  I’ve worked to keep members informed and help find resolutions to problems they may have. I believe in responding personally and promptly to our members’ needs and concerns,  If you have questions or problems, I’m here to help if I can.

HWA Writers’ and Poets’ scholarships: I have served on both committees and will be happy to continue doing so. In addition, I have served as a judge for the HWA Poetry Showcase and donated my art for two covers.

I’ve continued to stay involved with raising poetry awareness. I’ve found a new editor, David E. Cowen, to take over as editor of  the Poetry Page, accessible to members and non-members at our site: www.horror.org.

Future project: I am working with Robert Payne Cabeen on an HWA Cookbook, proceeds to go to HWA projects. Recipes, photos and art will be solicited from HWA members.

I have the time (retired from a day job) and a couple of decades of experience in writing and publishing. I donate it gladly. It seems like we are all energized by one another!

All the folks on our Board are simply great to work with. There is camaraderie, there is support and a positive flow throughout. It is an experience I sincerely treasure. I hope I can continue to serve as a Trustee of the HWA if you will have me.

Andrew Wolter

I would like the opportunity to be considered for a Trustee for the HWA board of members.

First and foremost, I have been an active member of the HWA for four years. In that time, I have volunteered for the HWA (moderating the HWA Facebook page and representing the HWA at several conventions [Context, AnthoCon, American Library Association] ). I have taught those not familiar with the HWA how they can take advantage of the tools we offer. That said, I am very familiar with the bylaws of the HWA. While I have volunteered throughout the years, I feel it necessary that I take the next step into being more involved with an organization for which I have become an ambassador.

As for my experience, I was on a committee with Lambda Literary in 2012 and part of the board of Arizona Artists Against SB1070 in 2010. In both instances, I offered my keen and educated advice regarding issues related to the cause(s) (though it might have not been considered as a whole with my peers).

I have strengths reflecting both organization and time management. I am a part of both “Generation Y” and “Millennials.” I have a strong following on the social networks. I am versed in classic and modern horror.

As a Trustee for the HWA, I plan to offer fresh ideas to the Board so that we can usher a fair and realistic set of bylaws to a new generation of writers. In addition, I am open to hear the voices of all HWA members, and apply those voices (in one way or another) to shape the Horror Writers Association into the best organization it can be.