Learn more:
HWA Awards
Explore
- About
- HWA Publications
- Bram Stoker Awards®
- Horror U
- Our Members Online
- For Members
- Scholarships
- Members’ Books By Year
- Contact HWA
- More…
Tag archive: HWA [ 610 ]
NUTS & BOLTS: Lisa Morton Discusses Dennis Etchison
Lisa Morton describes Dennis Etchison’s work as a “brain bombshell” that changed her idea of what horror fiction could do. When she was just starting out, Etchison had a major influence on both her art and her career. In this month’s edition of Nuts & Bolts, Lisa discusses Etchison’s writing technique, his influence on her own work, and what writers today can learn from the late horror legend.
Nuts & Bolts: Interview With John Harrison, Netflix Series Creator, Author of Residue: Paramentals Rising
Early in his career, writer and director John Harrison picked up techniques about telling a horror story from collaborating with George Romero. He’s spent decades refining those techniques as a screenwriter, director, and novelist – most recently in a new novel that released on the 11th of this month, Residue: Paramentals Rising, based on the Netflix series he created. In this month’s edition of Nuts & Bolts, John shares his thoughts about telling a horror story and storytelling in general. He also gives advice about releasing a book, and getting into TV writing.
Genesis – The First Black Horror Writers/Storytellers by Linda D. Addison
Horror —n: an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear.
Who were the first Black horror writers in a country that made enslaved Africans’ everyday life horrific? How did stories develop and what were their themes? I wanted to write this because of my own curiosity. I didn’t know where this was going to lead me but the more I dug the more I found. The yellow brick road of discovery took me away from the land of published authors to places unexpected.
Black Heritage in Horror Month: An Interview with Marc L. Abbott
What inspired you to start writing?
This is always a difficult question to answer because I have always loved writing. My imagination was always running wild and growing up, rather than paying attention to lessons in class, I was writing stories in the middle of my notebooks. I used to look forward to doing creative writing with spelling words in elementary school. But my inspiration for starting to take writing seriously was in high school. I had a teacher, Mr. Dolan, who was always encouraging me to tell my stories. One open school night he told my parents “Your son is a writer and is really good at it. You should help him nurture that talent because he can go far with it.” He was one of those teachers who always believed in what I could do. I had told my parents I wanted to be a writer, and they weren’t a hundred percent behind it as a profession with my father saying that I had to be good at the craft to make it. That was before Mr. Dolan told him this news. And until I heard Mr. Dolan say this, I thought about finding something else to pursue. But he confirmed that small belief I had in myself, and it inspired me to go forward with it.
Black Heritage in Horror Month 2025: An Interview with Jamal Hodge
What inspired you to start writing?
Pain, uncertainty, and hope. Honestly, I was a naive child, filled with joy at the thought of meeting another face. But when homelessness found my family in the South Bronx, I quickly learned that people weren’t always safe. Being exposed to ‘American history’ in school further revealed what it meant to be Black in this country, a trauma, in my view, that demands mental health support, like counseling, in schools. These harsh realities made me dream of a better world. I found that place within the pages of books, the ink of a pen, and the boundless depths of my own imagination.
Something New, Something Old, Something Different: HWA Celebrating Black History Month 2025
The worldview of horror writers, editors, screenwriters, etc. population is a plethora of different groups. The definition of groups within a demographic is large and multi-faceted. One thing horror creators have in common is they want their work to generate a sense of fear or discomfort in the reader or viewer. This work is influenced by the experiences of the group in the world and their individual lives. Each creator’s work is flavored by the disturbing aspects of their life and the world around them. The HWA runs a monthly series each year highlighting horror writers and editors, etc. from different marginalized groups.
The HWA’s Library Advisory Council Announces the 2024 recipients of the YAWN Endowment
The Horror Writers Association’s Library Advisory Council is proud to announce the 2024 recipients of the Young Adults Write Now (YAWN) Endowment. This endowment is provided by the Horror Writers Association and is aimed at supporting teen writing programs in libraries as part of its ongoing dedication to furthering young adult literacy. We received a large number of excellent applications last year and are heartened by the number of libraries currently prioritizing teen writing programs.
NUTS & BOLTS: Interview With Kasey and Joe R. Lansdale
Whether they come by way of Oz, Wonderland, or the Brothers Grimm, nightmare-inducing children’s stories are the gateway for many nascent fans into the strange, terrifying, and delightful genre of horror fiction. Joe R. Lansdale took a crack at children’s horror fiction with the Ray Bradbury-influenced Something Lumber This Way Comes, which is being rereleased by Pandi Press this month. Kasey Lansdale, executive editor of Pandi Press, provides some useful information about the publishing industry for aspiring authors in this month’s edition of Nuts & Bolts. And Joe gives some tips on writing children’s fiction.
