Asian Heritage in Horror: Interview with David Kuraria
Photo credit: Courtesy of Gail Stevens Manning Valley NSW Australia 2021. Photo Caption: Photo of Author Bryce Stevens Pen Name David Kuraria Ngai Tāhu Māori Heritage Photo courtesy Gail Stevens Manning Valley NSW Australia 2021.
Bryce Stevens w/a David Kuraria has edited and collaborated with some of the biggest names in the Australian and international horror fiction field. A former editor of Terror Australis Magazine and Bloodsongs Magazine with Christopher Sequeira and Steve Proposch, he has edited three volumes of Cthulhu Deep Down Under, Cthulhu Land of the Long White Cloud, War of the Worlds: Battleground Australia, and Caped Fear: Superhuman Horror Stories. Stevens has also written for international magazines and anthologies since the mid-1990s to much acclaim, with his work selected many times to appear on Ellen Datlow’s Years Best Horror Honourable Mention and Recommended Reading lists. Since 2015 Stevens has been writing horror tales under the pen name David Kuraria. Bryce Stevens is an Australian resident originally born in Aotearoa’s Southern Island and is of Ngai Tāhu Māori Heritage.
What inspired you to start writing?
As a child, I used to listen to BBC Radio story hour broadcast on Sunday mornings. They used to have famous actors such as Bing Crosby reading tales from The Brothers Grimm. Those darker ones were always my favourites.
What was it about the horror genre that drew you to it?
The sense of mystery and the thrill of the frights each tale would bring.
Do you make a conscious effort to include Asian and/or Pacific Islander characters and themes in your writing and if so, what do you want to portray?
In my beginning years of writing, I would use some characteristics/mannerism from one or other of my Maori friends. Later on, and recently most of my characters are Pacific Islander. I have a tri of tales set in the Solomon Islands where the entire cast is Pacific Islander.
What has writing horror taught you about the world and yourself?
That we really are all similar, with hopes, desires, and fears, and have a love for the weird and bizarre. And like to scare and to be scared.
How have you seen the horror genre change over the years? And how do you think it will continue to evolve?
There are thankfully more writers from diverse cultures and backgrounds now given international voices. We are now able to sample styles from all over the world. Including each culture’s myths, legends, and folklore. What’s also interesting for me is the sheer diversity of Cryptids from each nation.
How do you feel the Asian and/or Pacific Islander communities have been represented thus far in the genre and what hopes do you have for representation in the genre going forward?
I think it’s getting there and with many more small publishing houses now available to writers we are going to see a lot more good speculative/horror/mystery novels and stories than was possible with only the big houses. Having small presses not putting massive profits over good original storytelling is such a relief. I don’t think we have ever had it so good.
Who are some of your favorite Asian and/or Pacific Islander characters in horror?
I like the characters and interaction in the Lee Murray/Dan Rabards collaborations.
Who are some Asian and/or Pacific Islander horror authors you recommend our audience check out?
I really enjoyed Japanese Author Edogawa Ranpo whenever I happened upon his work in anthologies. New Zealanders Dan Robards and Lee Murray are two of my favourite Pacific Island writers.
What is one piece of advice you would give horror authors today?
Write what you like before writing for payment. If you have a story rejected by several editors/publishers, it’s likely not that the story is unsaleable, it’s quite likely that particular story is simply not for them. Keep trying. If your daily schedule is hectic and you feel there is not a large window to work your magic, try and try to write at least a paragraph a day.
And to the Asian and/or Pacific Islander writers out there who are just getting started, what advice would you give them?
Write what you know. Write about your people, your folklore, and from the oral tradition. Write about legendary monsters and cryptids stories handed down across the generations. Most of all, I guess write about what excites and scares you. Write about you.
