The Horror Writers Association Announces Horror University 2025

The HWA is pleased to announce this year’s course lineup for StokerCon 2025.

Course Pricing: $55 per course (to register see Eventbrite for details).

Michael Arnzen: The Uncanny and the Abject

This two-hour online workshop will involve short writing activities that will allow you to explore and practice the different techniques writers summon when triggering revulsion or conjuring dread.

Amityville-born horror writer Michael Arnzen holds four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing fiction and poetry. In addition to his creative books — like the novel, Grave Markings, or the short story collection, Proverbs for Monsters–he’s published a helpful collection of “story starters” for dark fiction authors called Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side and co-edited the writer’s guide, Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction. Arnzen holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Oregon and since 1999 has taught full-time at Seton Hill University, near Pittsburgh, in their MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. His past classes at Horror University have included such topics as “The Uncanny and The Abject in Horror Writing,” “Treacherous Settings” and “Making Your Reader Squirm.” Learn the latest at: http://gorelets.com

James Chambers: Bringing Cosmic Horror Down to Earth

This course will examine tropes in cosmic horror and techniques for establishing the grounded settings, well-developed characters, and troubling themes that make for effective cosmic horror stories.

Bram Stoker Award®-winning author, ​James Chambers has written two critically-acclaimed collections of Lovecraftian cosmic horror, The Engines of Sacrifice and A Bright and Beautiful Eternal World, edited two anthologies of weird cosmic horror, Under the Twin Suns: Alternate Histories of the Yellow Sign, and the forthcoming Where the Silent Ones Watch, and written numerous stories that blend science fiction, steampunk, urban fantasy, and other genres with cosmic horror. He received the Bram Stoker Award® for the graphic novel, Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe, and is a three-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. He is the author of the collections On the Night Border, described by Booklist as “a haunting exploration of the space where the real world and nightmares collide,” On the Hierophant Road, and Resurrection House as well as the dark urban fantasy novella, Three Chords of Chaos. His website is: www.jameschambersonline.

L.E. Daniels: Magic Realism for Rebels

Magic Realism for Rebels reintroduces this genre favorite through the horror lens with writing prompts along its elements, contours, and many invitations.

A Bram Stoker Award®, Aurealis, and Australasian Shadows finalist, L. E. Daniels, BA MFA, is an author/poet, the editor of 140+ titles, and an American living in Australia. Lauren’s dark magic realism novel, Serpent’s Wake: A Tale for the Bitten (IP) is a Notable Work with the HWA’s Mental Health Initiative, where she now serves as co-chair with Mark Matthews. Her recent short fiction publications include “Silk” in Hush, Don’t Wake the Monster, and “The Howling Places” in Into the Dread Unknown (Twisted Wing), “Darkness Repeats” (Monsters in the Mills, IP) and “Hangman’s Coming” (Where the Silent Ones Watch, Hippocampus Press). Her non-fiction appears in Out of Time: True Paranormal Encounters (Timber Ghost) and 34 Orchard. Her poetry appears in The Cozy Cosmic series (Underland), and Under Her Eye and Mother Knows Best (Black Spot Books) and with Timber Ghost. Her poem “Speak” appears in This Way Lies Madness (Flame Tree Press). Lauren directs the Brisbane Writers Workshop.

Maxwell I. Gold: Understanding Tone and Word Placement

The goal of this workshop is to examine word choice, tone, and rhythm by looking at both classic and modern examples from Milton to Shelley to Lovecraft to Ginsberg.

Maxwell I. Gold is a Jewish-American author and poet with an extensive body of work comprising over 350 poems since 2017. His writings have earned a place alongside many literary luminaries in the speculative fiction genre. His work has appeared in numerous literary journals, magazines, and anthologies. Maxwell’s work has been recognized with multiple nominations including the Eric Hoffer Award, Pushcart Prize, and Bram Stoker Awards. Find him and his work at www.thewellsoftheweird.com.

Brian McAuley: Dramatic Structure for Storytellers

By analyzing feature-length film structures, television season arcs and dramatic scene dynamics, you’ll walk away with the critical and creative skillset to tackle any tale.

Brian McAuley’s debut novel, Curse of the Reaper, was named one of the Best Horror Books of 2022 by Esquire. His holiday slasher novella, Candy Cain Kills, earned praise from Kirkus Reviews for its “sublimely drawn characters,” some of whom survived for the sequel, Candy Cain Kills Again: The Second Slaying. His next novel, Breathe In, Bleed Out, releases on September 2nd, 2025 from Poisoned Pen Press. As a WGA screenwriter, Brian has written everything from family sitcoms (Fuller House) to horror films (Dismissed). He teaches as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Screenwriting at ASU’s Sidney Poitier New American Film School. Connect with him on social media @BrianMcWriter

Mo Moshaty: Peele and the Furious Five: Unlocking the Layers of Jordan Peele’s Storytelling

Gain the tools to analyze and apply Peele’s storytelling techniques, enrich narratives with multidimensional characters and intricate plots, master audience engagement, integrate complex themes, and draft impactful endings that encourage lasting impressions and multiple interpretations.

