Stephen King on Richard Matheson’s Passing

Stephen King on Richard Matheson’s Passing

We've lost one of the giants of the fantasy and horror genres. From THE BEARDLESS WARRIORS, his brilliant (and largely unread) World War II novel, to THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN and all the wonderful TWILIGHT ZONE scripts and stories, Matheson fired the imaginations of three generations of writers. Without his I AM LEGEND, there would have been no NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD; without NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, there would have been no WALKING DEAD, 28 DAYS LATER, or WORLD WAR Z. Matheson wrote the script for Steven Spielberg's extraordinary film, DUEL, and created one of the most brain-freezingly…
Bram Stoker Award® Winners Photo

Bram Stoker Award® Winners Photo

The 2012 Bram Stoker Award® winners: Top row (left to right): Mort Castle, L.L. Soares, Jerad Walters, Rocky Wood, Jonathan Maberry. Lower row/middle: Sam Weller, James Chambers, Lucy Snyder, Marge Simon, Robert McCammon, Caitlin R. Kiernan (seated), Charles Day, Lisa Morton (Photo by Stacy Scranton) (Not pictured: Gene O'Neill, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, Joyce Carol Oates, and Clive Barker)
Live webcast on the Bram Stoker Awards®

Live webcast on the Bram Stoker Awards®

For the third year running, the Bram Stoker Awards® will be webcast live, this time direct from the Queen Anne Ballroom in the Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans. We thank our Platinum Sponsor, Samhain Publishing, without whose generous support this would not be possible. Tune in from 10pm US Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday 15 June! Live Webcast Link

Scary Out There: A Blog on Horror in Young Adult Fiction: A Chat with Kendare Blake

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is Kendare Blake, author of the critically acclaimed ANN DRESSED IN BLOOD. Kendare lives and writes in Lynnwood, Washington. She writes books, enjoys scary movies, digs trying new food, goes hiking and plays (she insists) really bad tennis. JONATHAN MABERRY: Welcome aboard, Kendare. Let’s jump right to the big question upon which Scary Out There is built. What scares you? KENDARE BLAKE: Uncertainty scares me. The unknown. JONATHAN MABERRY: How so--? KENDARE BLAKE: It's a fairly universal human fear, and it scared me…

Horror Roundtable 9 – The Future of Agents

When: June 10, 2013 Time: 3pm EST (use the Time Zone Converter to find your local time) The Future of Agents Do you think all the recent technological advances in publishing are sounding the death knell for the literary agent? Agents used to be the gatekeepers in the classical publishing model, deciding who gets through and who remains in obscurity, but that barrier seems full of holes now. If literary agents are to remain part of the publishing process, how will they need to adapt? * * * * * You can follow the Roundtable discussion in the comments section of this post. Note:…
Interview with Ramsey Campbell at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Interview with Ramsey Campbell at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews World Horror Convention’s Guest of Honor, Ramsey Campbell. Darkeva: To quote the Oxford Companion to English Literature, you’re “Britain’s most respected living horror writer,” which is a great esteem. What do you feel have been some of the great honors of your writing career so far? RC: Well, that was certainly one. The Lifetime Achievement awards from HWA and WHC were two spectacular ones, and some years ago I was honoured in Rome at the Fantafestival with a similar career award, together with the great Ennio Morricone, no less. But having my own issue of Weird Tales –…

Scary Out There: A Blog on Horror in Young Adult Fiction: A Chat with Ilsa Bick

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is Ilsa J. Bick. Ilsa’s bio reads like it belongs to ten other people. She’s a child psychiatrist, a film scholar, a surgeon wannabe, a former Air Force major, and an award-winning author of dozens of short stories and novels, including the critically acclaimed Draw the Dark (Carolrhoda Lab, 2010); Drowning Instinct (Carolrhoda Lab, 2012); Ashes, the first book in her YA apocalyptic thriller trilogy (Egmont USA, 2011) and Shadows (2012); and the just-released The Sin-Eater’s Confession (Carolrhoda Lab, 2013). Forthcoming:  Monsters, the final volume of the ASHES Trilogy, (Egmont USA,…
The Future of Agents to be decided on Monday

The Future of Agents to be decided on Monday

The HWA’s ninth Horror Roundtable will take place on Monday the 10th of June at 3pm EST. It’s a topic a lot of folks have asked about, and one very relevant to the current state of the publishing industry. The topic this round is The Future of Agents (thanks for the idea, Joe McKinney!). Please join our special guest Joe McKinney, Robert Fleck, Doug Grad, and Richard Curtis, as they discuss the following: “Do you think all the recent technological advances in publishing are sounding the death knell for the literary agent? Agents used to be the gatekeepers in the classical publishing…

HORROR! UNDER THE TOMBSTONE by HWA Member David A. Sutton (Editor)

Author: David A. Sutton (Editor) IMAGINE THE SIXTIES and Seventies... Hammer films and American International Pictures... The time of Plague of the Zombies, Lust for a Vampire, Quatermass and the Pit, Tales of Terror, The Haunted Palace and The Masque of the Red Death. Imagine we're back there now. No mobile phones, no videotapes or DVDs, no personal computers. And iPads and Kindles are decades away. Where we are now, music is played on vinyl records with a stylus picking up the recorded sound on an old fashioned "radiogram" or a "portable" record player. Horror stories had their emphasis on…

