Halloween Haunts: Bloody Mary by James Chambers

Halloween Haunts: Bloody Mary by James Chambers

As far as I know, no student ever saw inside the room with the yellow, rippled glass window. The only one on the second floor of St. James School not part of a classroom row, the window glared down like an angry eye at the parking lot where we played every day during recess. I never found the room it belonged to before I left there for another school, because where it fell between classrooms, no door or other feature existed to explain it. That alone inspired plenty of speculation amongst my third grade class, but the faded red stains…

The Bram Stoker Awards®

About the Bram Stoker Awards Submitting a Work for the Bram Stoker Awards Prior Winners and Nominees RULES Complete Bram Stoker Award Rules (PDF)   About the Bram Stoker Awards Each year, the Horror Writer's Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work, Dracula. The Bram Stoker Awards were instituted immediately after the organization's incorporation in 1987. To ameliorate the competitive nature of any award system, the Bram Stoker Awards are given "for superior achievement," not for "best of the year," and the rules are deliberately designed…
Halloween Haunts Coming on October 1!

Halloween Haunts Coming on October 1!

Beginning on October 1st and running through the entire month, HWA will once again present its annual Halloween Haunts blog series, with posts about history and Halloween from HWA's members, book excerpts, and lots of great giveaways you won't want to miss!
Newsletter Ads – Get your product in front of our members

Newsletter Ads – Get your product in front of our members

Our newsletter is available online to all members. IMPORTANT: Ad requests should be submitted between the 5th and 18th of each month. Full Page Ad 650px wide by any height ($25) (.png, .jpg, or .gif)   Deadline The cut-off for each month is the 15th of the previous month. Purchase your ad and get the file to us by the 15th or it will have to go in the following month's newsletter. Example: Ad ordered and file submitted by midnight 10/15 ==> ad appears in November issue. Ad ordered and file submitted 10/16 or later ==> ad appears in December…
What HWA Has Done for Me by Annie Neugebauer

What HWA Has Done for Me by Annie Neugebauer

When I was starting out as a horror writer in 2008, I hadn’t yet heard about the Horror Writers Association (though I had heard of the Bram Stoker Awards, as the winners list provided much of my reading material). But after a couple of years of actively pursuing writing, seeking publication, and delving into the industry head-first, I learned that the HWA was something I wanted to be a part of. Resources, support, networking, education, mentorship, and most importantly for me at the time, a sense of community. Count me in! But when I went online to look up the…

In September, “Stephanie M. Wytovich – Stoker Award-nominated Poet – Poetry Editor for RDSP”

Stephanie M. Wytovich is the Poetry Editor for Raw Dog Screaming Press, a book reviewer for Nameless Magazine, and a well-known coffee addict. She is a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, an active member of the Horror Writers Association, and a graduate of Seton Hill University’s MFA program for Writing Popular Fiction. Her poetry collections, Hysteria: A Collection of Madness, Mourning Jewelry, and An Exorcism of Angels are all Bram Stoker Award-nominated, and her debut novel, The Eighth, will be out in 2015 from Dark Regions Press. Continuing the HWA Poetry Page exploration of the current state of…

Interview with Poet Michael Randolph

Michael Randolph is a horror author, poet, and editor currently living in San Antonio Texas. He is the owner-operator of Eldritch Press. He is a U.S. Army Veteran of Desert Storm/Shield where he first witnessed the true horrors of the world. A navy brat, he travelled to many countries throughout his childhood and still travels sometimes more than he likes. He’s a certified Gemologist and has spent nearly twenty-five years in the aviation field, mostly in military defense as an airplane/helicopter structures mechanic. I’m incredibly grateful that Michael took some time from his busy schedule to talk to the HWA…
Recipients of the HWA Scholarships

Recipients of the HWA Scholarships

Visit the official scholarship site for up-to-date information. The winners of the three annual HWA Scholarships have been selected, and they are Thersa Matsuura, Eric Smith, and Michael Tugendhat. Major congratulations to the HWA Writing Scholarship awardees. We received a number of fine applications in all categories. We wish those chosen the very best in their future careers. Thersa Matsuura, recipient of the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship, said, "I am beyond elated to learn that the HWA has chosen me to be this year's recipient of the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship. My son has just moved out of the house…

In July, “Interview with F.J. Bergmann”

☢ F.J. Bergmann writes poetry and speculative fiction with work appearing in Black Treacle, Dreams and Nightmares, On Spec, The Pedestal, Pulp Literature, and, as F.J. says, ‘a bunch of regular literary magazines that should have known better.’ In addition to being the Poetry editor at Dark Renaissance Books (darkrenaissance.com), F.J. is the Editor of Star*Line, the journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Association (sfpoetry.com), and poetry editor of Mobius: The Journal of Social Change (mobiusmagazine.com). Awards include the 2012 Rannu Prize for speculative poetry and the 2013 SFPA Elgin Chapbook Award for Out of the Black Forest (Centennial Press,…

In June, “Superior Achievement in Poetry Collection” — Tom Piccirilli

Tom Piccirilli won the first Bram Stoker Award for poetry in 2000 for his collection A Student Of Hell. In 2015, he won the most recent Stoker for his collection Forgiving Judas. To celebrate his most recent win, here are Tom’s favorite poems from Forgiving Judas: Forgiving Judas By Tom Piccirilli I am Lazarus sliding the stone aside, groping in darkness, mute, choking on the black Without even the squeaking of rats or bats to guide me back to the world, God’s light fails, God’s voice is an immutable breath, I await the angry angel Azreal to commit me to…
STOKERCON Website Live! Register now.

