Females of Fright: Kathy Ptacek

When did you join the HWA? I joined the organization when it first started ... back when it was H.O.W.L. How did you serve the HWA and for how long? I started out doing the market report for the newsletter years and years ago--well, decades! At the time, I was doing my monthly market newsletter, The Gila Queen's Guide to Markets, so that was a logical extension when I stated compiling markets for the HWA Newsletter. Then sometime later, I was asked to edit the newsletter. I was also a mentor for a very long time. Who were/are your biggest…

Females of Fright: Meghan Arcuri

1) When did you join the HWA? I joined the HWA in 2013. 2) How did you serve the HWA and for how long? I was the Social Media Coordinator and Sponsorship Coordinator for both StokerCon 2018 (Providence) and StokerCon 2019 (Grand Rapids). I am currently serving as the Vice President, where I do a number of things, including running the HWA Twitter account and coordinating Quick Bites. 3) Who were/are your biggest influences? My first influence on my writing was my mother. She would proofread all my papers in high school, sharing her vast grammar wisdom with me. (I…

Females of Fright: Marie O’Regan

1) When did you join the HWA? I honestly can’t remember exactly – I first joined maybe ten years ago? My membership lapsed at one point, and I renewed it a couple of years later, but it’s been around ten years overall, I think. 2) How did you serve the HWA and for how long? I took on running the UK Chapter of the HWA, together with my husband, Paul Kane, in December 2015/January 2016. We’re still doing that – in addition to bringing StokerCon over to the UK for the first time in April of this year (https://stokercon-uk.com). We’re…

Females of Fright: Linda Addison

1) When did you join the HWA? I became an active member in July 2000. I waited, in particular, to use my poetry credits because it was important for me to support the HWA poetry initiative, even though I had earlier fiction credits. 2) How did you serve the HWA and for how long? I’ve been on the Board of Trustees since 2009 (and contributed an article for the From the Trenches column each year) and an official Mentor 2015, 2017, and 2019, as well as several HWA Bram Stoker juries. Committees I’ve served on: HWA Committee Scholarships (2016, 2017)…

Females of Fright: Lucy A. Snyder

by Eva Roslin I would like to write about Lucy A. Snyder as being one of the women who I would like to give a special shout-out to during Women in Horror Month. She exemplifies what it is for women to build each other up instead of tearing one another down. She is a consummate professional, dedicated to producing the most excellent writing she has, but also takes time to do teaching as well as coaching. I hired her for editorial as well as coaching services, and it proved to be the single most helpful thing I have done to…

Females of Fright:
Rena Mason and Kathy Ptacek

By Naching T. Kassa It’s Women in Horror month and, as we appreciate all ladies in the genre, I’d like to extend my thanks to two of them. These ladies have influenced my writing and helped me along the way. They are Rena Mason and Kathy Ptacek. When I joined the HWA, I signed up for the mentorship program hoping to acquire a mentor who would help me with my writing, the submission process, and formatting. I was fortunate enough to be assigned the wonderful Rena Mason. Rena was honest and no-nonsense from the start. For a year, she advised…

Females of Fright: Deborah LeBlanc

by JG Faherty Back in 2006, I was still a rather neophyte writer. Although I had a dozen or so short stories under my belt, I certainly wasn't lighting the world on fire. I'd joined the HWA a couple of years earlier, and I decided that it was time to sign up for their mentoring program. I had a novel I'd been trying to sell for 3 years and I knew it needed help. Well, Fate was looking out for me that day, because I got partnered with Deborah LeBlanc as my mentor. For those of you who don't know,…

Females of Fright: Ellen Datlow

As part of our month-long celebration of Women in Horror Month, the HWA reached out to our members who have something special to share about a Woman in Horror from the organization who made a difference in their career or life. We also have conducted short interviews with some of the top women in the horror field. Please check back often, as these will be posted periodically. When did you join the HWA? I have no idea. Is there any place I can look it up? I could trackback to 1996 when I paid dues of $55 but I'm sure…

Females of Fright: Marge Simon

As part of our month-long celebration of Women in Horror Month, the HWA reached out to our members who have something special to share about a Woman in Horror from the organization who made a difference in their career or life. We also have conducted short interviews with some of the top women in the horror field. Please check back often, as these will be posted periodically. When did you join the HWA? 1998 – way long ago. What is your role in the HWA, and for how long have you been in that role? I ran for Trustee Board…

