Horror University Online

HORROR UNIVERSITY is one of the most successful and popular aspects of StokerCon™. We are proud to now offer Horror University online for anyone who wishes to attend. Horror University furthers the Horror Writers Association’s focus on education with a curriculum run by some of the best and brightest in the horror field. HORROR UNIVERSITY ONLINE offers a series of 90-minute to two-hour workshops. They are not your typical workshop experiences—they are hands-on, intensive classes that include interactive activities and exercises. Workshops will initially be live events, but many will be offered as recordings year-round for students who register after the live session. To see…

HWA ‘Other Terrors’ Anthology Update

Dear HWA Membership, We’d like to provide a few updates regarding the status of the HWA’s forthcoming OTHER TERRORS: AN INCLUSIVE ANTHOLOGY. First, you’ll notice the title change. Formerly OTHER FEARS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF DIVERSE TERRORS, the editorial team at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt worked with us to fashion a stronger, more marketable title. We are thrilled with the new title and feel that it better encapsulates our theme and positions us better in the marketplace. In addition, in conjunction with our HMH editors, we have narrowed our choices for cover artist down to two—and either will be amazing! Second, as…

Haunted Library Series at Bookshop.org!

The Haunted Library series now has a page at BOOKSHOP that gathers each edition in one convenient place. There's even a discount on each title. Please do consider diving in and exploring some of these titles. If you have? Help us spread the word! (#HauntedLibrary #Horror #HorrorWritersAssociation) Head over to Bookshop to see what we've got.

The Seers’ Table April 2021

The Seers Table! March 27, 2021 by HWAWeb Kate Maruyama, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community Linda Addison recommends: Jacqueline Dyre is the editor and publisher of Novel Noctule. You can find them in the sunshine state, drinking poorly-made coffee and consuming psychological horror in lieu of meals. They are one of the recipients of the 2020 HWA Diversity Grants. Novel Noctule is an online, monthly independent fiction magazine dedicated to intellectual and new weird horror; they use horror to shed light on the human condition. Issues contain two or three original stories, poetry, artwork, creator spotlights, and related works of terror. Their stories…

Academics Welcome

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is committed to recognizing and proliferating non-fiction and academic writing that seeks to expand the understanding of all facets of the horror genre. From horror film studies to close textual analysis of gothic poetry and all mediums in between, expanding horror discourse is a critical element to the genre as a whole. HWA contributes to the horror scholar discourse in a variety of ways. Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference Debuting at the 2017 StokerCon in Long Beach, the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference (AnnRadCon) was created by Michele Brittany and Nicholas Diak to provide a venue for…

Announcing JG Faherty as Our New Mentorshp Program Manager

After four years at the helm, Brian J. Hatcher is stepping down as Program Manager for the HWA’s Mentorship Program. Under Brian’s leadership, the Mentor Program experienced tremendous growth and saw major improvements in scheduling and quality despite the increase in participants each year. Brian will be focusing once more on his own creative endeavors, including writing and editing, and the Board wishes him continued success. JG Faherty, who has served as the Assistant Manager of the Mentorship Program since 2019, will be taking over management of the program. JG has been a mentor since 2011, and received the Mentor…

The Seers’ Table March 2021

Linda D. Addison, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community You can see any of The Seers’ Table posts since inception (March 2016) from the menu item “Diverse Works” on top of the HWA main page. Kate Jonez introduces: David R. Slayton grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where finding fantasy novels was pretty challenging and finding fantasy novels with diverse characters was downright impossible. Now he lives in Denver, Colorado and writes the books he always wanted to read. Recommended: White Trash Warlock. Not all magicians go to schools of magic. Adam Binder has the Sight. It’s a power that…

StokerCon™ 2021 Special Announcement

The Horror Writers Association has made the difficult decision to shift StokerCon™ 2021 from an in-person event to a virtual platform during its originally scheduled May 20 to 23 dates. With the ongoing pandemic, the emergence of viral variants, and the broad range of travel obstacles around the world, we have deemed this to be the safest, most responsible way to hold the event. As might be expected with an event of this size, switching to a virtual footing poses many challenges, but Con co-chairs, James Chambers and Brian Matthews; HWA President, John Palisano; Vice President, Meghan Arcuri; Administrator, Brad…

