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Thursday, June 15
 

1:00pm EDT

Registration
Check in for StokerCon 2023! Receive your name badge and your swag bag. This is also a good place to find someone who can answer your questions.
Thursday June 15, 2023 1:00pm - 6:50pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom III Foyer
  Convention Ops

4:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Todd Keisling

Todd Keisling

Author, Graphic Designer, Precipice Books / Dullington Design Co.
TODD KEISLING is a writer and designer of the horrific and strange. His books include Scanlines, The Final Reconciliation, The Monochrome Trilogy, and Devil's Creek, a 2020 Bram Stoker Award finalist for Superior Achievement in a Novel. A pair of his earlier works were recipients... Read More →
avatar for Sam Rebelein

Sam Rebelein

Sam Rebelein holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College, with a focus in horror and memoir. Sam's work has recently appeared in Bourbon Penn, Coffin Bell Journal, Press Pause Press, Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year, and elsewhere. HarperCollins' horror and crime... Read More →
avatar for Michael Tichy

Michael Tichy

Michael Tichy is the author of the eco horror/meditation on grief/kaiju novella Behind Every Tree, Beneath Every Rock (Castaigne). His stories have appeared in the anthologies Shredded, Into the Crypts of Rays, and Shiver. Currently seeking a publisher for his western horror allegory... Read More →

Thursday June 15, 2023 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Hall of Fame
  Author Readings

4:00pm EDT

You Can't Get There From Here: Tales of Weird Pittsburgh
Welcome to Pittsburgh! Join our panelists as they bathe our Convention city in unholy and horror-worthy light. What mysteries hide in the alleyways of the Southside? Is there real magic at the convergence of three rivers? Can you feel the pull of the Fourth River? How many cemeteries have you haunted? How many bridges and tunnels does one city need? What cryptids, legends, ghosts, or maniacs haunt our Rust Belt abode. Hear from Pittsburgh horror writers who have been influenced by the often uncanny history, folklore, cultural oddities, and decaying buildings surrounded by an urban wilderness.
Moderators
avatar for Douglas Gwilym

Douglas Gwilym

author, co-editor of Novus Monstrum
Douglas Gwilym's short story "Poppy's Poppy" (Penumbric Magazine) has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award this year. His story "Year Six" (LampLight Magazine) was on the preliminary ballot last year, and is on Ellen Datlow’s recommended reading list for Best Horror 14.He has... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Nelson Pyles
avatar for Frank Oreto

Frank Oreto

Writer
Frank Oreto is a writer of weird fiction living in the wilds of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. His stories have lurked in the pages of The Years Best Hardcore Horror, Flame Tree Press, and F&SF and been recited in hoarse whispers in the halls of Pseudopod, Tales to Terrify and the NoSleep... Read More →
avatar for Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, Boneset & Feathers, and Pretty Marys All in a Row, among others. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub, Nightmare, Best American Science... Read More →
avatar for Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her work has been showcased in numerous magazines and anthologies such as Weird Tales, Nightmare Magazine, Southwest Review, Year's Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2, The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8 & 15, as well... Read More →
avatar for Michelle Renee Lane

Michelle Renee Lane

Writer
Michelle Renee Lane holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and is an instructor for Speculative Fiction Academy. She writes dark speculative fiction about identity politics and women of color battling their inner demons while fighting/falling in love with... Read More →

Thursday June 15, 2023 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Haselton I-II
  Horror History and Culture

4:00pm EDT

Raw Dog Screaming Press Party
Celebrate with us! Toast 20 years in publishing for Raw Dog Screaming Press, which published its first book in 2003. All StokerCon attendees are welcome, drink tickets will be first come first serve. Meet some of our authors and raise a glass to horror.

Visit Raw Dog Screaming Press online at: https://rawdogscreaming.com/
Speakers
avatar for Jennifer Barnes

Jennifer Barnes

Managing Editor, Raw Dog Screaming Press
Jennifer Barnes is managing editor of Raw Dog Screaming Press which has been publishing off-kilter books for nearly two decades. She spent four years as an editor for The Dream People Literary Magazine. Her children’s book, Better Haunted Homes and Gardens, illustrated by Kristen... Read More →


Thursday June 15, 2023 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Parties!

4:00pm EDT

Writing Your Horror Novel in Six Weeks
Instructor, Jason Henderson, host of the Castle of Horror Podcast, publisher at Castle Bridge Media, and best-selling writer of Night of the Book Man and the Alex Van Helsing and Young Captain Nemo, series will teach you how to go from idea to launchable manuscript in six weeks. The course will cover: choosing your sub-genre; making familiar monsters different; outlining your novel; forcing yourself to draft; editing; and the basics of publishing whether traditional or non-traditional. The course will provide a roadmap for planning and completing your book. Live exercises will include how to craft a story quickly, exploring tricks to get started writing, and how to make sure you keep writing. By the end of this workshop, attendees will be able to get started with outlining a novel and start writing right away, with the goal of having a clean draft by the end of six weeks.

SEPARATE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. VISIT THE HORROR UNIVERSITY SITE FOR MORE DETAILS.


Horror University is Sponsored by Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction: http://setonhill.edu/fiction/

Thursday June 15, 2023 4:00pm - 5:50pm EDT
Stoops Ferry
  Horror University

4:00pm EDT

Dealer Room
Featuring official StokerCon 2023 bookseller White Whale Bookstore

Full list of dealers coming soon!

Thursday June 15, 2023 4:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom III-V
  Dealer Room

5:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Jeff Strand

Jeff Strand

Five-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. One-time Bram Stoker Award winner. Ten-time (!) Bram Stoker Award Master of Ceremonies.Author of plentiful books for your reading pleasure, including Pressure, Dweller, My Pretties, Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary), Clowns Vs. Spiders... Read More →
avatar for barbara barnett

barbara barnett

Author
Barbara Barnett is the author of three  books,  including  the award-winning The Apothecary’s Curse, a finalist for the prestigious Bram Stoker Award for a debut novel. As publisher and executive editor of Blog- critics (blogcritics.org), an Internet maga- zine of pop culture... Read More →
avatar for Michael Allen Rose

Michael Allen Rose

Bizarro Writers Association President
Michael Allen Rose is a writer, musician, and performance artist based in Chicago, IL. He has been involved in the bizarro scene for years, and hosts the annual Ultimate Bizarro Showdown at BizarroCon. He also makes industrial music under the name Flood Damage. He likes tea, cats... Read More →
avatar for Clay McLeod Chapman

Clay McLeod Chapman

Author of Ghost Eaters, Whisper Down the Lane, The Remaking and the upcoming novel What Kind Of Mother, among others.

Thursday June 15, 2023 5:00pm - 5:50pm EDT
Hall of Fame
  Author Readings

5:00pm EDT

Self Care for Horror Writers
Balancing day jobs, families, and overall health greatly impact us all and affect our creative output. Join our panelists for a discussion on the importance of taking care of your mental health, various coping mechanisms, how to stay productive, and more.
Moderators
avatar for Jessi Ann York

Jessi Ann York

Jessi Ann York’s stories have been featured at several professional rate horror markets, including PseudoPod, Vastarien, Cemetery Gates Media, Love Letters to Poe, and more. Her first two stories, “Phases of the Shadow” and “Women of the Mere,” were mentioned as standouts... Read More →

Speakers
BH

Brad Hodson

Administrator, Horror Writers Association
avatar for Lauren Elise (L. E.) Daniels

Lauren Elise (L. E.) Daniels

Editor, Author, Brisbane Writers Workshop
A Rhode Islander living in Australia for over 20 years, Lauren Elise Daniels (L. E. Daniels) has worked in publishing since '92. She attained an MFA from Emerson College and has edited over 100+ titles, including the Aurealis Award-winning Relics, Wrecks and Ruins (2021), Aiki Flinthart's... Read More →
avatar for Emily Ruth Verona

Emily Ruth Verona

Emily Ruth Verona received her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Cinema Studies from the State University of New York at Purchase. In 2014 she won the Pinch Literary Award in Fiction. She is a Bram Stoker Award nominee, a Jane Austen Short Story Award Finalist, and a Luke Bitmead... Read More →
avatar for Mo Moshaty

Mo Moshaty

Mo Moshaty is a horror writer, lecturer and producer. She has lectured with Prairie View A&M Film & TV Program as a Keynote, BAFSS Horror Studies Sig and The University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. Mo has partnered with horror giant, Shudder Channel, to co-produce the 13 Minutes... Read More →
JV

Thursday June 15, 2023 5:00pm - 5:50pm EDT
Haselton I-II
  Writing and Publishing

6:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Ally Malinenko

Ally Malinenko

Ally Malinenko is the author of several poetry collections as well as Ghost Girl and the Stoker nominated This Appearing House both from Katherine Tegen Books/Harper Collins
avatar for Bryan Young

Bryan Young

President, League of Utah Writers
Bryan Young works across many different media. His work as a writer and producer has been called "filmmaking gold" by The New York Times. He's also published comic books with Slave Labor Graphics and Image Comics. He's been a regular contributor for the Huffington Post, StarWars.com... Read More →
avatar for Clare Castleberry

Clare Castleberry

Clare Castleberry grew up in the swamps of Louisiana and lived behind her family's neighborhood bar, which fueled her imagination for southern gothic stories, often with erotic, horrific, or crime-laden themes. She has worked as a librarian, model, phone sex operator, ghostwriter... Read More →
avatar for Paul Lubaczewski

Paul Lubaczewski

Author
Paul has lived all over the country before settling in Appalachia over fifteen years ago with his wife Leslie and their son. He also has two adult children living in his native Pennsylvania. He has written numerous horror comedy novels, and he has no idea at this point how many short... Read More →

Thursday June 15, 2023 6:00pm - 6:50pm EDT
Hall of Fame
  Author Readings

6:00pm EDT

Remembering Peter Straub
A tribute to the late master of horror, Peter Straub, covering his major works and contributions to the genre.

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for John Langan

John Langan

Author, THE FISHERMAN
John Langan is the author of two novels, The Fisherman (2016) and House of Windows (2009/2017), and two collections, The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies (2013) and Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters (2008).  With Paul Tremblay, he has co-edited Creatures... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for John F. D. Taff
PT
avatar for JG Faherty

JG Faherty

Horror Writers Association
Writer of dark fiction (horror, S/F, fantasy). HWA Mentorship Program Manager. Talk to me about horror, writing, books, editing, movies, guitars, bourbon, or just about anything except politics!
avatar for Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy

Nat writes horror for the page, stage, and screen. He's the author of the horror novels Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings, both published by Nightfire. His critically-acclaimed, award-winning horror plays have been produced across the United States, as well as Off- and Off-Off-Broadway... Read More →

Thursday June 15, 2023 6:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Haselton I-II
  Horror History and Culture

8:00pm EDT

Opening Ceremony
Join your fellow attendees in welcoming our StokerCon 2023 Guests of Honor and meeting friends new and old.
Moderators
avatar for John Edward Lawson

John Edward Lawson

President, Horror Writers Association
John Edward Lawson is an author, artist, and musician from Maryland. His work has been nominated for the Dwarf Stars, Rhysling, Stoker, and Wonderland Awards in addition to the Pushcart Prize. For his work as an editor John received the 2018 HWA Specialty Press Award. He currently... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Sara Tantlinger

Sara Tantlinger

Co-Chair, StokerCon® 2023
Sara Tantlinger is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning The Devil’s Dreamland: Poetry Inspired by H.H. Holmes, and the Stoker-nominated works To Be Devoured and Cradleland of Parasites. She has also edited Not All Monsters and Chromophobia. She is an active HWA member... Read More →
avatar for Meghan Arcuri

Meghan Arcuri

Vice-President, Horror Writers Association
Meghan Arcuri is a Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author. Her work can be found in various anthologies, including Borderlands 7 (Borderlands Press), Madhouse (Dark Regions Press), Chiral Mad, and Chiral Mad 3 (Written Backwards). She is currently the Vice President of the Horror... Read More →
avatar for Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu

Guest of Honor
Alma Katsu is the author of historical horror novels such asThe Hunger and The Fervor, as well as the Red Widow spy series. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal, been featured in the NY Times and Washington Post, been nominated... Read More →
avatar for Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

Guest of Honor
Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone... Read More →
avatar for Michael Arnzen

Michael Arnzen

Co-Chair, StokerCon® 2023
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, the short story collection, Proverbs... Read More →
avatar for Owl Goingback

Owl Goingback

Guest of Honor
Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous novels, children's books, short stories, screenplays, comics, and magazine articles. He is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and has received the Bram Stoker Award for Novel... Read More →
avatar for Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus

Guest of Honor
Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels and graphic novels, including his latest,Whalefall (August 2023). He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based... Read More →
avatar for Ben Rubin

Ben Rubin

Horror Studies Collection Coordinator, Co-Chair, StokerCon® 2023, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Horror Studies Collection Coordinator for Archives & Special Collections at the University of Pittsburgh Library System - responsible for building, managing, and curating archival and rare book resources related to horror studies and serving as subject area expert for reference related... Read More →
avatar for Jewelle Gomez

Jewelle Gomez

Guest of Honor
Jewelle Gomez is the author of several books including the double Lambda Literary Award winning vampire novel, The Gilda Stories. She is the recipient of a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, two California Arts Council fellowships and an Individual Artist... Read More →
avatar for Wrath James White

Wrath James White

Guest of Honor
Wrath James White is a former World Class Heavyweight Kickboxer, a professional Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts trainer, distance runner, performance artist, and former street brawler, who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print.​Wrath is... Read More →

Thursday June 15, 2023 8:00pm - 10:00pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Convention Keynotes

11:00pm EDT

Midnight Special:Monster Mash!
A fun, late-night programming piece, not at all a serious discussion--though it might just get intense!

Nine participants and one host. Two teams of three. Three judges. An intrepid group who will strive to answer the age old question: "Which monster would win in a fight?" In each round, each team will randomly be assigned a monster out of classic horror or folklore and a random setting will be chosen (or provided by the audience). Each team will then make their case for why their monster would defeat the other team's monster, how their powers or characteristics would match up, and how their environment might be a factor. After the cases are presented, the judges will assess the arguments and decide the winner! Tongue-in-cheek! Outlandish! Deeply meaningful! Place yer bets and let fate decide!
Moderators
avatar for James Chambers

James Chambers

Trustee; Co-Chair, Horror University, Horror Writers Association
James Chambers received the Bram Stoker Award® for the graphic novel, Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe and is a four-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. He is the author of the short story collections On the Night Border and On the Hierophant Road... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Brian Matthews

Brian Matthews

Trustee; Bram Stoker Awards® Show Coordinator, Pitch Session Coordinator, Horror Writers Association
Author, financial planner, former psychologist, husband, and father. That pretty much sums it up.
avatar for Lee Murray

Lee Murray

Lee Murray is an author, editor, screenwriter, and poet from Aotearoa-New Zealand. A USA Today Bestselling Author, double Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson Award winner, she’s a serial panellist with a passion for horror. Read more at https://www.leemurray.info/... Read More →
avatar for Clay McLeod Chapman

Clay McLeod Chapman

Author of Ghost Eaters, Whisper Down the Lane, The Remaking and the upcoming novel What Kind Of Mother, among others.
avatar for Mary SanGiovanni

Mary SanGiovanni

Mary SanGiovanni is an award-winning American horror and thriller writer of over a dozen novels, including The Hollower trilogy, Thrall, Chaos, The Kathy Ryan series, and others, as well as numerous novellas, short stories, comics, and non-fiction.  Her work as been translated... Read More →
avatar for Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

Guest of Honor
Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone... Read More →
avatar for Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Volunteer Coordinator, HWA LA
Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr. is the author, editor or co-editor of twenty-seven books, including Bram Stoker Award nominees Uncovering Stranger Things, The Streaming of Hill House, Devil’s Advocates: The Conjuring, and Eaters of the Dead: Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters. He is... Read More →
avatar for Owl Goingback

Owl Goingback

Guest of Honor
Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous novels, children's books, short stories, screenplays, comics, and magazine articles. He is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and has received the Bram Stoker Award for Novel... Read More →
avatar for Wrath James White

Wrath James White

Guest of Honor
Wrath James White is a former World Class Heavyweight Kickboxer, a professional Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts trainer, distance runner, performance artist, and former street brawler, who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print.​Wrath is... Read More →

Thursday June 15, 2023 11:00pm - Friday June 16, 2023 12:00am EDT
Haselton I-II
  Horror History and Culture
 
Friday, June 16
 

8:00am EDT

Registration
Check in for StokerCon 2023! Receive your name badge and your swag bag. This is also a good place to find someone who can answer your questions.

