Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with C.C. Adams

London native C.C. Adams is the horror/dark fiction author behind books such as But Worse Will Come, Forfeit Tissue and Downwind, Alice. A member of the Horror Writers Association, he still lives in the capital. This is where he lifts weights, cooks - and looks for the perfect quote to set off the next dark delicacy. What inspired you to start writing? Firstly, as a member of (Canadian author) Kelley Armstrong’s previous online discussion forum. I’d dabbled in some fanfic based on her work, which was well received. And it was on the same forum that I heard about National…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Wrath James White

WRATH JAMES WHITE is the author of such extreme horror classics as THE RESURRECTIONIST, SUCCULENT PREY, and it's sequel PREY DRIVE, YACCUB'S CURSE, 400 DAYS OF OPPRESSION, THE BOOK OF A THOUSAND SINS, HIS PAIN, POPULATION ZERO, IF YOU DIED TOMORROW I WOULD EAT YOUR CORPSE, HARDCORE KELLI, and many many others. He has co-wriiten books with Edward Lee, J.F. Gonzalez, Maurice Broaddus, Matt Shaw, and Kristopher Rufty. Wrath lives and works in Austin, TX. What inspired you to start writing? This is a hard one to answer. Do I tell you about when I was in 4th grade and…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is an African speculative fiction writer, editor & publisher from Nigeria. He won the Nebula, Otherwise, Nommo, British & World Fantasy awards and been a finalist in the Hugo, Locus, Sturgeon and British Science Fiction award. His works have appeared in Asimov's, Uncanny Magazine, Tordotcom, Apex, Galaxy's Edge, Strange Horizons and others. He edited the Bridging Worlds, Year's Best African Speculative Fiction anthology and co-edited the Dominion and Africa Risen anthology. He was a CanCon goh and will be the ICFA 44 guest of honour. You can see his latest works here: https://odekpeki.com/2022/09/11/destiny-delayed/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/penprince_ Website: https://odekpeki.com/2022/09/11/2022-awards-eligibility-post-list/…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Wi-Moto Nyoka

WI-MOTO NYOKA is a horror and sci-fi writer. She is the founder of Dusky Projects, creating and producing horror & sci-fi projects for young adult and adult audiences. Awards and honors include: Stowe Story Labs selected project, Puffin Foundation grant recipient,  Awesome Foundation grant recipient, Velocity Fund grant recipient, Scribe Video Finishing Grant recipient, Nightmares Film Festival Best Short Screenplay Award Winner, 13 Horror Screenplay Award Winner, Oregon Short Film Festival Best Horror Teleplay Award Winner and more. Published works can be found in Midnight & Indigo’s Speculative Fiction collection, Terror Unleashed: Volume 2, The Seelie Crow and The Last…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Jewelle Gomez

Jewelle Gomez, (Cabo Verdean/Wampanoag/Ioway; she/her). Her eight books include the first Black Lesbian vampire novel, THE GILDA STORIES, in print for 30 years, and recently optioned by Cheryl Dunye (“Lovecraft Country”) for a mini-series. Her work appears in numerous anthologies including Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African American Diaspora, and Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia Butler. Her plays have been produced in San Francisco and in New York City. Her new collection of poetry is Still Water. TWITTER & Instagram: @VampyreVamp What inspired you to start writing? I think listening to the great storytelling of my…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Eugen Bacon

Eugen Bacon MA, MSc, PhD is an African Australian author of several novels and fiction collections. She’s a 2022 World Fantasy Award finalist, and was announced in the honor list of the 2022 Otherwise Fellowships for ‘doing exciting work in gender and speculative fiction’. Recent books: Mage of Fools (novel), Chasing Whispers (collection), and An Earnest Blackness (essays). Eugen has two novels, a novella, and two anthologies (ed) out in 2023, and the US release of Danged Black Thing. Visit her website at eugenbacon.com and Twitter feed at @EugenBacon What inspired you to start writing? I have always been enthralled with stories—my imagination is hyper. My father was…

Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Beatrice Winifred Iker

Beatrice Winifred Iker is an author and poet whose work can/will be found in FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, Anathema Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, the Death in the Mouth horror anthology, and others. Iker is a Voodoonauts Fellowship alum, co-host on the Afronauts Podcast, and a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA). Originally from East Tennessee, Iker lives in New England with a wonderful husband, many cats, and a robust tarot deck collection. You can find Iker on Twitter (@BeatriceIker), Instagram (@beatricewinifrediker), or through the website beatriceiker.com. What inspired you to start writing? I was a reader then a…

Turning Grit into Greatness: Black Heritage Month Series Intro by Jamal Hodge

Black History month returns, a time when America recognizes the contributions of its Black American citizens… during the shortest and arguably coldest month of the year. That’s that good ole American horror right there. But no matter what shade we're given, Black Americans have long turned scraps into cuisine, poverty into strength, and grit into greatness. In recent years, there has been a growing movement towards greater representation and visibility for Black writers in the horror genre. One of the most notable examples of this progress is the success of Black horror writers and screenwriters in traditional and independent publishing.…

Complete List of 2022 Black Heritage Series Interviewees

As we prepare to roll out the 2023 Black Heritage Month Interview, let's stop and take a look back at our first year of interviews from 2022. Introduction by Linda Addison Click Here to Read the Introduction Linda Addison Click Here to Read Linda's Interview Linda D. Addison is an award-winning author of five collections, including The Place of Broken Things written with Alessandro Manzetti, & How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend, and the first African-American recipient of the HWA Bram Stoker Award®. She is a recipient of the HWA Lifetime Achievement Award, HWA Mentor of the Year and SFPA Grand…