Nominees Announced for Vampire Novel of the Century Award

The Horror Writers Association (HWA), the international association of writers, publishing professionals, and supporters of horror literature, in conjunction with the Bram Stoker Family Estate and the Rosenbach Museum & Library, proudly announces the nominees for the Bram Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century Award. The award will be presented at the Bram Stoker Awards™ Banquet at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 31, 2012, upon the centenary of the death of Abraham (Bram) Stoker, the author of Dracula. From a field of more than 35 preliminary nominees, a jury of writers and scholars selected…

THE LAMPLIGHTERS by HWA Member Frazer Lee

Author: Frazer Lee Life on Meditrine Island is luxurious but brief. Marla Neuborn has found the best post-grad job in the world, as a 'lamplighter' working on Meditrine Island, an exclusive idyllic paradise owned and operated by a consortium of billionaires. All lamplighters have to do is tend to the mansions, cook and clean, and turn on lights to make it appear the owners are home. But the job comes with conditions. Marla will not know the exact location of the island, and she will have no contact with the outside world for the duration of her stay. Once on…

DEAD OF WINTER by HWA Member Brian Moreland

Author: Brian Moreland A predator stalks the frozen woods. At a fort deep in the Ontario wilderness in 1870, a ghastly predator is attacking colonists and spreading a gruesome plague his victims turn into ravenous cannibals with an unending hunger for human flesh. Inspector Tom Hatcher has faced a madman before, when he tracked down Montreal's infamous Cannery Cannibal. But can even he stop the slaughter this time? In Montreal, exorcist Father Xavier visits an asylum where the Cannery Cannibal is imprisoned. But the killer who murdered thirteen women is more than just a madman who craves human meat. He…

2011 Bram Stoker Award™ Preliminary Ballot Announced

For each category (Novel, First Novel, etc) there are potentially TWO ballots: one for the works that proceed from the recommendations ('Recs') ballot and one for the works that proceed from the Jury ballot. A short explanation of the system for determining for the Bram Stoker Awards™ ballots appears at: https://horror.org/stokers.htm. As the preliminary ballot is designed to produce three works for the final ballot in a category from each of the "Recs" and "Jury" ballots, if there are three or less works qualified in a category, they proceed directly to the final ballot. If you see four, five or…

SCAVENGERS by HWA Members Christopher Fulbright & Angeline Hawkes

Author: Christopher Fulbright & Angeline Hawkes Amidst a zombie-ravaged city exposed to a toxic terrorist attack, Dejah Corliss discovers she has regenerative powers. Fast on the heels of her revelation, she fights her way across the ravaged city only to be captured by religious zealots. When a former Marine defies death to help her escape, they join forces on a desperate mission to rescue her young daughter, a miracle healer, who has been enslaved to create feasts of flesh in a zombie camp. In a terrifying race to save the girl, they must win the ultimate battle or fall prey…

Interview with HWA Member Christopher Golden

Interview by Ron Breznay Christopher Golden is a prolific author in several genres and formats: horror, suspense, thriller, urban fantasy, young adult, novels, novellas, media tie-in, graphic novels. He has edited many anthologies and has collaborated with other well-known and well-regarded writers. He has written such stand-alone novels as Wildwood Road, The Boys Are Back in Town, and Straight On 'Til Morning. Among his series are The Shadow Saga, The Veil, and The Hidden Cities (with Tim Lebbon). His best-known YA series is Body of Evidence, some of which were written with Rick Hautala. Chris edited or co-edited such anthologies…

HAUTALA and LANSDALE Win Lifetime Horror Awards

The Horror Writers Association has chosen two long-time icons of the genre to receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award (LAA) this year. The award, given in recognition of the recipient's overall body of work, will go to Rick Hautala and to Joe R. Lansdale. Under his own name, Rick Hautala has written nearly thirty novels, including the million-copy bestseller Nightstone, as well as Winter Wake, The Mountain King, and Little Brothers. He has published two short story collections: Bedbugs and Occasional Demons. A new collection, The Back of Beyond, is due soon. He has had over sixty short stories published…

