HWA Election Results 2022

HWA Election Results 2022 Los Angeles CA September 22, 2022 The Horror Writers Association (HWA) held its annual election in September. We had an unprecedented number of candidates for the three open positions of Trustee. Offices of President and Secretary ran unopposed. Our members have voted, and we are pleased to share the results. Please welcome our new president, John Edward Lawson; the re-election of our Secretary, Becky Spratford; and the re-election of our three Trustees: Linda Addison, James Chambers, and Ellen Datlow.   The elected officers shall hold their respective offices for terms of two years, beginning on October 31st at midnight. …

Latinx Heritage in Horror: Interview with Angela Acosta

Angela Acosta (she/her/ella) is a poet and scholar of Mexican and European descent who grew up in Gainesville, Florida. She won the 2015 Rhina P. Espaillat Award from West Chester University. Her speculative poetry has or will appear in On Spec, Eye to the Telescope, Radon Journal, MacroMacrocosm, and Shoreline of Infinity. Her work has been featured in Latinx magazines like Panochazine, Somos en Escrito, and Latinx Audio Lit Mag. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Iberian Studies at The Ohio State University and resides in Columbus, Ohio. She enjoys rock climbing and biking in her free time. Professional…

Latinx in Horror: Interview with Valerie Valdes

Valerie Valdes lives in an elaborate meme palace with her husband and kids, where she writes, edits and moonlights as a muse. When she isn’t working, she enjoys playing video games and admiring the outdoors from the safety of her living room. Her debut novel Chilling Effect was shortlisted for the 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Award, and was named one of Library Journal’s best SF/fantasy novels of 2019. Valerie is co-editor of Escape Pod, and her short fiction and poetry have been featured in Uncanny Magazine and Nightmare Magazine. What inspired you to start writing? I’ve had the writing tide…

Latinx Heritage in Horror: Interview with Jose Nateras

Jose Nateras is an L.A. based Writer and Filmmaker from Chicago. A graduate of Loyola University Chicago, Jose has his MFA in Writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). A screenwriter and playwright, Jose is also a contributor for The A.V. Club and elsewhere. His debut novel, Testament, was published by Ninestar Press. One of his feature-length horror screenplays, Zero Feet Away, was included on 2021’s Bloodlist and has been optioned by Village Roadshow Pictures/Brillstein Entertainment Partners where it is currently in development. Another, Departing Seniors, is currently in production. He can be found on Twitter:…

Latinx in Horror: Interview with A.E. Santana

A.E. Santana (she/her) is a Southern California native who grew up in a farming community surrounded by the Sonoran Desert. A lover of horror and fantasy, her works can be found in Latinx Screams, Demonic Carnival III, and other horror anthologies. She is the managing editor for Kelp Journal & Books, the moderator for the horror book club, The Thing in the Labyrinth, and the communications manager for Full Circle Players in Riverside, California. A.E. Santana is a member of the Horror Writers Association, the Denver Horror Collective, and has been a moderator for several horror panels, including "No Longer the Scream Queen: Women’s Roles in…

Latinx Heritage in Horror: Interview with LP Hernandez

LP Hernandez is an author of horror and speculative fiction. His stories have been featured in anthologies from Dark Matter Magazine, Cemetery Gates Media, and Sinister Smile Press among others. He is a regular contributor to The NoSleep Podcast and was privileged to helm the Season 16 finale. He has two short story collections including the recently released and fully illustrated The Rat King. His novella, Stargazers, was published under the My Dark Library banner with Cemetery Gates Media. When not writing, LP serves as a medical administrator in the U.S. Air Force. He is a husband, father, and a…

Latinx in Horror: Interview with A.P. Thayer

My name is A.P. Thayer and I'm a queer Xicano writer based out of Los Angeles. I write speculative fiction with a heavy horror bent, but try to blend genres as much as possible. My work has appeared in Space Fantasy Magazine, Dark Recesses Press, Uncharted Magazine, Los Suelos, Murder Park After Dark, and Glitter + Ashes, among others. I am also a staff member of Constelación Magazine. My heritage is a big part of not only what I write but my platform. I love talking about it, too! What inspired you to start writing? I jokingly tell people that my need for control is…