The Seers’ Table February 2021

February 1, 2021 by HWAWeb Kate Maruyama, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community Theresa Derwin recommends: Azaaa Davis is an International Bestselling American author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels. She fell in love with reading as a high school freshman and continues to read, write, and draw today. Her background in social work helps her portray realistic characters in otherworldly—and sometimes terrifying—situations. A New York native, Azaaa currently lives in New Hampshire (USA) with her husband and daughters. Azaaa is working diligently to finish writing more fantasy novels while raising her daughters. Thank you for showing an…

“Mastering Your Pitch” Workshops
   Free for HWA Members Only

We’ve partnered with Roadmap Authors to offer our members a series of free workshops. “Mastering Your Pitch” will be hosted by prominent literary agencies. You must be a member in good standing to sign up and participate. The workshop series will include the following: Pitch Prep with Cate Hart, Agent at Harvey Kingler Agency In this 2-hour pitch prep session, Cate will discuss her do's and don'ts for pitching. After her lecture, volunteers can practice their pitch with Cate for feedback in a roundtable setting. Query Clinic with Agent Mark Gottlieb from Trident Media Group In this 2 hour Query…

2020 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot Announced

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce the Preliminary Ballot for the 2020 Bram Stoker Awards®. The HWA (see https://horror.org/) is the premier writers organization in the horror and dark fiction genre, with more than 1,700 members. We have presented the Bram Stoker Awards in various categories since 1987 (see http://www.thebramstokerawards.com/) 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…

Poetry Showcase, volume 7

The Horror Writers Associations presents their seventh annual Poetry Showcase, featuring the best in never-before-published dark verse. Edited by Stephanie M. Wytovich, this year's featured poets are K. P. Kulski, Sarah Read, and Sara Tantlinger, plus dozens of poems from the talented members of the Horror Writers Association. Cover by Robert Payne Cabeen.  

2020 HWA Diversity Grant Recipients

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce the following recipients of the 2020 HWA Diversity Grants: Jacqueline Dyre (they/them) is the editor and publisher of Novel Noctule. You can find them in the sunshine state, drinking poorly-made coffee and consuming psychological horror in lieu of meals. Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (he/him) is a Nigerian speculative fiction writer, slush reader and editor. He has been awarded an honourable mention in the L Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest, twice, and won the Nommo award for best short story by an African with his short story "The Witching Hour." He…

The Seers’ Table January 2021

The Seers Table! December 30, 2020 by HWAWeb Kate Maruyama, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community Linda Addison Recommends: Hailey Piper writes horror and dark fantasy, and is a member of the HWA. She is the author of The Worm and His Kings, The Possession of Natalie Glasgow, Benny Rose, The Cannibal King, and others. Her short fiction appears in publications such as Daily Science Fiction, The Arcanist, Flash Fiction Online, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror, Tales to Terrify, Blood Bath Literary Zine, and many more. She lives with her wife in Maryland, where she haunts their apartment making spooky…

Members New Releases – 2020

Welcome to the showcase of member publications! Select a book cover to purchase or learn more about it or the author. You can view the wall of amazing cover art from past years by using the dropdown in the menu above. And members, please sign into the members-only area to submit upcoming releases. Thank you!

The Seers’ Table December 2020

Linda D. Addison, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community You can see any of The Seers’ Table posts since inception (March 2016) from the menu item “Diverse Works” on the top of the HWA’s main page. Kate Maruyama introduces: Grace Chan is a speculative fiction writer and doctor. Her family migrated from Malaysia to Australia where she grew up. She writes near-future science fiction about medical technology, far-future space escapades to strange worlds, and psychological horror where the real and the unconscious blend together. Her short fiction can be found in Clarkesworld, Black Cranes, Going Down Swinging, Aurealis, AntipodeanSF,…