A Point of Pride: Interview with James Bennett

James Bennett is a British writer raised in Sussex and South Africa. His travels have furnished him with an abiding love of diverse cultures, history, and mythology. His short fiction has appeared internationally and his debut novel 'Chasing Embers' was shortlisted for Best Newcomer at the British Fantasy Awards 2017. His latest fiction can be found in the well-received 'The Book of Queer Saints', BFS Horizons and The Dark magazine. He also has a story in 'There's More of Us Than You Know', a new anthology from Bloodrites Books in support of The Trevor Project, the world's largest suicide prevention…

MHI: EVICTION NOTICE by Fleur Bradley

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. EVICTION NOTICE Fleur Bradley THIS SERVES AS A NOTICE. I see you there across the…

MHI: A CONFESSIONAL: WHY I WILL NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE AND SPEND ALL MY TIME WRITING HORROR by Terrie Leigh Relf

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. A CONFESSIONAL: WHY I WILL NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE AND SPEND ALL MY TIME WRITING…

A Point of Pride: Interview with Steve Berman

Steve Berman is the Lambda Literary Award-winning editor and publisher behind Lethe Press, one of the oldest queer and weird publishers around. He has sold over a hundred articles and short stories. His novel, Vintage, about an adolescent boy who meets the ghost of his dream and discovers this leads to nightmares, was a finalist for the Andre Norton Award. Steve released a collection of gay horror stories last year--Fit for Consumption received a starred review from Kirkus and praise from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. Steve works for Deerfield Academy, an eminent boarding school in Western Massachusetts. There may…

MHI: ESCAPING THE HORROR OF DISABILITY AND MENTAL HEALTH by Brandon Ketchum

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. ESCAPING THE HORROR OF DISABILITY AND MENTAL HEALTH Brandon Ketchum When you’re diagnosed with a…

MHI: MOURNING THE MANUSCRIPT. by Lara Frater

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.   MOURNING THE MANUSCRIPT. Lara Frater November 1, 2016 I start Stand Clear of the…

A Point of Pride: Interview with Cody Sisco

Cody Sisco is an author, editor, publisher, and literary community organizer. His LGBT psychological science fiction series includes two novels thus far, Broken Mirror and Tortured Echoes. He is a freelance editor specializing in genre-bending fiction and an editor for Running Wild Press. In 2017, he co-founded Made in L.A. Writers, an indie author co-op dedicated to the support and appreciation of independent authors. His startup BookSwell is a literary events and media production company dedicated to lifting up marginalized voices and connecting readers and writers in Southern California and beyond. He serves as a Co-Executive on the Board of Governors for the Editorial Freelancers Association and as…

MHI: WHERE A MONSTER BELONGS by S. Alessandro Martinez

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. WHERE A MONSTER BELONGS S. Alessandro Martinez The monster. The alien. The creature. Whether it…

MHI: HORROR IS MY LIFE by Nicole Henning

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. HORROR IS MY LIFE Nicole Henning I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been…

A Point of Pride: Interview with Lucy A. Snyder

Lucy A. Snyder is the Shirley Jackson Award-nominated and five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of 15 books and over 100 published short stories. Her most recent titles are the collections Halloween Season and Exposed Nerves (both from Raw Dog Screaming Press) and the forthcoming apocalyptic horror novel Sister, Maiden, Monster (Tor Nightfire). She lives in Ohio with a jungle of houseplants, a clowder of cats, and an insomnia of housemates. What inspired you to start writing? I wanted to become a writer pretty much from the moment I became an avid reader. And Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time was…

MHI: ADVERSITY DOESN’T NECESSARILY INTRODUCE US TO OURSELVES, BUT FEAR DOES: A REFLECTION by Amanda Worthington

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. ADVERSITY DOESN’T NECESSARILY INTRODUCE US TO OURSELVES, BUT FEAR DOES: A REFLECTION Amanda Worthington Fear…

Update Regarding Scam Emails

Notice to HWA Members When you fill out your profile on WildApricot, you set both "Public" and "Private" information. Members see more than the public, but the public can get your email if you put it in the "Public" section. This can be beneficial to you if an agent or other professional is looking to contact you. The drawback is you may receive the occasional spam email. We rarely have this happen, but it does. As many of you are aware, we recently were affected by a spam email message. As a reminder, if you received this message, claiming you've…

MHI: CCD, OR WHY I KEEP TAKING THE PILLS SO MANY OF YOU IDIOTS SAY I WOULDN’T NEED IF I JUST TOUCHED THE GRASS MORE by Anton Cancre

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. CCD, OR WHY I KEEP TAKING THE PILLS SO MANY OF YOU IDIOTS SAY I…
A Point of Pride: Interview with Robert Perez

A Point of Pride: Interview with Robert Perez

Robert Perez sleeps at the bottom of the ocean. Urban legend whispers that the writer can be summoned into your dreams if you read his work to a jack-o-lantern. You can find his poems and stories in the Horror Writers Association Poetry Showcase Volumes II, III, IV (Special Mention), and V, The Literary Hatchet #13 & #14, Deadlights Magazine #1, Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove, and Community of Magic Pens. He is currently working on obtaining a master’s degree in counseling psychology at the University of Colorado Denver. Follow @_TheLeader on twitter to keep up with future projects. What inspired you…

MHI: THIS WRETCHED CURSE by Brýn Grover

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. THIS WRETCHED CURSE Brýn Grover It’s hard to differentiate What’s real or an imagined weight…

Warning: Email Scam Alert

  The HWA is aware members are being sent unsolicited emails from a company claiming they’ve selected people for a medical writing interview, or some variant. Of course, these did not originate and have not been okayed by the HWA. DO NOT REPLY! Other writing organizations are also reporting their memberships have been targeted. Sit tight, don’t reply, and our web team are looking into this now. We will make any further statements necessary as we discover more.  

MHI: AGORAPHOBIA by Kerry E.B. Black

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. AGORAPHOBIA Kerry E.B. Black (Wishing peace for those afflicted, especially my little Bear.) From an…

A Point of Pride: Interview with Edwin Brightwater

Edwin Brightwater lives in Taiwan. He was born in New Zealand in the 1970s and educated mostly in Australia. His native language is English. He is also fluent in Chinese, having learned the language in his late twenties. Edwin Brightwater writes horror and suspense fiction that incorporates the unreal—gothic, dark urban fantasy, the paranormal and the magical, thrilling stories of things bizarre, grotesque, or utterly impossible. His favorite authors are Virginia Woolf and Jane Austen and his oldest inspiration is “Doctor Who.” His preferred pastime is reading. His pseudonymous pen name, Edwin Brightwater, reflects his ancestry in the South Island…

MHI: THE WORD FLESHIE by Liam Burke

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 WORD FLESHIE Liam Burke “You made too many mistakes, Jane,” Peterson said. “You’ll have…

MHI: POSTSCRIPT POSTMORTEM by Ken MacGregor

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. POSTSCRIPT POSTMORTEM Ken MacGregor Dear Spouse, I don’t remember our vows, specifically. I do remember…