Latinx Heritage in Horror: Interview with Manuel Arenas

Manuel Arenas is a writer of verse and prose in the Gothic Horror tradition. His work has appeared in various anthologies and journals including Spectral Realms, and Penumbra, both from Hippocampus Press. In 2021 he released his first collection of poetry and prose, Book of Shadows: Grim Tales and Gothic Fancies, from Jackanapes Press. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona, where he pens his dark ditties sheltered behind heavy curtains, as he shuns the oppressive orb which glares down on him from the cloudless, dust-filled sky. What inspired you to start writing? I was always into storytelling, even in grade…

Karen Lansdale Silver Hammer award

LOS ANGELES, CA — September, 2022 The HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION is delighted to announce the immediate renaming of the Silver Hammer award to the Karen Lansdale Silver Hammer award in honor of the tremendous amount of work Karen did starting the HWA. This information will now be a part of the HWA’s permanent archives at Horror.org and elsewhere. Our physical award will also be updated. Instead of a hammer, a new stylized sculpture is being designed and will be cast by the same company that mints our Bram Stoker Award statues. We look forward to sharing the new design as…

Latinx in Horror: Interview with Ann Dávila Cardinal

Ann Dávila Cardinal is a writer and the Director of Recruitment for Vermont College of Fine Arts where she earned her MFA in Writing. She comes from a long line of Puerto Rican writers, including father and son poets Virgilio and José Antonio Dávila, and her cousin, award-winning fiction writer Tere Dávila. Her young adult horror novels include Five Midnights, Category Five, and the upcoming Breakup From Hell (1/3/23). The Storyteller’s Death, (10/4/22), a work of magical realism, is her first novel for adults. Ann lives with her husband in Vermont in a small house with a scary basement.  What inspired…
Introduction to Latinx Heritage in Horror 2022

Introduction to Latinx Heritage in Horror 2022

Intro to Latinx Heritage in Horror by Rosemary Thorne Things are looking great for the Latinx Horror community in 2022, and here is some proof of it. Apart from being nominated Bram Stoker Award for "Best Horror Novel for the second time," Cina Pelayo delivered a great edition of the "2022 Souvenir anthology," and will be Guest of Honor at StokerCon Pittsburgh 2023. Concurrently, Gabino Iglesias' last novel has made it to The New York Times, confirming Spanglish is trendy and "barrio noir" a valid subgenre. Many other Latinx authors are paving the road and accomplishing goals in the States…

In Memoriam: Peter Straub

Writers around the world, and horror writers, in particular, lost a legend. Peter Straub passed away on September 4, 2022, after a long illness. He was 79 years old. A master of his craft, Peter wrote horror, dark fantasy, and psychological thrillers. His works include sixteen novels, numerous short stories, eleven novellas, four poem collections, and one collection of non-fiction essays. He won multiple Bram Stoker, World Fantasy, and August Derleth awards. In 2005, the Horror Writers Association awarded Peter Straub their Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to the field of horror. Peter published his first supernatural thriller, Julia,…

2022 Horror Writers (HWA) Scholarships Announced

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) offers a variety of scholarships and grants to assist writers looking to pursue a career as a writer of horror fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. We also have an endowment program for libraries looking to expand their young adult reading programs. This year, the HWA has awarded 13 scholarships/grants/endowments, with a total value of $15,650 (USD). The HWA is pleased to announce the recipients of each award. The Horror Writers Association Scholarship Rob Flumignan (Rob Cornell, Pen name) Whether it’s a covert-ops team of vampire assassins or a greedy dragon who lives under Detroit’s MGM Grand…

Veterans in Horror Spotlight coming this November

The HWA is going to be running a month-long Veterans in Horror Spotlight this November coordinated by HWA member and former Marine, David Rose. We are inviting any and all veteran members to join us. If you are a horror author, poet, or non-fiction horror writer (or writer of dark fantasy or other related genres) who is a military veteran (defined as a former service member of any uniformed, national military), or if you would like to nominate such an author, please send an email message to veterans@horror.org by September 30, 2022. In the message, please include: - The name of the author…