Friday June 16, 2023 8:00am - 5:00pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom III Foyer
  Convention Ops

8:30am EDT

Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference Welcome and Opening Remarks
Moderators
avatar for Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Attendee, Lone Star College University Park
Rhonda Jackson Garcia, AKA RJ Joseph, is a Stoker Award™ nominated, Texas based academic and creative writer/professor whose writing regularly focuses on the intersections of gender and race in the horror and romance genres and popular culture. She has had works published in various... Read More →
avatar for Bridget Keown

Bridget Keown

Professor, University of Pittsburgh
Bridget Keown is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh, and is the head of the Gender and Science Initiative. She earned her PhD in history at Northeastern University, where her research focused on the... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 8:30am - 9:00am EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference

9:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Sarah Hans

Sarah Hans

Sarah Hans is an award-winning writer, editor, and teacher whose stories have appeared in more than 40 publications, including Apex Magazine, Love Letters to Poe, and Pseudopod. Her debut horror novel, Entomophobia, is being republished in June 2023, just in time for StokerCon! You... Read More →
avatar for Danger Slater

Danger Slater

Writer guy. Good time party dude.
I'm an author and a performer and a good time party dude. I eat a lot of soup. I am soup.
avatar for Jason A. Wyckoff

Jason A. Wyckoff

Jason A. Wyckoff is the author of two short story collections published by Tartarus Press, Black Horse and other Strange Stories (2012) and The Hidden Back Room (2016). His work has appeared in anthologies from Haverhill House, Plutonian Press and Siren’s Call Publications, as... Read More →
AD

Friday June 16, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

9:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for P.L. McMillan

P.L. McMillan

Author
P.L. McMillan is a Canadian expat living in the States, after having taught English for three years in Asia. With a passion for cosmic horror and sci-fi horror, P.L. McMillan sees every shadow as an entryway to a deeper look into the black heart of the world, meant to be discovered... Read More →
avatar for Sheldon Higdon

Sheldon Higdon

Author
With over 40 publications, Sheldon Higdon’s work has appeared in anthologies and magazines such as In Darkness, Delight: Fear the Future, Rue Morgue magazine, Tales from the Lake, Vol. 4, MADHOUSE, Writers on Writing, Vol. 4, and The Portland Monthly magazine among others. He is... Read More →
SB
avatar for Richard Thomas

Richard Thomas

BIO: Richard Thomas is the award-winning author of eight books—Disintegration and Breaker (Penguin Random House Alibi), Transubstantiate, Herniated Roots, Staring Into the Abyss, Tribulations, Spontaneous Human Combustion (Turner Publishing), and The Soul Standard (Dzanc Books... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

9:00am EDT

Take Their Hands: Ancestry as Source
Join us as we delve into the process of listening to the voices of our lineage to tell the stories that need to be told. We'll explore the past as a source, as we navigate the lines of integrity and authenticity in crafting layered stories that resonate.
Moderators
avatar for Lauren Elise (L. E.) Daniels

Lauren Elise (L. E.) Daniels

Editor, Author, Brisbane Writers Workshop
A Rhode Islander living in Australia for over 20 years, Lauren Elise Daniels (L. E. Daniels) has worked in publishing since '92. She attained an MFA from Emerson College and has edited over 100+ titles, including the Aurealis Award-winning Relics, Wrecks and Ruins (2021), Aiki Flinthart's... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Frances Ippolito

Frances Ippolito

Editor, Writer, Publisher
Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito (she/her) is a Chinese American judge, mom, and writer in Portland, Oregon. Her writing has appeared in Nightmare Magazine, Flame Tree’s Asian Ghost Stories, Chromophobia, Mother: Tales of Terror and Love, Death’s Garden Revisited, and Unquiet Spirits... Read More →
avatar for Rena Mason
avatar for Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

Guest of Honor
Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone... Read More →
avatar for Erika T. Wurth

Erika T. Wurth

Writer/Professor, Flatiron/Macmillan
Erika T. Wurth’s literary-horror/speculative novel, White Horse, is forthcoming with Flatiron/Macmillan. She teaches creative writing at Western Illinois University and has been a guest writer at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Horror History and Culture

9:00am EDT

Videogames and Horror
From Silent Hill to Alone in the Dark, video games have exploited the horror genre for many scares and thrills, from role playing survival games to first person shooters. How are video games uniquely suited to the genre of horror? How does interactivity, narrative and multimedia play come together to make for weird experiences?  And are video games getting weirder?
Moderators
avatar for Robert Ottone

Robert Ottone

Robert P. Ottone is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of THE TRIANGLE. His other works include HER INFERNAL NAME & OTHER NIGHTMARES (an honorable mention in THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR VOLUME 13) as well as the suburban folk horror novel, THE VILE THING WE CREATED.His short stories... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Heather Romanowski

Heather Romanowski

Co-Founder, Book Realm Revisions, LLC
Editor. 📝 Bookdragon. 📚 Gaming enthusiast & RPG player. 🎲🎮🧩👾She/her.Heather has been writing and editing for the past decade and co-founded Book Realm Revisions in 2017. She has worked with fiction and nonfiction independent authors since then. Her most recent work... Read More →
avatar for Todd Keisling

Todd Keisling

Author, Graphic Designer, Precipice Books / Dullington Design Co.
TODD KEISLING is a writer and designer of the horrific and strange. His books include Scanlines, The Final Reconciliation, The Monochrome Trilogy, and Devil's Creek, a 2020 Bram Stoker Award finalist for Superior Achievement in a Novel. A pair of his earlier works were recipients... Read More →
avatar for Richard Dansky

Richard Dansky

Franchise Narrative Director, Crytek
I am a twenty-plus year veteran of the video game industry, and have extensive experience in tabletop RPGs as well. I've published eight novels and one short story collection (soon to be two), as well as short fiction, book reviews, and academic papers in the dim and distant past... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Pointview
  Horror History and Culture

9:00am EDT

Buzzing About Horror Books
Join members of the HWA’s Library Advisory Council as they share the buzz about a slew of exciting new and upcoming horror titles.
Moderators
avatar for Emily Vinci

Emily Vinci

Librarian, Fiction Manager, Schaumburg Township District Library

Speakers
avatar for Carina Stopenski

Carina Stopenski

Teen Librarian, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
avatar for Jocelyn Codner

Jocelyn Codner

Reference & Outreach Librarian, Chatham University
avatar for Emily Hughes

Emily Hughes

Writer/Editor/Listmaker
Emily Hughes wants to talk to you about scary books. Formerly the editor of Unbound Worlds and TorNightfire.com, she writes about horror literature and tweets bad puns @emilyhughes. You can find her writing elsewhere on Vulture, Tor.com, Electric Literature, Thrillist, and more.
avatar for Yaika Sabat

Yaika Sabat

Manager of Reader Services, NoveList

Friday June 16, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Admiral
  Librarians' Day

9:00am EDT

Perspectives on Mental Health in Horror
World Health Organization data estimates that one in eight people live with a mental disorder (2022), and since literature reflects society, our characters and plots will also include mental illness. Panelists discuss what writers can do to reduce stigma and create understanding through the lens of horror literature, including cultural perspectives, lived experience, research, and learning.

Moderators
avatar for Lee Murray

Lee Murray

Lee Murray is an author, editor, screenwriter, and poet from Aotearoa-New Zealand. A USA Today Bestselling Author, double Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson Award winner, she’s a serial panellist with a passion for horror. Read more at https://www.leemurray.info/... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Sumiko Saulson

Sumiko Saulson

Social Media Manager, Horror Writers Association
Sumiko Saulson, authorWriter of Dark Speculative Fictionwwww.SumikoSaulson.comPronouns: ze/hir/hirsSumiko Saulson is a Bram Stoker and Elgin nominated poet and award-winning author of Afrosurrealist and multicultural sci-fi and horror. Author of the Bram Stoker nominated The Rat... Read More →
avatar for Brian Matthews

Brian Matthews

Trustee; Bram Stoker Awards® Show Coordinator, Pitch Session Coordinator, Horror Writers Association
Author, financial planner, former psychologist, husband, and father. That pretty much sums it up.
avatar for Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is waaaaaay too obsessed with all of the Silent Hill games, weirdo italian movies and poop. Hence, the poetry collections, THIS STORY DOESN'T END THE WAY WE WANT ALL THE TIME, MEANINGLESS CYCLES IN A VICIOUS GLASS PRISON and HAIPOO: 7 POOSPECTIVES IN POOETRY. They also... Read More →
avatar for Jessica Peter

Jessica Peter

Jessica Peter writes dark, haunted, and sometimes absurd short stories, novels, and poems. She's a social worker and health researcher who lives in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada with her partner and their two black cats. You can find her writing in venues such as LampLight Magazine, The... Read More →
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

I’ve published over fifty novels and seven collections of dark fiction as well as media tie-ins. I’m a three-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, and I teach creative writing at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. People can talk to me about anything! But anything horror-related... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Writing and Publishing

9:00am EDT

The Life Cycle of a Book
Join an experienced group of authors, editors, and other industry experts to discuss the writing and publishing process. What happens during the different stages of bringing a book to life? What about when a release doesn’t go as planned?
This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for Sarah Read

Speakers
avatar for Tom Deady

Tom Deady

Tom Deady's first novel, HAVEN, won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. He has since published several novels, novellas, a short story collection, and the first book in his middle grade horror series. He has a Master's Degree in English and Creative... Read More →
avatar for Becky LeJeune

Becky LeJeune

Agent, Bond Literary Agency
Becky LeJeune is an agent at Bond Literary Agency, a Denver-based agency run by Sandra Bond. Prior to joining the agency, Becky spent time working as a bookseller, a freelance cookbook editor, and an acquisitions editor for a small, regional press. She is a graduate of the Denver... Read More →
avatar for Cody Langille

Cody Langille

Owner/Editor-in-Chief, Timber Ghost Press
C.R. Langille spent many a Saturday afternoon watching monster movies with their mother. It wasn't long before they started crafting nightmares to share with their readers. They are a retired, disabled veteran with a deep love for weird and creepy tales. This prompted them to form... Read More →
avatar for Kelly Lonesome

Kelly Lonesome

Executive Editor, Tor Nightfire
I joined Tor Publishing Group in 2019, and I haven't had a good night's sleep since then from all the nightmare fuel I get to read at Nightfire! I have the privilege of working with terrifyingly talented authors like Catriona Ward, Gretchen Felker-Martin, Chuck Tingle, Lucy A. Snyder... Read More →
avatar for Lisa Kastner

Lisa Kastner

Founder and Executive Editor, Running Wild, LLC
Lisa was born in Camden, NJ which was one of the most dangerous cities in America. In high school, she was a dancer and co-host on Dance Party USA. At the age of 20 she came home to find her house had burned down and she was suddenly homeless. She spent the next several years rebuilding... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Haselton I-II
  Writing and Publishing

9:00am EDT

Tract 1: Bodies and Embodiement in Culture and Narratives
Paint It Black: Exploring Blackness as a Thematic Element in Horror Retellings and Adaptations
Hebah Uddin

Fetish Fixe: Food Porn, Food Insecurity, and Food Horror is on The Menu
J. Rocky Colavito

Societal Deju Vu Gender-Bender Shape-Shifting as a Cultural Mirror
John Kachuba

Cats and the Occult: A Canthropolgy
Katherine Kerestmen




Speakers
HU
RC

Rocky Colavito

Professor of English, Butler University
Horror Scholarship, Grindhouse films, teaching horror, teaching horror writing, horror as a genre, adaptation and appropriation, and rookie horror author.
KK

Katherine Kerestman

Merricat, Creepy Cat
Our wives always did as they were told. (Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle)In darkness he did live and die (Dark Shadows)What you ask is Against Regulations. (Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun) 
avatar for John Kachuba

John Kachuba

Author
Shapeshifters! Ghosts! Middle Grade horror! Author of 12 books. Haycorn Smith and the Castle Ghost (middle-grade) coming June 14 from Paper Angel Press. Several of John's nonfiction books are about ghosts and the paranormal and he is a frequent speaker on that subject on TV, radio... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 9:00am - 10:30am EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference

9:00am EDT

Hollywood Hacks for Horror Writers
With Hollywood hungry for screen-worthy stories, versatility is a horror writer’s deadliest
weapon. In this interactive workshop, you’ll take a stab at various screenwriting techniques—from overall plot arcs to dramatic scene structures—that can sharpen your screenwriting and fiction writing. Special attention will be paid to using these methods to create more tension in your twisted tales. At the end of our session, we’ll pull back the curtain on pitching and selling both original and adapted horror stories in a bloodthirsty industry. Students should come to this session prepared to workshop a novel or screenplay story in progress OR have a new story idea they want to develop from scratch. The course will include an interactive presentation on the 8-Sequence Structure for outlining a feature film that’s less vague than 3-Act Structure and more flexible than the Save the Cat formula. Students will apply this structure to their work in progress to compose a new outline. Additional material will include analysis of structural components, a comparison of script to screen from the instructors produced work, and Q&A focused on the current Hollywood landscape for book-to-film adaptations.

SEPARATE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. VISIT THE HORROR UNIVERSITY SITE FOR MORE DETAILS.


Horror University is Sponsored by Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction: http://setonhill.edu/fiction/
Moderators
avatar for Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley is a WGA screenwriter with six produced film credits, including the award-winning thriller DISMISSED. He wrote an episode of the Netflix sitcom FULLER HOUSE and sold his horror series pitch AFFLICTION to Syfy Network in a pilot development deal. Brian's debut horror... Read More →


Friday June 16, 2023 9:00am - 10:50am EDT
Stoops Ferry
  Horror University

9:00am EDT

Dealer Room
Featuring official StokerCon 2023 bookseller White Whale Bookstore

Full list of dealers coming soon!
Friday June 16, 2023 9:00am - 6:00pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom III-V
  Dealer Room

10:00am EDT

Author Reading
Speakers
RS

Rachel Searcey

horror writer & filmmaker, A Girl and her Goldfish Productions
avatar for Sumiko Saulson

Sumiko Saulson

Social Media Manager, Horror Writers Association
Sumiko Saulson, authorWriter of Dark Speculative Fictionwwww.SumikoSaulson.comPronouns: ze/hir/hirsSumiko Saulson is a Bram Stoker and Elgin nominated poet and award-winning author of Afrosurrealist and multicultural sci-fi and horror. Author of the Bram Stoker nominated The Rat... Read More →
avatar for Carol Gyzander

Carol Gyzander

Carol writes horror, dark fiction, and sci-fi/cyberpunk. She's the Co-Chair of HWA NY Chapter and co-host of HWA NY Galactic Terrors reading series, as well as one of the HWA Chapter Program Co-Managers, supporting chapters in the US.Her story, "The Yellow Crown," was nominated for... Read More →
avatar for Rachel Harrison

Friday June 16, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

10:00am EDT

Author Readings
Guest of Honor Author Reading I
Speakers
avatar for Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu

Guest of Honor
Alma Katsu is the author of historical horror novels such asThe Hunger and The Fervor, as well as the Red Widow spy series. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal, been featured in the NY Times and Washington Post, been nominated... Read More →
avatar for Owl Goingback

Owl Goingback

Guest of Honor
Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous novels, children's books, short stories, screenplays, comics, and magazine articles. He is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and has received the Bram Stoker Award for Novel... Read More →
avatar for Jewelle Gomez

Jewelle Gomez

Guest of Honor
Jewelle Gomez is the author of several books including the double Lambda Literary Award winning vampire novel, The Gilda Stories. She is the recipient of a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, two California Arts Council fellowships and an Individual Artist... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

10:00am EDT

Algorithmic Possession: Confronting Big Tech on the Page
We were lied to. Venture capital, big tech, and the promise of a better tomorrow have unearthed new, subtle everyday horrors we are only beginning to fathom.
Moderators
avatar for Andrew F Sullivan

Andrew F Sullivan

Author of The Marigold and The Handyman Method
Andrew F. Sullivan is the author of The Marigold (ECW Press) a novel about a city eating itself. The Handyman Method, a novel cowritten with Nick Cutter about home improvement gone wrong, is forthcoming from Gallery Books / Saga Press in August 2023. Sullivan is also the auth... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Christi Nogle

Christi Nogle

Christi Nogle is the author of the Bram Stoker Award® nominated novel Beulah (Cemetery Gates Media, 2022) and the short story collections The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future (Flame Tree Press, 2023) and Promise (coming soon!).She is co-editor with Willow Dawn Becker of... Read More →
avatar for Alex Woodroe

Alex Woodroe

EIC, Tenebrous Press
Author of WHISPERWOOD (Flame Tree Press) and EIC of Tenebrous Press
GA
avatar for Sofia Ajram

Sofia Ajram

Fine jeweller, queer horror writer. Acid Bath (CLP) 04/23. “Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror” (Ghoulish Books) 04/24.
avatar for Todd Keisling

Todd Keisling

Author, Graphic Designer, Precipice Books / Dullington Design Co.
TODD KEISLING is a writer and designer of the horrific and strange. His books include Scanlines, The Final Reconciliation, The Monochrome Trilogy, and Devil's Creek, a 2020 Bram Stoker Award finalist for Superior Achievement in a Novel. A pair of his earlier works were recipients... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Genre and Sub-Genre

10:00am EDT

Dread and Desire
Join panelists to discuss horrormance, erotic horror, and how desire mixed with dread can inspire some of the bloodiest tales. What is still considered taboo these days? We'll let the panelists tell us!

