Halloween Haunts: From Soul Cakes to Bones of the Holy–Halloween European Style by Catherine Cavendish

Halloween Haunts: From Soul Cakes to Bones of the Holy–Halloween European Style by Catherine Cavendish

I suppose, in some ways, I had a somewhat deprived childhood. Oh, nothing serious, but when I grew up in the northern English town of Halifax, nothing really happened on Hallowe’en. There was no Trick or Treating and no kids ran the gauntlet of their mother’s anger by tearing holes in her best white sheets to make ghost costumes. There were precious few Jack O’Lanterns. In fact, I don’t recall seeing many pumpkins around anyway. I do have a vague recollection of bobbing for apples round at a friend’s house, but that’s about as Hallowe’en as it got. So I…
Horror Selfies! We want your face.

Horror Selfies! We want your face.

Inspired by the popular “Say it with a Sign” meme—used by everyone from Ellen DeGeneres and Jon Bon Jovi, to David Beckham and Princes William and Harry—the HWA is utilizing the vast reach of social media to provide a platform through which people can tell the world why they love horror. The HWA invites authors and readers, actors and directors, fans and followers, to submit a selfie to www.HorrorSelfies.com in which they hold a sign encouraging others to read horror/dark fantasy, to watch horror movies, or to write horror. Additionally, the HWA is encouraging people to promote literacy and reading…
Halloween Haunts: Sweets in the Darkness by James Chambers

Halloween Haunts: Sweets in the Darkness by James Chambers

Around this time of year, an image of Halloween comes to my mind. It’s a Halloween that never quite occurred and likely never will. It lives in my imagination, defined by oblong shadows stretching beneath Bradburyesque October skies, cast by comic book haunted houses stacked with impossible, Gothic architecture, cobwebbed porches, and ominous, arched windows. Children disguised in costumes worthy of a Hammer horror film—or at least a Corman sci-fi flick—rush along leaf-blown streets, clutching candy-swollen sacks. The chilly breeze lifts their voices, crackling with excitement. Hearts enflamed with celebration, they rush freely through the gloom. Jack-o-lanterns outnumber street lamps.…
How the HWA Helped My Career: Jonathan Maberry

How the HWA Helped My Career: Jonathan Maberry

My name is Jonathan and I write horror. I know, it sounds like the kind of thing you’d admit to at a meeting. Or maybe after taking an oath in court. Or, maybe something you’d tell a priest as part of your dying confession. I write horror. I read horror. I like horror. Or, maybe it’s that I love it. Viewed from a distance, considered without more information, it’s easy to judge and to reach the wrong conclusion. Happens all the time. I’ve encountered it more times than I can count. People meet me and discover that I write horror…
Video Interview with James Dorr

Video Interview with James Dorr

Bram Stoker Award (R) nominee James Dorr talks about successes networking at World Horror Convention, the Horror Writers Association, being a poet, author and sculptor, and his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4QhV-j9_QI James Dorr is a short story writer and poet with three primarily prose collections, STRANGE MISTRESSES: TALES OF WONDER AND ROMANCE and DARKER LOVES: TALES OF MYSTERY AND REGRET published by Dark Regions Press and THE TEARS OF ISIS from Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing, and an illustrated all-poetry collection, VAMPS (A RETROSPECTIVE), from Sam's Dot Publishing/White Cat Publications. He also has a novelette, THE GARDEN, available in electronic and print chapbook…
2015 Scholarships for Members

2015 Scholarships for Members

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce two annual scholarships – the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship; and The Horror Writers Association Scholarship, each worth $2500. Submissions for 2015 are closed. We'll take applications for 2016 soon. The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship will be open to female writers who are members of the HWA. The Horror Writers Association Scholarship will be open to all members of the HWA. The first Scholarships were awarded in 2014. Thereafter, the Scholarships are given annually. Both Scholarships are designed to assist in the professional development of our members. HWA President Rocky Wood explained…
Video Interview with Lois Gresh

