Shelley Scholarship goes to Erinn Kemper

Shelley Scholarship goes to Erinn Kemper

Starting from 2014 the Horror Writers Association (HWA) has instituted the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship, open to female writers who are members of the HWA. The Scholarship is designed to address the unseen, but real, barriers limiting the amount of horror fiction being published by women. The first Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship has been awarded to Erinn Kemper, a Canadian writer who resides in Costa Rica. Erinn Kemper (E. L. Kemper) grew up in an isolated mill town in coastal British Columbia, Canada. From there she moved to the city to study Philosophy at the University of Victoria. Over the…

CAIN’S BLOOD by Geoffrey Girard

Author: Geoffrey Girard CAIN'S BLOOD A terrifying novel about the evil in each of us... Developing new bio-weapons, the US Department of Defense has secretly cloned the world's most notorious murderers, to study their DNA and isolate the genetic of evil. The program contains dozens of young men who have no clue of their evil heritage -- including John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and the Son of Sam. Enacting a twisted game of nature vs. nurture, the scientists raise some of the clones with loving families and others in abusive circumstances to match their genetic forefathers. When the most dangerous…
In March: “Found Poetry” with Terrie Leigh Relf & HWA Poetry Showcase Announcement

In March: “Found Poetry” with Terrie Leigh Relf & HWA Poetry Showcase Announcement

Poet Terrie Leigh Relf talks about “Found Poetry” and shares a little bit of herself and her own work this month. Personally, before reading this article, I’d never heard of “Found Poetry” and it’s a fascinating literary field. Special thanks to Terrie for pulling back the curtain a little on a lesser known form of poetry. ☠ What Is Found Poetry and Where-Oh-Where Can It Be? by Terrie Leigh Relf While on staff at Alban Lake Publishing, one of our regular contributors and a writer friend, Lauren McBride, asked me about found poetry. When she requested an article on this…

CHIRAL MAD 2 Edited by Michael Bailey

Editor: Michael Bailey CHIRAL MAD 2 Chiral Mad 2 is an anthology of psychological horror containing twenty-eight short stories by established authors and newcomers from around the world. All profit from sales of this anthology go directly to Down syndrome charities. Featuring the imaginations of David Morrell, Ramsey Campbell, Jack Ketchum, John Skipp, Gary A. Braunbeck, Mort Castle, Gene O'Neill, Gary McMahon, Lucy A. Snyder, Thomas F. Monteleone, and many others, with an introduction by Michael Bailey. Publisher: Written Backwards Publication Date: December 13, 2013
Women in Horror: Part Eighteen

Women in Horror: Part Eighteen

 It may be March but I'm still rolling with WiHM! Today, my dear friends, is the final article. Yes...it's true. Please do not weep, do not lose hope, we will meet again. For now we can explore a great viewpoint on the whole concept of Women in Horror from editor, author, anthologist & all-round great friend...Joe Myndhardt...   Female authors, characters and inspirations… and those who have a problem with them. by Joe Mynhardt I learned something over the last few days; I learned that there is still a lot prejudice when it comes to the work of female authors.…

LITTLE VISIBLE DELIGHT by S.P. Miskowski & Kate Jonez

Authors: S.P. Miskowski & Kate Jonez LITTLE VISIBLE DELIGHT Often the most powerful and moving stories are generated by writers who return time and again to a particular idea, theme, or image. Obsession in a writer's imagination can lead to accomplishment or to self-destruction. Consider Poe and his pale, dead bride; his fascination with confinement and mortality; his illness and premature death. Or Flannery O'Connor's far less soul-crushing fondness for peacocks. Some writers pay a high price for their obsessions, while others maintain a crucial distance. Whichever the case, obsessions can produce compelling fiction. Little Visible Delight is an anthology…
Women in Horror: Part Seventeen

Women in Horror: Part Seventeen

Today we're joined by author Roh Morgon on what horror means to her...     It’s an honor to have been selected to participate in the HWA’s recognition of Women in Horror Month.     Examining the accomplishments of women in this genre has forced me to look closer at my own work and determine whether or not it actually belongs in the horror category.   Before discussing the contributions of women writers to the horror genre, we should first conduct a brief examination of the genre itself.   Horror.   The word conjures images of screaming women, dripping blades,…
Women in Horror: Part Sixteen

