HWA Launches Official Card Game

HWA Launches Official Card Game

The HWA is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership! An officially-licensed party game called “Sudden Acts of Horror”  – coming in 2024 – aims to celebrate the Horror Writers Association, the oldest and most respected professional nonprofit organization in the horror genre. The game asks teams of players to act out made-up horror novel titles to score the highest points and ultimately win a mini–Bram Stoker Award® for their efforts. The game’s publisher, Stop The Killer Games, has become a recent leader in horror-themed games for beloved slasher films such as HALLOWEEN II, MY BLOODY VALENTINE and SILENT NIGHT…
HWA 2025 Election Candidates

HWA 2025 Election Candidates

  The HWA’s annual elections will soon be upon us. Up this year are four Trustee positions, as well as the offices of Vice President and Treasurer. Please read the statements of the following candidates carefully. Links to the ballot will be sent out on or around September 9th, 2025 to our Active and Lifetime members, with a due date of September 16th, 2025.  The elected officers shall hold their respective offices for terms of two years, beginning on November 1 and ending on October 31.   Candidates for 2025 Elections All candidates have been verified as active members and eligible…
HWA Update on the LibGen AI Litigation

HWA Update on the LibGen AI Litigation

  We have an important update on the ongoing copyright class-action lawsuit involving the exploitation of authors’ works. The court has found that Anthropic infringed on authors’ and publishers’ copyrights by downloading millions of books from the pirate websites Library Genesis (“LibGen”) and Pirate Library Mirror (“PiLiMi”) to train its AI model. A certified class has been established, made up of rights holders whose copyright-registered books were downloaded from these sites by Anthropic. Here is a link to a searchable database of titles in the LibGen collection. This database includes both traditionally published and independently published works. The plaintiffs’ attorneys are…
StokerCon 2026 Announced – Celebrating Ten Years of StokerCon!

StokerCon 2026 Announced – Celebrating Ten Years of StokerCon!

The Horror Writers Association is pleased to announce StokerCon 2026 which will be StokerCon 10. This is a milestone for us to celebrate an occasion to look back on the history of the convention and how it has grown and flourished through the decade.  It is also a moment to think ahead and look to 2027 where we recognize 40 years of the HWA. So taking a page from our history and the years before StokerCon, we will be inviting you to join us in the same location for both 2026 and 2027 - a place that is dedicated to preserving…
Final Frame Short Horror Film Competition 2025 Finalists Announced!

Final Frame Short Horror Film Competition 2025 Finalists Announced!

  We are excited to finally announce the Final Frame Short Horror Film Competition 2025 Finalists! The winner will be announced next week at the 2025 StokerCon convention.     Vote for Wyrm Director: Benjamin Percy Writer: Benjamin Percy UNITED STATES/2025/5:00 A political attack ad for a small-town mayoral race descends into horror.   Izzy Director: Yfke van Berckelaer Writer: Yfke van Berckelaer NETHERLANDS/2024/9:18 Izzy is constantly stuck in the same: mocked, dismissed, ignored, forgotten. How can she get out of it?   Cruelty Director: Sam Das Writer: Sam Das UNITED STATES/2024/9:18 A young trans woman is chased into a…
Final Frame Judges Announced!

Final Frame Judges Announced!

  2025 JUDGES ​The judges for the Final Frame competition are always an essential part of an ever-evolving film family we love to see at StokerCon. Four returning judges and two new additions round out the discerning minds tasked to evaluate the evening’s selections. We’ll have fun hearing them scream along with the audience during an evening of cinematic mindbenders leading up to their prize determinations for Grand Prize, Runner-Up, Best Writing in a Short Film, and more! (in alphabetical order) AARON DRIES is the author of Dirty Heads, A Place for Sinners (featured in 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered), House of Sighs, and Where…
HWA Scholarship Applications Now Open!

HWA Scholarship Applications Now Open!

  The  Horror Writers Association is pleased to announce that the Scholarship Committee will be reviewing applications for the following scholarships and grants: the Mary W. Shelley, HWA and Poetry Scholarships. Applications will be available via the HWA submittable and reviewed by a sub-committee of the HWA Scholarship Committee. Additional funding for the HWA Scholarship Program has been generously provided by the Authors Coalition and the Aeroflex Foundation. Membership is not required to apply for any HWA scholarship.  Each Scholarship is worth $2500, except for the Poetry Scholarship ($1250), and may be spent on approved writing education over the two years…
Annual StokerCon Diversity Raffle Prizes Announced

Annual StokerCon Diversity Raffle Prizes Announced

Annual StokerCon Diversity Raffle The Annual StokerCon Diversity Grant Raffle is here! Over twenty books, unique collectables, and other treasured items for lovers of horror, dark fantasy, and the weird will be raffled to benefit the Horror Writers Association Diversity Grant Program. The HWA Diversity Grants have supported over 10 individuals over the last three years giving, $6,000.00 in need to marginalized authors. Raffle winners will be announced at the beginning of the Bram Stoker Awards Cocktail Reception on Saturday, June 14th 6 pm.  Presale tickets for the raffle are available on the Eventbrite page and will be available to purchase…

The Horror Writers Association Announces Horror University 2025

  The HWA is pleased to announce this year's course lineup for StokerCon 2025. Course Pricing: $55 per course (to register see Eventbrite for details). Michael Arnzen: The Uncanny and the Abject This two-hour online workshop will involve short writing activities that will allow you to explore and practice the different techniques writers summon when triggering revulsion or conjuring dread. Amityville-born horror writer Michael Arnzen holds four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing fiction and poetry. In addition to his creative books -- like the novel, Grave Markings, or the short story collection, Proverbs for Monsters--he's…

