The Seers Table – March 2016

Welcome to The Seers Table!

In late January, not long after the Bram Stoker Award® Initial Ballot was announced, HWA president Lisa Morton lamented the ballot’s lack of diversity. In response, Rena Mason and I separately suggested to Lisa the formation of a committee tasked with seeking out those voices in horror and dark fantasy that are underrepresented in not only the HWA, but in the genre and the publishing world in general.

Following a series of excited conversations, the Diverse Works Inclusion Committee (DWIC) was born.

The DWIC has one overarching goal—to introduce HWA members to new voices. Each month, members of the DWIC will contact publishers/agents, scour the web, and interact with forums on various social media platforms to find those voices. And each month, we’ll present our results to you through The Seers Table. For more, check out the DWIC Mission Statement at the end of the article.

Before we get to March’s recommendations, I’d like to take a quick moment to announce the committee’s current members:

Linda Addison – lindaaddisonpoet.com

Tom Calen (Chair) – tomcalen.com

Ari Drew – thearidrew.com

Ace Antonio Hall – aantoniohall.com

Janet Holden – janetjoyceholden.com

Kate Jonez – katejonez.com

Kate Maruyama – katemaruyama.com

I’d also like to thank the committee members for volunteering their time to this important project.

Okay. On to the recommendations! Though we missed Women in Horror Month by a hair, we have seven women with distinct backgrounds and voices who’ve written some truly excellent works of horror and dark fantasy. Enjoy!

And we’ll see you again next month!

Miracle Austin

Fellow HWA member Miracle Austin is a Texas native that is making a name for herself in horror through a number of short stories and novellas that have seen publication in such anthologies as The Dead Walk, A Shadow of Autumn, and Luna’s Children: Full Moon Mayhem. Her style reflects a love for simple, yet effective tales of terror, and though her work is often geared towards the YA and NA audiences, Miracle also has a knack for threading themes of social awareness into her work. She shines in such reader favorites as The Meat Lover’s Special and The Study Break, as well as in her debut YA/NA horror novel Doll, which saw its release on Valentine’s Day this year. For more info: miracleaustin.com

Chesya Burke

Chesya Burke has written and published nearly a hundred fiction pieces and articles within the genres of science fiction, fantasy, noir and horror. Her story collection, Let’s Play White, is being taught in universities around the country. Chesya’s latest book is The Strange Crimes of Little Africa (2015). Other work by Chesya includes: Dark Dreams: A Collection of Horror and Suspense by Black Writers, Voices From The Other Side: Dark Dreams II, Whispers in the Night, Dark Faith. For more info: chesyaburke.com

Elizabeth Hand

Elizabeth Hand is the bestselling author of thirteen genre-spanning novels and four collections of short fiction. Her work has received the World Fantasy Award (four times), Nebula Award (twice), Shirley Jackson Award (twice), International Horror Guild Award (three times), the Mythopoeic Award, and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, among others, and several of her books have been New York Times and Washington Post Notable Books. Her recent, critically acclaimed novels featuring Cass Neary have been compared to those of Patricia Highsmith; the next Cass Neary novel, Hard Light, is out April 2016. Elizabeth will be a Guest of Honor at StokerCon 2017. For more info: elizabethhand.com

Valjeanne Jeffers

Valjeanne is a graduate of Spelman College, NCCU, and a member of the Carolina African American Writers’ Collective and has been published under both Valjeanne Jeffers and Valjeanne Jeffers-Thompson. Valjeanne is one of the screenwriters of 7MAGPIES, a black horror anthology film currently in production. She is the author of several books including: the Immortal series; The Switch II: Clockwork (includes books I and II); and Mona Livelong: Paranormal Detective: A Steamfunk Horror Novel (Volume I). She was included in 60 Years of Black Women in Horror Fiction. Her writing has also appeared in numerous anthologies. For more info: vjeffersandqveal.com

Nnedi Okorafor

Nnedi Okorafor is a novelist of African-based science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism for both children and adults. Born in the United States to two Nigerian immigrant parents, Nnedi is known for weaving African culture into creative evocative settings and memorable characters. Her works include Akada Witch (an Amazon.com Best Book of the Year), Who Fears Death (winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel), and Lagoon (finalist for Best Novel in the British Science Fiction Association). Akata Witch 2: Akata Warrior will be released in Fall 2016. For more info: nnedi.com

Sarah Pinborough

Sarah Pinborough is a critically acclaimed horror, thriller and YA author. Her short stories have appeared in several anthologies and she has a horror film Cracked currently in development and another original screenplay under option. Sarah was the 2009 winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story, and has three times been short-listed for Best Novel. She has also been short-listed for a World Fantasy Award. Her novella, The Language of Dying was short-listed for the Shirley Jackson Award and won the 2010 British Fantasy Award for Best Novella. Her latest novel, Murder, (a sequel to the acclaimed Mayhem) hit the shelves in February 2016. For more info: sarahpinborough.com

Deborah M. Pratt

Deborah M. Pratt is a five-time Emmy nominee, a Golden Globe nominee and was chosen for the Top Ten short list for the Academy Awards for her live action short film Girlfriends. She has received the Lillian Gish Award from Women in Film, The Angel Award, The Golden Block Award, and six B.E.N. Awards. As Co-Executive Producer and Head Writer for the groundbreaking television series Quantum Leap. Ms. Pratt wrote 25 episodes and co-wrote an additional 15 episodes and has produced over 100 hours of network programs. Be sure to check out Deborah’s dark paranormal fantasies The Tempting: Seducing the Nephilim and Age of Eve: Return of the Nephilim. For more info: deborahmpratt.com

Diverse Works Inclusion Committee Mission Statement

To ensure the Horror Writers Association (HWA) includes the widest possible representation of those working in the horror/dark fantasy genre, the HWA has formed the Diverse Works Inclusion Committee. This committee is tasked with actively seeking writers and editors with diverse backgrounds. The committee has adopted the broadest definition of the word diversity to include gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

Committee members will employ a variety of methods—including but not limited to contacting publishers, authors, and/or agents; accessing resources such as Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Goodreads; maintaining awareness of new releases; polling the membership—to expand our members’ awareness. Each month, the committee will share its most recent findings in the HWA newsletter in a new section titled The Seers Table.

To be clear, the HWA is not adopting a “quota system”. The Diverse Works Inclusion Committee holds no sway or influence on Bram Stoker Award® juries, scholarship opportunities, etc. Its sole purpose, as outlined above, is to expand the organization’s awareness of those individuals whose work might not otherwise be viewed.