Women in Horror: Part Sixteen

Hello & welcome back to our feature special series for WiHM! You'll all have noticed a gap in the posting of these articles & I can only apologise for that. I've been down with a horrible virus & couldn't get any work done...but I'm back now & ready to finish what we've started! Today we welcome author & editor Sandy DeLuca. This lovely lady barely needs an introduction, author of Messages from the Dead & Hell's Door amongst many others, artist & anthologist. For our series she decided to concentrate on a Woman in Horror from the world of film, rather than the print...     Gale Anne Hurd of “The…
HWA 2013 Specialty Press Award Goes to Gray Friar Press

HWA 2013 Specialty Press Award Goes to Gray Friar Press

Gray Friar Press, of Whitby, U.K., will receive the Horror Writers Association's Specialty Press Award for 2013. The Award will be presented during the Bram Stoker Awards® Banquet, to be held this during the World Horror Convention in Portland, Oregon, on May 10, 2014. The annual Specialty Press Award recognizes a publisher outside the mainstream New York City publishing community that specializes in dark-themed fiction. Winners are typically "small presses" specializing in limited editions, small print runs, or the work of new and relatively unknown authors. The winner of the award is determined by a majority vote of the Horror…
Norman Rubenstein to receive the Hammer Award from HWA

Norman Rubenstein to receive the Hammer Award from HWA

The Horror Writers Association periodically gives the Hammer Award (also known as the Silver Hammer Award) to an HWA volunteer who has done a truly massive amount of work for our organization, often unsung and behind the scenes. It was instituted in 1996, and is decided by a vote of HWA's Board. The award is so named because it represents the careful, steady, continuous work of building HWA's "house" -- the many institutional systems that keep the organization functioning on a day-to-day basis. The award itself is a chrome-plated hammer with an engraved plaque on the handle. The chrome hammer…
JG Faherty to receive The Richard Laymon President’s Award from Horror Writers Association

JG Faherty to receive The Richard Laymon President’s Award from Horror Writers Association

The Richard Laymon President's Award for Service was instituted in 2000 and is named in honor of Richard Laymon, who died in 2000 while serving as the Horror Writer’s Association’s President. As its name implies, it is given by the HWA's sitting President. The Award is presented to a volunteer who has served HWA in an especially exemplary manner and has shown extraordinary dedication to the organization. HWA’s President Rocky Wood has chosen JG Faherty to receive the 2013 Award. Rocky said, “JG (Greg) is one of the hardest working volunteers the HWA has ever had. In the past two…

PHANTOM LIMB by Shane Montgomery

Author: Shane Montgomery PHANTOM LIMB An LAPD narcotics officer-turned-personal bodyguard, a troubled epileptic psychic and an enigmatic shaman~ trying to outrun their pasts... A paranormal scientist and cameraman, just trying to do their jobs: the cast of a reality show investigating hauntings and unsolved murders in Redemption, Arizona~ a ghost mining town. Together, they confront restless spirits, and manifest the tragic lives of Red Morrison and Rosie Rodriquez, star-crossed lovers connected to the town’s bloody past. A ghost dance in the desert, a Tarot reading and a burning chapel summon visions of vengeful shamans who called on demonic forces to…
2014 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients Announced

2014 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients Announced

Stephen Jones lives in London, England. He is the winner of three World Fantasy Awards, four Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Awards and three International Horror Guild Awards, as well as being a recipient of twenty-one British Fantasy Awards and a Hugo Award nominee. A former television producer/director and genre movie publicist and consultant (the first three Hellraiser movies, Night Life, Nightbreed, Split Second, Mind Ripper, Last Gasp etc.), he is the co-editor of Horror: 100 Best Books, Horror: Another 100 Best Books, The Best Horror from Fantasy Tales, Gaslight & Ghosts, Now We Are Sick, H.P. Lovecraft's Book of…

