Halloween Haunts: Weird Women Take on Halloween: Five Early Halloween Works by Women by Lisa Morton

When we remember holiday ghost tales, we probably go to Charles Dickens and the most famous ghost story of them all, “A Christmas Carol”. Think about Halloween stories, and you might imagine that you’d have to wait until at least the mid-twentieth century, when Robert Bloch and Ray Bradbury rolled around. But here’s one of those historical bits that even the most knowledgeable horror fan might have missed: many of the earliest stories about Halloween were by women. That’s right, not long after Dickens tormented Scrooge with Christmas ghosts, his feminine counterparts were setting their spirits loose on Halloween. After…

Latinx Horror: Interview with Guadalupe García McCall

Guadalupe García McCall is the author of four award-winning YA novels, some stories, and many poems. Among the many accolades bestowed upon her works, her debut novel, UNDER THE MESQUITE, received the prestigious Pura Belpre Author Award and her second book, SUMMER OF THE MARIPOSAS, was an Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Finalist. Though she calls Texas home, she is an Assistant Professor of English at George Fox University and resides with her husband in the Pacific Northwest. Her next book, THE KEEPER, is due from Harper Collins on January 25, 2022. What inspired you…

Latinx Heritage in Horror: Interview with Romina Garber

Romina Garber is a New York Times and international bestselling author whose books include Lobizona & the ZODIAC series. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and raised in Miami, Florida, Romina landed her first writing gig as a teen—College She Wrote, a weekly Sunday column for the Miami Herald that was later picked up for national syndication—and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She is a graduate of Harvard College and a Virgo to the core. Find her online at: IG: @rominagarber https://rominagarber.com/about/ Twitter: @rominarussell FB: @rominabooks What inspired you to start writing? I was born in Buenos Aires, and I immigrated…

HWA Welcomes Jeff Oliver, bringing Slasher to the Social Media Team

We are excited to welcome Jeff Oliver, the newest member to our Social Media Team, who is helping us birth into existence our very newest social media platform presence on Slasher! For those unfamiliar Slasher, it is an 18+ social network specifically designed for the horror community, our fandom and our content creators. It is a place for horror fans to connect with authors, artists, movies, music, and podcasts, and as such, increasingly, we find our members popping up over there. And so, have established a presence in order to better serve and connect with both HWA members and the…

Latinx Horror: Interview with Gaby Triana

Biography Gaby Triana is the bestselling author of 18 novels for adults and teens, including Moon Child, the Haunted Florida series (Island of Bones, River of Ghosts, City of Spells), Cakespell, Wake the Hollow, Summer of Yesterday, and Paradise Island: A Sam and Colby Story. Her short stories have appeared in the Classic Monsters Unleashed Anthology, Don't Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute Anthology to Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Weird Tales Magazine (Issue #365). Also the host of a YouTube channel, The Witch Haunt, Gaby writes about witchy powers, ghosts, haunted places, and abandoned…

#DisneyMustPlay Update

Over on Writer Beware, @victoriastrauss gives a clear and concise update of what's happening with the #DisneyMustPay Task Force.

Latinx Horror: Interview with David Bowles

Biography David Bowles is a Mexican American author and translator from the US-Mexico border, where he teaches at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Among his award-winning books are Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico, Lords of the Earth, and the graphic novel series Clockwork Curandera. His work has also been published in multiple anthologies, plus venues such as The New York Times, Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine, and Rattle. Find him online at www.davidbowles.us. What inspired you to start writing? My Mexican American family (and our larger community) has longstanding, rich oral traditions. And in my…

Latinx Horror: Interview with Charlie Vázquez

Charlie Vázquez is the author of the novel Contraband (2010, Rebel Satori), the collection Fantasmas: Puerto Rican Tales of the Dead (CV Publishing, 2020), and other books. He’s the former New York City coordinator for Puerto Rico’s Festival de la Palabra and was awarded a Commendation from the City of New York in 2014 for his contributions to Latino literary heritage. Charlie is a founding member of Latino Rebels and a certified mindfulness meditation instructor in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, as taught by David Nichtern. Find him online at www.charlievazquez.com What inspired you to start writing? My maternal…

Chapter News

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) would like to welcome Shawnna Deresch, Carol Gyzander, and Rosemary Thorne as its new Chapter Program Managers. Although they share responsibilities across the board, Shawnna and Carol will focus on the U.S. Chapters, while Rosemary will focus on our international Chapters. They have already been doing amazing things with the program, and we love working with them. Thank you, Shawnna, Carol, & Rosemary! The HWA is a worldwide organization with more than 1500 members around the globe. We encourage local chapters, which provide important face-to-face interaction as well as a wide range of possible local…

