YOU WILL NEVER BE FREE OF ME

Trigger Warning: This article addresses mental health. Henry Corrigan is a bestselling author, husband, father, and bisexual creative who loves to write every kind of story. His debut horror novel, A Man in Pieces, won the Silver Medal from Literary Titan and went to #1 in U.S. Horror Fiction on Amazon. Always an avid reader, Henry started writing poetry in middle school, but it wasn’t until he started writing erotica in high school that he really learned the mechanics of writing. What started out as private stories and love letters, soon became publications in anthologies. As a member 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…

2023 Summer Scares Reading List

In celebration of National Library Lover’s Day, the Horror Writers Association (HWA), in partnership with United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Booklist, is delighted to announce the fifth annual Summer Scares reading list, which includes titles selected by a panel of authors and librarians and is designed to promote Horror as a great reading option for all ages and during any time of the year. This year Summer Scares welcomes New York Times Bestselling author, Daniel Kraus as their 2023 spokesperson. "My love of reading began at a public library -- but I had to hunt for the horror,” said…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Vaughn A. Jackson

Vaughn A. Jackson began writing somewhere around the time he could grasp a writing utensil, and has since authored two novels: Up from the Deep and Touched by Shadows. His writing falls under the speculative fiction umbrella, often blending elements of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association, and lives somewhere outside of Baltimore. When he isn't writing, Vaughn is probably playing video games, watching bad (read: great) science fiction movies, or trying frantically to keep up the guise of being an adult. You can find Vaughn screaming into the void @Blaximillion on…

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 Denise N. Tapscott

California native Denise N. Tapscott left her heart in San Francisco, but somehow left her soul in New Orleans. She recently joined the popular podcast Beef, Wine and Shenanigans with fellow writers Steven Van Patten, Marc Abbott and Kirk A Johnson. As an actress, she can be seen playing the sassy vampire “Tasha” on the YouTube web series The Vamps Next Door. As a member of the HWA, she published her first novel Gypsy Kisses and Voodoo Wishes as well as the short story "The Price of Salvation." Her second novel Enlightening of the Damned is coming soon. What inspired…

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 Kevin Williams

Kevin L. Williams is a husband, father of five, and Gothic Horror author from San Antonio, Texas. A former independent filmmaker, he has written, directed, and edited four indie feature films, numerous screenplays that will never see the light of day, and several Horror novels. This year he is set to publish a Gothic Romance series of novels, another Gothic Horror series, and the first part of his long-gestating YA/Speculative Fiction series. Kevin also hosts a podcast called Speaking of Gothic, where he discusses Gothic Horror movies. Kevin’s links: https://linktr.ee/klwilliamsauthor What inspired you to start writing? As a kid, I…

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…

Call for Papers for the 2023 Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference

The Sixth Annual Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference at StokerCon 2023 Conference Date: Friday, June 16, 2023 Conference Location: Station Square Hotel 300 W Station Square Dr Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Conference Website: https://www.stokercon.com Email: AnnRadcliffeCon@gmail.com The 2023 StokerCon® convention in Pittsburgh promises to be a banner event. In addition to celebrating the birthplace of many aspects of modern horror, this year also represents the bicentenary of Ann Radcliffe’s death, and the publication of the 2nd edition of Frankenstein, the first to bear Mary Shelley’s name. The co-organizers of the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference are eager to embrace and interrogate the potential…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with C.C. Adams

London native C.C. Adams is the horror/dark fiction author behind books such as But Worse Will Come, Forfeit Tissue and Downwind, Alice. A member of the Horror Writers Association, he still lives in the capital. This is where he lifts weights, cooks - and looks for the perfect quote to set off the next dark delicacy. What inspired you to start writing? Firstly, as a member of (Canadian author) Kelley Armstrong’s previous online discussion forum. I’d dabbled in some fanfic based on her work, which was well received. And it was on the same forum that I heard about National…