HWA Scholarship from Hell Recipient Announced

  The Scholarship from Hell is the only scholarship offered by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) that puts the recipient right into the intensive, hands-on workshop environment of Horror University, which takes place during StokerCon®. The StokerCon®2025 Committee Chairs read numerous submissions and this year's recipient is S.E. Clark! S.E. Clark is a writer, artist, and college professor from Boston, MA, who explores the tension between the mundane and the macabre in her prose and art. Her short stories have appeared in publications such as Weird Horror and Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, and more of her work may be found at www.aprilarium.com.  When not writing, she…

2025 HWA Specialty Award Winners Announced

  The Horror Writers Association announces its 2025 Specialty Award Recipients! These awards will be presented during the Bram Stoker Awards Ceremony in Stamford, Connecticut this June.   Specialty Press Award The recipient of the Specialty Press Award is Mocha Memoirs Press. The HWA Specialty Press Award is presented periodically to a specialty publisher whose work has substantially contributed to the horror genre, whose publications display general excellence, and whose dealings with authors have been fair and exemplary. The award was instituted in 1997, largely due to the efforts of long-time HWA member and specialty press aficionado, Peter Crowther. Congratulations,…

Horror Writers Association Gets 10 Year Commitment from Pitt Library System for StokerCon

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) and the University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) are excited to announce a new chapter in their collaboration leading up to StokerCon.  Building on their roles as Marquee Sponsor in 2023 and Raven Sponsor in 2024, the ULS has committed to a ground-breaking 10-year Legacy Sponsorship starting with StokerCon 2025.

2024 Horror Writers Association Elections for Officers and Trustees

2024 Horror Writers Association Elections for Officers and Trustees

The HWA’s annual elections will soon be upon us. Up this year are four Trustee positions, as well as the offices of President and Secretary. Please read the statements of the following candidates carefully. Links to the ballot will be sent out on or around August 19, 2024 to our Active and Lifetime members, with a due date of August 25, 2024. The elected officers shall hold their respective offices for terms of two years, beginning on November 1 and ending on October 31.

2024 FINAL FRAME Finalists Announced

2024 FINALISTS (in alphabetical order)

13th Night

Director: Benjamin Percy Writer: Benjamin Percy UNITED STATES / 2024 / 14:32 A father will do anything to save his daughter. Anything.

HWA SPECIALTY AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Columbus, OH – The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce the recipients of its Specialty Awards. These will be presented on June 1st, 2024, during the Bram Stoker Awards® Presentation at StokerCon®2024 in San Diego, CA.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Columbus, OH – The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce the recipients of its Lifetime Achievement Award. These will be presented on June 1st, 2024, during the Bram Stoker Awards® Presentation at StokerCon®2024 in San Diego, CA.

Lifetime Achievement Award The recipients of the HWA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024 are:

2024 SUMMER SCARES READING LIST

In celebration of National Library Lover’s Day, the Horror Writers Association (HWA), in partnership with United for Libraries, Book Riot, Booklist, and NoveList®, a division of EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO), is delighted to announce the sixth annual Summer Scares reading list, which includes titles selected by a panel of authors and library workers and is designed to promote Horror as a great reading option for all ages, during any time of the year. This year, Summer Scares welcomes author Clay McLeod Chapman as the 2024 spokesperson. “Our bookshelves are getting haunted this summer!” exclaims Chapman. “Every last one of the…

The 2023 Bram Stoker Awards® Final Ballot

  The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce the Final Ballot for the 2023 Bram Stoker Awards®. The HWA is the premier writers organization in the horror and dark fiction genre, with more than 2,000 members. We have presented the Bram Stoker Awards in various categories since 1987. Works appearing on this Ballot are Bram Stoker Award® Nominees for Superior Achievement in their Category, e.g., Novel, and everyone may refer to them as such immediately after the announcement. The HWA Board and the Bram Stoker Awards® Committee congratulate all those appearing on the Final Ballot. Notes about the…

Horror Writers Association Releases the 2023 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce the Preliminary Ballot for the 2023 Bram Stoker Awards®. The HWA is the premier writers organization in the horror and dark fiction genre, with more than 2,000 members. We have presented the Bram Stoker Awards in various categories since 1987. Works on this ballot are not referred to as “nominees” or “finalists.” Only works appearing on the Final Ballot may be referred to as “nominated works” and their authors as “finalists.” The HWA Board and the Bram Stoker Awards® Committee congratulate all those appearing on the Preliminary Ballot.

HWA ANNOUNCES SUMMER SCARES READING PROGRAM 2024 Spokesperson and Timeline

The Horror Writers Association (HWA), in partnership with United for Libraries, Book Riot, Booklist, and NoveList®, a division of EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO), is proud to announce the fifth annual Summer Scares Reading Program. Summer Scares is a reading program that provides libraries and schools with an annual list of recommended horror titles for adult, young adult (teen), and middle grade readers. It introduces readers and librarians to new authors and helps start conversations extending beyond the books from each list and promote reading for years to come. Summer Scares is proud to announce the 2024 spokesperson, author Clay McLeod…

Submissions will open next month for the newest HWA members-only anthology!

Submissions will open next month for the newest HWA members-only anthology! SCARING AND DARING ADVENTURES will be an anthology of original fiction stories that draw from the rich tradition of classic works of children's literature and puts a “scaring” spin on the “daring adventures.” These stories will be intended for middle-grade readers and will reference characters, situations, or settings from famous works of literature that are in the public domain (generally pre-1923). The anthology will be edited by Eric J. Guignard and published by HarperCollins in 2025. Examples of stories this anthology could contain include ideas such as: The March…