HWA Poetry Showcase IX Table of Contents

HWA Poetry Showcase IX Table of Contents   “To Hear the Call” by Stephanie M. Wytovich “spoon against bone” by Geneve Flynn “The Koiy Factory” by Naomi Simone Borwein “Birthpangs, Deathpangs” by Mary A. Turzillo “FACE OFF” by Christina Sng “A THOUSAND MILES FROM HERE” by Alessandro Manzetti “Reasons Why You Can’t Go Out to Play Alone” by Victoria Nations “The Science of Last Things” by K. H. Vaughan “conflagration” by Cassondra Windwalker “One Eye, Two Eyes” by Jacqueline West “A Lacing of Lavender” by Carina Bissett “Something to Know About the Wind At the Cliff House” by Hillary Dodge…

HWA 2022 Elections

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The HWA’s annual elections will soon be upon us. 

Up this year are three Trustee positions, as well as the offices of President and Secretary. 

Please read the statements of the following candidates carefully. Links to the ballot will be sent out on or around September 7, 2022 to our Active and Lifetime members, with a due date of September 16, 2022. 

The elected officers shall hold their respective offices for terms of two years, beginning on November 1 and ending on October 31.

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Congratulations to all the poets who were selected for the annual HWA Poetry Showcase IX

Congratulations Poets! by Angela Yuriko Smith Congratulations to all the poets who were selected for the annual HWA Poetry Showcase IX, especially our featured poets Stephanie M. Wytovich, Geneve Flynn and Naomi Simone Borwein. It was difficult to choose just 50 poems when well over 200 poetry submissions came in this year. I’m grateful for fellow judges Lee Murray, Maxwell I. Gold and Frances Pai for helping me to read all of these and make the hard decisions.  A big thank you to HWA John Palisano for showing support for dark poetry and poets by not only doubling the Showcase…

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) Announces The Release of its Next Publication: The HWA Poetry Showcase, Volume IX

PRESS RELEASE The Horror Writers Association presents its ninth annual poetry showcase featuring a selection of the best original dark poetry from the past year. Edited by Angela Yuriko Smith with judges Lee Murray, Maxwell I. Gold and Frances Lu Pai Ippolito, this year features Stephanie M. Wytovich, Geneve Flynn, and Naomi Simone Borwein as our featured poets. Cover artwork by Kyra Starr. Appreciation to HWA President John Palisano for doubling the payment to poets and awarding poets both payment and a contributor copy instead of poets choosing between two options. The artwork for this year’s cover pays tribute to…

Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islanders Heritage in Horror: Interview with Naching T. Kassa

Naching T. Kassa is a wife, mother, and horror writer. She serves as an assistant at Crystal Lake Publishing, as an interviewer at HorrorAddicts.net, and is a proud member of both the Mystery Writers of America and the Horror Writers Association. You can find her work on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Naching-T-Kassa/e/B005ZGHTI0 What inspired you to start writing? When I was in second grade, I realized I could write stories for my classmates. I wrote and illustrated stories about monsters and all kinds of fun, scary things. My friends really liked them, and this inspired me to write more. What was it about the…

Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islanders Heritage in Horror: Interview with Lehua Parker

LEHUA PARKER writes speculative fiction for kids and adults, often set in her native Hawai‘i. Her award-winning and best-selling series include the Niuhi Shark Saga trilogy, Lauele Fractured Folktales, and Chicken Skin Stories, along with many other plays, poems, short stories, novels, and essays. Her short stories have appeared in Va: Stories by Women of the Moana, Bamboo Ridge, and Sharks in an Inland Sea, and her plays performed by The Honolulu Theatre for Youth. A Kamehameha Schools graduate, Lehua is a passionate advocate of indigenous voices and authentic representation in media. She is a frequent speaker at conferences, schools, and symposiums, and mentors…