George R R Martin to be Guest of Honor in 2017

George R R Martin to be Guest of Honor in 2017

The Horror Writers Association is pleased to announce George R R Martin will be Guest of Honor at our 2017 Conference, to be held from 11-14 May, 2017 at a city yet to be determined. According to our rotation policy the host city is likely to be west of the Rocky Mountains. HWA President Rocky Wood said, “While it is unusual to announce a guest this far in advance we feel George R R Martin’s fame dictated we release this information as soon as possible. We are excited that George will spend time at our Bram Stoker Awards Weekend and…

GRIMM: THE CHOPPING BLOCK by John Passarella

Author: John Passarella GRIMM: THE CHOPPING BLOCK When a pile of bones is discovered in a Portland forest, severed and stripped of flesh, homicide detectives Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin quickly rule out an animal attack, but susptect the killer is something other than human. Soon more skeletal remains are unearthed, and tests reveal that the bones were cooked before burial. As the body count increases, Nick, Hank, and reformed Blutbad Monroe must track down a Wesen with a taste for human meat, before the killer can butcher their next meal... "Exceptionally gritty story with gruesome killings. This is where Grimm…
Know a Nominee, Part Fourteen: Helen Marshall

Know a Nominee, Part Fourteen: Helen Marshall

Here we are at part fourteen of our 'Know a Nominee' series. Helen Marshall's 'The Sex Lives of Monsters' has been nominated for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection.    DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you've been nominated? In the case of a work wherein you've written multiple stories (like a collection) please choose your favourite part and discuss. HM: The Sex Lives of Monsters came about as a way to explore the notion of the monstrous and the magical in modern culture. “We live in a time of monsters,”…
Know a Nominee, Part Thirteen: Royce Prouty

Know a Nominee, Part Thirteen: Royce Prouty

Welcome to (lucky) part thirteen of 'Know a Nominee'. Today we welcome Royce Prouty, author of 'Stoker's Manuscript', nominated for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Here Royce shares his experience of examining the original Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' & the influence it had on himself & his wife.   DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you've been nominated? RP: As is a tradition in our household, every Halloween I read a scary story aloud to my wife.  We put a log in the fireplace, gather the pets, and read into the October…
Know a Nominee, Part Twelve: Kate Jonez

Know a Nominee, Part Twelve: Kate Jonez

 Welcome to today's installment of 'Know a Nominee'. We're glad to have you with us as we explore the minds & other dark spaces of this year's nominated authors. Today is Kate Jonez & her thoughts on being nominated & all things creative.    DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you've been nominated? In the case of a work wherein you've written multiple stories (like a collection) please choose your favorite part and discuss. KJ: I got the idea for Candy House when I was pondering, as one does,…

TALES OF THE GROTESQUE: A COLLECTION OF UNEASY TALES by L.A. Lewis

Author: L.A. Lewis TALES OF THE GROTESQUE: A COLLECTION OF UNEASY TALES Mark Samuels, author of The White Hands & Other Weird Tales described the book as a “brilliant collection”. Tales of the Grotesque: A Collection of Uneasy Tales, was first published in 1934 by Philip Allan, part of the ”Creeps” series. A second edition appeared in 1994 from The Ghost Story Press and both hardbacks are rare collectables today. Publisher: Shadow Publishing Publication Date: March 2, 2014
Know a Nominee, Part Eleven: William F Nolan

Know a Nominee, Part Eleven: William F Nolan

  Welcome to “Know a Nominee,” the interview series that gives you daily peeks inside the minds of this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees. Today’s featured author is William F. Nolan, who’s nominated in the Superior Achievement in Nonfiction category for 'Nolan on Bradbury: Sixty Years of Writing about the Master of Science Fiction'.     DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you've been nominated? In the case of a work wherein you've written multiple stories (like a collection) please choose your favorite part and discuss.   WFN: I…

FALLOW GROUND by Michael James McFarland

Author: Michael James McFarland FALLOW GROUND The Taylors want nothing more than to start a family, but the couple remains childless. A stranger, known only as Mr. Smith, arrives on their doorstep late one night with a strange proposition: safeguard a crate for the peculiar man and they’ll get their offspring. They strike a dark and irrevocable bargain. Almost thirty years later, the Taylors’ farmland is occupied by a new family—but the curse of the past lives on. Does wickedness dwell in the soil itself, or does evil grow from what takes root there? Publisher: Blood Bound Books Publication Date:…
Know a Nominee, Part Ten: Gene O’Neill

Know a Nominee, Part Ten: Gene O’Neill

Thanks for joining us for this entry in our “Know a Nominee” interview series, which gives you daily sneak peeks inside the minds of this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees. Featured today is Gene O’Neill, who is nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection, for Dance of the Blue Lady (Bad Moon Books).    DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you've been nominated? In the case of a work wherein you've written multiple stories (like a collection) please choose your favorite part and discuss. GO:…
Know a Nominee, Part Nine: Patrick Freivald

Know a Nominee, Part Nine: Patrick Freivald

Patrick Freivald provides our “Know a Nominee” interview today. Freivald is nominated in the categories of Superior Achievement in Short Fiction for “Snapshot” (Blood & Roses, Scarlett River Press) and Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel for Special Dead (JournalStone).   DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you've been nominated? In the case of a work wherein you've written multiple stories (like a collection) please choose your favorite part and discuss.   PF: “Snapshot” is a study in vanity. If you look at the seven deadly sins, it's…