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for Jessica Luke García

Jessica Luke García

Jessica Luke García (any pronouns) is a non-binary queer writer, editor, and college dropout from the midwestern United States. For the last decade, they have worked under bestselling pen names in the romance industry as a ghostwriter and self-publisher. Their horror fiction can... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Rae Knowles

Rae Knowles

Rae Knowles (she/her) is a queer woman with multiple works forthcoming from Brigids Gate Press. Her debut novel, The Stradivarius, is coming May ’23, her sapphic horror novella, Merciless Waters, is due out winter ’23, and her collaboration with April Yates, Lies That Bind, in... Read More →
avatar for Michelle Renee Lane

Michelle Renee Lane

Writer
Michelle Renee Lane holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and is an instructor for Speculative Fiction Academy. She writes dark speculative fiction about identity politics and women of color battling their inner demons while fighting/falling in love with... Read More →
avatar for Briana Una McGuckin

Briana Una McGuckin

Briana Una McGuckin has cerebral palsy, a concerningly large collection of perfume oils, and an MFA from Western Connecticut State University. Her debut novel, On Good Authority, is a kink-positive, below-stairs Victorian Gothic/Romantic Suspense novel. Her short fiction appears... Read More →
avatar for Jessica McHugh

Jessica McHugh

Jessica McHugh is a 2x Bram Stoker Award-nominated poet, a multi-genre novelist, & an internationally-produced playwright who spends her days surrounded by artistic inspiration at a Maryland tattoo shop. She’s had twenty-nine books published in fourteen years, including her Elgin... Read More →
avatar for Wrath James White

Wrath James White

Guest of Honor
Wrath James White is a former World Class Heavyweight Kickboxer, a professional Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts trainer, distance runner, performance artist, and former street brawler, who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print.​Wrath is... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Haselton I-II
  Genre and Sub-Genre

10:00am EDT

How to Feature Horror at Your Library
Hear librarians from across the country share their experiences featuring horror at their libraries, from book discussions to writing groups to author events and more.
Moderators
avatar for Konrad Stump

Konrad Stump

HWA Library Committee Co-Chair, The Springfield-Greene County Library
Co-Chair of the Horror Writers Association's Library Committee and co-coordinator of StokerCon’s Librarians’ Day and the HWA’s Summer Scares program. Creator of Springfield-Greene County Library's horror book discussion group, Donuts & Death, featured in 417 Magazine, Feast... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Meghan Bouffard

Meghan Bouffard

Information Services Librarian, Sargent Memorial Library
Public librarian in Massachusetts and horror fanatic. You will typically find me watching or reading horror. Topics of interest include Gothic literature, slashers, dark fantasy, and folk horror. I enjoy writing reviews and analyzing books and film. I have particular interest in women... Read More →
avatar for Miriam Meislik

Miriam Meislik

Media Curator, University of Pittsburgh Archives & Special Collections
avatar for Jocelyn Codner

Jocelyn Codner

Reference & Outreach Librarian, Chatham University
avatar for Trevor Oakley

Trevor Oakley

Head of Access and Outreach Services, Saratoga Springs Public Library
I hope to have some great discussions with attendees & authors about fostering a community of horror readers in public libraries!
avatar for Michael Allen Rose

Michael Allen Rose

Bizarro Writers Association President
Michael Allen Rose is a writer, musician, and performance artist based in Chicago, IL. He has been involved in the bizarro scene for years, and hosts the annual Ultimate Bizarro Showdown at BizarroCon. He also makes industrial music under the name Flood Damage. He likes tea, cats... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Admiral
  Librarians' Day

10:00am EDT

HWA Mentorship Panel
Join our panelists as they discuss the HWA Mentorship Program and the benefits it can offer.
Moderators
avatar for JG Faherty

JG Faherty

Horror Writers Association
Writer of dark fiction (horror, S/F, fantasy). HWA Mentorship Program Manager. Talk to me about horror, writing, books, editing, movies, guitars, bourbon, or just about anything except politics!

Speakers
avatar for Linda D. Addison

Linda D. Addison

Trustee, Horror Writers Association
Linda D. Addison is an award-winning author of five collections, including How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend, recipient of the HWA Lifetime Achievement Award, HWA Mentor of the Year and SFPA Grand Master of Fantastic Poetry.
avatar for Patrick Barb
avatar for Eric J. Guignard

Eric J. Guignard

Gentleman Extraordinaire, Dark Moon Books
Eric J. Guignard is a writer and anthologist of dark and speculative fiction, operating from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles, where he also runs the small press Dark Moon Books. He’s twice won the Bram Stoker Award, won the Shirley Jackson Award, and been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and International Thriller Writers Award.He has over 100 stories appearing in publications around the world and has edited and published nine anthologies, most... Read More →
avatar for Rena Mason
avatar for Sarah Read
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

I’ve published over fifty novels and seven collections of dark fiction as well as media tie-ins. I’m a three-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, and I teach creative writing at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. People can talk to me about anything! But anything horror-related... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Writing and Publishing

10:30am EDT

Tract 2: Reading and Re-Reading in the Past and Present
Epigraphs as a ‘Wall of Influence’ in Ann Radcliffe’s The Italian
Julia Brown

The Purloined Homage: Allusions to the Works of Edgar Allan Poe in Victorian Women’s Crime Fiction
Bill Hamilton

It’s a Slippery Slope: Terror Without Tedium
Cassandra Sachar

The Interaction of Religion and Horror in Stephen Chbosky’s Imaginary Friend
Michael Potts


Speakers
avatar for Julia Brown

Julia Brown

Ph.D. Student, University of Houston
avatar for William Hamilton

William Hamilton

Associate Professor of English, Neumann University
Dr. William Hamilton is the Director of the English Program at Neumann University.  His research interests include the history of the British novel, the uncanny, gender studies, children's and young adult literature, Gothic literature, and the nature of satire.
avatar for Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar

Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar

Associate Professor of English/Author

Friday June 16, 2023 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference

11:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Larry Hinkle

Larry Hinkle

writerish
Larry Hinkle writes horror comedy, pulp, and cosmic horror, tinged with a touch of weird. His short stories have made the Preliminary Stoker ballot twice in the past three years (in 2020 and 2022), and his debut collection will be published in early 2024.
avatar for Rick Claypool

Rick Claypool

author
I write absurdist horror. Author of TENTACLEHEAD (Bear Creek Press 2022), THE MOLD FARMER (Six Gallery Press 2020), and LEECH GIRL LIVES (Spaceboy Books 2017). Work described by Nick Mamatas as "If China Mieville wrote Saturday morning cartoons." He/him.
avatar for Jessica McHugh

Jessica McHugh

Jessica McHugh is a 2x Bram Stoker Award-nominated poet, a multi-genre novelist, & an internationally-produced playwright who spends her days surrounded by artistic inspiration at a Maryland tattoo shop. She’s had twenty-nine books published in fourteen years, including her Elgin... Read More →
avatar for Richard Dansky

Richard Dansky

Franchise Narrative Director, Crytek
I am a twenty-plus year veteran of the video game industry, and have extensive experience in tabletop RPGs as well. I've published eight novels and one short story collection (soon to be two), as well as short fiction, book reviews, and academic papers in the dim and distant past... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

11:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Gabino Iglesias
RU

Rami Ungar

I am a novelist from Columbus, Ohio specializing in horror and dark fantasy. I have published four books and have a fifth releasing in 2023.
avatar for Barbara Cottrell
avatar for Jeremiah Dylan Cook

Friday June 16, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

11:00am EDT

Embodying Horror: Representations of the Body in Fiction
While horror can be a useful tool in examining societal issues, problems still remain with how certain types of bodies are dehumanized or villainized within the genre. Join panelists for a discussion on the representation of bodies of people that are often “othered” within horror, and how to avoid harmful tropes. Topics may cover (but are not limited to): fatphobia, visible and invisible disabilities, and neurotypical individuals
Moderators
avatar for Kathleen Scheiner

Kathleen Scheiner

freelance editor, Yen Press
I'm Kathleen Scheiner, proud member of the New York City HWA chapter. I like dance, roller derby, mentoring teens at Girls Write Now, astrology, tarot cards, and other witchy things. I've written for Publishers Weekly, L'Ecran Fantastique, Chime for Change, Toxic, and other publications... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Kate Maruyama

Kate Maruyama

Kate Maruyama (she/her) writes, teaches, cooks, and eats in Los Angeles, where she lives.She is the author of Harrowgate(47North 2013) and Halloween Beyond: A Gentleman's Suit (Crystal Lake, 2022) and her novella Family Solstice (Omnium Gatherum) was named Best Fiction Book of... Read More →
avatar for Megan Davies-Ostrom

Megan Davies-Ostrom

Megan M. Davies-Ostrom is a Canadian author with a penchant for horror and dark speculative fiction. Her work includes both Adult and Young Adult fiction.Megan lives in Ontario with her husband, daughter, and two (strange) cats. When not writing or carrying-out the duties of her civil-servant... Read More →
avatar for Sonora Taylor

Sonora Taylor

Author
Sonora Taylor is the award-winning author of several books and short stories. Her books include Seeing Things, Little Paranoias: Stories, Without Condition, The Crow’s Gift and Other Tales, and Wither and Other Stories.  She also co-edited Diet Riot: A Fatterpunk Anthology with... Read More →
avatar for Lara Frater

Lara Frater

writer
Lara Frater (she/her) is the author of Paranormal Pest Control series, the End of the Lines Zombie series and many short stories and poems. She is also the author of the non-fiction book Fat Chicks Rule. http://www.larafrater.com.
avatar for Briana Una McGuckin

Briana Una McGuckin

Briana Una McGuckin has cerebral palsy, a concerningly large collection of perfume oils, and an MFA from Western Connecticut State University. Her debut novel, On Good Authority, is a kink-positive, below-stairs Victorian Gothic/Romantic Suspense novel. Her short fiction appears... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Horror History and Culture

11:00am EDT

Military Service in Horror
An appreciation of what people in uniform have contributed to the genre -- and how veterans, soldiers, sailors, marines, and other military personnel are represented in horror fiction.
Moderators
avatar for Michael Arnzen

Michael Arnzen

Co-Chair, StokerCon® 2023
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, the short story collection, Proverbs... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Sirrah Medeiros

Sirrah Medeiros

Author | Editor | Editor-in-Chief, Tundra Swan Press
I write dark fantasy, horror, and thrillers - and other genres, but we're talking horror here aren't we? I retired a few years ago and am back to writing I enjoy. I edit (on occasion) between my own writing or other creative projects. I also own Tundra Swan Press, am a Marine Corps... Read More →
avatar for Brian Keene

Brian Keene

Award-Winning Author
BRIAN KEENE writes novels, comic books, short stories, and nonfiction. He is the author of over fifty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and fantasy genres. They have been translated into over a dozen different languages and have won numerous awards (see below).His 2003 novel, The... Read More →
avatar for Brandon Ketchum

Brandon Ketchum

Brandon Ketchum is a speculative fiction writer from Pittsburgh, PA who enjoys putting a weird spin or strange vibe into every story, dark or light.
avatar for Cody Langille

Cody Langille

Owner/Editor-in-Chief, Timber Ghost Press
C.R. Langille spent many a Saturday afternoon watching monster movies with their mother. It wasn't long before they started crafting nightmares to share with their readers. They are a retired, disabled veteran with a deep love for weird and creepy tales. This prompted them to form... Read More →
avatar for Dacia Arnold

Friday June 16, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Pointview
  Horror History and Culture

11:00am EDT

Why I Love Horror
Join some of StokerCon 2023’s Guests of Honor for a lively discussion about why readers of all ages enjoy a good scare, from fictional frights to all-too-true terrors.
Moderators
LD

Speakers
avatar for Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu

Guest of Honor
Alma Katsu is the author of historical horror novels such asThe Hunger and The Fervor, as well as the Red Widow spy series. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal, been featured in the NY Times and Washington Post, been nominated... Read More →
avatar for Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

Guest of Honor
Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone... Read More →
avatar for Owl Goingback

Owl Goingback

Guest of Honor
Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous novels, children's books, short stories, screenplays, comics, and magazine articles. He is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and has received the Bram Stoker Award for Novel... Read More →
avatar for Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus

Guest of Honor
Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels and graphic novels, including his latest,Whalefall (August 2023). He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based... Read More →
avatar for Jewelle Gomez

Jewelle Gomez

Guest of Honor
Jewelle Gomez is the author of several books including the double Lambda Literary Award winning vampire novel, The Gilda Stories. She is the recipient of a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, two California Arts Council fellowships and an Individual Artist... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Admiral
  Librarians' Day

11:00am EDT

Sounds Weird!: Podcasting, Audiobooks and Alternate Formats
Horror storytelling has a long oral history, and today we hear scary stories over streaming podcasts and downloadable audiobooks and more. What opportunities exist across alternative formats for horror writers, especially in the audio market? Panelists will share their experiences and hard-earned advice in working in podcasts, audiobooks, and similar areas, discussing challenges and how writers can overcome them in order to exploit alternate markets for publishing and promoting their work.

