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…
Know a Nominee, Part 22: Christopher Rice

Know a Nominee, Part 22: Christopher Rice

Welcome back to “Know a Nominee,” the interview series that puts you squarely between the ears of this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees. This update features Christopher Rice, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Novel, for The Vines. 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. CR: I just don’t have a problem believing plants could become animate and suck your blood. Call me crazy. But the “buy-in” for me on…
Know a Nominee, Part 21: Marge Simon

Know a Nominee, Part 21: Marge Simon

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 second update features Marge Simon, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection, with Mary Turzillo, for Sweet Poison. 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. MS: The genisis for SWEET POISON (poetry collection): Mary Turzillo and I decided, during one of our annual get-togethers, to collaborate…
Know a Nominee, Part 20: Joe McKinney

Know a Nominee, Part 20: Joe McKinney

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 Joe McKinney, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in Long Fiction for "Lost and Found." 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’ve been nominated in the Long Fiction category for my story, “Lost and Found,” which appears in the anthology Limbus II. Limbus,…
Know a Nominee, Part 19: John Dixon

Know a Nominee, Part 19: John Dixon

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 second update features John Dixon, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel for Phoenix Island. 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. JD: I started PHOENIX ISLAND without knowing I'd started it. I sat down one day, banged out an eighteen-page character sketch out-of-the-blue,…
Know a Nominee, Part 18: Jason V. Brock

Know a Nominee, Part 18: Jason V. Brock

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 update features Jason V. Brock, nominated in the categories of Superior Achievement in an Anthology for A Darke Fantastique and Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction for Disorders of Magnitude. 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. JVB: With respect to A Darke Phantastique, my anthology on the ballot, I had been…
Know a Nominee, Part 17: Joe Mynhardt

Know a Nominee, Part 17: Joe Mynhardt

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 update features Joe Mynhardt, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in Non-fiction, along with co-editor Emma Audsley, for Horror 101: The Way Forward.  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: Horror 101: The Way Forward was supposed to be a very small document with a bit of…
Know a Nominee, Part 16: Peter Adam Salomon

Know a Nominee, Part 16: Peter Adam Salomon

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 second update features Peter Adam Salomon, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel for All Those Broken Angels. 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 categoies, please touch briefly on each. PS: I was interviewing fellow HWA author C.W. LaSart and we were talking about our favorite words. I mentioned that…
Know a Nominee, Part 15: Ellen Datlow

Know a Nominee, Part 15: Ellen Datlow

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 update features Ellen Datlow, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in an Anthology for Fearful Symmetries. 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. ED: I love editing non-theme anthologies so whenever I get the chance, I do. Fearful Symmetries was crowd-funded, and I partnered with ChiZine Publications…
Know a Nominee, Part 14: Hal Bodner

Know a Nominee, Part 14: Hal Bodner

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 second update features Hal Bodner, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in Short Fiction for “Hot Tub." 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. HB: “Hot Tub” is based, as many people already know, on a true incident that happened when I first moved to Hollywood roughly 30 years ago. At…
Know a Nominee, Part 13: Joe R. Lansdale

Know a Nominee, Part 13: Joe R. Lansdale

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 Joe R. Lansdale, nominated in the categories of Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel for I TELL YOU IT'S LOVE and Superior Achievement in Long Fiction for FISHING FOR DINOSAURS.  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. JRL: FISHING FOR DINOSAURS was inspired by the old…
Know a Nominee, Part 12: Eric J. Guignard

Know a Nominee, Part 12: Eric J. Guignard

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 update features Eric J. Grignard, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in Long Fiction for "Dreams of a Little Suicide." 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. EG: First, I love writing in historic settings, 1890s to 1950s range stuff. I wanted to do a historic piece in…
Know a Nominee, Part 11: Brett J. Talley

Know a Nominee, Part 11: Brett J. Talley

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 update features Brett J. Talley, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in an Anthology for Limbus, Inc. II. 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. BT: Anne C. Petty originally came up with the idea that forms the genesis of the Limbus universe. We lost her a couple years…
Know a Nominee, Part 10: John Palisano

Know a Nominee, Part 10: John Palisano

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 update features John Palisano, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in Short Fiction for "Splinterette." 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. JP: The short story "Splinterette" came to me while staying in Cupertino, California. We were in a slightly woodsy area and my room looked out into…