The 2024 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot Announced
The 2024 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot Announced
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce the Preliminary Ballot for the 2024 Bram Stoker Awards®. The HWA is the premier writer’s organization in the horror and dark fiction genre, with more than 2,000 members. We have presented the Bram Stoker Awards in various categories since 1987.
Horror Writers Association Gets 10 Year Commitment from Pitt Library System for StokerCon
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) and the University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) are excited to announce a new chapter in their collaboration leading up to StokerCon. Building on their roles as Marquee Sponsor in 2023 and Raven Sponsor in 2024, the ULS has committed to a ground-breaking 10-year Legacy Sponsorship starting with StokerCon 2025.
Nuts & Bolts: Author Clay McLeod Chapman on Building a Catalogue
The market is crowded, the rules of social media are constantly changing, and the logistics of building a catalogue are more complicated than ever. The good news, according to author Clay McLeod Chapman, is that time-tested strategies such as supporting other authors and finding a unique voice will still get the job done. In this month’s edition of Nuts & Bolts, he gives advice for beginning authors about getting their material in print.
In Memoriam: Bruce Boston
Bruce Boston: an Appreciation
by Mary A. Turzillo
Bruce Boston
Bruce David Boston, emperor of the weird, the esoteric, the absurd. Once a year at least, my husband Geoffrey Landis and I would sit around the table in his and Marge Simon’s house in Ocala, drinking wine and eating cheesecake or dried fruit. The conversations were esoteric, comical, scandalous, divine. There were other meetings, although as years went by, Bruce became more retiring and skipped Conference on the Fantastic, where he’d been a Creative, and other conferences where he would have been lionized, and even StokerCon.
Nuts & Bolts: “Rambo” Creator David Morrell Discusses His Mentor
Before he could create Vietnam veteran John J. Rambo in First Blood, thriller and horror author David Morrell had to find that pesky “ferret.” That’s how his mentor Philip Klass, aka legendary science fiction author William Tenn, used to describe it. Professor Klass, who’d taken David under his wing at Penn State University, used to say that if you’re a writer, a dominant emotion fuels your craft. No exceptions. It could be anger or joy. Sorrow or lust. Like it or not, you’re stuck with it because it’s an integral part of you. The professor compared it to a ferret rooting around in your psyche. Elusive. Ravenous. And worst of all, unwilling to be found.
Nuts & Bolts: The Value of Creative Writing Courses With Author Ray Cluley
Taking a creative writing course is a concept that some of Ray Cluley’s fellow authors seem to find puzzling. Even objectionable. If you’re calling yourself a writer, shouldn’t you already know how to write? Since it’s such a personal endeavor, how can it even be taught?
In this month’s edition of Nuts & Bolts, Ray discusses the full range of benefits from a creative writing course, and how even seasoned professionals can use one to hone their craft.
Latinx Heritage in Horror Month 2024: An Interview with Iona Wayland
What inspired you to start writing?
To be honest, it was a group of alley cats. Even before I could write, I’d literally scribble and loopity-loop in a composition notebook about the cat families I saw outside from my window. The way I portrayed their stray lives was often like an anthropomorphized telenovela and I remember being frustrated when no one could read what I’d written.
Latinx Heritage in Horror Month 2024: An Interview with Ericca Chavez
What inspired you to start writing?
I was inspired to start writing because of the ghost stories I would hear as a kid, in particular, La Llorona; they sparked my imagination. I made up worlds in my mind and found myself lost in them—still am most days. Then one day, I decided to bring these worlds to life by actually putting them down on paper.
Latinx Heritage in Horror Month 2024: An Interview with Erick Mancilla
What inspired you to start writing?
For a long time, I wanted to be a comic book writer/creator. I wrote various stories in the comic book medium. Unfortunately, the search for an artist/collaborator was a difficult task. After quite some time of fruitless searches, I did some deep soul-searching and made the jump to writing genre fiction where I had no one but myself to rely on. It has turned out to be the best decision I could have ever made for my creativity.
Latinx Heritage in Horror Month 2024: An Interview with Victor H. Rodriguez
What inspired you to start writing?
It was a combination of two things: reading, and my day job. After I started working full-time, I developed the terrible habit of not reading anything longer than a magazine article. Then, per my mother’s recommendation – which is odd, considering how not into horror she is – I picked up The Books of Blood, short story collections by Clive Barker, those slim American paperback editions with the monstrous faces on them. The stories The Midnight Meat Train, The Forbidden, and In the Hills, the Cities tore a hole in my brain. I could barely believe people could write such things. I became a lifelong fan of his work. Meanwhile, my career took me in the direction of audio production for TV, movies, and video games. If you combine high-concept short-form story ideas and my fascination with sound, you get the lion’s share of my fiction.