Archive for the 'News' Category

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce JournalStone as a Supporting Sponsor for the Bram Stoker Awards™ Weekend 2013. The Weekend Convention will be held at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, Louisiana from 13-16 June 2013: http://www.stokers2013.org/ .

Christopher C. Payne, President of JournalStone (http://journalstone.com/) said, “It is both an honor and a pleasure to support the HWA. The members and Board have been instrumental in supporting JournalStone‘s fledging endeavor as a new publishing company. I can only hope that we as a publisher continue to live up to the expectations of the HWA and all of its members.”

HWA President Rocky Wood welcomed JournalStone’s support: “This sponsorship from genre publisher Journal Stone is greatly appreciated by HWA and I am sure by all our members. Journal Stone has proven to be a highly professional and innovative genre publisher, with a strong horror line, at a time when the publishing industry is in flux. We look forward to welcoming them in New Orleans.”

There are a number of other sponsorship opportunities for the Weekend available – for more details contact president@horror.org .

The Horror Writers Association is proud to announce prolific anthologist John Joseph Adams as the Editor Guest of Honor for the World Horror Convention (WHC) 2013. In 2013 the HWA is hosting WHC as part of the Bram Stoker Awards™ Weekend in New Orleans from 13-16 June.

John Joseph Adams is the bestselling editor of the horror anthologies The Living Dead, The Living Dead 2, By Blood We Live, and Wastelands. He is also the editor of the new horror magazine Nightmare.

His other anthologies include Other Worlds Than These, Armored, Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom, Brave New Worlds, Federations, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and The Way of the Wizard. Forthcoming work includes The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination (Tor Books, Jan. 2013), Dead Man’s Hand (Titan Books, 2013), and Robot Uprisings (co-edited with Daniel H. Wilson, 2013).

John is a four-time finalist for the Hugo Award and a three-time finalist for the World Fantasy Award. He has been called “the reigning king of the anthology world” by Barnes & Noble, and his books have been lauded as some of the best anthologies of all time. John is also the editor and publisher of Lightspeed Magazine, and is the co-host of Wired.com’s The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast.

For more information, visit his website at johnjosephadams.com, and you can find him on Twitter @johnjosephadams.

HWA President Rocky Wood said, “John Joseph Adams is the type of anthology editor readers love – they know each of his books will be filled with well written, interesting tales to captivate them during their precious reading hours. We are very pleased that John has accepted our invitation to be World Horror Convention Guest of Honor, where he is likely to find 300 horror writers, all eager to impress him with their wares!”

Adams joins previously announced Guest of Honor Ramsey Campbell and Toastmaster Jeff Strand on the Guest list. Further Guests will be announced shortly.

The Horror Writers Association is proud to announce dark fantasy author Caitlín R. Kiernan as the Author Guest of Honor for the World Horror Convention (WHC) 2013. In 2013 the HWA is hosting WHC as part of the Bram Stoker Awards® Weekend in New Orleans from 13-16 June.

The New York Times recently called Caitlín R. Kiernan, “one of our essential writers of dark fiction.” She is the author of various dark-fantasy novels, beginning with Silk and followed by Threshold, Low Red Moon, The Five of Cups, Murder of Angels, Daughter of Hounds, and The Red Tree. Her ninth novel, The Drowning Girl: A Memoir, was released in April 2012.

In 2011, Subterranean Press released Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan (Volume 1), a retrospective of her short fiction from 1993-2004 (a second volume is planned for 2014). Publisher’s Weekly declared the collection one of the six best F/SF works of 2011. Two of her novellas have appeared as short hardbacks: In the Garden of Poisonous Flowers and The Dry Salvages. She has also worked in comics, scripting thirty-eight issues of the DC/Vertigo comic The Dreaming, along with two mini-series: The Girl Who Would Be Death and Bast: Eternity Game. In April 2012, she returned to comics and graphic novels, writing Alabaster, which features her albino monster-slayer, Dancy Flammarion. Her next novel, Blood Oranges, will be released in 2013. Illustrated versions of The Red Tree and The Drowning Girl: A Memoir will be published in 2013 and 2014.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Kiernan was raised in the south-eastern US, and now lives in Providence, Rhode Island with her partner.

HWA President Rocky Wood said, “Caitlín R. Kiernan’s reputation increases with every novel, graphic novel, and short story she releases. She has received multiple Bram Stoker Award, British Fantasy Award, World Fantasy Award and Shirley Jackson Award nominations. She is a worthy Author Guest of Honor for World Horror Convention and we look forward to her sharing more about her career to date, the importance of dark fantasy and her plans for the future.”

