World of Horror: Interview with Kyla Lee Ward

Kyla Lee Ward is a Sydney-based creative whose work has garnered Australian Shadows and Aurealis awards. She has placed in the Rhyslings and received multiple Stoker and Ditmar nominations. Reviewers have accused her of being “gothic and esoteric,” “weird and exhilarating” and of “giving me a nightmare.” This Attraction Now Late (2022) was her first collection of short fiction, after two poetry collections and the co-written novel, Prismatic. Those That Pursue Us Yet, a dark fantasy novella set in Paris and . . . other places, is due for release in 2023. Delve deeper at http://www.kylaward.com/ or come chat at…

World of Horror: Interview with Somto Ihezue

  Somto Ihezue is a Nigerian-Igbo editor, writer and filmmaker. He was awarded the 2021 African Youth Network Movement Fiction Prize. A British Science Fiction Award, Nommo Award and 2022 Afritondo Prize nominee, his works have appeared in Tor: Africa Risen Anthology, Fireside Magazine, Podcastle, Escape Pod, Strange Horizons, Nightmare Magazine, POETRY Magazine, Cossmass Infinities, Flash Fiction Online, Flame Tree Press, OnSpec, Africa In Dialogue, and others. Somto is Original Fiction Manager at Escape Artists. He is an acquiring editor with Android Press and an associate editor with Cast of Wonders. He is an alumnus of the Milford SF Writers ’22, and Voodoonauts ’22, and…

World of Horror: Interview with Erica Couto-Ferreira

Erica Couto-Ferreira is a historian, writer, and translator. She is the author of the horror novelette Hemetia (Arima, 2022) and a bunch of horror and fantasy short stories that have appeared in magazines and anthologies over the years.  As a non-fiction writer, she has published in Spanish the essays Bodies. The other lives of corpses (Kalandraka, 2023), Hell. The underworld in ancient Mesopotamia (Aurora Dorada, 2020) and Infestation. A cultural history of haunted houses (Dilatando Mentes, 2021), which was a finalist of the Ignotus Awards 2022 in the category Best Essay. She has also translated W. G. Pugmire’s book Bohemians…

World of Horror: Interview with Kaaron Warren

Shirley Jackson award-winner Kaaron Warren has published five novels and seven short story collections. She’s sold over 200 short stories to publications big and small around the world and has appeared in Ellen Datlow’s Year’s Best anthologies. Her novel The Grief Hole won all three Australian genre awards. She has lived in Melbourne, Sydney, Fiji and Canberra and her most recent books are The Deathplace Set in Vandal, and Bitters, a novella from Cemetery Dance. She won the inaugural AsylumFest Ghost Story Telling Competition in 2022. What was it about the horror genre that drew you to it? Even as…

World of Horror: Interview with Ross Jeffery

Ross Jeffery Ross Jeffery is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated and 3x Splatterpunk Award-nominated author of The Juniper Trilogy, The Devil's Pocketbook, I Died Too, But They Haven't Buried Me Yet, Only The Stains Remain, Beautiful Atrocities and many more. He has been published in print with a number of anthologies and his short fiction has appeared in various online journals. Ross lives in Bristol with his wife (Anna) and two children (Eva and Sophie). You can follow him on Twitter here @RossJeffery_   What was it about the horror genre that drew you to it? I think what first drew…

World of Horror: Interview with Greg Chapman

  Bram Stoker Award® nominee and multiple Australian Shadows Award nominee Greg Chapman is a horror author and artist based in Queensland, Australia.  Greg is the author of several novels, novellas, and short stories, including his award-nominated debut novel, Hollow House, and collections, Vaudeville and Other Nightmares and This Sublime Darkness and Other Dark Stories. His next book is the collection, Midnight Masquerade, coming this Halloween from IFWG Publishing. He is also a horror artist and designer and his first graphic novel Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times, (McFarland & Company) written by Rocky Wood and Lisa…

World of Horror: Interview with Alan Baxter

Alan Baxter is a multi-award-winning author of horror, supernatural thrillers, and dark fantasy liberally mixed with crime, mystery, and noir. He’s also a martial artist, a whisky-soaked swear monkey, and dog lover. He creates dark, weird stories among dairy paddocks on the beautiful south coast of NSW, Australia. Find Alan online at: https://www.alanbaxteronline.com/. What was it about the horror genre that drew you to it? Honesty. I’ve said many times that horror is the genre of honesty. It doesn’t shy away from harsh truths, it follows the rabbit hole all the way down. No manufactured happy endings, you find truth…

HOLISTIC HORRORS PANEL REPORT: SENSE AND SENSITIVITY & ESSAY: PORTRAYALS OF DEMENTIA IN HORROR

(Trigger Warning: Articles in this column discuss mental health/illness) HOLISTIC HORRORS PANEL REPORT: SENSE AND SENSITIVITY & ESSAY: PORTRAYALS OF DEMENTIA IN HORROR By Lee Murray In this column, I’m pleased to offer a report of the inspirational virtual panel on sensitive treatments of mental illness in horror, a discussion moderated by HWA Wellness co-chair Dave Jeffery and including an expert panel of speakers, which was published in June 2023 at our annual StokerCon convention. Also in this column is a short personal essay incorporating my takeaways from that panel discussion as they relate to three short stories on the…

World of Horror: Introduction to International Horror Month 2023 by Alan Baxter

By Alan Baxter It has long been recognised that the USA is the main focus of attention when it comes to horror fiction. If that hasn’t been noticed by people in North America, it most certainly has by everyone outside the country. But there is a growing interest in horror set beyond America’s shores, and for stories written by authors from other countries and other cultures. One of my most successful books is The Gulp, an unashamedly Australian collection of horror stories set very much in rural New South Wales, Australia. We’ve seen a surge of successful horror from European…

