Women in Horror Month – Interview with Angel Leigh McCoy

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Angel Leigh McCoy who won the Silver Hammer award in 2010 for volunteer work.   Tell us a little about your experience with the Horror Writers Association and how it has influenced your own writing. ALM: I could never express all the ways the HWA has influenced me as a writer. I’m sure there are even ways I’m unaware of. Here’s just a few that come to mind, in no particular order: I have found mentors who have taught…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Maria Alexander

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Maria Alexander, who won the Bram Stoker Award in 2014 for her first novel, Mr. Wicker.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? MA: Thanks so much for having me! Mr. Wicker’s history is long and torturous. It started many years ago as a novelette that I very quickly adapted to a screenplay, which, in turn, was a Quarterfinalist in the Academy Nicholls Fellowships in Screenwriting.…
Love is a Disease: Prevent the Romantic Storyline from Strangling the Scary

Love is a Disease: Prevent the Romantic Storyline from Strangling the Scary

Ever wonder why some books get the horror classification, while others—sometimes with similar plotlines and the exact same monsters—get labeled paranormal romance? The difference is easy—the former has the primary goal of scary, and the latter focuses on a romantic relationship (to the degree that the plots rely on it to function). The real question, then, concerns the tipping point between the two genres, the point at which your young adult novel is less terror and more Twilight. First, a caveat: There’s nothing wrong with paranormal romance; it’s simply a different genre from horror (and the two genres frequently have…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Marge Simon

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Marge Simon who won the Bram Stoker Award for poetry in 2013 for Four Elements, in 2012 for Vampires, Zombies & Wanton Souls, and in 2007 for VECTORS: A Week in the Death of a Planet.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? MS: 2007: My first was collaboration with the legendary writer/poet Charlee Jacob, VECTORS: A Week in the Death of a Planet” and it…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Lisa Mannetti

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Lisa Mannetti, who won the Bram Stoker Award in 2008 for her first novel, The Gentling Box.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? LM: The Gentling Box is set in 19th century Hungary and Romania and is the story of Imre, a half-Rom and Hungarian horse trader who is beset by his mother-in-law, a villainous sorceress named Anyeta who relentlessly pursues him and his family…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Corrine De Winter

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Corrine De Winter, who won the Bram Stoker Award in 2004 for her poetry collection, “The Women At The Funeral.” Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? CD: My collection of poetry “The Women At The Funeral” was the Stoker Award Winner. I have always leaned toward the dark side in my writing, and this collection was inspired by many writers and as usual, my own experiences…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Rena Mason

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Rena Mason, who won the Bram Stoker award in 2014 for her short story, “Ruminations,” in 2013 for her first novel, The Evolutionist, and won the Silver Hammer Award in 2014 for volunteer work. Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? RM: I wrote The Evolutionist in Olympia, Washington after moving from Las Vegas where I’d lived for nearly a decade. Writing the story was a catharsis of the time I’d…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Sèphera Girón

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Sèphera Girón who won the Silver Hammer award for volunteer work in 2008. Tell us a little about your experience with the Horror Writers Association and how it has influenced your own writing. SG: I joined the Horror Writers Association when it was Horror Writers of America back around 1992 or so. I was one of the ones, back when we used to hang out on an online platform called "Genie" through the SFF-NET community, that rallied for a…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Elizabeth Massie

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Elizabeth Massie, who won the Bram Stoker award in 1990 for her short fiction, “Stephen,” and in 1992 for her first novel, Sineater.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction?  I’ve won the Bram Stoker Award twice, for my first novel Sineater and my novella, “Stephen.” Sineater was inspired, believe it or not, by a made-for-TV movie in which Lindsay Wagner played a nurse who went…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Ellen Datlow

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors and editors. Following is an interview with Ellen Datlow, who has won the Bram Stoker award multiple times for anthologies including: The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror, 13th Annual Collection with Terri Windling (2000); The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, 17th Annual Collection with Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant (2004); Haunted Legends with Nick Mamatas (2010); and Fearful Symmetries (2014). She also won the Lifetime Achievement Award (2010). Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the…

The Scholarship From Hell is now open to applications!