Video Interview with Lois Gresh

Author and editor Lois Gresh on writing from your heart, World Horror Conventions, the HWA, advice for new writers and her nugget of HWA wisdom! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L7lcM22nIs LOIS H. GRESH is the New York Times Best-Selling Author (6 times), Publishers Weekly Best-Selling Paperback Author, Publishers Weekly Best-Selling Paperback Children’s Author, and USA Today Best-Selling Author of 27 books and 55 short stories. She has 1 million books in print in 22 languages. Current books are DARK FUSIONS: WHERE MONSTERS LURK! (editor, PS Publishing, Nov 2013), dark story collection ELDRITCH EVOLUTIONS (Chaosium 2011, BookViewCafe ebook 2012), and THE DIVERGENT COMPANION (St. Martin’s…

In September: “A Spotlight on Sandy DeLuca”

☢ Continuing to look closer at the poets nominated for the 2014 Bram Stoker Award, this month’s Poetry Page shines a spotlight on Sandy DeLuca, who was nominated along with poet Marge Simon for Dangerous Dreams, from Elektrik Milk Bath Press. In addition to her poetry, Sandy is also an artist. SD: My paintings are influenced by my own distinct world. Always changing. Sometimes bright splashes of color—without shape—fill my canvases. Other times figures emerge, eccentric women, with large eyes and fingernails painted black. Some occupy strange landscapes. Some are inspired by the fiction and poetry I write. Others are…
Video Interview with Lisa Manetti

Video Interview with Lisa Manetti

Lisa Mannetti on first con experiences, the value of networking and being an HWA member, learning and mentoring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoFzyVtFUbo Lisa Mannetti's debut novel, The Gentling Box, garnered a Bram Stoker Award. Her latest books include Deathwatch, a collection of two thematically linked novellas, including the Bram-Stoker nominated "Dissolution," and "The New Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn." She has authored a macabre gag book, 51 Fiendish Ways to Leave your Lover, as well as non-fiction books, and numerous articles and short stories in newspapers, magazines, and anthologies. Recent and upcoming works (2010) include “Resurgam” in Dead Set: A Zombie…
Video Interview with Jason V Brock

Video Interview with Jason V Brock

Author, editor, publisher and filmmaker Jason V Brock on how to make the most out of conventions, networking, serving on panels, Awards, advice for writers, and the value of a thick skin! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x1TUjkJsSc Jason V Brock is an award-winning American author, artist, editor, and director. He is the CEO and co-founder (with his wife, Sunni) of JaSunni Productions, LLC, whose documentary films include the controversial Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone’s Magic Man, The AckerMonster Chronicles!, and Image, Reflection, Shadow: Artists of the Fantastic. He is also the author of Totems and Taboos, a compilation of his poetry…
Video Interview with Eric J. Guignard

Video Interview with Eric J. Guignard

Eric J Guignard, Bram Stoker Award (R) Winner this year, talks about the value of writers' organisation such as the HWA, attending conventions and his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_ZpqoL-S-0 Eric J. Guignard writes dark and speculative fiction from the outskirts of Los Angeles. His stories and articles may be found in magazines, journals, anthologies, and any other media that will print him. He’s a member of the Horror Writer’s Association, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Of America, and the International Thriller Writers.

In August: “Bruce Boston’s Dark Roads”

☢ This month’s Poetry Page shines a spotlight on Bruce Boston. His collection, Dark Roads, was nominated for the Stoker this year. Bruce’s poetry and fiction have appeared in hundreds of publications, including Asimov's SF, Amazing Stories, Realms of Fantasy, Strange Horizons, Weird Tales, The Pedestal Magazine, The Twilight Zone Magazine, Year's Best Fantasy & Horror, and the Nebula Awards Showcase. His poetry has received the Bram Stoker Award, the Asimov's Readers' Award, the Rhysling Award of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, the Balticon Poetry Award, and the Grandmaster Award of the SFPA. His fiction has received a Pushcart Prize…
Video Interview with Kate Jonez

Video Interview with Kate Jonez

Kate Jonez, Bram Stoker Award nominee® talks conventions, her books, and why a new horror writer should join the Horror Writers Association: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE9ljGmxOA8 Kate Jonez writes dark fantasy fiction. Ceremony of Flies published by DarkFuse is available in limited edition hard cover and ebook.Her Bram Stoker ® Award nominated novel Candy House is available at Amazon in print and ebook. She is also chief editor at Omnium Gatherum a small press dedicated to publishing unique dark fantasy, weird fiction or literary dark fiction in print and ebook. Three Omnium Gatherum books have been nominated for Shirley Jackson Awards.
HWA Reading List