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for Alan Bailey

Alan Bailey

Co-Host, Editor, If This Goes On (Don't Panic)
Alan Bailey is the co-creator, cohost, and editor of the If This Goes On (Don’t Panic) podcast. In the past he also created, edited, and cohosted, the Alan & Jeremy VS Science Fiction podcast. He has been an educator for most of his life, starting in the Pittsburgh Public Schoo... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Lisa Kröger

Lisa Kröger

Trustee, Horror Writers Association
Horror writer. Author of MONSTER, SHE WROTE and TOIL AND TROUBLE. Cohost of the Know Fear Cast and The Monster, She Wrote podcast.
avatar for Matthew Brandenburg

Matthew Brandenburg

Co-Host, Staring Into The Abyss
Matt Brandenburg is a writer of weird fiction. His work has appeared in 34 Orchard, The Dark Corner Zine, Scare Street's Night Terrors, and others. He spends his time reading, watching goofy movies, listening to horror movie scores, and collecting tattoos. You can hear his voice on... Read More →
avatar for P.L. McMillan

P.L. McMillan

Author
P.L. McMillan is a Canadian expat living in the States, after having taught English for three years in Asia. With a passion for cosmic horror and sci-fi horror, P.L. McMillan sees every shadow as an entryway to a deeper look into the black heart of the world, meant to be discovered... Read More →
avatar for J. Thorn

J. Thorn

J. Thorn has published two million words and has sold more than 185,000 books worldwide. He is an official member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Horror Writers Association, and the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers.J. co-founded the Writers, Ink... Read More →
avatar for Neil McRobert

Neil McRobert

Host/Producer, Talking Scared Podcast
Hi. I'm the host and producer (and everything else) of Talking Scared. Every week I talk to a different horror writer about their work, their life and their fears. It's fun. I also write about horror for Esquire. If you've heard the show then you probably already know an alarming... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Haselton I-II
  Writing and Publishing

11:00am EDT

The Anthology: More than the Sum of its Parts
What is involved in an anthology’s creation, and where does one begin? Our panelists, both anthologists and contributors, discuss the role of anthologies as vehicles for finding a community, developing craft, supporting causes, and creating critical mass. 
Moderators
avatar for Lee Murray

Lee Murray

Lee Murray is an author, editor, screenwriter, and poet from Aotearoa-New Zealand. A USA Today Bestselling Author, double Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson Award winner, she’s a serial panellist with a passion for horror. Read more at https://www.leemurray.info/... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Sara Tantlinger

Sara Tantlinger

Co-Chair, StokerCon® 2023
Sara Tantlinger is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning The Devil’s Dreamland: Poetry Inspired by H.H. Holmes, and the Stoker-nominated works To Be Devoured and Cradleland of Parasites. She has also edited Not All Monsters and Chromophobia. She is an active HWA member... Read More →
avatar for Christa Carmen

Christa Carmen

writer, CLB Creative, LLC
Author bio: Christa Carmen lives in Rhode Island and is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of the short story collection Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked. She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Boston College, and an MFA from the University of Southern... Read More →
avatar for Christi Nogle

Christi Nogle

Christi Nogle is the author of the Bram Stoker Award® nominated novel Beulah (Cemetery Gates Media, 2022) and the short story collections The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future (Flame Tree Press, 2023) and Promise (coming soon!).She is co-editor with Willow Dawn Becker of... Read More →
avatar for Geneve Flynn

Geneve Flynn

Editor and author
Geneve Flynn is an award-winning fiction editor, author, and poet.She is the co-editor of Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women (with Lee Murray). The anthology won the 2020 Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson awards and shortlisted for the British Fantasy, Aurealis, and Australian Shadows awards.Geneve’s short stories have been published in various markets, including Flame Tree Publishing, PseudoPod, Crystal... Read More →
avatar for Tamika Thompson

Tamika Thompson

Author
Tamika is author of Unshod, Cackling, and Naked (Unnerving Books), which Publishers Weekly calls “powerful,” “unsettling,” and “terrifying,” as well as author of Salamander Justice (Madness Heart Press). She is co-creator of the artist collective POC United and fiction... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Writing and Publishing

11:00am EDT

How to Create, Edit, and Publish an Anthology
In this workshop, participants will learn all about producing anthologies, ranging from creating a pitch to entice a publisher to self-publishing an e-book. The workshop will cover anthologies of all-original stories and reprint anthologies. Attendees will learn:
  • What does it take to be an editor?
  • How to create a killer proposal and get it to the right people.
    Should you consider crowdfunding?
  • The ins and outs of contracts for yourself and with your authors.
  • When and how you should pay your contributors and how to handle royalties.
  • Choosing a submission plan, such as invitation only or open call for unsolicited submissions. How much of the layout and cover will you be responsible for or have input on?
  • Choosing and buying reprints for a “best of” anthology.
  • Editing a reprint anthology of classic stories and navigating copyright and public domain.
 All participants will receive in advance a free PDF copy of Lisa's self-published anthology Tales of Dread.

SEPARATE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. VISIT THE HORROR UNIVERSITY SITE FOR MORE DETAILS.



Horror University is Sponsored by Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction: http://setonhill.edu/fiction/
Moderators
avatar for Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton

Past President, Horror Writers Association
Author, screenwriter, Halloween expert, and Past President of the Horror Writers Association.


Friday June 16, 2023 11:00am - 12:50pm EDT
Stoops Ferry
  Horror University

12:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Mike Allen

Mike Allen

Author/Editor/Publisher, Mythic Delirium Books
Mike Allen edits and publishes Mythic Delirium Books in Roanoke, Virginia, with his wife Anita and not-so-troublesome cat Pandora. His short stories have been gathered in three collections: UNSEAMING; THE SPIDER TAPESTRIES; and AFTERMATH OF AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT; with a fourth, SLOW BURN, now in the... Read More →
avatar for Pamela K. Kinney

Pamela K. Kinney

Author
Pamela K. Kinney gave up long ago trying not to listen to the voices in her head and has written horror, fantasy. science fiction, poetry, along with 5 nonfiction ghost books and the cryptid book, Werewolves, Dogmen, and Other Shapeshifters Stalking North America, plus nonfiction... Read More →
avatar for Timothy G. Huguenin

Timothy G. Huguenin

Author
Hillbilly writer of the strange and spooky, living in the dark Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. Author of LITTLE ONE, WHEN THE WATCHER SHAKES, and UNKNOWING, I SINK. Short fiction in VASTARIEN, DIM SHORES PRESENTS VOL. 2, and THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. Get a free ebook at tg... Read More →
avatar for KC (Kristina) Grifant

KC (Kristina) Grifant

KC Grifant is a Southern Californian author who writes internationally published horror, fantasy, science fiction and weird west stories for podcasts, anthologies and magazines. Her tales have appeared in Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, Unnerving Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Dark... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

12:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Douglas Gwilym

Douglas Gwilym

author, co-editor of Novus Monstrum
Douglas Gwilym's short story "Poppy's Poppy" (Penumbric Magazine) has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award this year. His story "Year Six" (LampLight Magazine) was on the preliminary ballot last year, and is on Ellen Datlow’s recommended reading list for Best Horror 14.He has... Read More →
avatar for Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her work has been showcased in numerous magazines and anthologies such as Weird Tales, Nightmare Magazine, Southwest Review, Year's Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2, The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8 & 15, as well... Read More →
avatar for Brandon Ketchum

Brandon Ketchum

Brandon Ketchum is a speculative fiction writer from Pittsburgh, PA who enjoys putting a weird spin or strange vibe into every story, dark or light.
avatar for Michelle Renee Lane

Michelle Renee Lane

Writer
Michelle Renee Lane holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and is an instructor for Speculative Fiction Academy. She writes dark speculative fiction about identity politics and women of color battling their inner demons while fighting/falling in love with... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

12:00pm EDT

Evolutions in Cosmic Horror
Panelists will define and explore mutations of this ever-popular subgenre. What has changed in science and culture since the Golden Age of Cosmic Horror, and how has it impacted tales of cosmic horror and existential dread?
Moderators
avatar for Maxwell I. Gold

Maxwell I. Gold

Treasurer, Horror Writers Association
Maxwell I. Gold is a Jewish American multiple award nominated author who writes prose poetry and short stories in cosmic horror and weird fiction with half a decade of writing experience. Four time Rhysling Award nominee, two time Pushcart Award nominee, and author of forthcoming... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Barbara Cottrell
avatar for Amanda Headlee

Amanda Headlee

With a love of scary stories and folklore, Amanda Headlee spent her entire life crafting works of dark fiction. She has a fascination with the emotion of fear and believes it is the first emotion humans feel at the moment they are born. Most of her work focuses on dark fiction associated... Read More →
avatar for Jeremiah Dylan Cook
avatar for Vaughn A. Jackson

Vaughn A. Jackson

Panicked Writer #2
Vaughn A. Jackson writes under the speculative fiction umbrella, often blending elements of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. He is an Affiliate Member of the Horror Writer's Association, and is the author of two novels: UP FROM THE DEEP and TOUCHED BY SHADOWS. When he isn't writing... Read More →
avatar for Mary SanGiovanni

Mary SanGiovanni

Mary SanGiovanni is an award-winning American horror and thriller writer of over a dozen novels, including The Hollower trilogy, Thrall, Chaos, The Kathy Ryan series, and others, as well as numerous novellas, short stories, comics, and non-fiction.  Her work as been translated... Read More →
avatar for James Chambers

James Chambers

Trustee; Co-Chair, Horror University, Horror Writers Association
James Chambers received the Bram Stoker Award® for the graphic novel, Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe and is a four-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. He is the author of the short story collections On the Night Border and On the Hierophant Road... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Genre and Sub-Genre

12:00pm EDT

The Psychology of Horror
“Why horror?” is a question a lot of us have been asked throughout our careers. Join panelists to discuss the lure, catharsis, and just plain fun that horror offers.
Moderators
PF

Speakers
avatar for Sarah Hans

Sarah Hans

Sarah Hans is an award-winning writer, editor, and teacher whose stories have appeared in more than 40 publications, including Apex Magazine, Love Letters to Poe, and Pseudopod. Her debut horror novel, Entomophobia, is being republished in June 2023, just in time for StokerCon! You... Read More →
PT
avatar for C.C. Adams

C.C. Adams

Author.
London-based author of horror and dark fiction. Born and raised in the capital, and proud of.
avatar for Rook Riley

Rook Riley

Former government contractor with a military background, Rook Riley splits their time between teaching Reading in the DFW area and helping run the family farm. They live with anxiety and PTSD by taking medication, writing, and hitting a heavy bag. After attending the University of... Read More →
avatar for P.M. Raymond

P.M. Raymond

Author
P.M. Raymond is a principal consultant living on the East Coast with 27 cookbooks and an imaginary dog named Walter. As a native of New Orleans, mystical undertones are the roux in her crime and horror writing. Her main writing goal is to bring Black characters to life that preserve... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Horror History and Culture

12:00pm EDT

Make No Mistake About It – How To Avoid Medical Mistakes In Your Writing
Five-minute childbirth? Nope! Stabbed in the neck with a needle? Nope! Join this panel of medical professionals to learn about the common mistakes writers make in books and film when writing scenes involving medical themes, and how to avoid them.

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for Heather Hein

Heather Hein

Creative Programs Coordinator, Northern Colorado Writers

Speakers
avatar for EV Knight
avatar for Bridgett Nelson

Bridgett Nelson

Once an operating room registered nurse, Bridgett Nelson so enjoyed playing with human organs, she decided to turn her macabre interest into a horror writing career. She loves bubble baths (because nothing says spooooky writer like orange-scented bubbles), hates not knowing what’s... Read More →
SM
avatar for N.J. Gallegos

N.J. Gallegos

ER Doc and writer who loves all things horror. Her debut novel The Broken Heart with Winding Road Stories will be out this fall. NJ Gallegos has two novellas available: Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires with Alien Buddha Press and Just Desserts with Black Hare Press. Short stories... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Haselton I-II
  Writing and Publishing

12:00pm EDT

Librarians' Day Luncheon
Grab a plate of delicious food and join your fellow attendees and presenters in casual conversation.  

This is a ticket event that requires a separate ticket. All other Librarian's Day sessions are open to all attendees.
Friday June 16, 2023 12:00pm - 1:20pm EDT
Reflections
  Librarians' Day

1:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Patrick Barb
GA
avatar for Gordon B. White

Gordon B. White

Gordon B. White is a Stoker nominee this year!!  He's also a Shirley Jackson Award nominee and the author of the weird horror collection As Summer’s Mask Slips and Other Disruptions, as well as the novellas Rookfield and And In Her Smile, The World (with Rebecca J. Allred... Read More →
avatar for Emily Ruth Verona

Emily Ruth Verona

Emily Ruth Verona received her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Cinema Studies from the State University of New York at Purchase. In 2014 she won the Pinch Literary Award in Fiction. She is a Bram Stoker Award nominee, a Jane Austen Short Story Award Finalist, and a Luke Bitmead... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

1:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Kenneth W. Cain

Kenneth W. Cain

Publisher/Editor-in-chief, Crystal Lake: Torrid Waters
Kenneth W. Cain is an author of horror and dark fiction, and a Splatterpunk Award nominated freelance editor. He is also the publisher and editor-in-chief at Crystal Lake: Torrid Waters. Cain is an Active member of the HWA and a Full member of the SFWA. To date, he has had over one... Read More →
AW

A.C. Wise

A.C. Wise's fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Apex, and several Year's Best anthologies, among other places. Her work has won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, as well as twice being a finalist for the Sunburst Award, twice being a finalist... Read More →
avatar for John Langan

John Langan

Author, THE FISHERMAN
John Langan is the author of two novels, The Fisherman (2016) and House of Windows (2009/2017), and two collections, The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies (2013) and Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters (2008).  With Paul Tremblay, he has co-edited Creatures... Read More →
avatar for Steven Van Patten

Steven Van Patten

Writer/ Producer, Laughing Black Vampire Productions
Brooklyn native Steven Van Patten is the author of the critically acclaimed Brookwater’s Curse trilogy that features an 1860s Georgia plantation slave who becomes law enforcement within the vampire community. In contrast, the titular character in his Killer Genius series is a modern... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

1:00pm EDT

Anomalous Architecture: Unusual and Liminal Settings
Follow panelists down hallways, through labyrinths, and into hollow spaces as they examine influential examples of unusual architecture in horror fiction. How does the liminal impact storytelling, and how can writers innovate this interesting trope?

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for Sofia Ajram

Sofia Ajram

Fine jeweller, queer horror writer. Acid Bath (CLP) 04/23. “Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror” (Ghoulish Books) 04/24.

Speakers
avatar for S.A Bradley

S.A Bradley

S.A. Bradley hosts the 5-time Rondo Award-nominated podcast, “Hellbent for Horror,” which explores all things horror across books, film, comics, and music. Director Guillermo Del Toro described the podcast as “well researched, articulate and entirely absorbing.” Bradley is... Read More →
avatar for Ai Jiang
avatar for Johnny Compton
avatar for Andrew F Sullivan

Andrew F Sullivan

Author of The Marigold and The Handyman Method
Andrew F. Sullivan is the author of The Marigold (ECW Press) a novel about a city eating itself. The Handyman Method, a novel cowritten with Nick Cutter about home improvement gone wrong, is forthcoming from Gallery Books / Saga Press in August 2023. Sullivan is also the auth... Read More →
avatar for Ben Farthing

Ben Farthing

Ben Farthing writes supernatural horror. His upcoming novella "I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls" is the standalone sequel to his bestselling novella "I Found a  Circus Tent In The Woods Behind My House," which has been described as both "Goosebumps for adults" and a "Thomas... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Haselton I-II
  Genre and Sub-Genre

1:00pm EDT

Contracts for Creatives
Writers dream of the day they receive a literary contract for their work.Intellectual property, such as art and writing, might seem subjective to rules of legality. Contract negotiator is a hat few are comfortable wearing. Join agents, editors, artists, and authors as they remove the mystery (and fear) surrounding creative contracts.
Moderators
avatar for Dacia Arnold

Speakers
avatar for Bridget Brave

Bridget Brave

Author, Lawyer, Dreamweaver
Writer, lawyer, weirdo
avatar for Becky LeJeune

Becky LeJeune

Agent, Bond Literary Agency
Becky LeJeune is an agent at Bond Literary Agency, a Denver-based agency run by Sandra Bond. Prior to joining the agency, Becky spent time working as a bookseller, a freelance cookbook editor, and an acquisitions editor for a small, regional press. She is a graduate of the Denver... Read More →
avatar for P.L. McMillan

P.L. McMillan

Author
P.L. McMillan is a Canadian expat living in the States, after having taught English for three years in Asia. With a passion for cosmic horror and sci-fi horror, P.L. McMillan sees every shadow as an entryway to a deeper look into the black heart of the world, meant to be discovered... Read More →
avatar for Bryan Young

Bryan Young

President, League of Utah Writers
Bryan Young works across many different media. His work as a writer and producer has been called "filmmaking gold" by The New York Times. He's also published comic books with Slave Labor Graphics and Image Comics. He's been a regular contributor for the Huffington Post, StarWars.com... Read More →
avatar for Vanessa Lanang

Vanessa Lanang

Editor, Winding Road Stories
Hi! I'm the YA and Romance Editor at Winding Road Stories. Some of my favorite horror authors are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Anne Rice. I grew up reading all books by Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine. As an author myself (I write fantasy - my most recent publication, Fireheart... Read More →
avatar for Michael Dolan

Michael Dolan

Editorial Director, Winding Road Stories
We are an independent traditional publisher of many different genes of books including horror.