Officer Election Results 2021

The Horror Writers Association held its annual election from September 7th through September 15th, 2021. Our members have voted and we are pleased to share the results. We welcome four Trustee positions, a new Treasurer, and the re-election of our Vice President Meghan Arcuri. The elected officers shall hold their respective offices for terms of two years. Their terms officially begin—appropriately enough—on October 31st at midnight. I’d like to thank our Election Team Volunteers Nicole Kurtz, Jamal Hodge, Angel Leigh McCoy, and Verifiers: Sumiko Saulson and Lindy Ryan. I’d also like to thank our outgoing Treasurer Les Klinger and Trustees…

Latinx Horror: Interview with Cynthia Pelayo

Biography Cynthia “Cina” Pelayo is a two-time Bram Stoker Awards® nominated poet and author. She is the author of LOTERIA, CHILDREN OF CHICAGO was released by Agora / Polis Books in 2021. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Columbia College, a Master of Science in Marketing from Roosevelt University, a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is a Doctoral Candidate in Business Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Find her online at www.CinaPelayo.com or on Twitter @cinapelayo. What inspired you to start writing? Ultimately, when…

Library Committee Members Announced

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to introduce the members of our Library Committee: Becky Spratford and Konrad Stump! The Library Committee has been working with specific libraries to help them identify authors in their areas who are also HWA members for book discussions, author panels, and even to host writing workshops. They are here to help increase our members’ visibility in libraries. If you have an idea, they want to hear about it. Please feel free to reach out any time by emailing them at libraries@horror.org Becky Spratford is a library consultant and the author of The Readers’…

Latinx Horror: Interview with E. Reyes

E. Reyes is the author of the novel The House on Moon Creek Avenue, and the anthologies Devil’s Hill, Strange Tales of the Macabre, and The Halloween Grindhouse. His works are included in Pulp Harvest (edited by Nick Harper), Latinx Screams (edited by Cina Pelayo and V. Castro), and Trump: Utopia or Dystopia? (edited by JF Garrard and Jen Frankel). Reyes lives in the city Devil’s Hill is based on with his wife and three kids, keeping it spooky. What inspired you to start writing? I was inspired by the Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine. As soon as I started…

Setting Up a Social Media Program for HWA Chapters

by Alp Beck, James Chambers, Amy Grech, and Ben Monroe One of the great resources of the HWA lies in the regional chapters. Having local folks working on the same sorts of projects is a great way to brainstorm, ask advice, and stay accountable to your writing goals. But what about promotion? How can the regional chapters help their members to promote their works? While the global HWA has promotional opportunities for all members, not a lot has been done by the regional chapters. Many hands make short work, as the saying goes. So if you’re a member of a…

Scholarship Announcement 2021

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) offers a variety of scholarships and grants to assist writers looking to pursue a career as a writer of horror fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. We also have an endowment program for libraries looking to expand their young adult reading programs. This year, the HWA awarded 14 scholarships/grants/endowments, with a total value of $10,500 (USD). The HWA is pleased to announce the winners of each award. The Horror Writers Association Scholarship Shannon DeAnne Lawrence A fan of all things fantastical and frightening, Shannon Lawrence writes primarily horror and fantasy. Her stories can be found in over…

Other Terrors Anthology Announces Line-Up

It’s been a long road, but the day is finally upon us. After many months of reading and re-reading member submissions and editorial deliberations for the HWA’s upcoming OTHER TERRORS: AN INCLUSIVE ANTHOLOGY project, we are pleased to make this final, exciting announcement. We are thrilled to announce that although we were slated to select five-member submissions, we worked hard to open up space for ten, doubling the presence of HWA members in our TOC. 22 short stories, 2 poems, 15 female contributors, 9 male—each bringing a unique perspective to this universal theme of “otherness” from the diversity of their…
Happy Hispanic / Latinx Heritage Month!

Happy Hispanic / Latinx Heritage Month!

Latinx Heritage in Horror Intro by two-time Bram Stoker Awards® nominated poet and author Cynthia “Cina” Pelayo This is a wonderful time to recognize the works and accomplishments of the diverse Latinx horror authors in our community. The horror writing community includes writers with heritage from various Latin American countries including Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and more. Some of our horror writers were born and raised in their country of origin and many were born and raised in the United States, or elsewhere. All of our writers have completely unique and important stories to…

StokerCon 2022 in Denver – Registration Open

Announcing the @StokerCon website launch for StokerCon22! May 12-15, 2022 in Denver, Colorado, USA. Buy your tickets online now! This year, we will have a hybrid convention, and convention goers can attend online or in person. https://www.stokercon.com Thanks to our multi-talented graphic designer and web designer, Gabrielle Faust, for the amazing job she did on the beautiful site. From creating original graphics, to collecting images from past StokerCons, to programming, she did it all. We love the wonderful logo she designed for us this year. 2022 will be our third StokerCon since the start of the pandemic and the first…