Diverse Works Inclusion Committee Mission Statement

To ensure the Horror Writers Association (HWA) includes the widest possible representation of those working in the horror/dark fantasy genre, the HWA has formed the Diverse Works Inclusion Committee. This committee is tasked with actively seeking writers and editors with diverse backgrounds. The committee has adopted the broadest definition of the word diversity to include gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Committee members will employ a variety of methods—including but not limited to contacting publishers, authors, and/or agents; accessing resources such as Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Goodreads; maintaining awareness of new releases; polling the membership—to expand our members’ awareness.…

The Seers’ Table August 2023

Linda D. Addison, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community You can see any of The Seers’ Table posts since inception (March 2016) by going to the HWA main page and selecting menu item “Our Blogs / Diverse Works.”   Linda D. Addison recommends: Like a magpie, Rhonda Parrish is constantly distracted by shiny things. She’s the editor of many anthologies and author of plenty of books, stories, and poems (some of which have even been nominated for awards!). She lives in Edmonton, Alberta, and she can often be found there playing Dungeons & Dragons, bingeing crime dramas, making blankets,…

The Seers’ Table July 2023

Kate Maruyama, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community We’re deep into summer reading, so we’re bringing you three flavors of novels to add to your TBR pile! A ghost story, a space opera, and a harrowing horror tale. You can see any of “The Seers’ Table” posts since inception (March 2016) by going to the HWA main page and selecting menu item “Our Blogs/Diverse Works.”   Linda Addison recommends: India Hill Brown is an author with a passion for writing, reading, and all things literary. Her debut novel, The Forgotten Girl, has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award…

The Seers’ Table June 2023

Kate Maruyama, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community   Linda D. Addison recommends: E.E. King is an award-winning painter, performer, writer, and naturalist. She’ll do anything that won’t pay the bills, especially if it involves animals. She’s been published in over 100 magazines and anthologies, including Clarkesworld, Daily Science Fiction, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Short Edition, and Flametree. Her novels include, Dirk Quigby’s Guide to the Afterlife: All you need to know to choose the right heaven, and several story collections. Ray Bradbury called her stories, “marvelously inventive, wildly funny, and deeply thought-provoking.” Her stories are on Tangent’s…

The Seers’ Table May 2023

Linda D. Addison, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community You can see any of “The Seers’ Table” posts since inception (March 2016) by going to the HWA main page and selecting menu item “Our Blogs / Diverse Works”. Tish Jackson recommends: Tamika Thompson has been writing for her whole adult life, crisscrossing genres until landing squarely into horror with her new fiction collection Unshod, Cackling and Naked. As someone who writes for the love of the written word, she wears all the hats—author, producer, and journalist—while creating worlds for readers to fall into. She carries degrees from Columbia and…

The Seers’ Table April 2023

Linda Addison, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community You can see any of “The Seers’ Table” posts since inception (March 2016) by going to the HWA main page and selecting menu item “Our Blogs / Diverse Works.” Kate Maruyama recommends: Since Latoya Jordan’s sophomore English class in high school, she knew she wanted a career as a writer. However, she didn’t realize she’d be writing by day and by night: in addition to her fiction, poetry, and the occasional essay or reported piece, she works as a professional writer for a local government agency. Her writing has appeared in…

The Seers’ Table March 2023

Kate Maruyama, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community Linda Addison introduces: Aiden Thomas is a trans, Latinx, New York Times-bestselling author with an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. Originally from Oakland, California, they now make their home in Portland, OR. Aiden is notorious for not being able to guess the endings of books and movies, and organizes their bookshelves by color. The Sunbearer Trials (Book One of The Sunbearer Duology) was released September 6, 2022 from Feiwel & Friends, where teen semidioses compete in a series of challenges with the highest of stakes. Their 2019 novel, Cemetery…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with KC Loesener