Friday June 16, 2023 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Writing and Publishing

1:00pm EDT

Quoth the Raven: The Rise of Dark Poetry
Horror Poetry has risen to prominence in the field of horror writing. Why has poetry become so important to today's readers? How does horror or dark poetry differ from  other approaches to verse? Our panelists will talk about the state of poetry writing as well as offer advice for other poets and ways in which reading and/or writing horror poems can help all writers improve their craft.
Moderators
avatar for Marge Simon

Marge Simon

I love reading and writing genre/speculative sf short fiction/flash and poetry--I've spent decades writing and reading; also, an artist-illustrator as well, I admire the work of Robert Payne Cabeen, Wendy Sabre-Core and Dani Serra, to name a few. I also enjoy a good wine and would... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Timons Esaias

Timons Esaias

Author
Timons Esaias is a satirist, poet, essayist and short fictionator. His works have appeared in twenty languages. A finalist for the BSFA, and winner of the 2005 Asimov's Readers Award for poetry, his story "Norbert and the System" has appeared in a textbook, and in college curricula... Read More →
avatar for Sumiko Saulson

Sumiko Saulson

Social Media Manager, Horror Writers Association
Sumiko Saulson, authorWriter of Dark Speculative Fictionwwww.SumikoSaulson.comPronouns: ze/hir/hirsSumiko Saulson is a Bram Stoker and Elgin nominated poet and award-winning author of Afrosurrealist and multicultural sci-fi and horror. Author of the Bram Stoker nominated The Rat... Read More →
avatar for Colleen Anderson

Colleen Anderson

Colleen Anderson lives in Vancouver, BC and is a Canada Council and BC Arts Council grant recipient for writing. She has been widely published, and has performed her work before audiences in the US, UK and Canada. A Pushcart Prize, and multiple Aurora (poetry & anthology), Dwarf Stars... Read More →
avatar for Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her work has been showcased in numerous magazines and anthologies such as Weird Tales, Nightmare Magazine, Southwest Review, Year's Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2, The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8 & 15, as well... Read More →
avatar for S. Alessandro Martinez

S. Alessandro Martinez

S. Alessandro Martinez is a Bram Stoker Award® -nominated author of Mexican and Spanish descent, and a native Southern Californian with Autism/Asperger’s who writes horror and fantasy for adults and children. His work has appeared in several magazines, websites, and anthologies... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Writing and Publishing

1:00pm EDT

Running a Small Press in a Crowded Marketplace
Publishing has never been easy, but with the rise and ease of self publishing and online publishing tools, making your brand and authors stand above the crowd is harder than ever. We are chatting with publishing companies about how they are trying to impact the market, defining our niches, our selection process for books, and working in a “post-COVID” world that includes battling the rise of AI content.
Moderators
MR

Michelle River-McLachlin

Eerie River Publishing

Speakers
avatar for Michael Cieslak

Michael Cieslak

Michael Cieslak is a lifetime reader and writer of horror, mystery, and speculative fiction. A native of Detroit, he still lives within 500 yards of the city with his wife and their two dogs Tesla and Titus. The house is covered in Halloween decorations in October and dragons the... Read More →
RB
avatar for Matt Blairstone

Matt Blairstone

Publisher, Tenebrous Press
Publisher & Founder of Tenebrous Press, the home of New Weird Horror
avatar for Alex Woodroe

Alex Woodroe

EIC, Tenebrous Press
Author of WHISPERWOOD (Flame Tree Press) and EIC of Tenebrous Press

Friday June 16, 2023 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Pointview
  Writing and Publishing

1:00pm EDT

Tract 3: "The Vampire's Time Has Come": Symbols, Stories, and Sexuality
Jewish VampireZ
Naomi Borwein

Archival Horrors: Queer Reimagining of the Folk Armenian Vampire Tale of Dakhanavar
Alex Aleco

“We Belong to Each Other”: Reclaiming Representations of Bisexuality in 1970s and 1980s Vampire Cinema
Gwendolyn Kiste




Speakers
NS
avatar for Alex Aleco Ալեքո

Alex Aleco Ալեքո

Մixedmedia artist and researcher working with oral history, archives, horror genre, արեւմտահայերէն, and creative practice to explore and render visible queer Armenian diaspora experience across timelines, locations, and ideological differences.
avatar for Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, Boneset & Feathers, and Pretty Marys All in a Row, among others. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub, Nightmare, Best American Science... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference

1:00pm EDT

Into Darkness I Go: the Horror Hero’s Journey
Learn how to use the “hero's journey” template to write epic horror fiction! Storytellers have been using the “hero’s journey” pattern in tales for thousands of years, from the Epic of Gilgamesh to Star Wars. It’s a tried-and- true technique, one horror writers can use too,
but with its own deliciously dark spin. Topics covered will include:

· The “hero’s journey.”
· How the horror “hero’s Journey” is different.
· The twelve stages of the horror “hero’s Journey.”
· The nine story outcomes of the horror “hero’s Journey.”
· Techniques for combining different story outcomes.
· How you can apply the horror “hero’s Journey” to your own stories.
· You’ll write several exercises exploring different aspects of the horror “hero’s Journey.”

SEPARATE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. VISIT THE HORROR UNIVERSITY SITE FOR MORE DETAILS.


Horror University is Sponsored by Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction: http://setonhill.edu/fiction/
Moderators
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

I’ve published over fifty novels and seven collections of dark fiction as well as media tie-ins. I’m a three-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, and I teach creative writing at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. People can talk to me about anything! But anything horror-related... Read More →


Friday June 16, 2023 1:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Stoops Ferry
  Horror University

1:30pm EDT

Brains! Brains! Brainstorming Ways to Engage Your Community
Join HWA Library Advisory Council members in small group discussions to meet some of your fellow librarians, share experiences, and gather ideas for how to engage your community with the horror community.
Moderators
avatar for Jocelyn Codner

Jocelyn Codner

Reference & Outreach Librarian, Chatham University
avatar for Yaika Sabat

Yaika Sabat

Manager of Reader Services, NoveList
avatar for Becky Spratford

Becky Spratford

Readers’ Advisory Specialist; HWA Secretary, RA for All
Becky Spratford is a Readers' Advisor in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All. She is under contract to provide content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and writes reviews for Booklist and a horror review column for Library Journal... Read More →
avatar for Konrad Stump

Konrad Stump

HWA Library Committee Co-Chair, The Springfield-Greene County Library
Co-Chair of the Horror Writers Association's Library Committee and co-coordinator of StokerCon’s Librarians’ Day and the HWA’s Summer Scares program. Creator of Springfield-Greene County Library's horror book discussion group, Donuts & Death, featured in 417 Magazine, Feast... Read More →
avatar for Emily Vinci

Emily Vinci

Librarian, Fiction Manager, Schaumburg Township District Library

Friday June 16, 2023 1:30pm - 2:20pm EDT
Admiral
  Librarians' Day

2:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Lisa Kröger

Lisa Kröger

Trustee, Horror Writers Association
Horror writer. Author of MONSTER, SHE WROTE and TOIL AND TROUBLE. Cohost of the Know Fear Cast and The Monster, She Wrote podcast.
avatar for Tommy B. Smith

Tommy B. Smith

Tommy B. Smith is a writer of dark fiction, award-winning author of The Mourner’s Cradle, Poisonous, and the short story collection Pieces of Chaos, as well as the coming of age novel, Anybody Want to Play WAR? His latest venture into cosmic and psychological horror, the Black... Read More →
avatar for Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley is a WGA screenwriter with six produced film credits, including the award-winning thriller DISMISSED. He wrote an episode of the Netflix sitcom FULLER HOUSE and sold his horror series pitch AFFLICTION to Syfy Network in a pilot development deal. Brian's debut horror... Read More →
avatar for Ann Heyward

Ann Heyward

Talk to me about reading and writing horror fiction and your favorite horror movies.

Friday June 16, 2023 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

2:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for John F. D. Taff
avatar for Bridgett Nelson

Bridgett Nelson

Once an operating room registered nurse, Bridgett Nelson so enjoyed playing with human organs, she decided to turn her macabre interest into a horror writing career. She loves bubble baths (because nothing says spooooky writer like orange-scented bubbles), hates not knowing what’s... Read More →
avatar for Katrina Monroe

Katrina Monroe

Katrina Monroe is the author of THEY DROWN OUR DAUGHTERS and GRAVEYARD OF LOST CHILDREN. She lives in Minneapolis with her wife, where she is a private investigator by day and mom to Very Hungry Teenagers the rest of the time. Her short work has previously been published at Great... Read More →
avatar for Joel Jacobs

Joel Jacobs

Joel Jacobs lives and writes in the woods in south-central Pennsylvania. He was a United States Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand where he taught English as a Second Language. He is a retired environmental education teacher who likes to bird watch and work in the landscaping and gardens... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

2:00pm EDT

Blowing Minds For A Living: Bizarro, Horror, and Weird Fiction
The world is a weird place, and some of the best weird fiction reflects that. Bizarro is the genre of the genreless, mixing horror, sci-fi, fantasy, comedy, literary fiction, pulp, absurdism, and a million pounds of pop culture savvy into a potent storytelling extravaganza. This panel will be a fun discussion with prominent authors in the horror and bizarro genres, and explore how concepts can be pushed and experimented on to find a new way to entertain readers.
Moderators
avatar for Michael Allen Rose

Michael Allen Rose

Bizarro Writers Association President
Michael Allen Rose is a writer, musician, and performance artist based in Chicago, IL. He has been involved in the bizarro scene for years, and hosts the annual Ultimate Bizarro Showdown at BizarroCon. He also makes industrial music under the name Flood Damage. He likes tea, cats... Read More →

Speakers
GC
avatar for Nicole Cushing

Nicole Cushing

Nicole Cushing is a Bram Stoker Award® winning novelist and a two-time nominee for the Shirley Jackson Award. Cemetery Dance will be publishing her new novella, The Plastic Priest, this December.
avatar for Rick Claypool

Rick Claypool

author
I write absurdist horror. Author of TENTACLEHEAD (Bear Creek Press 2022), THE MOLD FARMER (Six Gallery Press 2020), and LEECH GIRL LIVES (Spaceboy Books 2017). Work described by Nick Mamatas as "If China Mieville wrote Saturday morning cartoons." He/him.
avatar for Danger Slater

Danger Slater

Writer guy. Good time party dude.
I'm an author and a performer and a good time party dude. I eat a lot of soup. I am soup.
avatar for Charlene Elsby

Charlene Elsby

Clash Books / Apocalypse Party
Charlene Elsby wrote Hexis, Affect, Psychros, Agyny, Musos, Letters to Jenny Just After She Died, and Bedlam. Her essays have appeared in Bustle Books and the LA Review of Books.

Friday June 16, 2023 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Genre and Sub-Genre

2:00pm EDT

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: Asian Narratives in Horror and Speculative Fiction
Like the landmark film, Everything, Everywhere All at Once, Asian identity is complex and varied, existing in a multiverse of histories and cultures. With a plethora of stories depicting stereotypes and in the face of rising anti-Asian violence and hate, Asian storytellers are increasingly taking back control of our narrative. Within the horror community a movement has sprung up, born from the award-winning anthology Black Cranes. Panelists will discuss representation, being part of a movement, the importance of Asian narratives and… learning to become unquiet.

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for K.P. Kulski

K.P. Kulski

K.P. KULSKI is a Hawaii-born Korean-American author, historian, and career vampire of patriarchal tears. Channeling a lifelong obsession with history and the morose she’s managed to birth the gothic horror novel, Fairest Flesh, and novella, House of Pungsu. She bartered nine years... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Lee Murray

Lee Murray

Lee Murray is an author, editor, screenwriter, and poet from Aotearoa-New Zealand. A USA Today Bestselling Author, double Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson Award winner, she’s a serial panellist with a passion for horror. Read more at https://www.leemurray.info/... Read More →
avatar for Rena Mason
avatar for Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu

Guest of Honor
Alma Katsu is the author of historical horror novels such asThe Hunger and The Fervor, as well as the Red Widow spy series. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal, been featured in the NY Times and Washington Post, been nominated... Read More →
avatar for J.A.W. McCarthy

J.A.W. McCarthy

J.A.W. McCarthy is the Bram Stoker Award and Shirley Jackson Award nominated author of Sometimes We’re Cruel and Other Stories (Cemetery Gates Media, 2021) and Sleep Alone (Off Limits Press, 2023). Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including The Best Horror... Read More →
avatar for Geneve Flynn

Geneve Flynn

Editor and author
Geneve Flynn is an award-winning fiction editor, author, and poet.She is the co-editor of Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women (with Lee Murray). The anthology won the 2020 Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson awards and shortlisted for the British Fantasy, Aurealis, and Australian Shadows awards.Geneve’s short stories have been published in various markets, including Flame Tree Publishing, PseudoPod, Crystal... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Haselton I-II
  Horror History and Culture

2:00pm EDT

Embracing Brevity: Micro and Flash Fiction
While flash fiction has roots as old as the written word, extra short forms have experienced a modern resurgence in the digital age, allowing writers and publishers to capture their readers' interest and leave them wanting more. This panel of writers, editors, and publishers will discuss what makes good micro and flash fiction and how to write it well, arming attendees with the tools needed to horrify readers in minutes.
Moderators
avatar for Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine is a self-proclaimed cheerful goth who writes horror fiction and poetry. Her debut novel, Frost Bite, and her debut collection, The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls, are forthcoming from Dark Matter INK. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in/on over forty anthologies... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Alex Ebenstein

Alex Ebenstein

Dread Stone Press
avatar for Donna J. W. Munro
CP
SK
SB

Friday June 16, 2023 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Writing and Publishing

2:30pm EDT

The Rising Popularity of Extreme and Erotic Horror
Extreme horror is no longer lurking on the fringes of the genre. Some of the bestselling and most critically acclaimed Horror authors today inflict their scares through this lens. It's a subgenre libraries MUST carry on their shelves. It even has its own award!
Moderators
avatar for Ben Rubin

Ben Rubin

Horror Studies Collection Coordinator, Co-Chair, StokerCon® 2023, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Horror Studies Collection Coordinator for Archives & Special Collections at the University of Pittsburgh Library System - responsible for building, managing, and curating archival and rare book resources related to horror studies and serving as subject area expert for reference related... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for CJ Leede

CJ Leede

CJ Leede is a horror writer, hiker, and Trekkie. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University, and a BA from NYU’s Gallatin School, where she studied Mythology and the Middle Ages. When she is not driving around the country, she can be found in LA with her boyfriend... Read More →
avatar for Brian Keene

Brian Keene

Award-Winning Author
BRIAN KEENE writes novels, comic books, short stories, and nonfiction. He is the author of over fifty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and fantasy genres. They have been translated into over a dozen different languages and have won numerous awards (see below).His 2003 novel, The... Read More →
avatar for Wesley Southard

Wesley Southard

Wesley Southard is the 2× Splatterpunk Award-Winning & Imadjinn Award-Winning author of over ten books, some of which have been translated into Italian and Spanish. He and his wife and son live in Pennsylvania. Visit him online at www.wesleysouthardhorror.com
avatar for Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, No Gods for Drowning, The Worm and His Kings, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, Benny Rose the Cannibal King, and Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing. She is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, with... Read More →
avatar for Eric LaRocca

Eric LaRocca

Eric LaRocca (he/they) is the Bram Stoker Award®-nominated and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of the viral sensation, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. A lover of luxury fashion and an admirer of European musical theatre, Eric can often be found roaming the streets of his home city, Boston, MA, for inspiration... Read More →
avatar for Wrath James White

Wrath James White

Guest of Honor
Wrath James White is a former World Class Heavyweight Kickboxer, a professional Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts trainer, distance runner, performance artist, and former street brawler, who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print.​Wrath is... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
Hall of Fame
  Librarians' Day

2:45pm EDT

Tract 4: Feral Children and Horrified Parents
The Cosmic Mountains
Keith Fallows

The Kids are NOT Alright: Feral Children and Nostalgia in Yellowjackets (2021) and Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)
Frances Auld

Grave Thrills, Parent Chills: Playing with Childhood Innocence in Midway’s “CarnEvil” Arcade
Cody Parish

Three Times the Victim: The Unique Traumatic Terror of the Child Victim in "Guilty Mom" Horror Film
Melissa Lucken


Speakers
ML
KF
FA

Frances Auld

State College of Florida
CP

Friday June 16, 2023 2:45pm - 4:00pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference

3:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Christi Nogle

Christi Nogle

Christi Nogle is the author of the Bram Stoker Award® nominated novel Beulah (Cemetery Gates Media, 2022) and the short story collections The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future (Flame Tree Press, 2023) and Promise (coming soon!).She is co-editor with Willow Dawn Becker of... Read More →
avatar for Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Volunteer Coordinator, HWA LA
Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr. is the author, editor or co-editor of twenty-seven books, including Bram Stoker Award nominees Uncovering Stranger Things, The Streaming of Hill House, Devil’s Advocates: The Conjuring, and Eaters of the Dead: Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters. He is... Read More →
avatar for Saytchyn Maddux-Creech

Saytchyn Maddux-Creech

I write horror and mystery with a literary bent.
avatar for Dan Henk

Dan Henk

Author, Deadguyllc
Dan’s early career included a year and a half stint drawing political cartoons for Madcap Magazine and illustrating underground projects such as Maximum Rock and Roll. He produced artwork for the bands Shai Hulud, Indecision, Koshari, Unsound, Coalesce, Most Precious Blood, L... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

3:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Tom Deady

Tom Deady

Tom Deady's first novel, HAVEN, won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. He has since published several novels, novellas, a short story collection, and the first book in his middle grade horror series. He has a Master's Degree in English and Creative... Read More →
avatar for Charlene Elsby

Charlene Elsby

Clash Books / Apocalypse Party
Charlene Elsby wrote Hexis, Affect, Psychros, Agyny, Musos, Letters to Jenny Just After She Died, and Bedlam. Her essays have appeared in Bustle Books and the LA Review of Books.
BH

Brad Hodson

Administrator, Horror Writers Association
avatar for Brandon McNulty

Brandon McNulty

Author & YouTuber
Brandon McNulty is the author of the horror novel BAD PARTS, which won both Pitch Wars (2017) and RevPit (2018). He gives weekly writing advice on his Youtube channel Writer Brandon McNulty.

