From HWA President on COVID-19

To everyone in our community: We are as concerned as you are as the events are unfolding surrounding this unprecedented pandemic. The safety of every person is our priority. Many have asked about our upcoming public events. Our appearance at the Los Angeles Times Festival of books has been postponed until October. Most, if not all of our chapters worldwide have canceled their upcoming meetings through at least the end of this month, and we are working with them to develop “virtual” meeting spaces that will allow our communities to continue to communicate. As to StokerCon, which is scheduled to…

The Seers’ Table March 2020

Linda D. Addison, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community March contains Extraterrestrial Abductions Day, a good day to stay in and discover some new authors. Theresa Derwin introduces: Suyi Davies Okungbowa is a Nigerian author of fantasy, science fiction, and horror inspired by his West-African origins. He has a great track record of short stories in various markets including Tor.com, Lightspeed, Nightmare, Strange Horizons, Fireside, Podcastle, The Dark, and anthologies like Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, A World of Horror (Dark Moon Books, 2018), and People of Colour Destroy Science Fiction (Lightspeed, 2017). Okungbowa’s debut novel, David Mogo:…
4th Annual HWA Librarian’s Day

4th Annual HWA Librarian’s Day

The Horror Writers Association and ARRT present the 4th Annual HWA Librarians' Day, a day-long continuing education event featuring authors, reviewers, publishers, and librarians from all over the country. Whether you are a fan of horror or find it petrifying, all library workers will learn about matching books with readers. Sign up with Eventbrite All attendees get lunch, swag and free books. Sponsored by: NoveList, Library Reads, Flame Tree Press, Sourcebooks, and Cemetery Dance

2019 Specialty Press Award Recipient Named

The HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION is delighted to announce the recipients of this year’s Speciality Press Award to SST Publications. 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 Specialty Press Award annually to a publisher whose work has substantially influenced the horror and dark fantasy genres. HWA employs a hard-working committee for the selection process and recipients are chosen through…

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…