NOW OPEN TO APPLICATIONS! The Scholarship From Hell is the only scholarship offered by HWA that puts the recipient right into the intensive, hands-on workshop environment of Horror University. Horror University takes place during HWA’s  StokerCon 2017 aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach CA April 27-30. The winner of the Scholarship From Hell will receive domestic coach airfare (contiguous 48 states) to and from Long Beach, a 4 night stay on the Queen Mary,  free registration to StokerCon2017, and as many workshops as you’d like to attend! Be sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter so you don’t miss…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Paula Guran

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors and editors. Following is an interview with Paula Guran, who won the Bram Stoker award in 1998 and 1999 for her non-fiction work, “DarkEcho.” Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? PG: It was a very long time ago. At the time it was notable for things that may not seem remarkable now. I was the first person to be given “active” status on professional digital credits alone. The awards were for…

The Seers’ Table – February 2017

The Seers Table! Kate Jonez, Diverse Works Inclusion Committee Member Thank you for joining us at the Seers’ Table for February 2017. We have some wonderful recommendations for you this month. Welcome new Diverse Works Inclusion Committee members (The committee behind The Seers’ Table) Andrew Wolter, Lauren Candia, and Michael Paul Gonzalez. Ace Antonio Hall recommends: Darlene Black is Philadelphia-born, which she uses as the backdrop for her debut work, Necromancy. She is working on a second novel, Hollis Hill.           Necromancy: Mauly Basterville is a sophisticated architect, who is contemplating calling off his engagement to…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Kathe Koja

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Kathe Koja, who won the Bram Stoker award in 1991 for her novel The Cipher.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? KK: THE CIPHER was my first novel, and its genesis is as inscrutable as all fiction, as the Funhole it presents as a fact—who knows where the stories come from? I don’t think in terms of genre when I write, so I discovered that THE…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Linda Addison

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Linda Addison, who has won four Bram Stoker Awards for her poetry collections: Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes (2001); Being Full of Light, Insubstantial (2007); How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend (2011); and Four Elements with Charlee Jacob, Marge Simon and Rain Graves (2014).   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? LA: I won my first Bram Stoker for my poetry collection Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Nancy Etchemendy

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Nancy Etchemendy, who won the Bram Stoker Award for her short fiction, "Nimitseahpah," in 2004; Young Readers novel, The Power of Un, in 2000; and Young Readers short story, "Bigger Than Death," in 1998.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? NE: Two of my Stoker-award-winning works, “Bigger than Death” (1998) and “The Power of Un” (2000), won in the “Work for Young Readers” category, which was very…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Mercedes M. Yardley

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting daily interviews with award-winning authors. Starting off the month is an interview with Mercedes M. Yardley, who won the Bram Stoker Award in 2015 for her long fiction piece, Little Dead Red.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? MMY: My winning piece was a novella titled Little Dead Red. LDR is a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood that’s deeply rooted in real tragedies. It has to do with sexual abuse, kidnapping, guilt, revenge,…
Peekaboo with the Devil: Strategies for Hiding and Revealing Your Antagonist

Peekaboo with the Devil: Strategies for Hiding and Revealing Your Antagonist

Just like any relationship, the special bond between a horror protagonist and her antagonist benefits from a little bit of mystery. In this case, the hero is a proxy for your readers, and the mystery comes from your story’s scariest villain, be it a human serial killer or a demonic creature or the mad scientist who, when left unattended for a few minutes, will inevitably create a horrific zombie plague. There are a host of reasons why keeping your baddie cards close to your chest can help your story’s tension and overall terror levels. Obviously, if your plot line is…

The Poets on the 2016 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot

Congratulations to everyone on the 2016 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot! Most especially, congratulations to the poets on the 2016 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot!!! Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection: Betts, Matt – Underwater Fistfight (Raw Dog Screaming Press) Boston, Bruce and Manzetti, Alessandro – Sacrificial Nights (Kipple Officina Libraria) Collings, Michael R. – Corona Obscura: Poems Dark and Elemental (self-published) Cowen, David E. – The Seven Yards of Sorrow (Weasel Press) DiLouie, Craig and Moon, Jonathan – Children of God: Poems, Dreams, and Nightmares from the Family of God Cult (ZING Communications, Inc., Jonathan Moon.) Gailey, Jeannine Hall…

First Recipients of the Young Adult Write Now Endowment Announced

First Recipients of the Young Adult Write Now Endowment: The Horror Writers Association (HWA), the premier organization of writers and publishers of horror and dark fantasy and home of the iconic Bram Stoker Awards®, is proud to announce the first-ever recipients of the annual Young Adults Write Now endowments. Each of the following five libraries will receive $500 to help fund teen writing programs as part of the HWA’s ongoing dedication to furthering young adult literacy. The W. T. Bland Public Library – Mount Dora, FL Dreadful Teen Writing Program, administered by Cathy Jones, Adult Services Librarian The Louisiana, Missouri…