SEASON OF THE WOLF by HWA Member Jeffrey J. Mariotte

Author: Jeffrey J. Mariotte When Alex Converse, heir to a coal company fortune, visits Silver Gap, Colorado to make an environmentally themed documentary film, he's hoping to change some minds and to soothe his own troubled conscience. But there's more going on—in his mind, and in Silver Gap—than Alex knows. People are dying and women are disappearing. Some of the killers have fur, fangs, and claws—but some don't. What is Alex's connection to the missing women? Will anyone live long enough to find out? And what's up with those wolves? Season of the Wolf is a heart-stopping supernatural thriller about…

Interview with Jonathan Maberry at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews Bram Stoker Award® Weekend's Guest of Honor, Johathan Maberry. Darkeva: You’re a frequent fixture at several types of genre and horror conventions, in particular, and you’ve also long been involved with the Horror Writers Association. In addition, you also run a hugely successful website and offer fantastic advice to aspiring and published writers alike. Some writers in your position don’t attend many conventions, or any at all. What attracts you to conventions, and what do you most look forward to when you’re going to one? JM: Even more than I’m a writer of horror I’m a fan of…

Welcome to Poetry Awareness

*** Welcome, we're kicking off Poetry Awareness with a new poem by Marge Simon, from her Stoker nominated book THE MAD HATTERY...among other goodies... Lovecraft's Wife   I owned a hat shop when we met, a tradeswoman of distinction, beloved by my aunts, who frowned when they saw his long jaw and meager prospects.   "Sonia," he would say, "may we dine at home, as proper folk, for I fear your aunts will eat me live."   And I would tell him otherwise, for I so craved human company, after reading his most gruesome tales, that crept into the fine…

Scary Out There: A Blog on Horror in Young Adult Fiction: A Chat with Charlie Higson

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is Charlie Higson, one of the top teen horror writers in the UK. He’s the author of the million-copy-selling Young Bond series that began with SilverFin and was followed by Blood Fever, Double or Die, Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command. All five novels entered the children’s bestseller charts in the top five. He’s also written much scarier books, including the truly creepy THE ENEMY and THE DEAD. Those books received well-earned critical and commercial success. Charlie’s novels have…

Scary Out There: A Blog on Horror in Young Adult Fiction: A Chat with Holly Black

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is Holly Black, author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Some of her titles include The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), The Modern Faerie Tale series, The Good Neighbors graphic novel trilogy (with Ted Naifeh), the Curse Workers series, Doll Bones, and her new dark fantasy novel, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. She has been a finalist for the Mythopoeic Award, a finalist for an Eisner Award, and the recipient of the Andre Norton Award. She…

Scary Out There: A Blog on Horror in Young Adult Fiction: A Chat with Darren Shan

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week Darren Shan has published over 30 books for YA and adults, including Cirque Du Freak, The Demonata, The City trilogy, and his new series Zom-B. His books have sold over 20 million copies worldwide. He lives in Ireland. Website: www.darrenshan.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/darrenshan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darrenshanofficial JONATHAN MABERRY: You write some creep stuff, but how well do you take it? Do you scare easily?  DARREN SHAN: I actually scare a lot easier now than I did when I was younger. JONATHAN MABERRY: Why’s that? DARREN SHAN: Maybe it’s…

Scary Out There: A Blog on Horror in Young Adult Fiction: A Chat with Tonya Hurley

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is Tonya Hurley the New York Times and international bestselling author of the GHOSTGIRL young adult series and author of THE BLESSED.  Tonya has also created video games, two television series, written for film and is a contributor to The Huffington Post.  She lives in New York with her husband and daughter. JONATHAN MABERRY: Let’s jump right in and talk about. With Scary Out There we’ve been exploring that nature of fear and what makes each of us afraid. What…

Scary Out There: A Blog on Horror in Young Adult Fiction – A Chat with Rick Yancey

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is Rick Yancey, an author who writes powerful novels across genre and age lines. He’s the author of several adult novels and the memoir, CONFESSIONS OF A TAX COLLECTOR. His first young-adult novel, THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ALFRED KROPP, was a finalist for the Carnegie Medal. In 2010, his novel, THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST, received a Michael L. Printz Honor, and the sequel, THE CURSE OF THE WENDIGO, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His latest series, THE…

Scary Out There: A Blog on Horror in Young Adult Fiction – A Chat with James Rollins

Welcome back to the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is JAMES ROLLINS, the New York Times bestselling author of thrillers whose books have sold to over thirty countries. His Sigma Force series has earned national accolades and hit bestseller lists around the world. Jim also writes a middle-school adventure series featuring Jake Ransom, boy archaeologist, and has finished the first book in a collaborative adult horror series with award-winning mystery writer, Rebecca Cantrell, titled The Blood Gospel (published in January 2013). Jim also wrote a number of notable fantasy novels –The Banned and…