Kiernan joins previously announced Bram Stoker Award Weekend Guests of Honor Ramsey Campbell and Jonathan Maberry, World Horror Convention Guest Editor John Joseph Adams, and Toastmaster Jeff Strand on the Guest list. Further Guests are due to be announced.

As part of a burgeoning relationship with the American Library Association (ALA) the Horror Writers Association (HWA) will have a major presence at the ALA’s 2013 Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, Washington. The event will run from January 25 to January 28, at the Seattle Center.

This official presence includes a booth at the exhibition center and the presentation by the HWA of five panels on horror. The topics for these panels are The HWA & Libraries, The EBook Revolution, Small Press Horror, Graphic Novels, and YA Horror.

The ALA event offers a unique opportunity to promote adult and youth reading, as well as providing a new platform for publicizing the goals of the HWA and the works of its members to a different audience from that normally found at conventions: the librarians who choose the titles adults, teens, and children are offered in public and school libraries. Horror is immensely popular but too often libraries aren’t aware of horror books other than those on best-seller lists or lists published in library-focused publications. The HWA is looking to foster long-term partnerships with the ALA and with libraries in general, and this is a first step in making that happen.

The ALA Midwinter Meeting boasts an average attendance of more than 10,000 librarians. In the past, panel programs by other writing organizations have been well attended, and we believe that our agenda of topics, including Young Adult Horror, Small Press Horror, Graphic Novels, and the HWA’s literacy program will be just as popular. Scheduled panelists include Nancy Holder, Jonathan Maberry, Ellen Datlow, Jason V. Brock, William F. Nolan, Joe McKinney, Christopher Payne, Jeyn Roberts, Lisa Morton, Angel Leigh McCoy, and JG Faherty.

Over the course of the four-day event, the HWA will be raffling off three baskets of books and other goodies as prizes, and handing out free copies of member books at the booth. Any members who would like to donate books or other promotional giveaways should contact JG Faherty at jg@jgfaherty.com for complete details.

As part of its ongoing commitment to literacy, the HWA has also established a Library Committee, headed by JG Faherty, and has launched two special pages on the horror.org website. One is geared for librarians and library directors, which will provide information on HWA literacy programs, regional chapters, and recommended reading lists (http://www.horror.org/librarians.htm). The other is the new YA Horror section at http://www.horror.org/yahorror/. In addition to YA-related content, this page also contains the promotional artwork designed for us by acclaimed comic strip artist Ray Billingsley and an interview with Ray.

For further information, please contact JG Faherty at jg@jgfaherty.com, or visit the official American Library Association conference page: http://alamidwinter.org/general-exhibits-info.

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is proud to announce Amber Benson as Media Guest of Honor for the Bram Stoker Awards® Weekend 2013, to be held in New Orleans from 13-16 June 2013.

Amber Benson is multi-talented – she is a writer, director and actor. She currently writes the Calliope Reaper-Jones series for Ace/Roc and her middle grade book ‘Among The Ghosts’ came out in paperback this past fall from Simon and Schuster. She co-directed the Slamdance feature Drones’ and (co-wrote) and directed the BBC animated series ‘The Ghosts Of Albion’. Her acting work includes the Steven Soderbergh film ‘King Of The Hill’ and the indie feature ‘Race You To The Bottom’, for which she won the Best Actress Award at Outfest. Famously, she spent three years as Tara Maclay on the television series ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’.

HWA President Rocky Wood said, “Of course, Amber is well known from her time on ‘Buffy’ but we are pleased to have her as our Media Guest as she is also a director and a writer rapidly gaining a strong reputation. All this, plus she is a vocalist and has been involved in producing graphic comics! We are pleased she has agreed to share her diverse background and discuss her current projects with the Convention and I know attendees will be looking forward to her Guest of Honor presentation.”

Amber joins Ramsey Campbell, John Joseph Adams, Jeff Strand, Caitlin R Kiernan, Jonathan Maberry, Bruce Boston and Glenn Chadbourne in a stellar lineup of author, editor, poet, media and artist Guests.

The Horror Writers Association is proud to announce a new literacy partnership focusing on Young Adult (YA) readers. Beginning immediately, the HWA will be working with renowned cartoonist Ray Billingsley, creator of the comic strip CURTIS, to promote reading in general, and horror in particular, at conferences, speaking engagements, and libraries.

Ray has graciously created the attached promotional piece for the HWA, for official use at any event where members represent the HWA in some capacity, including booths, panels, library appearances and readings. This piece will be premiered at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in January 2012 and will also be prominently featured on the HWA’s new Young Adult Horror webpage, also set to premier in January.