HORROR SOCIETY STORIES VOLUME 1 Edited by Michael DeFellipo

Editor: Michael DeFellipo HORROR SOCIETY STORIES VOLUME 1 Short stories in Horror Society Stories: Volume 1 include “Loaf Divine” by Canaan Frank, “Dead Ringers” by David Blackthorn, “A Vampire Walks Into A Bar” by Aaron Ray Ballard, “Jump $20” by Marc E. Fitch, “My Lover, My Garden” by Erik Gustafson, “The Invisible Enemy” by Bryan Cassiday, “The Lunch Pail” by W. B. Stickel, “The Specimen” by Angela Pritchett, “Hair and Teeth” by Katie Jones, and “Dogs Want To Eat You” by Ralph Robert Moore. A bonus story by the cover artist, Manny Serrano, is also featured in the book. Publisher: Shillow Productions Publication…

WOLF CREEK: DESOLATION GAME by Brett McBean & Greg McLean

Authors: Brett McBean & Greg McLean WOLF CREEK: DESOLATION GAME Mick's learning, and his schoolroom is a war. When sharpshooter and killer Mick Taylor searches for a place to keep a low profile, he finds somewhere where his peculiar talents are appreciated: a war. And in Vietnam an out-of-control sergeant takes the amateur murderer and turns him into a pro. Back home, Mick makes use of the sick lessons the army taught him, when hapless tour operators bring a Kombi-load of sightseers out his way into the Western Australian desert. Two suspicious flat tires deliver an engaged Japanese couple, a father…
Horror Roundtable 16: Horror History 101

Horror Roundtable 16: Horror History 101

You can follow the Roundtable discussion in the comments section of this post. Note: the page will not auto refresh, so please use the refresh option on your browser to keep up to date with the discussion. * * * * * When: 23 February, 2014 Time: 8pm EST (use the Time Zone Converter to find your local time) Horror History 101 Who are the founding fathers of the horror genre, and what is it about their work that allows it to stand the test of time? Let’s look at some of the iconic figures in the horror fiction genre,…
The 2013 Bram Stoker Awards® Final Ballot

The 2013 Bram Stoker Awards® Final Ballot

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce the Final Ballot for the 2013 Bram Stoker Awards®. The HWA (see WWW.HORROR.ORG ) is the premiere writers organization in the horror and dark fiction genre, with over 1,200 members. HWA has presented the Bram Stoker Awards in various categories since 1987 (see HTTP://WWW.HORROR.ORG/AWARDS/STOKERS.HTM). "We are proud to present a particularly notable slate of nominees this year, showing the horror genre is strong and popular," Rocky Wood, the HWA's President, said. IMPORTANT: Voting begins on 2/28 and ends on 3/15. Only Active and Lifetime members can vote. The nominees are: Superior…
Women in Horror: Part Fifteen

Women in Horror: Part Fifteen

  Here we are again, still celebrating Women in Horror Month & going strong! Chantal Noordeloos, author of Deeply Twisted & Coyote-The Outlander, is here to talk about stereotypes & categorisation...     Every February we explore the world of ladies in the horror genre. We shine the limelight on female authors, directors, actresses, and perhaps even the female characters in their books. As a woman who writes horror I’m very grateful for this little bit of illumination. Most of us still struggle to make a name for ourselves, and a lot of women suffer from a stigma that’s been…
Women in Horror: Part Fourteen

Women in Horror: Part Fourteen

Welcome to our next installment of HWA's Women in Horror Month! Today we have the delectable Rena Mason joining us & she's talking about the writers who inspired her...         One of the first “horror” novels I remember reading in my pre-teen years, because it was popular, was Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews. It left me wanting more, so as simple as it sounds, I chose my next book because the cover art had a similar “creepy girl” feel to it. Both books also had strong female protagonists. The second book just happened to be…

WOLF CREEK: ORIGIN by Aaron Sterns & Greg McLean

Authors: Aaron Sterns & Greg McLean WOLF CREEK: ORGIN Nature vs nurture turns out to be a bloodbath. The wide open outback offers plenty of space for someone to hide. Or to hide a body. When wiry youngster Mick Taylor starts as a jackaroo at a remote Western Australian sheep station, he tries to keep his head down among the rough company of the farmhands. But he can't keep the devils inside him hidden for long. It turns out he's not the only one with the killer impulse – and the other psychopaths don't appreciate competition. Is Cutter, the station's surly…