I’m KC Loesener, author of The Eve of Darkness and several horror short stories. Proud introvert, bird lover, and a huge horror fan. On Youtube and Instagram, I am @kcfinalgirl, a horror content creator and writing coach, teaching new writers to focus and write their manuscripts in four months via kcloesener.com Besides writing horror, I love a good ghost story. The paranormal, vampires, and werewolves exhilarate me. I love punk and grunge, and I desperately miss the 90s. Superhero movies and comics are a necessity. I enjoy creating complex characters that rise to discover themselves.   What inspired you to start…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Nuzo Onoh

Nuzo Onoh is a Nigerian-British writer of Igbo descent. She is a pioneer of the African horror literary subgenre. Hailed as “the Queen of African Horror”, Nuzo’s writing showcases both the beautiful and horrific in the African culture within fictitious narratives. Nuzo’s works have featured in numerous magazines, podcasts, and anthologies, and she is listed in the reference book, “80 Black Women in Horror”. She has given talks and lectures about African Horror, including at the prestigious Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, London. Her works have also appeared in academic and feminist studies such as “Routledge Handbook of African Literature”, “Horror…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Micah Yongo

Micah is the author of two ancient Africa-inspired epic fantasy novels. His debut, Lost Gods, was shortlisted for a British Fantasy award, as well as Starburst Magazine’s inaugural Brave New Words award. Shaped by the West African folklore of his childhood, Yongo introduces readers to fresh mythic worlds on the way to examining ideas on religion, culture, and belonging. Manchester-born aside from a year living in the US Yongo has remained domiciled in the city of his birth, having worked as a journalist and content designer alongside his novel writing. His latest book, Pale Kings, is a continuation of the…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Lori Titus

Lori Titus is a USA Today Bestselling author and Bram Stoker Award finalist. She writes stories that center on the monster in humans and the humanity of beasts.  When she's not plotting out new adventures for her characters she lurks on social media. You can catch up with her on Facebook or on her website, The Darkest of Lore  https://loribeth215.wordpress.com/ . What inspired you to start writing? I had nightmares as a kid, and my mom suggested that I write them down to exorcise them. It worked like a charm. It got rid of the dreams, but it started a new lifelong…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with P.M. Raymond

P.M. Raymond hails from New Orleans but currently lives on the East Coast with 27 cookbooks and an imaginary dog named Walter. You can find her enjoying a café au lait and indulging in the storytelling mastery of Shirley Jackson, M.R. James, Joe Hill, Tananarive Due, and manga maestro, Junji Ito. Her work has appeared in Flash Fiction Magazine, Kings River Life Magazine, Dark Fire Fiction, Pyre Magazine, The Furious Gazelle, Dark Yonder, and Rock, Roll, and Ruin anthology from Down & Out Books. Find her at www.pmraymond.com or follow her on Twitter. What inspired you to start writing? As…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Tara Campbell

Tara Campbell is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, fiction co-editor at Barrelhouse, and graduate of American University's MFA. Her horror has been published in Strange Horizons ("Sasabonsam," Tangent Online Recommended Reading List 2017), Nightlight (horror by Black writers), and Speculative City (“Spencer,” Tor's "Must-Read Speculative Fiction" March 2020). She's the author of a novel and four multi-genre collections, including Midnight at the Organporium which earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. She teaches fiction at venues such as American University, Johns Hopkins University, Clarion West, Catapult, The Writer's Center, and Hugo House. Read more and connect at her website: www.taracampbell.com What inspired…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Maurice Broaddus

The resident Afrofuturist at the Kheprw Institute and an editor at Apex Magazine, his work has appeared in places like Cemetery Dance, Weird Tales, Magazine of F&SF, Uncanny Magazine, & Classic Monsters Unleashed. His books include Sweep of Stars, Unfadeable, Pimp My Airship, Buffalo Soldier, and The Usual Suspects. He was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for editing Dark Faith.  You can learn more about him at MauriceBroaddus.com or follow on his socials @MauriceBroaddus. What inspired you to start writing? I write because I have to. There is something in me that compels me to write, to release my ideas…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Wrath James White