CURTIS is one of the nation’s most popular comic strips, appearing in more than 372 newspapers daily. Its namesake main character has long been a devoted fan of horror movies and graphic novels, and as part of this new literacy project he will also become a fan of novels. Like his character Curtis, Ray Billingsley is a lifelong fan of things frightening and terrifying, and is a collector of classic horror books and movies.

This partnership offers a unique opportunity for the HWA to reach a completely different audience – one that might not yet be reading novels or short stories. The popularity of the horror and dark fantasy/sci-fi genres continues to grow more rapidly among the YA age groups than among adult readers, and by bringing the HWA and its member works to the attention of children, teens, and YA librarians, we are not only promoting reading in today’s youth, we are building the cornerstone of future adult readers.

HWA thanks JG Faherty for his proactive work in bringing this to fruition. Ray has also joined HWA as an Associate Member.

The CURTIS comic strip ran two panels about HWA and JG’s work recently, which was great exposure!

At long last, the anticipation is over. The Horror Writers Association announced the winners of the 2011 Bram Stoker Awards™ at its annual awards banquet tonight. This year’s presentation was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the World Horror Convention, and marks the 25th Anniversary of the awards.

Twelve new bronze haunted-house statuettes were handed over to the writers responsible for creating superior works of horror last year. This year’s winners are:

Superior Achievement in a NOVEL
Flesh Eaters by Joe McKinney (Pinnacle Books)

Superior Achievement in a FIRST NOVEL
Isis Unbound by Allyson Bird (Dark Regions Press)

Superior Achievement in a YOUNG ADULT NOVEL (tie)
> The Screaming Season by Nancy Holder (Razorbill)
> Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Superior Achievement in a GRAPHIC NOVEL
Neonomicon by Alan Moore (Avatar Press)

Superior Achievement in LONG FICTION
“The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine” by Peter Straub (Conjunctions: 56)

Superior Achievement in SHORT FICTION
“Herman Wouk Is Still Alive” by Stephen King (The Atlantic Magazine, May 2011)

Superior Achievement in a SCREENPLAY
American Horror Story, episode #12: “Afterbirth” by Jessica Sharzer (20th Century Fox Television)

Superior Achievement in a FICTION COLLECTION
The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares by Joyce Carol Oates (Mysterious Press)

Superior Achievement in an ANTHOLOGY
Demons: Encounters with the Devil and his Minions, Fallen Angels and the Possessed edited by John Skipp (Black Dog and Leventhal)

Superior Achievement in NON-FICTION
Stephen King: A Literary Companion by Rocky Wood (McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers)

Superior Achievement in a POETRY COLLECTION
How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend by Linda Addison (Necon Ebooks)

Works can be recommended by any member of the HWA. Juries in each category also compile their top picks, and members with Active status then vote works from both the member recommendations and the jury selections onto a preliminary ballot. From there the field is narrowed to the final ballot and Active members choose the winners from that. The award is named for Bram Stoker, best known as the author of Dracula. The trophy, which resembles a miniature haunted house, was designed by author Harlan Ellison and sculptor Steven Kirk.

Vampire Novel of the Century Award

HWA, in conjunction with the Bram Stoker Family Estate and the Rosenbach Museum & Library, also presented the special one-time only Vampire Novel of the Century Award to:

Richard Matheson for his modern classic I Am Legend

 

This award was voted on by a jury chaired by Dracula expert Leslie S. Klinger and was sponsored by Jeremy Wagner.

Lifetime Achievement and Specialty Press Awards

In addition, HWA presented its annual Lifetime Achievement Awards and its Specialty Press Awards. Rick Hautala and Joe R. Lansdale were both on hand to accept their Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The Specialty Press Awards went to Derrick Hussey of Hippocampus Press and Roy Robbins of Bad Moon Books.

Silver Hammer and President’s Richard Laymon Service Awards

The Silver Hammer Award, for outstanding service to HWA, was voted by the organization’s board of trustees to Guy Anthony DeMarco.

The President’s Richard Laymon Service Award was given to HWA co-founder Karen Lansdale.

Samhain Publishing served as the Platinum Sponsor for the event.

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is proud to announce that it will again webcast the Bram Stoker Awards™ presentation live in 2012. The Banquet is being held in Salt Lake City and the event will begin live on the internet at 9 p.m. (Mountain Daylight Savings Time) on March 31. The ceremony will take about 1½ hours to complete.