DARK VENGEANCE by Russell James

Author: Russell James DARK VENGEANCE In this sequel to Dark Inspiration, a coven of witches has moved into the tiny town near Galaxy Farm. They know about the evil entity that lies trapped there, and they hope to resurrect it and set it free to renew its hunt of mankind. All they need for their sacrifices is the blood of innocent children. Only Laura Locke and Theresa Grissom have the skills to defeat this supernatural danger, but their previous brush with the evil at Galaxy Farm has shattered their relationship. If they can’t work together to stop the coven in…
Know a Nominee, Part Eight: Dale Bailey

Know a Nominee, Part Eight: Dale Bailey

  Welcome back to “Know a Nominee,” the blog series that gives you inside access to this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees. Today’s featured author is Dale Bailey, who’s nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in Long Fiction, for 'The Bluehole' (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May/June, 2013).   DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you've been nominated? In the case of a work wherein you've written multiple stories (like a collection) please choose your favorite part and discuss. DB: I think it’s pretty hard to…

LYCH WAY by Ari Berk

Author: Ari Berk LYCH WAY In the conclusion to the Undertaken trilogy that Publishers Weekly called “a thought-provoking gothic fantasy,” Silas must master his powers and confront a past that is anything but dead. Silas Umber has returned from Arvale, his family’s ancestral home. Frantic to retrieve the shade of his beloved Beatrice, he turns his back on the spectral chaos he has left behind, unaware that the malevolence he unleashed has followed him back to Lichport. As his family and friends suffer and fall at the hands of the vengeful Huntsman from Arvale’s sunken mansions, Silas must reach deep…
Know a Nominee, Part Seven: Christopher Rice

Know a Nominee, Part Seven: Christopher Rice

  Welcome back to “Know a Nominee,” the interview series wherein this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees share their insights on writing and reveal the inspirations behind their nominated works. Today’s update features Christopher Rice, who is nominated in the Superior Achievement in a Novel category, for The Heavens Rise (Gallery Books).   DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you've been nominated?   CR: Louisiana. That’s my short answer. The shock of moving from San Francisco to New Orleans as a ten-year-old boy, the sudden encounter with a land…
Know a Nominee, Part Six: Lisa Morton

Know a Nominee, Part Six: Lisa Morton

  Welcome to the latest edition of “Know a Nominee,” the interview series that shows you what’s inside the minds of some of today’s best horror writers and editors: this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees. Today’s update features Lisa Morton, who is nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Novel, for Malediction (Evil Jester Press).   DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you've been nominated?   LM: I'm a native of Los Angeles, and this city has a much deeper and stranger history than most people know.…

THE JACK IN THE GREEN by Frazier Lee

Author: Frazier Lee THE JACK IN THE GREEN A nightmare made real. On Christmas Eve, six year-old Tom McCrae witnessed an unspeakable atrocity that left him orphaned, his childhood in tatters. Now in his mid-thirties, Tom still has terrifying nightmares of that night. When Tom is sent to the remote Scottish village of Douglass to negotiate a land grab for his employer it seems like a golden opportunity for him to start over. But Tom can’t help feeling he’s been to Douglass before, and the terrible dreams from his childhood have begun to spill over into his waking life. As…
Know a Nominee, Part Five: Brandon Seifert

Know a Nominee, Part Five: Brandon Seifert

  Welcome to the fifth installment of “Know a Nominee,” the interview series that takes you inside the minds of this year’s Bram Stoker Awards nominees. Today’s interviewee is Brandon Seifert, who’s nominated in the Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel category for Witch Doctor, Vol. 2: Mal Practice (Image Comics).     DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became "Witch Doctor: Mal Practice?" BS: I've always been a fan of Marvel Comics' character Doctor Strange... or rather, I've been a fan of his core concept, but never really the character. At his core…

In April: “Bram Stoker Award Nominees: Super Achievement in a Poetry Collection”

On May 10, the 2013 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection will be given to one of the following five nominated works. Since April is National Poetry Month and the Horror Writers Association is celebrating with our inaugural Horror Poetry Showcase, I wanted to celebrate the five nominated collections as well, to provide a glimpse into the brilliant world of "horror poetry." Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection Bruce Boston – Dark Roads: Selected Long Poems 1971-2012 (Dark Renaissance Books) Helen Marshall – The Sex Lives of Monsters (Kelp Queen Press) Marge Simon and Sandy DeLuca…
Know a Nominee, Part Four: David Gerrold

Know a Nominee, Part Four: David Gerrold

      Welcome to part four of our ongoing interview series, “Know a Nominee,” which gives you daily glimpses inside the minds of some of the best horror writers and editors working today—specifically, this year’s Bram Stoker Awards nominees. Today, we feature David Gerrold, who’s nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in Short Fiction for his story, “The Night Train to Paris” (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Jan./Feb., 2013)   DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you've been nominated? In the case of a work…

SPYING ON GODS by David Barnett

Author: David Barnett SPYING ON GODS A drunken, naked frenzy leads to a nightmare summoned to earth. A nightmare not meant to be witnessed by human eyes. Because if it is, the village will pay–and pay it does. When the villagers find a broken man on the forest floor they know he’s to blame for the curse that’s befallen them, and they want his blood. Now, helped along by some sympathetic villagers, he’s on a frantic race for his life and sanity. But the road to redemption leads them straight into the mouth of a hellish realm and the arms…