Friday June 16, 2023 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

3:00pm EDT

Into the Woods: Rural Horror
A rural setting in horror can make for a great, unnerving location, but it can also lure writers into overused stereotypes. Join panelists to discuss what makes these settings so effective, how to avoid or refresh certain tropes, and much more.
Moderators
avatar for Sam Rebelein

Sam Rebelein

Sam Rebelein holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College, with a focus in horror and memoir. Sam's work has recently appeared in Bourbon Penn, Coffin Bell Journal, Press Pause Press, Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year, and elsewhere. HarperCollins' horror and crime... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for John Langan

John Langan

Author, THE FISHERMAN
John Langan is the author of two novels, The Fisherman (2016) and House of Windows (2009/2017), and two collections, The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies (2013) and Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters (2008).  With Paul Tremblay, he has co-edited Creatures... Read More →
avatar for Timothy G. Huguenin

Timothy G. Huguenin

Author
Hillbilly writer of the strange and spooky, living in the dark Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. Author of LITTLE ONE, WHEN THE WATCHER SHAKES, and UNKNOWING, I SINK. Short fiction in VASTARIEN, DIM SHORES PRESENTS VOL. 2, and THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. Get a free ebook at tg... Read More →
avatar for C.W. Briar

C.W. Briar

Author, C.W. Briar
avatar for Sonora Taylor

Sonora Taylor

Author
Sonora Taylor is the award-winning author of several books and short stories. Her books include Seeing Things, Little Paranoias: Stories, Without Condition, The Crow’s Gift and Other Tales, and Wither and Other Stories.  She also co-edited Diet Riot: A Fatterpunk Anthology with... Read More →
avatar for Erin E. Adams

Erin E. Adams

Erin E. Adams is a first-generation Haitian American writer and theater artist. Her debut novel, Jackal, was a finalist for the Edgar Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the Lefty Award. It was also named one of the best books of the year by Esquire, Vulture, PopSugar, Paste, and Publishers... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Genre and Sub-Genre

3:00pm EDT

Open Mic Poetry Reading
Moderators
avatar for Linda D. Addison

Linda D. Addison

Trustee, Horror Writers Association
Linda D. Addison is an award-winning author of five collections, including How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend, recipient of the HWA Lifetime Achievement Award, HWA Mentor of the Year and SFPA Grand Master of Fantastic Poetry.

Friday June 16, 2023 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Pointview
  Genre and Sub-Genre

3:00pm EDT

Monstrous Mothers and the Women Who Write Them
Often, in horror films and literature, mothers are either given little to no character development, or are painted as villainesses. This panel will seek to explore why motherhood in horror is such a scapegoat for villainy, and the panelists, some of whom are mothers themselves, will discuss the tensions that can arise within the dynamic of motherhood, and the complex emotions that it can invoke, which is where some of our most truly interesting tales of horror stem from.

Moderators
avatar for Christa Carmen

Christa Carmen

writer, CLB Creative, LLC
Author bio: Christa Carmen lives in Rhode Island and is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of the short story collection Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked. She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Boston College, and an MFA from the University of Southern... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for K.P. Kulski

K.P. Kulski

K.P. KULSKI is a Hawaii-born Korean-American author, historian, and career vampire of patriarchal tears. Channeling a lifelong obsession with history and the morose she’s managed to birth the gothic horror novel, Fairest Flesh, and novella, House of Pungsu. She bartered nine years... Read More →
avatar for Zoje Stage

Zoje Stage

Author
Zoje Stage is the author of BABY TEETH, WONDERLAND, GETAWAY, THE GIRL WHO OUTGREW THE WORLD, and MOTHERED. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA.
avatar for Katrina Monroe

Katrina Monroe

Katrina Monroe is the author of THEY DROWN OUR DAUGHTERS and GRAVEYARD OF LOST CHILDREN. She lives in Minneapolis with her wife, where she is a private investigator by day and mom to Very Hungry Teenagers the rest of the time. Her short work has previously been published at Great... Read More →
avatar for Willow Becker
avatar for Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her work has been showcased in numerous magazines and anthologies such as Weird Tales, Nightmare Magazine, Southwest Review, Year's Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2, The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8 & 15, as well... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Horror History and Culture

3:00pm EDT

Creating Scary Short Stories
Want to write a scary story but not sure how or where to begin? Sèphera Girón will help you navigate the key elements of a short story and hook readers from the start. Attendees of this workshop will outline elements of their own, new, original short story and craft a compelling hook to take away from the session. Key points will include developing story ideas, choosing a point of view, deciding where your story begins, the most important elements of a scary story, outlining key story points, and more. It will also cover practical considerations such as finding writer’s prompts, combating writer’s block, managing your copyright, and how to use real people and places in your work. Attendees will share opening sentences and hooks for feedback.
SEPARATE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. VISIT THE HORROR UNIVERSITY SITE FOR MORE DETAILS.


Horror University is Sponsored by Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction: http://setonhill.edu/fiction/
Moderators
avatar for Sephera Giron

Sephera Giron

Writer/screenwriter


Friday June 16, 2023 3:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Stoops Ferry
  Horror University

3:30pm EDT

Summer Scares: A Thrilling Summer Reading Program
Join Summer Scares current and past selected authors, spokespeople, and partners to learn more about the HWA’s popular summer reading program, how to get involved, and how to use Summer Scares resources to better serve your patrons.
Moderators
avatar for Becky Spratford

Becky Spratford

Readers’ Advisory Specialist; HWA Secretary, RA for All
Becky Spratford is a Readers' Advisor in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All. She is under contract to provide content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and writes reviews for Booklist and a horror review column for Library Journal... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus

Guest of Honor
Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels and graphic novels, including his latest,Whalefall (August 2023). He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based... Read More →
avatar for Lora Senf

Lora Senf

All the scary things but especially middle grade horror.
avatar for Clay McLeod Chapman

Clay McLeod Chapman

Author of Ghost Eaters, Whisper Down the Lane, The Remaking and the upcoming novel What Kind Of Mother, among others.
avatar for Yaika Sabat

Yaika Sabat

Manager of Reader Services, NoveList
avatar for Stephanie Gagnon

Stephanie Gagnon

Host, Books in the Freezer Podcast

Friday June 16, 2023 3:30pm - 4:20pm EDT
Hall of Fame
  Librarians' Day

4:00pm EDT

The Cannibal Panel
The use of cannibalism in horror fiction and film has been testing audience’s boundaries for decades. Often considered “exploitation” horror, what keeps us coming back to cannibalism stories? How else is such hunger used to explore modern culture? Grab a nice Chianti and join panelists for a filling conversation.
Moderators
avatar for Sara Tantlinger

Sara Tantlinger

Co-Chair, StokerCon® 2023
Sara Tantlinger is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning The Devil’s Dreamland: Poetry Inspired by H.H. Holmes, and the Stoker-nominated works To Be Devoured and Cradleland of Parasites. She has also edited Not All Monsters and Chromophobia. She is an active HWA member... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Rebecca Rowland

Rebecca Rowland

Maenad Press
avatar for Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, Boneset & Feathers, and Pretty Marys All in a Row, among others. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub, Nightmare, Best American Science... Read More →
avatar for EV Knight
avatar for Owl Goingback

Owl Goingback

Guest of Honor
Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous novels, children's books, short stories, screenplays, comics, and magazine articles. He is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and has received the Bram Stoker Award for Novel... Read More →
avatar for Wrath James White

Wrath James White

Guest of Honor
Wrath James White is a former World Class Heavyweight Kickboxer, a professional Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts trainer, distance runner, performance artist, and former street brawler, who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print.​Wrath is... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Genre and Sub-Genre

4:00pm EDT

Adaptations and Retellings
Whether working with novels, films, graphic novels, fairy tales, or otherwise, writers venturing into the world of adaptations have to find ways to make their version of the story stand out. Our panelists discuss techniques and resources for working in the public domain and adapting ideas from works that are well-known or already have established characters.

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

I’ve published over fifty novels and seven collections of dark fiction as well as media tie-ins. I’m a three-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, and I teach creative writing at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. People can talk to me about anything! But anything horror-related... Read More →

Speakers
AW

A.C. Wise

A.C. Wise's fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Apex, and several Year's Best anthologies, among other places. Her work has won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, as well as twice being a finalist for the Sunburst Award, twice being a finalist... Read More →
avatar for Jeff Strand

Jeff Strand

Five-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. One-time Bram Stoker Award winner. Ten-time (!) Bram Stoker Award Master of Ceremonies.Author of plentiful books for your reading pleasure, including Pressure, Dweller, My Pretties, Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary), Clowns Vs. Spiders... Read More →
avatar for Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

Guest of Honor
Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone... Read More →
JA
avatar for Jamie Flanagan

Jamie Flanagan

Jamie Flanagan writes television shows. Credits include The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, The Fall of the House of Usher. Theatre nerd. Avid gamer (tabletop and video).

Friday June 16, 2023 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Haselton I-II
  Writing and Publishing

4:00pm EDT

Worth a Thousand Scary Words: Cover Art, Illustration & Book Design
This panel of artists, editors and authors will discuss the process that brings art to the printed page. They will show you how you can maximize your potential for success with the right cover art and book design, and how to honor the work of illustrators and designers. Artists, too, can learn how to draw inspiration from the written word. Learn how to boost the effectiveness of a cover, how to use a cover as a marketing launchpad, how design impacts a reading experience, different approaches to different formats (novels, anthologies, etc.) and more..
Moderators
avatar for Lynne Hansen

Lynne Hansen

Artist, Lynne Hansen Art
Lynne Hansen is a horror artist who specializes in book covers. She loves creating art that tells a story and that helps connect publishers, authors and readers. Her art has appeared on the cover of the legendary Weird Tales Magazine, and she was selected by Bram Stoker’s great-grandnephew... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Jason Sizemore

Jason Sizemore

Editor/Publisher, Apex Book Company
GA
avatar for Todd Keisling

Todd Keisling

Author, Graphic Designer, Precipice Books / Dullington Design Co.
TODD KEISLING is a writer and designer of the horrific and strange. His books include Scanlines, The Final Reconciliation, The Monochrome Trilogy, and Devil's Creek, a 2020 Bram Stoker Award finalist for Superior Achievement in a Novel. A pair of his earlier works were recipients... Read More →
avatar for Dan Henk

Dan Henk

Author, Deadguyllc
Dan’s early career included a year and a half stint drawing political cartoons for Madcap Magazine and illustrating underground projects such as Maximum Rock and Roll. He produced artwork for the bands Shai Hulud, Indecision, Koshari, Unsound, Coalesce, Most Precious Blood, L... Read More →
LC

Friday June 16, 2023 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Pointview
  Writing and Publishing

4:00pm EDT

Tract 5: "We Make Our Own Monsters": Crafting Horror on Stage and Screen
The Spark of Adaptation: The Many Lives of Shelley’s Monster Onstage
Liz Kurtzmann

His Name was Jason, Their Names Were Forgotten: Hair, Makeup, and Costume in Friday the 13th
Dalton Cooper

Staging King: Putting Stephen on Stage and Other Horrors
Kevin Wetmore


Speakers
DC
EK
avatar for Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Volunteer Coordinator, HWA LA
Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr. is the author, editor or co-editor of twenty-seven books, including Bram Stoker Award nominees Uncovering Stranger Things, The Streaming of Hill House, Devil’s Advocates: The Conjuring, and Eaters of the Dead: Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters. He is... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference

5:00pm EDT

Mass Author Signing
The signing will be split into two shifts. Please see the StokerCon website for the list of which authors will be at which shift.

https://www.stokercon2023.com/author-signing

We'll have a shift from 5:00-6:00pm, and then rotate with the second group of authors from 6:15-7:15pm.




Speakers
KK

Katherine Kerestman

Merricat, Creepy Cat
Our wives always did as they were told. (Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle)In darkness he did live and die (Dark Shadows)What you ask is Against Regulations. (Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun) 
avatar for David Blake Lucarelli

David Blake Lucarelli

Writer/Sound Engineer, Alterna Comics
Father, husband, writer, musician, sound engineer. Writer of Tinseltown from Alterna Comics and The Children's Vampire Hunting Brigade. Writer/Producer of the award winning play, Doctor Zomba's Ghost Show of Terror! and Writer/Director of the award winning play,  Crude.
MA

Melanie Anderson

Melanie R. Anderson is an associate professor of English at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. In addition to academic publications related to horror and the supernatural, she is the coauthor of Monster, She Wrote. She also cohosts The Monster, She Wrote and Know... Read More →
avatar for Tim McGregor

Tim McGregor

Author
Author of WASPS IN THE ICE CREAM (Raw Dog Screaming Press), TABOO IN FOUR COLORS (Cemetery Gates), LURE (Tenebrous Press, HEARTS STRANGE AND DREADFUL (Off Limits Press)
avatar for Erika T. Wurth

Erika T. Wurth

Writer/Professor, Flatiron/Macmillan
Erika T. Wurth’s literary-horror/speculative novel, White Horse, is forthcoming with Flatiron/Macmillan. She teaches creative writing at Western Illinois University and has been a guest writer at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous... Read More →
avatar for Scott Edelman
AW

A.C. Wise

A.C. Wise's fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Apex, and several Year's Best anthologies, among other places. Her work has won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, as well as twice being a finalist for the Sunburst Award, twice being a finalist... Read More →
avatar for Lisa Kröger

Lisa Kröger

Trustee, Horror Writers Association
Horror writer. Author of MONSTER, SHE WROTE and TOIL AND TROUBLE. Cohost of the Know Fear Cast and The Monster, She Wrote podcast.
avatar for Tom Deady

Tom Deady

Tom Deady's first novel, HAVEN, won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. He has since published several novels, novellas, a short story collection, and the first book in his middle grade horror series. He has a Master's Degree in English and Creative... Read More →
avatar for John F. D. Taff
avatar for Brian Matthews

Brian Matthews

Trustee; Bram Stoker Awards® Show Coordinator, Pitch Session Coordinator, Horror Writers Association
Author, financial planner, former psychologist, husband, and father. That pretty much sums it up.
avatar for Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, Boneset & Feathers, and Pretty Marys All in a Row, among others. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub, Nightmare, Best American Science... Read More →
avatar for Marc Abbott

Marc Abbott

Author/Storyteller
I’m the author of the horror anthologies Hell at the Way Station (Winner of the African Literary award for Best Anthology)and Hell at Brooklyn Tea. My works have been featured in Under Twin Suns, Even in the Grave, New York State of Fright and Hells Malls. I have also been a featured... Read More →
avatar for Meghan Arcuri

Meghan Arcuri

Vice-President, Horror Writers Association
Meghan Arcuri is a Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author. Her work can be found in various anthologies, including Borderlands 7 (Borderlands Press), Madhouse (Dark Regions Press), Chiral Mad, and Chiral Mad 3 (Written Backwards). She is currently the Vice President of the Horror... Read More →
avatar for Eric J. Guignard

Eric J. Guignard

Gentleman Extraordinaire, Dark Moon Books
Eric J. Guignard is a writer and anthologist of dark and speculative fiction, operating from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles, where he also runs the small press Dark Moon Books. He’s twice won the Bram Stoker Award, won the Shirley Jackson Award, and been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and International Thriller Writers Award.He has over 100 stories appearing in publications around the world and has edited and published nine anthologies, most... Read More →
avatar for JG Faherty

JG Faherty

Horror Writers Association
Writer of dark fiction (horror, S/F, fantasy). HWA Mentorship Program Manager. Talk to me about horror, writing, books, editing, movies, guitars, bourbon, or just about anything except politics!
avatar for Linda D. Addison

