HWA 2022 Elections

The HWA’s annual elections will soon be upon us. 

Up this year are three Trustee positions, as well as the offices of President and Secretary. 

Please read the statements of the following candidates carefully. Links to the ballot will be sent out on or around September 7, 2022 to our Active and Lifetime members, with a due date of September 16, 2022. 

The elected officers shall hold their respective offices for terms of two years, beginning on November 1 and ending on October 31.

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The Seers’ Table August 2022

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 the menu item “Our Blogs / Diverse Works”. Linda D. Addison recommends: Tori Eldridge is the national bestselling author of the newly-released dark fiction, Dance Among the Flames, and the Lily Wong mystery thriller series—The Ninja Daughter, The Ninja’s Blade, and The Ninja Betrayed—nominated for the Anthony, Lefty, and Macavity Awards and winner of the 2021 Crimson Scribe Award for Best Book of the Year. Her shorter works appear in the inaugural…

StokerCon™ 2023 Update

StokerCon™ 2023 is slated to be held at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square, from June 15th through the 18th. You can reserve your room now with the link below. The Horror Writers Association has secured a special discounted con rate of $164/night, which applies only from Wednesday through Sunday (6/14-18, 2023) and must be booked using this link before 5/24/2023. Book here: https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1656516386833&key=GRP&app=resvlink The StokerCon™ 2023 website is still a work in progress, but you can find additional hotel information here: https://www.stokercon2023.com/hotel Ticket sales for the Dealers Room are now live on EventBrite with different pricing options: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stokercon-2023-dealers-room-tickets-392810234987…

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…

Congratulations to all the poets who were selected for the annual HWA Poetry Showcase IX

Congratulations Poets! by Angela Yuriko Smith Congratulations to all the poets who were selected for the annual HWA Poetry Showcase IX, especially our featured poets Stephanie M. Wytovich, Geneve Flynn and Naomi Simone Borwein. It was difficult to choose just 50 poems when well over 200 poetry submissions came in this year. I’m grateful for fellow judges Lee Murray, Maxwell I. Gold and Frances Pai for helping me to read all of these and make the hard decisions.  A big thank you to HWA John Palisano for showing support for dark poetry and poets by not only doubling the Showcase…

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) Announces The Release of its Next Publication: The HWA Poetry Showcase, Volume IX

PRESS RELEASE The Horror Writers Association presents its ninth annual poetry showcase featuring a selection of the best original dark poetry from the past year. Edited by Angela Yuriko Smith with judges Lee Murray, Maxwell I. Gold and Frances Lu Pai Ippolito, this year features Stephanie M. Wytovich, Geneve Flynn, and Naomi Simone Borwein as our featured poets. Cover artwork by Kyra Starr. Appreciation to HWA President John Palisano for doubling the payment to poets and awarding poets both payment and a contributor copy instead of poets choosing between two options. The artwork for this year’s cover pays tribute to…

The Business: Tips & Tricks with Vince Liaguno

Greetings from the Dragon’s Lair! I’m very excited to present this mini-series of tips-and-tricks from seasoned publishing professionals for the benefit of members and non-members alike. A little background before we dive into the good stuff! My hope and vision for not only this blog, but these resource columns is to give authors, editors, and publishing professionals who are new to the world of publishing or even seasoned professionals, some resources to look through and reference. We have a fantastic line-up of editors and publishers for our Tips and Tricks Series. I’m pleased to introduce Vince Liaguno! Vince A. Liaguno…

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…

The Seers’ Table July 2022

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”. Lauren Candia recommends: Marytza K. Rubio has an MFA in creative writing: Latin America and was a Bread Loaf scholar. She is the founder of Makara Center for the Arts, a nonprofit library in her hometown of Santa Ana, California. Maria, Maria and Other Stories (April 2022) is Rubio’s debut collection of short stories starring mystics and misfits playing in the…

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…
Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology

Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology

HWA's newest anthology Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology was published by William Morrow Paperbacks on July 19th, 2022. An anthology of original horror stories edited by Bram Stoker Award® winners Vince A. Liaguno and Rena Mason that showcases authors from historically excluded backgrounds telling terrifying tales of what it means to be, or merely to seem, “other.” Offering new stories from some of the biggest names in horror as well as some of the hottest up-and-coming talents, Other Terrors will provide the ultimate reading experience for horror fans who want to examine fear of “the other.” Be they of a…

A Message from the HWA Board of Trustees

We the HWA Board of Trustee listened to your concerns and we care. We understand the need to be clear and do better. Here is our revised statement.... We are acutely aware that we live in a present that is taking away the rights of people, most notably women, people of color, and the LBGTQ+ community. We have been and will continue to actively fight for all of our members, but especially those whose humanity and very existence is being undermined. Horror is a genre driven by emotions. We understand fear, anxiety, and terror all too well. We are here…

HWA Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Series

Tori Eldridge is the Honolulu-born national bestselling author of DANCE AMONG THE FLAMES and the Lily Wong mystery thriller series—THE NINJA DAUGHTER, THE NINJA’S BLADE, and THE NINJA BETRAYED—two-time Anthony Award finalist, nominated for the Lefty and Macavity Awards, and winner of the 2021 Crimson Scribe for Best Book of the Year. Her shorter works appear in the inaugural reboot of WEIRD TALES and numerous anthologies, including Missing on Kaua‘i in CRIME HITS HOME. Her screenplay THE GIFT was a semi-finalist for the Academy Nicholl Fellowship. Before writing, Tori performed as an actress, singer, dancer on Broadway, television, and film,…

MHI: BUKOWSKI’S BROKEN SHOELACE THEORY by Timothy P. Flynn

Trigger Warning: This piece addresses mental health The HWA is pleased to launch its Mental Health Initiative, a coordinated roll-out of events, resources, and activities intended to promote positive mental health, foster the concept of hope, and challenge the stigma of mental illness in the horror genre. The initiative, run by the organization’s Wellness Committee, launches in June, and includes the following blog posts from Of Horror and Hope, a downloadable anthology of poems, flash fiction, and personal reflections on mental health by HWA members.   BUKOWSKI'S BROKEN SHOELACE THEORY Timothy P. Flynn The news headline read, Wife stabbed husband…

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…

MHI: CRUMB by David Curfiss

Trigger Warning: This piece addresses mental health The HWA is pleased to launch its Mental Health Initiative, a coordinated roll-out of events, resources, and activities intended to promote positive mental health, foster the concept of hope, and challenge the stigma of mental illness in the horror genre. The initiative, run by the organization’s Wellness Committee, launches in June, and includes the following blog posts from Of Horror and Hope, a downloadable anthology of poems, flash fiction, and personal reflections on mental health by HWA members.   CRUMB David Curfiss It’s hard to be a kid when the world around you…

MHI: THE ULTIMATE QUESTION by Tony LaMalfa

Trigger Warning: This piece addresses mental health The HWA is pleased to launch its Mental Health Initiative, a coordinated roll-out of events, resources, and activities intended to promote positive mental health, foster the concept of hope, and challenge the stigma of mental illness in the horror genre. The initiative, run by the organization’s Wellness Committee, launches in June, and includes the following blog posts from Of Horror and Hope, a downloadable anthology of poems, flash fiction, and personal reflections on mental health by HWA members.   THE ULTIMATE QUESTION by Tony LaMalfa With strained yet still youthful anticipation, I place…

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…