The webcast will be presented at: www.ustream.tv/channel/bramstokerawards2012.

This year the Bram Stoker Awards celebrate 25 years as the leading writing Awards in the horror and dark fantasy genre: http://www.stokers2012.org/. The Bram Stoker Awards Banquet is sponsored by Samhain Publishing.

Among the nominees are those for the Vampire Novel of the Century (a special Award to mark the centenary of the death of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula) – they include Richard Matheson for I Am Legend, Stephen King for Salem’s Lot and Anne Rice for Interview with the Vampire. This Award is sponsored by Jeremy Wagner.

Lifetime Achievement Awards will also be conferred on iconic horror writers Joe R Lansdale and Rick Hautala, both of whom will be in attendance to accept the Award. And this year’s presenters include Robert McCammon (Swan Song), one of the HWA’s Special Guests.

Bram Stoker Awards for Poetry, Non-Fiction, Fiction Collection, Anthology, Screenplay, Short Fiction, Long Fiction, Young Adult Novel, Graphic Novel, First Novel and Novel will be presented. Among the nominees in these categories are Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Mike Mignola, Jonathan Maberry and Joe Hill. Episodes of The Walking Dead, American Horror Story and True Blood are nominated in the Screenplay category. A full list of the nominees appears at: http://www.horror.org/blog/?p=2331.

More information about the Bram Stoker Awards may be found here: http://www.horror.org/stokers.htm.

Bad Moon Books, of Garden Grove, California, and Hippocampus Press of New York, New York will both receive the Horror Writers Association’s Specialty Press Award for 2011. The Award will be presented during the gala Bram Stoker Awards™ Banquet to be held this year in Salt Lake City on March 31.

The annual Specialty Press Award recognizes a publisher outside the mainstream New York City publishing community that specializes in dark-themed fiction. Winners are typically “small presses” specializing in limited editions, small print runs, or the work of new and relatively unknown authors. The winner of the award is determined by a majority vote of the HWA Board of Trustees.

Roy Robbins’s Bad Moon Books emphasizes horror and publishes novels, novellas, single-author collections, and poetry. They publish both finely-bound limited editions and trade editions, and their authors have included Clive Barker, Bruce Boston, Kealan Patrick Burke, Michael Louis Calvillo, Scott Edelman, John Everson, Nate Kenyon, Gregory Lamberson, John Little, Lisa Mannetti, Lisa Morton, Gene O’Neill, Gord Rollo, John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow, David Niall Wilson, and many others.

Bad Moon was started by Robbins, who is also a genre specialist bookseller, in 2007; their first title was Vampire Outlaw of the Milky Way by Weston Ochse. Since then, four of their books have won Bram Stoker Awards™, and their books have also received Black Quill Awards and numerous Bram Stoker Awards™ nominations.

Derrick Hussey’s Hippocampus Press specializes in classic horror with an emphasis on the works of H. P. Lovecraft and other pulp writers of the 1920s and 1930s. They publish novels, collections, anthologies, non-fiction and poetry, mostly in trade editions, and they also publish the periodicals Dead Reckonings and the Lovecraft Annual. Authors published by Hippocampus include Algernon Blackwood, Ramsey Campbell, Lord Dunsany, Thomas Ligotti, H. P. Lovecraft, H. L. Mencken, A. Merritt, Adam Niswander, W. H. Pugmire, Clark Ashton Smith, Jonathan Thomas, and other authors, both classic and contemporary.

Hussey started Hippocampus in 1999 with S. T. Joshi’s annotated edition of Supernatural Horror in Literature by H. P. Lovecraft. In 2010, Hippocampus Press received a Nightmare Award, and their publications have also won a Black Quill Award and been nominated for two International Horror Guild Awards, the Spectrum Award, and the Bram Stoker Award. They have also published a five-volume edition of Lovecraft’s essays, the “Lovecraft’s Library” series (classic works which inspired Lovecraft), and the definitive two-volume biography of Lovecraft, I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft, by S. T. Joshi.

Past winners of the Specialty Press Award include Dark Regions Press, Tartarus Press, Delirium Books, Earthling Publications, PS Publishing, and Bloodletting Press. Cemetery Dance won the first Specialty Press Award in 1997.

For more information about Bad Moon Books, please visit for http://www.badmoonbooks.com; for Hippocampus Press, visit http://www.hippocampuspress.com.

Note: The Bram Stoker Awards™ and the Specialty Press Awards will be presented during the Bram Stoker Awards™ banquet at the World Horror Convention. For more information, please visit http://www.stokers2012.org.