Females of Fright: Lisa Morton

As part of our month-long celebration of Women in Horror Month, the HWA reached out to our members who have something special to share about a Woman in Horror from the organization who made a difference in their career or life. We also have conducted short interviews with some of the top women in the horror field. Please check back often, as these will be posted periodically. When did you join the HWA? How did you serve the HWA and for how long? I'm actually not 100% sure when I joined, but I think it must've been 1992, because Dennis…

Females of Fright: Angel Leigh McCoy

As part of our month-long celebration of Women in Horror Month, the HWA reached out to our members who have something special to share about a Woman in Horror from the organization who made a difference in their career or life. We also have conducted short interviews with some of the top women in the horror field. Please check back often, as these will be posted periodically. When did you join the HWA? Somewhere in the mid-90s, a time that's a blur for me. I was a young writer, just starting out in my career, having published several professional table-top…

2019 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients

The HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION is delighted to announce the recipients of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Awards, presented in alphabetical order: Owl Goingback and Thomas Ligotti. The award will be given during this year’s Bram Stoker Awards ceremony, taking place at Stokercon in Scarborough U.K. from April 16 through April 19, 2020. HWA, the premier organization of writers and publishers of horror and dark fantasy and home of the iconic Bram Stoker Awards®, presents the Lifetime Achievement Award annually to individuals whose work has substantially influenced the horror and dark fantasy genres. While the award is often presented to a writer,…

Grievance Committee

“Where members have a grievance over issues such as plagiarism, with a publisher over a contractual issue, or a similar matter; and that grievance has not been resolved after the member has made reasonable endeavors, the member may approach the HWA Grievance Committee. The Committee will consider the facts and endeavor to assist the Member in getting a satisfactory resolution.” - HWA Member Handbook Function HWA Grievance Committee is established to provide an avenue within the organization where members may freely and openly inform the association of events that may negatively affect the organization or its members. The Chairman of…

Open Submission Calls

All Horror Writer Association open submissions calls are closed at this time. Watch our social media for new opportunities. Be sure to check out our past HWA publications. HWA’s literary projects are represented by Alec Shane (ashane@writershouse.com) at Writers House.

How to Recommend a Work

Any member of HWA may recommend works for the Bram Stoker Award®. If you’re uncertain about the work’s eligibility, please check the rules first. You may not recommend your own work to the membership at large. You may only recommend someone else’s that you enjoyed. Sign in to the Members-Only area of the site and look in the right column for the red button to submit a recommendation. You must be logged in.

The Seers’ Table February 2020

The Seers Table January 31, 2020 by HWAWeb Linda D. Addison, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community February is a great time to show some love for creators.   Ace Antonio-Hall introduces: Mike Robinson is the author of nine books: eight novels and one collection of short stories, all touching on the realms of the psychological, the metaphysical, the strange. A native of Los Angeles, he is also an editor of the magazine Literary Landscapes for the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, or GLAWS. Recommended work from: The Green Eyed Monster. Martin Smith and John Becker: bestselling authors with ordinary names and extraordinary minds. Rivals…

2019 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot Announced

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to release the Preliminary Ballot for the 2019 Bram Stoker Awards®. The HWA (see https://horror.org/) is the premiere writers organization in the horror and dark fiction genre, with over 1,600 members. We have presented the Bram Stoker Awards®in various categories since 1987 (see http://www.thebramstokerawards.com/). Works on this ballot are not referred to as “nominees” or “finalists”. Only works appearing on the Final Ballot may be referred to as “nominated works” and their authors as “finalists”. The HWA Board of Trustees and the Bram Stoker Awards® Committee congratulate all those appearing on the Preliminary Ballot. Notes about the…

Moanaria’s Fright Club Launch

In 2017, Moaner T. Lawrence, former Assistant Editor at Pseudopod, proposed an online writing group for horror writers to the HWA. To date, the workshop’s thirty members, nicknamed Fright Club, continue to produce work and have had eighteen publications. Immense demand for the workshop has necessitated that Moaner re-organize into a private company, Moanaria. Moanaria’s Fright Club is now open to applications from the general public. Public applications cost $300 plus a $20 deposit to ensure that members complete their work on time. HWA members will pay $85 plus a $20 deposit. Visit Moanaria's here to learn more about the…