Latinx Heritage in Horror: Interview with Angela Acosta

Angela Acosta (she/her/ella) is a poet and scholar of Mexican and European descent who grew up in Gainesville, Florida. She won the 2015 Rhina P. Espaillat Award from West Chester University. Her speculative poetry has or will appear in On Spec, Eye to the Telescope, Radon Journal, MacroMacrocosm, and Shoreline of Infinity. Her work has been featured in Latinx magazines like Panochazine, Somos en Escrito, and Latinx Audio Lit Mag. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Iberian Studies at The Ohio State University and resides in Columbus, Ohio. She enjoys rock climbing and biking in her free time. Professional…

Latinx in Horror: Interview with Valerie Valdes

Valerie Valdes lives in an elaborate meme palace with her husband and kids, where she writes, edits and moonlights as a muse. When she isn’t working, she enjoys playing video games and admiring the outdoors from the safety of her living room. Her debut novel Chilling Effect was shortlisted for the 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Award, and was named one of Library Journal’s best SF/fantasy novels of 2019. Valerie is co-editor of Escape Pod, and her short fiction and poetry have been featured in Uncanny Magazine and Nightmare Magazine. What inspired you to start writing? I’ve had the writing tide…

Latinx Heritage in Horror: Interview with Jose Nateras

Jose Nateras is an L.A. based Writer and Filmmaker from Chicago. A graduate of Loyola University Chicago, Jose has his MFA in Writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). A screenwriter and playwright, Jose is also a contributor for The A.V. Club and elsewhere. His debut novel, Testament, was published by Ninestar Press. One of his feature-length horror screenplays, Zero Feet Away, was included on 2021’s Bloodlist and has been optioned by Village Roadshow Pictures/Brillstein Entertainment Partners where it is currently in development. Another, Departing Seniors, is currently in production. He can be found on Twitter:…

Latinx in Horror: Interview with A.E. Santana

A.E. Santana (she/her) is a Southern California native who grew up in a farming community surrounded by the Sonoran Desert. A lover of horror and fantasy, her works can be found in Latinx Screams, Demonic Carnival III, and other horror anthologies. She is the managing editor for Kelp Journal & Books, the moderator for the horror book club, The Thing in the Labyrinth, and the communications manager for Full Circle Players in Riverside, California. A.E. Santana is a member of the Horror Writers Association, the Denver Horror Collective, and has been a moderator for several horror panels, including "No Longer the Scream Queen: Women’s Roles in…

Latinx Heritage in Horror: Interview with LP Hernandez

LP Hernandez is an author of horror and speculative fiction. His stories have been featured in anthologies from Dark Matter Magazine, Cemetery Gates Media, and Sinister Smile Press among others. He is a regular contributor to The NoSleep Podcast and was privileged to helm the Season 16 finale. He has two short story collections including the recently released and fully illustrated The Rat King. His novella, Stargazers, was published under the My Dark Library banner with Cemetery Gates Media. When not writing, LP serves as a medical administrator in the U.S. Air Force. He is a husband, father, and a…

Latinx in Horror: Interview with A.P. Thayer

My name is A.P. Thayer and I'm a queer Xicano writer based out of Los Angeles. I write speculative fiction with a heavy horror bent, but try to blend genres as much as possible. My work has appeared in Space Fantasy Magazine, Dark Recesses Press, Uncharted Magazine, Los Suelos, Murder Park After Dark, and Glitter + Ashes, among others. I am also a staff member of Constelación Magazine. My heritage is a big part of not only what I write but my platform. I love talking about it, too! What inspired you to start writing? I jokingly tell people that my need for control is…

Latinx Heritage in Horror: Interview with Manuel Arenas

Manuel Arenas is a writer of verse and prose in the Gothic Horror tradition. His work has appeared in various anthologies and journals including Spectral Realms, and Penumbra, both from Hippocampus Press. In 2021 he released his first collection of poetry and prose, Book of Shadows: Grim Tales and Gothic Fancies, from Jackanapes Press. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona, where he pens his dark ditties sheltered behind heavy curtains, as he shuns the oppressive orb which glares down on him from the cloudless, dust-filled sky. What inspired you to start writing? I was always into storytelling, even in grade…