HOLISTIC HORRORS: PANEL REPORT: SENSE AND SENSITIVITY & ESSAY: PORTRAYALS OF DEMENTIA IN HORROR

Written by Lee Murray (Trigger Warning: Articles in this column discuss mental health/illness) In this column, I’m pleased to offer a report of the inspirational virtual panel on sensitive treatments of mental illness in horror, a discussion moderated by HWA Wellness co-chair Dave Jeffery and including an expert panel of speakers, which was published in June 2023 at our annual StokerCon convention. Also in this column is a short personal essay incorporating my takeaways from that panel discussion as they relate to three short stories on the subject of dementia and caregiving: Dave Jeffery’s “Once” which is published in its…

MHI: HOW HORROR CAN OFFER SOLACE

The following post contains this writer’s individual experiences and opinions.  This post should not be interpreted as mental health diagnosis or treatment. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please contact your nearest mental health center or local emergency services.  Written by Nicole Henning [Trigger Warning: This article addresses mental health/illness] Straining to see in the darkness, the slightest shift of light looks like movement in the perpetual gloom. Your ears are homing in on any sound for an indication of what direction the impending danger could come from. In this experience of veritable sensory deprivation, you may find…

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,…

NUTS & BOLTS: INTERVIEW WITH “THE HORROR ZINE” JEANI RECTOR

By Tom Joyce If you ever get despondent over the state of the publishing industry, think of Jeani Rector. Alarmed about all the publications closing after the economic collapse of 2008, she decided to start The Horror Zine—now in its 14th successful year. In this month’s edition of Nuts & Bolts, Jeani talks about how she got started, what makes for a good author/editor relationship, and what she looks for in a submission.   Q: How did The Horror Zine get started? A: Back “in the day”, I used to write fiction and submit it to various magazines and ezines.…

Announcing HWA POETRY SHOWCASE X Selectees

Congratulations to all the poets and poems that made the HWA Poetry Showcase X, and thank you to everyone who submitted. There were nearly 300 poems submitted, all excellent. It was difficult to whittle down to just 50 poets. For everyone not on this list, you should feel proud. If we could include all 300 submissions we would. Each of these poems was worth it. Thank you to this year's judges: Eugen Bacon, Katherine Quevedo, Colleen Anderson and Timothy Flynn for all their hard work that went into creating this list. I appreciate everything you did. Next year Showcase 11…

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…

Jonathan Lees Announces Final Frame Audience Award Winner

After this weekend's online screening, where 96 more people enjoyed The 8th Annual Final Frame Horror Short Film Competition, we have a winner of the AUDIENCE AWARD! David Yorke's new comedy-horror film, Eric. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see David recognized here. He is a UK filmmaker and a three-time finalist for Final Frame with the films Eject (Final Frame Finalist, 2020), Safekeeping (Final Frame Finalist, 2021) and now...   ERIC Director: David Yorke Writer: David Yorke UNITED KINGDOM / 2022 Joshua finally gets to meet Eric, the beloved dog of a girl he’s been dating. As the evening evolves,…

StokerCon®️2023 Thank Yous

The HWA Board of Trustees would like to thank the following for their participation in StokerCon®️2023: The Guests of Honor: Owl Goingback, Jewelle Gomez, Alma Katsu, Daniel Kraus, Cynthia Pelayo, and Wrath James White. Your kindness, wisdom, and positive energy shone through all weekend. We hope you will join us again someday soon. The Con Chairs: Mike Arnzen, Ben Rubin, and Sara Tantlinger — for the countless hours of preparation that went into the con. The whole weekend was full of warmth and camaraderie, due in no small part to you. Every volunteer – both for StokerCon and the HWA,…

Nuts & Bolts: Interview With Screenplay Writer John Penney

By Tom Joyce Even literary legends can make a bad call sometimes. John Penney discovered that when he disregarded some early career advice from famous author Ray Bradbury, to the effect that he should give screenwriting a pass if he wanted to be a serious author.  Fortunately, John proved Mr. Bradbury wrong, and has spent the past 30 years producing horror in one form or another as an award-winning screenwriter, director, novelist, and short-story writer. In this edition of “Nuts & Bolts,” John shares some of his insights on novel and screenplay writing.    Q: What are the main differences between…

A Point of Pride: Interview with Robert Levy

ROBERT LEVY's novel The Glittering World was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award as well as the Lambda Literary Award, while shorter work has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nightmare, Black Static, The Dark, Shadows & Tall Trees, Autumn Cthulhu, FOUND: An Anthology of Found Footage Horror Stories, The Best Horror of the Year, The Year's Best Hardcore Horror, and The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction, among others. His debut story collection No One Dies from Love: Dark Tales of Loss and Longing was published by Word Horde in May. A Harvard graduate subsequently trained…

A Point of Pride: Interview with Mae Murray

Mae Murray is a writer and editor hailing from Arkansas, now living in eerie New England. She contributes essays and criticism to horror-centric websites, including Fangoria and Dread Central. She is the recipient of a 2022 Brave New Weird award for the Superior Achievement in Short Fiction for her story “The Imperfection” (Shortwave Magazine) and has been published in horror fiction anthologies and nonfiction collections. The Book of Queer Saints Volume I was her editing debut. Volume II is set to be released Halloween 2023. Her debut novel I'm Sorry If I Scared You is due Spring 2024. She owns…