STOKERCON Website Live! Register now.

HWA is proud to announce that the website for the first annual StokerCon is now live and offering memberships at a special discounted early-bird rate of just $99. http://www.stokercon2016.org StokerCon2016 will take place at the legendary Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 12th through the 15th, 2016, with Guests of Honor Jack Ketchum, Leslie Klinger, Daniel Knauf, R. L. Stine, and more, along with Toastmaster Stephen Jones. Coming soon: Workshops for writers conducted by Bram Stoker Award-winning authors Nancy Holder, Jonathan Maberry, Lucy Snyder, and many more! But don't delay: The special early-bird price is only good until June…
Horror.org Listed Among 101 Best Websites for Authors

Horror.org Listed Among 101 Best Websites for Authors

Our website has been selected as a "101 Best Websites for Writers" by Writer’s Digest magazine for the second year in a row. The list is in their May/June 2015 issue, which you can purchase here. We are deeply honored to have received this for the second year in a row! Our web team consists of the following: Alex Scully - who is the dedicated and efficient force behind updating the new releases on the homepage. Leland Pitts-Gonzales - who takes care of updating our Poetry section. Sunni Brock - who schedules and moderates our "Roundtable" discussions. Lisa Morton -…

In May, “Second HWA Horror Poetry Showcase: Featured Poems”

With almost 150 submissions from around the world, the Second HWA Horror Poetry Showcase has come to an end. There was an astounding breadth of subject matter and themes and styles and all of them had one thing in common: the desire to scare the reader, to shine a light into the darkness. It has been a tremendous honor for all those poets to trust their poems to us. I wanted to thank Linda D. Addison and Heather Graham for their incredible dedication to the Showcase. Many hours were spent discussing these poems and I’m thrilled to finally be able…
Bram Stoker Award® Winners

Bram Stoker Award® Winners

The Horror Writers Association, the premier organization of writers and publishers of horror and dark fantasy, today announced the 2014 winners of the iconic Bram Stoker Award®. Named in honor of the author of the seminal horror novel Dracula, the Bram Stoker Awards® are presented annually for superior writing in eleven categories including traditional fiction of various lengths, poetry, screenplays and non-fiction. Previous winners include Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, George R. R. Martin, Joyce Carol Oates and Neil Gaiman. The HWA also presents a Lifetime Achievement Award to living individuals who have made a substantial and enduring contribution to the…
Know a Nominee, Part 26: Sydney Leigh

Know a Nominee, Part 26: Sydney Leigh

Welcome back to “Know a Nominee,” the interview series that puts you squarely between the ears of this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees. Our final update for this year features Sydney Leigh, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Short Fiction, for "Baby's Breath." Thanks for reading, everyone--and many thanks to all of the nominees who shared their priceless insights. It's been a pleasure serving as editor for this series.  --Doug Murano, HWA Communications Coordinator DM: Please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you’ve been nominated. In the case of a work…
Know a Nominee, Part 25: Robert Payne Cabeen

Know a Nominee, Part 25: Robert Payne Cabeen

Welcome back to “Know a Nominee,” the interview series that puts you squarely between the ears of this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees. Today’s latest update features Robert Payne Cabeen, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection, for Fearworms: Selected Poems. DM: Please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work(s) for which you’ve been nominated. What attracted you most to the project? If nominated in multiple categories, please touch briefly. RC: The genesis of Fearworms was quite unexpected. Last year, I ran across Larry Santoro’s Tales to Terrify podcast and noticed that…
Know a Nominee, Part 24: Jake Bible

Know a Nominee, Part 24: Jake Bible

Welcome back to “Know a Nominee,” the interview series that puts you squarely between the ears of this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees. Today’s latest update features Jake Bible, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel, for Intentional Haunting.  DM: Please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work(s) for which you’ve been nominated. What attracted you most to the project? If nominated in multiple categories, please touch briefly on each. JB: I wanted to dive into my own teen years and the anxiety of growing up in an abusive household. At first…
Know a Nominee, Part 23: Jonathan Maberry

Know a Nominee, Part 23: Jonathan Maberry

Welcome back to “Know a Nominee,” the interview series that puts you squarely between the ears of this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees. Today's first update features Jonathan Maberry, nominated in the categories of Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel, for Bad Blood and Superior Achievement in Long Fiction for "Three Guys Walk into a Bar." DM: Please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work(s) for which you’ve been nominated. What attracted you most to the project? If nominated in multiple categories, please touch briefly on each. JM: I’m fortunate to have two works on the ballot for…