KAREN LANSDALE to Receive The Richard Laymon President’s Award from Horror Writers Association

The Richard Laymon President's Award for Service was instituted in 2000 and is named in honor of Richard Laymon, who died in 2001 while serving as the Horror Writers Association President. The award is given by the HWA sitting President to a volunteer who has served HWA in an especially exemplary manner and has shown extraordinary dedication to the organization. HWA President Rocky Wood has chosen Karen Lansdale to receive the 2011 Richard Laymon Award. Karen is recognized as one of the Founders of the HWA; in fact, the award is for her dedication and hard work at that time.…

Guy Anthony DE MARCO to receive The Silver Hammer Award from HWA

The Horror Writers Association periodically gives The Silver Hammer Award to an HWA volunteer who has done a truly massive amount of work for our organization, often unsung and behind the scenes. It was instituted in 1996 and is decided by a vote of HWA's Board of Trustees. The award is so named because it represents the careful, steady, continuous work of building HWA's "house" -- the many institutional systems that keep the organization functioning on a day-to-day basis. The award itself is a chrome-plated hammer with an engraved plaque on the handle. The chrome hammer is also a satisfying…

TWISTED IN DREAM by HWA Member Ann K. Schwader

Author: Ann K. Schwader During the past decade or more, Ann K. Schwader has become the most critically acclaimed living author of weird and fantastic poetry. Following the distinguished tradition of Clark Ashton Smith, H. P. Lovecraft, Frank Belknap Long, and others, Schwader has written scores of finely chiseled and powerfully evocative verse that packs all the intensity of a short story within the space of a sonnet or quatrain. The present volume gathers for the first time her collected weird poetry, including the complete contents of the landmark volume The Worms Remember (2001) and the sonnet cycle In the…

RAGE AGAINST THE NIGHT — Benefit Anthology for HWA President Rocky Wood

Edited by HWA Member Shane Jiraiya Cummings Under the onslaught of supernatural evil, the acts of good people can seem insignificant, but a courageous few stand apart. These brave men and women stand up to the darkness, stare it right in the eye, and give it the finger. These are the stories of those who rage against the night, stories of triumph, sacrifice, and bravery in the face of overwhelming evil. Rage Against the Night features the megastars of dark fantasy and horror, including Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Maberry, Scott Nicholson,…

Il Posto Nero – December Links

-Review by Sergio Gilles Lacavalla of Scarlett by Barbara Baraldi in Italian -HWA Bram Stoker Award 2010 Ceremony -Videos in Italian -Horror Street: Interview with Mary Sangiovanni in English in Italian -Horror Lottery in Italian -Queen Anne's Resurrection: Journey V - The Abyss and the Kraken: 1° part Stories by Allyson Bird, Scott Nicholson, Danilo Arona, Alberto Custerlina, artwork by Daniele Serra in Italian in English -Queen Anne's Resurrection: Journey V - The Abyss and the Kraken: 2° part Stories by Tim Waggoner, Paolo Di Orazio, Daniele Bonfanti in Italian -Black Pills: Deep Black: Harry Clarke in Italian -Horror Lottery:…

HWA Sponsoring 5 Members to Attend Mort Castle’s Workshop at 2012 World Horror Convention

Mort Castle, editor of the acclaimed On Writing Horror, will be conducting writing workshops at the 2012 World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City , March 29 - April 1, 2012. The cost of the four-hour workshop is $50.00. The HWA Board is giving away five of these workshops at our cost. If you are interested, and we get more than five applications, they will given away in a random drawing. To qualify, you need to have registered for the WHC before 29 February, and of course, you need to be a member of the HWA. To register your interest…