WRATH JAMES WHITE is the author of such extreme horror classics as THE RESURRECTIONIST, SUCCULENT PREY, and it's sequel PREY DRIVE, YACCUB'S CURSE, 400 DAYS OF OPPRESSION, THE BOOK OF A THOUSAND SINS, HIS PAIN, POPULATION ZERO, IF YOU DIED TOMORROW I WOULD EAT YOUR CORPSE, HARDCORE KELLI, and many many others. He has co-wriiten books with Edward Lee, J.F. Gonzalez, Maurice Broaddus, Matt Shaw, and Kristopher Rufty. Wrath lives and works in Austin, TX. What inspired you to start writing? This is a hard one to answer. Do I tell you about when I was in 4th grade and…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Wi-Moto Nyoka

WI-MOTO NYOKA is a horror and sci-fi writer. She is the founder of Dusky Projects, creating and producing horror & sci-fi projects for young adult and adult audiences. Awards and honors include: Stowe Story Labs selected project, Puffin Foundation grant recipient,  Awesome Foundation grant recipient, Velocity Fund grant recipient, Scribe Video Finishing Grant recipient, Nightmares Film Festival Best Short Screenplay Award Winner, 13 Horror Screenplay Award Winner, Oregon Short Film Festival Best Horror Teleplay Award Winner and more. Published works can be found in Midnight & Indigo’s Speculative Fiction collection, Terror Unleashed: Volume 2, The Seelie Crow and The Last…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Eugen Bacon

Eugen Bacon MA, MSc, PhD is an African Australian author of several novels and fiction collections. She’s a 2022 World Fantasy Award finalist, and was announced in the honor list of the 2022 Otherwise Fellowships for ‘doing exciting work in gender and speculative fiction’. Recent books: Mage of Fools (novel), Chasing Whispers (collection), and An Earnest Blackness (essays). Eugen has two novels, a novella, and two anthologies (ed) out in 2023, and the US release of Danged Black Thing. Visit her website at eugenbacon.com and Twitter feed at @EugenBacon What inspired you to start writing? I have always been enthralled with stories—my imagination is hyper. My father was…

The Seers’ Table February 2023

Linda D. Addison, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community You can see any of “The Seers’ Table” posts since inception (March 2016) by going to the HWA main page and selecting menu item “Our Blogs/Diverse Works.” Linda D. Addison introduces: Johnny Compton (he/him) is a San Antonio-based author whose short stories have appeared in several publications since 2006, including Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, and The No Sleep Podcast. His fascination with frightening fiction started when his kindergarten teacher played a record of the classic ghost story “The Golden Arm” for her class. The Spite House is his debut novel through…

Turning Grit into Greatness: Black Heritage Month Series Intro by Jamal Hodge

Black History month returns, a time when America recognizes the contributions of its Black American citizens… during the shortest and arguably coldest month of the year. That’s that good ole American horror right there. But no matter what shade we're given, Black Americans have long turned scraps into cuisine, poverty into strength, and grit into greatness. In recent years, there has been a growing movement towards greater representation and visibility for Black writers in the horror genre. One of the most notable examples of this progress is the success of Black horror writers and screenwriters in traditional and independent publishing.…

The Seers’ Table January 2023

Linda D. Addison, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community You can see any of The Seers’ Table posts since inception (March 2016) by going to the HWA main page and selection menu item “Our Blogs / Diverse Works.” Rob Costello recommends: Headshot Photo Credit: Adrienne Giles Lamar Giles is the author of a wide range of books for young readers, as well as a founding member of We Need Diverse Books, which advocates for essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people. He is a two-time…

The Seers’ Table December 2022

Kate Maruyama, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community Linda Addison introduces: Beatrice Winifred Iker (eye-kerr) grew up in the picturesque (and undoubtedly haunted) valley of the Great Smoky Mountains. As a child, they spent an incalculable time in their grandmother’s living room staring at the unending ridges and peaks; eventually, they decided to write about this bewitching place. A great passion of theirs is genealogy and ancestry. As a result, much of their writing lives in the southern gothic genre, where they grapple with the American South’s history, which is both terrifying and entrancing. Their stories feature characters and…