Mo Moshaty is an acclaimed horror writer, lecturer, and producer whose work combines visceral storytelling with the psychological insight of her Cognitive Behavioral Therapy background. She has lectured internationally, including as a keynote speaker at Nightmares from Monkeypaw: A Jordan Peele Symposium (Prairie View A&M), No Return: A Yellowjackets Symposium (Horror Studies BAFSS Sig), The Whole Damn Swarm: Celebrating 30 Years of Candyman (University of California), and with the Centre for the History of the Gothic (University of Sheffield). Mo has also presented at the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival’s Brain Binge on women’s trauma in horror cinema, Cine-Excess on The Creepy Kid Horror Subgenre and Mother/Daughter Trauma in Horror, Romancing the Gothic on Cosmic Horror’s Havoc on The Body Electric, and the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, London. Her short film, 13 Minutes of Horror: Sci-Fi Horror, won the 2022 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Short Film. As a core producer with Nyx Horror Collective, Mo co-created the 13 Minutes of Horror Film Fest and partnered with Shudder in 2021 and 2022, while also establishing a Stowe Story Labs fellowship supporting women creatives over 40+ in horror. A member of the Black Women in Horror Class of 2023 and featured in 160 Black Women in Horror, Mo’s short fiction appears in A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales (Brigid’s Gate Press) and 206 Word Stories (Bag O’ Bones Press). Her debut novella, Love the Sinner, was released in July 2024 with Brigids Gate Press, with Clairviolence: Tales of Tarot and Torment set for 2025 with Tenebrous Press. As the Editor-in-Chief of NightTide Magazine and founder of Mourning Manor Media, Mo champions marginalized voices in horror. Under her leadership, NightTide plans to launch a film festival in 2026, furthering her mission to reshape the genre through inclusivity and representation.

John Peragine: Dread-Inducing Narratives: Mastering Horror Storytelling

Learn how to craft horror stories that linger in readers’ minds by developing unsettling characters, structuring suspenseful narratives, and mastering pacing techniques that sustain tension.

John Peragine is a prolific author and ghostwriter with over 14 published books and more than 100 ghostwritten works. His latest book, Play or Perish: Arcane Auction Wars, is a horror-comedy that blends supernatural suspense with dark humor. With a background in journalism, including contributions to The New York Times and Writer’s Digest, Peragine brings decades of experience in crafting compelling narratives across multiple genres. His deep knowledge of horror storytelling, combined with his expertise in publishing and editing, makes him a sought-after speaker at literary conferences and conventions.

Sara Tantlinger: Writing the Beautiful Macabre: Perfecting Your Twisted Prose

Through the examples and activities in class, you’ll learn how to wield the poetic as a powerful tool to create lush moments in horror, and to better engage readers through imagery that explores the senses.

Sara Tantlinger is a 5x Bram Stoker Award nominee, and the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning The Devil’s Dreamland: Poetry Inspired by H.H. Holmes, as well as other works like To Be Devoured, Cradleland of Parasites, and Love for Slaughter. She is an active HWA member and participates in the HWA Pittsburgh Chapter. She embraces all things macabre and can be found at saratantlinger.com and on Instagram @inkychaotics

Tim Waggoner: Into Darkness I Go: The Horror Hero’s Journey

Learn how to use the “hero’s journey” template–a tried-and-true technique, one horror writers can use too, but with its own deliciously dark spin–to write epic horror fiction!

Tim Waggoner has published over fifty novels and seven collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins, and his articles on writing have appeared in numerous publications. He’s a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe award, and he’s been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and the Splatterpunk Award. He’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. His papers are collected by the University of Pittsburgh’s Horror Studies Program.

Mercedes M. Yardley: Write Your Trauma: Harness Your Darkness to Create Compelling Work

Participants in this class will discuss how to use personal trauma to create work that emotionally resonates, and then participate in a short brainstorming/writing session.

Mercedes M. Yardley is a two-time Bram Stoker Award winner who lives in Las Vegas. She is the author of Darling, the Stabby Award-winning Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love, Pretty Little Dead Girls, Love is a Crematorium, and Nameless. Mercedes is the senior fiction editor of Gamut Magazine, a member of the SFWA, ANWA, Brother Grimms Society of North America, and serves within the HWA. You can find her at mercedesmyardley.com.