The Annotated Sandman, Vol. 1 Edited by HWA Member Leslie S. Klinger

Editor: Leslie S. Klinger Edited by and with an introduction and notes by Leslie S. Klinger, the expert researcher and editor behind the Edgar®-winning New Annotated Sherlock Holmes and the critically acclaimed New Annotated Dracula, The Annotated Sandman is a panel-by-panel journey through every issue of The Sandman. Beginning with issues #1-#20, this volume provides commentary, historical and contemporary references, hidden meanings and more, presented side-by-side with the series art and text. Using scripts and hours of conversation with Gaiman, Klinger reveals fascinating details of The Sandman's hundreds of unforgettable characters and its place in literary history. Publisher: Vertigo (DC…

Samhain Publishing is Platinum Sponsor of the 25th Annual Bram Stoker Awards™

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce Samhain Publishing as the Platinum Sponsor for the 25th Annual Bram Stoker Awards Banquet. The Banquet will be held in conjunction with the World Horror Convention on 31 March 2012 with HWA’s Founders Joe and Karen Lansdale and Robert McCammon as Special Guests of Honor. Full details of both the Banquet and “Celebrate HWA Day” are at our dedicated website: http://www.stokers2012.org/. Don D'Auria, executive editor for Samhain Horror, will be representing the publisher at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. “We're proud to support the Horror Writing community.…

Jeremy Wagner Sponsors the Bram Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century Award

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce Jeremy Wagner as the sponsor for the Bram Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century Award. The Horror Writers Association (HWA), the horror genre’s peak body for writers and publishing professionals, will be giving the Bram Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century Award in conjunction with the Bram Stoker Family Estate and the Rosenbach Museum & Library. The award marks the centenary of the death in 1912 of Abraham (Bram) Stoker, the author of Dracula, and also celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the association. Full details of both the banquet and "Celebrate…

Theatre of Curious Acts by HWA Member Cate Gardner

Author: Cate Gardner Daniel Cole wants the world to end. Returned home from the Great War, his parents and brother in their graves, Daniel walks a ghost world. When players in a theatre show lure Daniel and his friends, fellow soldiers, into a surreal otherworld they find themselves trapped on an apocalyptic path. A pirate ship, helmed by Death, waits to ferry some of them to the end of the world. Already broken by war, these men are now the world's only hope in the greatest battle of all. "Gardner (Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits), a rising purveyor of high…

TED’S SCORE by HWA Member Daniel P. Coughlin

Author: Daniel P. Coughlin When beautiful Jules Benton, a seventeen year old senior, goes missing after the spring formal dance in the small town of Watertown, Wisconsin, her father, Richard Benton, becomes suspicious of Jules’ boyfriend, David Miller and his involvement with her disappearance. When Richard confirms his suspicions, the brutality of his capability consumes him and soon David will find out what that means. Unbeknownst to David or Richard, a serial killer by the name of Ted Olson has more to do with Jules’ disappearance than anyone might suspect. As Jules’ whereabouts unfold, the truth begins to bleed from…

New Volunteer Calendar Coordinator: HWA Member Jennifer Brozek

We have a new volunteer calendar coordinator who will be overseeing the upkeep of the HWA member calendar. This calendar will be visible to the public and can include events relative to the horror writers industry, to your career, etc. Some of the categories on the calendar will give you an idea of the kind of events you can submit: Conventions Readings Launch Events Workshop/seminar Open Writers Group (where anyone is welcome to attend) Only HWA members may submit events to the calendar. To submit an event to the calendar and to the various HWA publications, log in to the…

“The Fields” by HWA Member Ty Schwamberger

Author: Ty Schwamberger Billy Fletcher learned to farm the family’s tobacco fields – and beat slaves – by the hands of his father. Now, his father is dead, the slaves have long since been freed, and the once-lush fields are dying. Salvation by the name of Abraham knocks on the farmhouse door, bringing wild ideas. He can help Billy save the plantation and return the fields to their former glory…by raising his father’s slaves from the dead. Can the resurrected slaves breathe life back into the Fletcher farm? Having brought the slaves back from graves that his father sent them,…