2017 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner – Linda Addison
Lifetime Achievement Award – LINDA ADDISON
The Horror Writers Association is pleased to announce that the winner of its Lifetime Achievement Award for 2017 is Linda Addison. This award, which is considered to be the highest honor awarded within the horror genre, is decided by a specially-appointed committee. This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award Committee, chaired by John R. Little and including Grady Hendrix, Erinn Kemper, Brian Matthews, and Becky Spratford, considered over 60 candidates but was unanimous in selecting Linda Addison.
Linda Addison is an accomplished poet and the author of horror, science fiction, and fantasy stories. She was the first African-American winner of the Bram Stoker Award®, which she has won four times. She has published more than 300 poems, stories, and articles.
Addison was the Poet Guest of Honor at the World Horror Convention in 2005 and has been a strong voice for poetry within the horror genre for her entire career.
She is the only author with fiction in three landmark anthologies that celebrate African-American speculative writers: the award-winning anthology Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction, Dark Dreams I and II, and Dark Thirst. Her work has made frequent appearances over the years on the honorable mention list for Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and Year’s Best Science Fiction.
Committee Chair John R. Little also noted, “Aside from her own writing, Linda is an amazing editor and a mentor to younger writers. She is young at heart and brings a positive attitude and spirit wherever she goes. She is a true role model for the HWA.
“This year’s award is the first time an LAA winner is primarily known for poetry, an important part of our field. Linda is an exemplary example of how poetry can be used to shine lights as well as darkness. There is no question of her strong influence on our field over a long period of time.”
Linda D. Addison grew up in Philadelphia and received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Carnegie-Mellon University. She is the award-winning author of four collections, including How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Essence magazine, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and the anthologies: The Beauty of Death (Independent Legions Publishing), Scary Out There (Simon Schuster) and Into Painfreak (Necro Publications). She co-edited Sycorax’s Daughters, an anthology of horror fiction & poetry by African-American women (publisher Cedar Grove Publishing) with Kinitra Brooks and Susana Morris.
She is a founding member of the writer’s group Circles in the Hair (CITH), and a member of HWA, SFWA and SFPA. Her site: www.lindaaddisonpoet.com.
Click here for a PDF of the official press release.