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…

StokerCon® 2023 Update

With StokerCon® 2023 about four months away, we’re excited to let you know of some important updates. Please read through the information carefully to find out more about panel programming, Librarians’ Day, virtual StokerCon options, the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference, Horror University, and Final Frame! The Registrant Survey for panel programming and other activities and events will be deployed on or about February 10th. It will go to the same email you used to register for StokerCon 2023. StokerCon 2023 will be a hybrid convention and include in-person and online programming. Please keep this in mind when filling out your…

Notable Works from the Mental Health Initiative

Background There is an established link between mental health stigma and poor recovery from mental illness. Stigma is hurtful and demeaning, and drives those who experience it to isolate themselves and deters them from talking about their issues. This, in turn, fosters a climate of deterioration and impedes recovery. Therefore, it is important that, as writers of horror, we recognise this when depicting mental illness in our work. The primary purpose of the Notable Books initiative is to provide the HWA membership with examples of genre literature that balance high quality storytelling with sensitivity and understanding when depicting mental illness…

REVIEW: Riptide by Dan Rabarts

RIPTIDE by DAN RABARTS Short story review by Lee Murray A multiple winner of the Australian Shadows and Sir Julius Vogel Awards, Kiwi Dan Rabarts (Ngāti Porou) is well known in Antipodean horror circles, his body of work comprising novels, novellas, short fiction, screenplays, and poetry. Of these, his short story, “Riptide”, which appears in Simon Dewar’s anthology Suspended in Dusk II (2018, Grey Matter Press), is arguably his most powerful work and my personal favourite. Perhaps the story appeals to me because it is set on a nameless beach in Aotearoa, somewhere that I might have walked myself, or…

REVIEW: Serpent’s Wake by L.E. Daniels

SERPENT’S WAKE by L.E. DANIELS Novel review by Dave Jeffery After twelve years trapped in the throat of a serpent, a girl escapes. She returns to her village naked with a monstrous snakeskin trailing behind her. One decision at a time, she reclaims her life. Each character she encounters by land and sea—brute, healer, orphan, mystic, lover—reflects an unhealed aspect of herself and plots her recovery through symbolic milestones. Serpent’s Wake is intended for adults and young adults exploring how, once fractured, we may mend. As a reader there comes a time when you become so mesmerised in a story,…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is an African speculative fiction writer, editor & publisher from Nigeria. He won the Nebula, Otherwise, Nommo, British & World Fantasy awards and been a finalist in the Hugo, Locus, Sturgeon and British Science Fiction award. His works have appeared in Asimov's, Uncanny Magazine, Tordotcom, Apex, Galaxy's Edge, Strange Horizons and others. He edited the Bridging Worlds, Year's Best African Speculative Fiction anthology and co-edited the Dominion and Africa Risen anthology. He was a CanCon goh and will be the ICFA 44 guest of honour. You can see his latest works here: https://odekpeki.com/2022/09/11/destiny-delayed/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/penprince_ Website: https://odekpeki.com/2022/09/11/2022-awards-eligibility-post-list/…

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 Jewelle Gomez

Jewelle Gomez, (Cabo Verdean/Wampanoag/Ioway; she/her). Her eight books include the first Black Lesbian vampire novel, THE GILDA STORIES, in print for 30 years, and recently optioned by Cheryl Dunye (“Lovecraft Country”) for a mini-series. Her work appears in numerous anthologies including Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African American Diaspora, and Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia Butler. Her plays have been produced in San Francisco and in New York City. Her new collection of poetry is Still Water. TWITTER & Instagram: @VampyreVamp What inspired you to start writing? I think listening to the great storytelling of my…

Halloween in July Fundraiser

In 2023, the Horror Writer Association held the first ever "Halloween in July," a series of special presentations, contests, and more—all to raise money for scholarships, educational programs, and partnerships that support the continued foundations for the horror community. The Horror Writers Association offers eight different scholarship programs and through the annual Halloween in July fundraiser we can continue to support and expand these programs.