Latinx in Horror: Interview with Ann Dávila Cardinal

Ann Dávila Cardinal is a writer and the Director of Recruitment for Vermont College of Fine Arts where she earned her MFA in Writing. She comes from a long line of Puerto Rican writers, including father and son poets Virgilio and José Antonio Dávila, and her cousin, award-winning fiction writer Tere Dávila. Her young adult horror novels include Five Midnights, Category Five, and the upcoming Breakup From Hell (1/3/23). The Storyteller’s Death, (10/4/22), a work of magical realism, is her first novel for adults. Ann lives with her husband in Vermont in a small house with a scary basement.  What inspired…
Introduction to Latinx Heritage in Horror 2022

Introduction to Latinx Heritage in Horror 2022

Intro to Latinx Heritage in Horror by Rosemary Thorne Things are looking great for the Latinx Horror community in 2022, and here is some proof of it. Apart from being nominated Bram Stoker Award for "Best Horror Novel for the second time," Cina Pelayo delivered a great edition of the "2022 Souvenir anthology," and will be Guest of Honor at StokerCon Pittsburgh 2023. Concurrently, Gabino Iglesias' last novel has made it to The New York Times, confirming Spanglish is trendy and "barrio noir" a valid subgenre. Many other Latinx authors are paving the road and accomplishing goals in the States…

In Memoriam: Peter Straub

Writers around the world, and horror writers, in particular, lost a legend. Peter Straub passed away on September 4, 2022, after a long illness. He was 79 years old. A master of his craft, Peter wrote horror, dark fantasy, and psychological thrillers. His works include sixteen novels, numerous short stories, eleven novellas, four poem collections, and one collection of non-fiction essays. He won multiple Bram Stoker, World Fantasy, and August Derleth awards. In 2005, the Horror Writers Association awarded Peter Straub their Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to the field of horror. Peter published his first supernatural thriller, Julia,…

In Memoriam: Corrine De Winter

In Memoriam: Corrine De Winter The HWA is saddened to hear of the passing of poet and author Corrine De Winter. Our hearts go out to her loved ones, her family, and the many friends and people she’s touched. About Corrine: Corrine De Winter was a Bram Stoker Award-winning Poet and author who won numerous awards for her writing from the New York Quarterly, Triton College of Arts & Sciences, & The Rhysling Science Fiction Award. Her work has been applauded by such luminaries as William Peter Blatty (“The Exorcist” author) Tom Monteleone, Thomas Ligotti, Nick Cave, Stanley Wiater, James…

Veterans in Horror Spotlight coming this November

The HWA is going to be running a month-long Veterans in Horror Spotlight this November coordinated by HWA member and former Marine, David Rose. We are inviting any and all veteran members to join us. If you are a horror author, poet, or non-fiction horror writer (or writer of dark fantasy or other related genres) who is a military veteran (defined as a former service member of any uniformed, national military), or if you would like to nominate such an author, please send an email message to veterans@horror.org by September 30, 2022. In the message, please include: - The name of the author…

HWA Honors Latinx Heritage Month for the Second Year

As the Horror Writers Association launches its second year of the Latinx Heritage in Horror interview series, we are looking to interview authors we did not interview last year. If you are a horror author, poet, or non-fiction horror writer (or writer of dark fantasy or other related genres) who is of Latinx/Hispanic heritage, or if you would like to nominate such an author, please send an email message to Sumiko Saulson at sumikoska@yahoo.com In the intro, please include: - The name of the author - Email, or other contact info for the author - Briefly, why this author is…

In Memoriam: Valjeanne Jeffers

On behalf of the Horror Writers Association, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the friends, family, and fans of Valjeanne Jeffers, and to her longtime boyfriend, poet Quinton Veal. Valjeanne was a proud member of the Horror Writers Association, a warm presence in the horror writing community, and on the speculative fiction convention circuit. Her contributions to the horror genre were many, including her werewolf series The Immortals, and short stories appearing in numerous horror anthologies, including Black Magic Women, Slay: Tales of the Vampire Noire, and the Bram Stoker nominated Sycorax’s Daughters. She deftly combined horror…

Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islanders Heritage in Horror: Interview with Naching T. Kassa

Naching T. Kassa is a wife, mother, and horror writer. She serves as an assistant at Crystal Lake Publishing, as an interviewer at HorrorAddicts.net, and is a proud member of both the Mystery Writers of America and the Horror Writers Association. You can find her work on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Naching-T-Kassa/e/B005ZGHTI0 What inspired you to start writing? When I was in second grade, I realized I could write stories for my classmates. I wrote and illustrated stories about monsters and all kinds of fun, scary things. My friends really liked them, and this inspired me to write more. What was it about the…

Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islanders Heritage in Horror: Interview with Lehua Parker

LEHUA PARKER writes speculative fiction for kids and adults, often set in her native Hawai‘i. Her award-winning and best-selling series include the Niuhi Shark Saga trilogy, Lauele Fractured Folktales, and Chicken Skin Stories, along with many other plays, poems, short stories, novels, and essays. Her short stories have appeared in Va: Stories by Women of the Moana, Bamboo Ridge, and Sharks in an Inland Sea, and her plays performed by The Honolulu Theatre for Youth. A Kamehameha Schools graduate, Lehua is a passionate advocate of indigenous voices and authentic representation in media. She is a frequent speaker at conferences, schools, and symposiums, and mentors…

Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islanders Heritage in Horror: Interview with Lopaka Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui is the author of four spooky story compilations about Hawaii and the people who live there; “Haunted Hawaiian Nights,” “The Legend of Morgan’s Corner,” “Mysteries of Honolulu,” and “Mysteries of Hawai‘i.” As a Master Storyteller, Lopaka has received a special citation from the Hawai‘i State Legislature in 2020 for perpetuating and celebrating local culture, history, language, and folklore through storytelling and knowledge of the Islands’ history and legends. In between scaring people and finishing his first novel, Lopaka enjoys spoiling his dog, Pi, and teaching his grandkids all about the classic horror stories and movies he grew up…

A Point of Pride: Interview with Aaron Dries

Author, artist, and filmmaker, Aaron Dries was born and raised in New South Wales, Australia. His novels include the award-winning House of Sighs, The Fallen Boys, A Place for Sinners, Where the Dead Go to Die (with Mark Allan Gunnells), and the novellas The Sound of his Bones Breaking, And the Night Growled Back, and the highly acclaimed Dirty Heads. Cut to Care, released in 2022, is his first collection of short stories. Aaron Dries is one host of the popular podcast, Let the Cat In, also co-founded Elsewhere Productions, and is a member of both the Australasian Horror Writers…

A Point of Pride: Interview with Ridley Harker

Ridley Harker is a gay, transgender author and editor from St. Louis, Missouri. His debut queer body horror novel, Parasite, is available from Ninestar Press in June 2022. He was also featured in the transgender and non-binary gothic horror anthology Listen (Ninestar Press, October 2022). Ridley currently lives in the Middle of Nowhere with his two dogs, a grumpy old snake, and a host of pet tarantulas. Please visit his website at www.ridleyharker.com, and follow him on Twitter @RidleyHarker. What inspired you to start writing? I wrote my first ‘book’ in pre-kindergarten. It was about an unseen monster living in…

A Point of Pride: Interview with Mark Allan Gunnells

Mark Allan Gunnells loves to tell stories. He has since he was a kid, penning one-page tales that were Twilight Zone knockoffs. He likes to think he has gotten a little better since then. He loves reader feedback, and above all he loves telling stories. He lives in Greer, SC, with his husband Craig A. Metcalf. What inspired you to start writing? Honestly, my desire to make up stories and write them down goes back so far I can’t say exactly what initially sparked it. I think I just fell in love with stories, and once I realized they were…