HWA Reading List

The HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION was formed, in part, to foster a greater appreciation of dark fiction among members of the general public. Whether you are new to Horror, or simply want to become familiar with some of the classics and "bests" of dark fiction, the following books are a wonderful place to begin. Like most "best of" lists, ours is somewhat quirky. The books that appear here were picked using a survey of HWA's general membership in 1996, so many excellent books published more recently do not appear here, and some of those that do are now out of print.…
Video Interview with Yvonne Navarro

Video Interview with Yvonne Navarro

Bram Stoker Award® winning author, Yvonne Navarro discusses the very first World Horror Convention, advice for first time nominees, the importance of networking, and the HWA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdFjbjQxKbY&app=desktop Yvonne Navarro is the author of Concrete Savior, Highborn, AfterAge, deadrush, Final Impact, Mirror Me and a bunch of other books, plus Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels and tie-in novels for Hellboy, Elektra, and others.
Self-Published Works Accepted for Membership Qualification

Self-Published Works Accepted for Membership Qualification

The HWA's referendum on including self-published work in membership qualification for our Active and Affiliate levels closed on July 23. The referendum passed by a significant margin. The changes apply from July 24, 2014. New ByLaws and Membership Qualifications have been issued. Apply for membership here: https://horror.org/joining-the-hwa/ (To qualify for Active as a self published author you must have proven earnings of $2000 from a single work within two years of publication; for Affiliate the requirement is $200). In effect this means a self-published work will qualify an author if the work earns the same as a non self-published work.…
Brad C. Hodson Promoted to Full-Time Admin

Brad C. Hodson Promoted to Full-Time Admin

The Horror Writers Association is pleased to announce we have appointed our first full-time employee! Brad C. Hodson, currently our part-time Administrator, will commence full-time in the role on August 1. In addition to working part time for the HWA for the past few years, Brad has worked for several years in various areas of project management for Technicolor. Working closely with clients such as Apple iTunes, Sony Pictures, Netflix, and Paramount Pictures, he has developed a key set of both administrative and interpersonal skills. He was also key to developing Technicolor's international facilities. He spent months in India creating…
HWA Poetry Showcase V.1 – Now Available

HWA Poetry Showcase V.1 – Now Available

The Horror Writers Association is proud to announce we have published our first book of poetry, HWA Poetry Showcase Volume I. Edited by Peter Adam Salomon, it features the best poems submitted during our inaugural Horror Poetry month, including works by Stephanie Wytovich, Robert Borski, Valerie Grice, and Ann K. Schwader. The selections were judged by Bram Stoker winning poet Marge Simon, Bram Stoker winning novelist Jonathan Maberry, and HWA Poetry Page Editor Peter Adam Salomon. We are proud of our significant support for this form of horror writing, which also includes a dedicated section of our website, horror.org. Purchase…
Dark Regions Press Sponsors Bram Stoker Awards® Banquet 2015

Dark Regions Press Sponsors Bram Stoker Awards® Banquet 2015

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce Dark Regions Press as Supporting Sponsor for the Bram Stoker Awards® Banquet, which is part of the Bram Stoker Awards Weekend and 25th Anniversary World Horror Convention 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia and will be held on 9 May 2015. Full details are at the dedicated website: www.whc2015.org. Chris Morey, Dark Regions Press’s Publisher (http://www.darkregions.com) said, “Dark Regions Press has been active in the industry since 1985, and we are honored to once again sponsor the HWA Bram Stoker Awards. As the leading association for horror writers and literature, the HWA has…

In July: “Embrace the Hideous Immaculate by Chad Hensley”

The HWA Poetry Page is going to take a one-month break from covering the 2013 Stoker nominees in order to cover a 2014 poetry publication. One of my goals for the HWA Poetry Page is introduce new poets with an in-depth look at their debut poetry collections. This month, we’ll be looking at Embrace the Hideous Immaculate by Chad Hensley. One of the most interesting stories behind this collection is the wonderful series of events that lead to the publication of Embrace the Hideous Immaculate. So interesting, in fact, that I wanted to present the same story from two different…