Black Heritage in Horror Month 2025: An Interview with Jamal Hodge

What inspired you to start writing?

Pain, uncertainty, and hope. Honestly, I was a naive child, filled with joy at the thought of meeting another face. But when homelessness found my family in the South Bronx, I quickly learned that people weren’t always safe. Being exposed to ‘American history’ in school further revealed what it meant to be Black in this country, a trauma, in my view, that demands mental health support, like counseling, in schools. These harsh realities made me dream of a better world. I found that place within the pages of books, the ink of a pen, and the boundless depths of my own imagination.

What drew you to the horror genre?

Hope, survival, and truth. To me, horror encapsulates all of these. It transforms fear into something useful, something empowering, and even fun. Horror and fantasy were my first loves for precisely that reason: they validated our right to be scared, acknowledging that evil exists and that we live in a dangerous world. But they also illuminated our power to face terror head-on, to survive. That resonated with me.

How would you describe your work in 25 words or less?

Jamal Hodge’s work uses darkness to reveal light, uncovering the extraordinary in the ordinary and the paradoxical truths that define the pain of living.

Do you make a conscious effort to include Black characters and/or themes in your writing? If so, what do you aim to portray?

If I don’t, who will? I am Black, African, Caribbean, and Black American. It’s our responsibility to honor those who suffered and paved the way before us and to inspire future generations with stories of strength, resilience, and dignity. Nearly every story I write centers on a character of color. Of course, this must align with the context of the story. I’m not about to write a Black protagonist into an 1800s Siberian love drama, and frankly, that’s not a story I’d tell anyway. For African Americans, after decades of others distorting or hijacking our image and voice, it’s critical to reclaim that space. I focus on writing within the Black diaspora or, when the scope broadens, on placing Black people in central, empowering roles, solving and surviving the challenges of the past, present, and future.

What is one piece of craft advice you’ve received that really worked for you?

Study the greats. Read their work to understand how they structure narratives, craft imagery, and develop characters. Writers like Octavia Butler, Linda Addison, Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, Victor LaValle, Jordan Peele, Clive Barker, Cormac McCarthy, N.K. Jemisin, Tolkien, Orson Scott Card, Liu Cixin, Greg Bear, Stephen King, Stephen Graham Jones, Josh Malerman, and so many others have all inspired me.

Study them but don’t try to be them. You can’t be anyone else, and that’s the point. Competence requires writing, a lot of writing. Commit daily, not to a word count but to a dedicated amount of time, so you can discover your own voice and process. Bleed onto the page and find yourself in your work. That’s how you grow.

Jamal Hodge, a multi-award-winning filmmaker and writer, is a member of the SFPA and HWA. His poem “Colony” won 2nd place at the 2022 Dwarf Stars, and his book The Dark Between the Twilight debuted as a top American Poetry Release in 2024. His anthology Bestiary of Blood also launched as the #1 New Horror Anthology Release on Amazon. His collaborative poetry collection, Everything Endless with Grand Master Linda D. Addison, is scheduled for an April 22nd release from Raw Dog Screaming Press. www.writerhodge.com