Linda D. Addison

Trustee, Horror Writers Association
Linda D. Addison is an award-winning author of five collections, including How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend, recipient of the HWA Lifetime Achievement Award, HWA Mentor of the Year and SFPA Grand Master of Fantastic Poetry.
avatar for Rena Mason
avatar for Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

Guest of Honor
Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone... Read More →
avatar for K.P. Kulski

K.P. Kulski

K.P. KULSKI is a Hawaii-born Korean-American author, historian, and career vampire of patriarchal tears. Channeling a lifelong obsession with history and the morose she’s managed to birth the gothic horror novel, Fairest Flesh, and novella, House of Pungsu. She bartered nine years... Read More →
avatar for Joseph Scipione
avatar for Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Attendee, Lone Star College University Park
Rhonda Jackson Garcia, AKA RJ Joseph, is a Stoker Award™ nominated, Texas based academic and creative writer/professor whose writing regularly focuses on the intersections of gender and race in the horror and romance genres and popular culture. She has had works published in various... Read More →
avatar for Nicole Cushing

Nicole Cushing

Nicole Cushing is a Bram Stoker Award® winning novelist and a two-time nominee for the Shirley Jackson Award. Cemetery Dance will be publishing her new novella, The Plastic Priest, this December.
avatar for Brandon McNulty

Brandon McNulty

Author & YouTuber
Brandon McNulty is the author of the horror novel BAD PARTS, which won both Pitch Wars (2017) and RevPit (2018). He gives weekly writing advice on his Youtube channel Writer Brandon McNulty.
avatar for EV Knight
avatar for Zoje Stage

Zoje Stage

Author
Zoje Stage is the author of BABY TEETH, WONDERLAND, GETAWAY, THE GIRL WHO OUTGREW THE WORLD, and MOTHERED. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA.
avatar for Owl Goingback

Owl Goingback

Guest of Honor
Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous novels, children's books, short stories, screenplays, comics, and magazine articles. He is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and has received the Bram Stoker Award for Novel... Read More →
avatar for Douglas Ford
avatar for Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus

Guest of Honor
Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels and graphic novels, including his latest,Whalefall (August 2023). He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based... Read More →
avatar for Wesley Southard

Wesley Southard

Wesley Southard is the 2× Splatterpunk Award-Winning & Imadjinn Award-Winning author of over ten books, some of which have been translated into Italian and Spanish. He and his wife and son live in Pennsylvania. Visit him online at www.wesleysouthardhorror.com
avatar for Jessi Ann York

Jessi Ann York

Jessi Ann York’s stories have been featured at several professional rate horror markets, including PseudoPod, Vastarien, Cemetery Gates Media, Love Letters to Poe, and more. Her first two stories, “Phases of the Shadow” and “Women of the Mere,” were mentioned as standouts... Read More →
avatar for Rick Claypool

Rick Claypool

author
I write absurdist horror. Author of TENTACLEHEAD (Bear Creek Press 2022), THE MOLD FARMER (Six Gallery Press 2020), and LEECH GIRL LIVES (Spaceboy Books 2017). Work described by Nick Mamatas as "If China Mieville wrote Saturday morning cartoons." He/him.
avatar for Michelle Renee Lane

Michelle Renee Lane

Writer
Michelle Renee Lane holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and is an instructor for Speculative Fiction Academy. She writes dark speculative fiction about identity politics and women of color battling their inner demons while fighting/falling in love with... Read More →
avatar for Mark Matthews

Mark Matthews

Mark Matthews is a graduate of the University of Michigan and a licensed professional counselor who has worked in behavioral health for over 20 years. He is the author of On the Lips of Children, All Smoke Rises, and Milk-Blood, as well as the editor of (and contributor to) Lullabies... Read More →
avatar for Donna J. W. Munro
avatar for Sonora Taylor

Sonora Taylor

Author
Sonora Taylor is the award-winning author of several books and short stories. Her books include Seeing Things, Little Paranoias: Stories, Without Condition, The Crow’s Gift and Other Tales, and Wither and Other Stories.  She also co-edited Diet Riot: A Fatterpunk Anthology with... Read More →
avatar for Christi Nogle

Christi Nogle

Christi Nogle is the author of the Bram Stoker Award® nominated novel Beulah (Cemetery Gates Media, 2022) and the short story collections The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future (Flame Tree Press, 2023) and Promise (coming soon!).She is co-editor with Willow Dawn Becker of... Read More →
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avatar for Amanda Headlee

Amanda Headlee

With a love of scary stories and folklore, Amanda Headlee spent her entire life crafting works of dark fiction. She has a fascination with the emotion of fear and believes it is the first emotion humans feel at the moment they are born. Most of her work focuses on dark fiction associated... Read More →
avatar for KC (Kristina) Grifant

KC (Kristina) Grifant

KC Grifant is a Southern Californian author who writes internationally published horror, fantasy, science fiction and weird west stories for podcasts, anthologies and magazines. Her tales have appeared in Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, Unnerving Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Dark... Read More →
avatar for Cody Langille

Cody Langille

Owner/Editor-in-Chief, Timber Ghost Press
C.R. Langille spent many a Saturday afternoon watching monster movies with their mother. It wasn't long before they started crafting nightmares to share with their readers. They are a retired, disabled veteran with a deep love for weird and creepy tales. This prompted them to form... Read More →
JA
avatar for Gordon B. White

Gordon B. White

Gordon B. White is a Stoker nominee this year!!  He's also a Shirley Jackson Award nominee and the author of the weird horror collection As Summer’s Mask Slips and Other Disruptions, as well as the novellas Rookfield and And In Her Smile, The World (with Rebecca J. Allred... Read More →
avatar for Patrick Barb
avatar for Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, No Gods for Drowning, The Worm and His Kings, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, Benny Rose the Cannibal King, and Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing. She is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, with... Read More →
avatar for Ai Jiang
avatar for Maxwell I. Gold

Maxwell I. Gold

Treasurer, Horror Writers Association
Maxwell I. Gold is a Jewish American multiple award nominated author who writes prose poetry and short stories in cosmic horror and weird fiction with half a decade of writing experience. Four time Rhysling Award nominee, two time Pushcart Award nominee, and author of forthcoming... Read More →
avatar for Danger Slater

Danger Slater

Writer guy. Good time party dude.
I'm an author and a performer and a good time party dude. I eat a lot of soup. I am soup.
avatar for Clay McLeod Chapman

Clay McLeod Chapman

Author of Ghost Eaters, Whisper Down the Lane, The Remaking and the upcoming novel What Kind Of Mother, among others.
avatar for Rebecca Cuthbert

Rebecca Cuthbert

Writer
Bio: Rebecca Cuthbert is the author of IN MEMORY OF EXOSKELETONS, a dark poetry collection (Alien Buddha Press, 2023). Forthcoming publications include the hybrid collection SELF-MADE MONSTERS (ABP, 2024) the sonnet "No Rest Nor Relief For You With Me Dead" (SHAKESPEARE UNLEASHED... Read More →
avatar for Eric LaRocca

Eric LaRocca

Eric LaRocca (he/they) is the Bram Stoker Award®-nominated and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of the viral sensation, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. A lover of luxury fashion and an admirer of European musical theatre, Eric can often be found roaming the streets of his home city, Boston, MA, for inspiration... Read More →
avatar for Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley is a WGA screenwriter with six produced film credits, including the award-winning thriller DISMISSED. He wrote an episode of the Netflix sitcom FULLER HOUSE and sold his horror series pitch AFFLICTION to Syfy Network in a pilot development deal. Brian's debut horror... Read More →
avatar for J.A.W. McCarthy

J.A.W. McCarthy

J.A.W. McCarthy is the Bram Stoker Award and Shirley Jackson Award nominated author of Sometimes We’re Cruel and Other Stories (Cemetery Gates Media, 2021) and Sleep Alone (Off Limits Press, 2023). Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including The Best Horror... Read More →
avatar for Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy

Nat writes horror for the page, stage, and screen. He's the author of the horror novels Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings, both published by Nightfire. His critically-acclaimed, award-winning horror plays have been produced across the United States, as well as Off- and Off-Off-Broadway... Read More →
avatar for Clare Castleberry

Clare Castleberry

Clare Castleberry grew up in the swamps of Louisiana and lived behind her family's neighborhood bar, which fueled her imagination for southern gothic stories, often with erotic, horrific, or crime-laden themes. She has worked as a librarian, model, phone sex operator, ghostwriter... Read More →
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

I’ve published over fifty novels and seven collections of dark fiction as well as media tie-ins. I’m a three-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, and I teach creative writing at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. People can talk to me about anything! But anything horror-related... Read More →
avatar for Robert Ottone

Robert Ottone

Robert P. Ottone is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of THE TRIANGLE. His other works include HER INFERNAL NAME & OTHER NIGHTMARES (an honorable mention in THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR VOLUME 13) as well as the suburban folk horror novel, THE VILE THING WE CREATED.His short stories... Read More →
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Rami Ungar

I am a novelist from Columbus, Ohio specializing in horror and dark fantasy. I have published four books and have a fifth releasing in 2023.
avatar for Sheldon Higdon

Sheldon Higdon

Author
With over 40 publications, Sheldon Higdon’s work has appeared in anthologies and magazines such as In Darkness, Delight: Fear the Future, Rue Morgue magazine, Tales from the Lake, Vol. 4, MADHOUSE, Writers on Writing, Vol. 4, and The Portland Monthly magazine among others. He is... Read More →
avatar for Sephera Giron

Sephera Giron

Writer/screenwriter
avatar for Jason A. Wyckoff

Jason A. Wyckoff

Jason A. Wyckoff is the author of two short story collections published by Tartarus Press, Black Horse and other Strange Stories (2012) and The Hidden Back Room (2016). His work has appeared in anthologies from Haverhill House, Plutonian Press and Siren’s Call Publications, as... Read More →
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avatar for Paul Lubaczewski

Paul Lubaczewski

Author
Paul has lived all over the country before settling in Appalachia over fifteen years ago with his wife Leslie and their son. He also has two adult children living in his native Pennsylvania. He has written numerous horror comedy novels, and he has no idea at this point how many short... Read More →
avatar for Andrew F Sullivan

Andrew F Sullivan

Author of The Marigold and The Handyman Method
Andrew F. Sullivan is the author of The Marigold (ECW Press) a novel about a city eating itself. The Handyman Method, a novel cowritten with Nick Cutter about home improvement gone wrong, is forthcoming from Gallery Books / Saga Press in August 2023. Sullivan is also the auth... Read More →
avatar for Ally Wilkes

Ally Wilkes

Ally Wilkes is the author of ALL THE WHITE SPACES (Atria/Titan, 2022), the upcoming WHERE THE DEAD WAIT (Atria/Titan, 2023) and JAMIE HALLOW AND THE END OF THE WORLD (Cemetery Gates, 2023). Her short fiction has been published in magazines including Nightmare, and anthologies including... Read More →
avatar for Bridget Brave

Bridget Brave

Author, Lawyer, Dreamweaver
Writer, lawyer, weirdo
avatar for Paula D. Ashe

Paula D. Ashe

Paula D. Ashe (she/her) is an author of dark fiction. Her debut collection We Are Here to Hurt Each Other (Nictitating Books) is a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. She is also an associate editor for Vastarien: A Literary Journal. She lives... Read More →
AD
avatar for Ally Malinenko

Ally Malinenko

Ally Malinenko is the author of several poetry collections as well as Ghost Girl and the Stoker nominated This Appearing House both from Katherine Tegen Books/Harper Collins
avatar for Willow Becker
avatar for Richard Dansky

Richard Dansky

Franchise Narrative Director, Crytek
I am a twenty-plus year veteran of the video game industry, and have extensive experience in tabletop RPGs as well. I've published eight novels and one short story collection (soon to be two), as well as short fiction, book reviews, and academic papers in the dim and distant past... Read More →
avatar for N.J. Gallegos

N.J. Gallegos

ER Doc and writer who loves all things horror. Her debut novel The Broken Heart with Winding Road Stories will be out this fall. NJ Gallegos has two novellas available: Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires with Alien Buddha Press and Just Desserts with Black Hare Press. Short stories... Read More →
avatar for Vaughn A. Jackson

Vaughn A. Jackson

Panicked Writer #2
Vaughn A. Jackson writes under the speculative fiction umbrella, often blending elements of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. He is an Affiliate Member of the Horror Writer's Association, and is the author of two novels: UP FROM THE DEEP and TOUCHED BY SHADOWS. When he isn't writing... Read More →
avatar for Elizabeth Massie

Friday June 16, 2023 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Admiral
  Convention Keynotes

6:00pm EDT

Tract 6: "Scared to Close My Eyes…Scared to Open Them!": Finding Horror on Film
No More Room In Hell: Archival Research and Documentary Horror
Rebecca Shapass

Haunted Videotapes; An Immersive Experience with Found Footage
Caitlin Hogan



Speakers
CH
RS

Rebecca Shapass

Graduate Student, Carnegie Mellon University

Friday June 16, 2023 6:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference

6:15pm EDT

Mass Author Signing
The signing will be split into two shifts. Please see the StokerCon website for the list of which authors will be at which shift.

https://www.stokercon2023.com/author-signing

We'll have a shift from 5:00-6:00pm, and then rotate with the second group of authors from 6:15-7:15pm.




Speakers
MP
avatar for Francesca Maria

Francesca Maria

Black Cat Publishing
Francesca Maria is an award winning, bestselling author of dark fiction. Her collection, They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark from Brigids Gate Press, debuted at #1 in Amazon’s Horror Short Stories. She is also the creator of the Black Cat Chronicles comic book series... Read More →
avatar for Colleen Anderson

Colleen Anderson

Colleen Anderson lives in Vancouver, BC and is a Canada Council and BC Arts Council grant recipient for writing. She has been widely published, and has performed her work before audiences in the US, UK and Canada. A Pushcart Prize, and multiple Aurora (poetry & anthology), Dwarf Stars... Read More →
avatar for Ken McGregor

Ken McGregor

Ken is a speculative fiction (mostly horror) author with two story collections (and a third imminent), an award-winning YA/MG novella, and a novel he co-wrote. He has edited two original anthologies and is the Managing Editor of Collections and Anthologies for LVP Publications.He's... Read More →
avatar for Denise Tapscott

Denise Tapscott

I'm the author of Gypsy Kisses and Voodoo Wishes. I play a spicy vampire named Tasha on the YouTube show The Vamps Next Door and I'm proud to be a member of the podcast Beef Wine and Shenanigans
avatar for John Palisano

John Palisano

Independent
Writer.
avatar for Christopher Hawkins
DS
avatar for Jacob Moon

Jacob Moon

Author
Jacob Moon is an independent author from Clearwater, Florida. An army veteran, he pays the bills by working for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, the nation's 15th largest law enforcement agency. During his 27-year career, he has supervised every type of criminal from shoplifters... Read More →
avatar for Brad Center

Brad Center

Brad Center lives and works in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife (Valerie) and his son Peter. His older son (Jeremy) also lives in Virginia. He owns an IT consulting firm (Occam Edge Technologies). He has also worked on Capitol Hill and served on the Fairfax County School Board. As... Read More →
JR
avatar for Corey Niles
EF
avatar for Lee Allen Howard

Lee Allen Howard

Writer | Editor
I read, write, and edit dark fiction, especially horror.I recently graduated with an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. Ask me how glad I am to be done. :-)This summer, I have a new book coming out: The Covenant Sacrifice, horror/gay romance.I hope to be at... Read More →
DP
BR
avatar for Mike Allen

Mike Allen

Author/Editor/Publisher, Mythic Delirium Books
Mike Allen edits and publishes Mythic Delirium Books in Roanoke, Virginia, with his wife Anita and not-so-troublesome cat Pandora. His short stories have been gathered in three collections: UNSEAMING; THE SPIDER TAPESTRIES; and AFTERMATH OF AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT; with a fourth, SLOW BURN, now in the... Read More →
avatar for Dacia Arnold
avatar for Michael Bailey

Michael Bailey

Senior Editor, Written Backwards
Michael Bailey is a writer, editor who lives near the Caribbean Sea in Costa Rica. He is a recipient of the Bram Stoker Award (and nine-time finalist), Benjamin Franklin Award, a four-time Shirley Jackson Award nominee, and an insane number of independent accolades. Publications include Palindrome... Read More →
avatar for barbara barnett

barbara barnett

Author
Barbara Barnett is the author of three  books,  including  the award-winning The Apothecary’s Curse, a finalist for the prestigious Bram Stoker Award for a debut novel. As publisher and executive editor of Blog- critics (blogcritics.org), an Internet maga- zine of pop culture... Read More →
SB
avatar for S.A Bradley

S.A Bradley

S.A. Bradley hosts the 5-time Rondo Award-nominated podcast, “Hellbent for Horror,” which explores all things horror across books, film, comics, and music. Director Guillermo Del Toro described the podcast as “well researched, articulate and entirely absorbing.” Bradley is... Read More →
avatar for Kenneth W. Cain

Kenneth W. Cain

Publisher/Editor-in-chief, Crystal Lake: Torrid Waters
Kenneth W. Cain is an author of horror and dark fiction, and a Splatterpunk Award nominated freelance editor. He is also the publisher and editor-in-chief at Crystal Lake: Torrid Waters. Cain is an Active member of the HWA and a Full member of the SFWA. To date, he has had over one... Read More →
avatar for Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is waaaaaay too obsessed with all of the Silent Hill games, weirdo italian movies and poop. Hence, the poetry collections, THIS STORY DOESN'T END THE WAY WE WANT ALL THE TIME, MEANINGLESS CYCLES IN A VICIOUS GLASS PRISON and HAIPOO: 7 POOSPECTIVES IN POOETRY. They also... Read More →
avatar for Christa Carmen

Christa Carmen

writer, CLB Creative, LLC
Author bio: Christa Carmen lives in Rhode Island and is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of the short story collection Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked. She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Boston College, and an MFA from the University of Southern... Read More →
avatar for James Chambers

James Chambers

Trustee; Co-Chair, Horror University, Horror Writers Association
James Chambers received the Bram Stoker Award® for the graphic novel, Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe and is a four-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. He is the author of the short story collections On the Night Border and On the Hierophant Road... Read More →
avatar for Michael Cieslak

Michael Cieslak

Michael Cieslak is a lifetime reader and writer of horror, mystery, and speculative fiction. A native of Detroit, he still lives within 500 yards of the city with his wife and their two dogs Tesla and Titus. The house is covered in Halloween decorations in October and dragons the... Read More →
avatar for Darcy Coates
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avatar for Holley Cornetto

Holley Cornetto

Lover of coming-of-age horror, folk horror, southern gothic, and wiener dogs. Librarian and creative writing professor. I write the weekly newsletter for The Horror Tree.
avatar for Ellen Datlow

Ellen Datlow

Trustee, Editor of short fiction through novellas
Ellen Datlow has been editing sf/f/h, short fiction for more than forty years. She currently acquires short fiction and novellas for Tor.com. She’s edited more than one hundred anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series and has won multiple awards for... Read More →
avatar for Craig Davidson

Craig Davidson

I write horror under the name Nick Cutter.
avatar for Charlene Elsby

Charlene Elsby

Clash Books / Apocalypse Party
Charlene Elsby wrote Hexis, Affect, Psychros, Agyny, Musos, Letters to Jenny Just After She Died, and Bedlam. Her essays have appeared in Bustle Books and the LA Review of Books.
avatar for Thom Erb

Thom Erb

Author/Artist
Refusing to pigeonhole his writing, hybrid author, Thom Erb–Author of  The Last in Line, Heaven-Hell-Houston, Tones of Home, Dark Gardens, loves to explore varying concepts and definitions of heroism. He crafts gripping, fast-paced tales that ignore genres; only seeking to tell... Read More →
SF
PF
avatar for Teel James Glenn

Teel James Glenn

writer, self
Teel James Glenn has killed hundreds and been killed more times-- on stage and screen as he has traveled the world for forty plus years as a stuntman, fight choreographer, swordmaster, jouster, illustrator, storyteller, bodyguard, actor and haunted house barker.His stories have been... Read More →
avatar for Jewelle Gomez

Jewelle Gomez

Guest of Honor
Jewelle Gomez is the author of several books including the double Lambda Literary Award winning vampire novel, The Gilda Stories. She is the recipient of a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, two California Arts Council fellowships and an Individual Artist... Read More →
JL
avatar for Carol Gyzander

Carol Gyzander

Carol writes horror, dark fiction, and sci-fi/cyberpunk. She's the Co-Chair of HWA NY Chapter and co-host of HWA NY Galactic Terrors reading series, as well as one of the HWA Chapter Program Co-Managers, supporting chapters in the US.Her story, "The Yellow Crown," was nominated for... Read More →
avatar for Sarah Hans

Sarah Hans

Sarah Hans is an award-winning writer, editor, and teacher whose stories have appeared in more than 40 publications, including Apex Magazine, Love Letters to Poe, and Pseudopod. Her debut horror novel, Entomophobia, is being republished in June 2023, just in time for StokerCon! You... Read More →
BH

Brad Hodson

Administrator, Horror Writers Association
avatar for Timothy G. Huguenin

Timothy G. Huguenin

Author
Hillbilly writer of the strange and spooky, living in the dark Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. Author of LITTLE ONE, WHEN THE WATCHER SHAKES, and UNKNOWING, I SINK. Short fiction in VASTARIEN, DIM SHORES PRESENTS VOL. 2, and THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. Get a free ebook at tg... Read More →
avatar for Gabino Iglesias
avatar for Scott Johnson
avatar for John Kachuba

John Kachuba

Author
Shapeshifters! Ghosts! Middle Grade horror! Author of 12 books. Haycorn Smith and the Castle Ghost (middle-grade) coming June 14 from Paper Angel Press. Several of John's nonfiction books are about ghosts and the paranormal and he is a frequent speaker on that subject on TV, radio... Read More →
avatar for Lisa Kastner

Lisa Kastner

Founder and Executive Editor, Running Wild, LLC
Lisa was born in Camden, NJ which was one of the most dangerous cities in America. In high school, she was a dancer and co-host on Dance Party USA. At the age of 20 she came home to find her house had burned down and she was suddenly homeless. She spent the next several years rebuilding... Read More →
avatar for Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu

Guest of Honor
Alma Katsu is the author of historical horror novels such asThe Hunger and The Fervor, as well as the Red Widow spy series. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal, been featured in the NY Times and Washington Post, been nominated... Read More →
avatar for Todd Keisling

Todd Keisling

Author, Graphic Designer, Precipice Books / Dullington Design Co.
TODD KEISLING is a writer and designer of the horrific and strange. His books include Scanlines, The Final Reconciliation, The Monochrome Trilogy, and Devil's Creek, a 2020 Bram Stoker Award finalist for Superior Achievement in a Novel. A pair of his earlier works were recipients... Read More →
avatar for Brandon Ketchum

Brandon Ketchum

Brandon Ketchum is a speculative fiction writer from Pittsburgh, PA who enjoys putting a weird spin or strange vibe into every story, dark or light.
avatar for Pamela K. Kinney

Pamela K. Kinney

Author
Pamela K. Kinney gave up long ago trying not to listen to the voices in her head and has written horror, fantasy. science fiction, poetry, along with 5 nonfiction ghost books and the cryptid book, Werewolves, Dogmen, and Other Shapeshifters Stalking North America, plus nonfiction... Read More →
avatar for Rae Knowles

Rae Knowles

Rae Knowles (she/her) is a queer woman with multiple works forthcoming from Brigids Gate Press. Her debut novel, The Stradivarius, is coming May ’23, her sapphic horror novella, Merciless Waters, is due out winter ’23, and her collaboration with April Yates, Lies That Bind, in... Read More →
avatar for Vanessa Lanang

Vanessa Lanang

Editor, Winding Road Stories
Hi! I'm the YA and Romance Editor at Winding Road Stories. Some of my favorite horror authors are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Anne Rice. I grew up reading all books by Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine. As an author myself (I write fantasy - my most recent publication, Fireheart... Read More →
avatar for John Edward Lawson

John Edward Lawson

President, Horror Writers Association
John Edward Lawson is an author, artist, and musician from Maryland. His work has been nominated for the Dwarf Stars, Rhysling, Stoker, and Wonderland Awards in addition to the Pushcart Prize. For his work as an editor John received the 2018 HWA Specialty Press Award. He currently... Read More →
avatar for CJ Leede

CJ Leede

CJ Leede is a horror writer, hiker, and Trekkie. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University, and a BA from NYU’s Gallatin School, where she studied Mythology and the Middle Ages. When she is not driving around the country, she can be found in LA with her boyfriend... Read More →
avatar for P.L. McMillan

P.L. McMillan

Author
P.L. McMillan is a Canadian expat living in the States, after having taught English for three years in Asia. With a passion for cosmic horror and sci-fi horror, P.L. McMillan sees every shadow as an entryway to a deeper look into the black heart of the world, meant to be discovered... Read More →
avatar for Bridgett Nelson

Bridgett Nelson

Once an operating room registered nurse, Bridgett Nelson so enjoyed playing with human organs, she decided to turn her macabre interest into a horror writing career. She loves bubble baths (because nothing says spooooky writer like orange-scented bubbles), hates not knowing what’s... Read More →
avatar for Steven Van Patten

Steven Van Patten

Writer/ Producer, Laughing Black Vampire Productions
Brooklyn native Steven Van Patten is the author of the critically acclaimed Brookwater’s Curse trilogy that features an 1860s Georgia plantation slave who becomes law enforcement within the vampire community. In contrast, the titular character in his Killer Genius series is a modern... Read More →
avatar for Nelson Pyles
avatar for Michael Allen Rose

Michael Allen Rose

Bizarro Writers Association President
Michael Allen Rose is a writer, musician, and performance artist based in Chicago, IL. He has been involved in the bizarro scene for years, and hosts the annual Ultimate Bizarro Showdown at BizarroCon. He also makes industrial music under the name Flood Damage. He likes tea, cats... Read More →
ZR
avatar for Rebecca Rowland

Rebecca Rowland

Maenad Press
avatar for Sumiko Saulson

Sumiko Saulson

Social Media Manager, Horror Writers Association
Sumiko Saulson, authorWriter of Dark Speculative Fictionwwww.SumikoSaulson.comPronouns: ze/hir/hirsSumiko Saulson is a Bram Stoker and Elgin nominated poet and award-winning author of Afrosurrealist and multicultural sci-fi and horror. Author of the Bram Stoker nominated The Rat... Read More →
avatar for Kathleen Scheiner

Kathleen Scheiner

freelance editor, Yen Press
I'm Kathleen Scheiner, proud member of the New York City HWA chapter. I like dance, roller derby, mentoring teens at Girls Write Now, astrology, tarot cards, and other witchy things. I've written for Publishers Weekly, L'Ecran Fantastique, Chime for Change, Toxic, and other publications... Read More →
avatar for M. Lopes da Silva

M. Lopes da Silva

M. Lopes da Silva (he/they/she) is a non-binary trans masc author from Los Angeles. He writes pulp and poetry. Previously he’s been employed as a sex worker, an art critic, and an educator. His poetry can be found in Eye to the Telescope, The Dread Machine, and Electric Literature... Read More →
avatar for Tommy B. Smith

Tommy B. Smith

Tommy B. Smith is a writer of dark fiction, award-winning author of The Mourner’s Cradle, Poisonous, and the short story collection Pieces of Chaos, as well as the coming of age novel, Anybody Want to Play WAR? His latest venture into cosmic and psychological horror, the Black... Read More →
avatar for Jeff Strand

Jeff Strand

Five-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. One-time Bram Stoker Award winner. Ten-time (!) Bram Stoker Award Master of Ceremonies.Author of plentiful books for your reading pleasure, including Pressure, Dweller, My Pretties, Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary), Clowns Vs. Spiders... Read More →
avatar for Richard Thomas

Richard Thomas

BIO: Richard Thomas is the award-winning author of eight books—Disintegration and Breaker (Penguin Random House Alibi), Transubstantiate, Herniated Roots, Staring Into the Abyss, Tribulations, Spontaneous Human Combustion (Turner Publishing), and The Soul Standard (Dzanc Books... Read More →
avatar for Tamika Thompson

Tamika Thompson

Author
Tamika is author of Unshod, Cackling, and Naked (Unnerving Books), which Publishers Weekly calls “powerful,” “unsettling,” and “terrifying,” as well as author of Salamander Justice (Madness Heart Press). She is co-creator of the artist collective POC United and fiction... Read More →
JV
avatar for Catriona Ward

Catriona Ward

CATRIONA WARD was born in Washington, DC and grew up in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. She read English at the University of Oxford and is a graduate of the Creative Writing MFA at the University of East Anglia.Her fourth novel, the gothic thriller Sundial (2022... Read More →
avatar for Rebekah L Webb

Rebekah L Webb

Rebekah L Webb is an author living in California. She writes horror with help from her bearded dragon, Leap. She wrote the novel Burrows of Blood and Shadow, a surreal horror combining short stories into an interconnected narrative
JW
avatar for Wrath James White

Wrath James White

Guest of Honor
Wrath James White is a former World Class Heavyweight Kickboxer, a professional Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts trainer, distance runner, performance artist, and former street brawler, who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print.​Wrath is... Read More →

Friday June 16, 2023 6:15pm - 7:15pm EDT
Admiral
  Convention Keynotes

8:00pm EDT

Final Frame Short Film Competition
One of our most popular events, this will be our eighth Final Frame Short Film Competition. Come check out the best of this year's short horror films.

Special appearance by Suzanne Desrocher-Romero from the George A. Romero Foundation and special teaser trailer presented by Jamal Hodge.

Judges: Jamie Flanagan, Jamal Hodge, Daniel Kraus, Izzy Lee (judging remotely), and Lisa Morton

See website for details on this year's film.

Concession Stand snacks will be provided during the film screenings! 

Moderators
avatar for Jonathan Lees

Jonathan Lees

Beyond his current career as a Creative Director, Video, for the streaming service, TIDAL, Jonathan Lees has spent over twenty years championing filmmakers through his programming work with the New York Underground Film Festival, Anthology Film Archives, TromaDance, and now, Final... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Jamie Flanagan

Jamie Flanagan

Jamie Flanagan writes television shows. Credits include The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, The Fall of the House of Usher. Theatre nerd. Avid gamer (tabletop and video).
avatar for Jamal Hodge

Jamal Hodge

Catch me as a Guest in Pen Game this Friday!
avatar for Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus

Guest of Honor
Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels and graphic novels, including his latest,Whalefall (August 2023). He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based... Read More →
avatar for Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton

Past President, Horror Writers Association
Author, screenwriter, Halloween expert, and Past President of the Horror Writers Association.

Friday June 16, 2023 8:00pm - 10:00pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Convention Keynotes

10:30pm EDT

Final Frame Reception and Competition Results
Enjoy a reception with bar service while our Final Frame judges choose this year's winner. Cheer on as the winner of this year's Final Frame Film Competition is announced.
Friday June 16, 2023 10:30pm - 11:59pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Parties!
 
Saturday, June 17
 

8:00am EDT

Registration
Check in for StokerCon 2023! Receive your name badge and your swag bag. This is also a good place to find someone who can answer your questions.

Saturday June 17, 2023 8:00am - 5:00pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom III Foyer
  Convention Ops

9:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

I’ve published over fifty novels and seven collections of dark fiction as well as media tie-ins. I’m a three-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, and I teach creative writing at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. People can talk to me about anything! But anything horror-related... Read More →
avatar for Wesley Southard

Wesley Southard

Wesley Southard is the 2× Splatterpunk Award-Winning & Imadjinn Award-Winning author of over ten books, some of which have been translated into Italian and Spanish. He and his wife and son live in Pennsylvania. Visit him online at www.wesleysouthardhorror.com
avatar for Solomon Forse

Solomon Forse

Editor and Author, HOWL Society Press
Solomon Forse is the founder of HOWL Society. When not hanging out on the Discord server or handling publisher duties, Solomon spends his time role-playing horror with tabletop RPGs like Call of Cthulhu or shredding horror on the guitar in his Lovecraftian metal band Crafteon. Otherwise... Read More →
MC

Marie Croke

Editor, Dark Matter INK

Saturday June 17, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

9:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Sarah Read
ZR
avatar for Tamika Thompson

Tamika Thompson

Author
Tamika is author of Unshod, Cackling, and Naked (Unnerving Books), which Publishers Weekly calls “powerful,” “unsettling,” and “terrifying,” as well as author of Salamander Justice (Madness Heart Press). She is co-creator of the artist collective POC United and fiction... Read More →
SF

Saturday June 17, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

9:00am EDT

HWA General Meeting
The HWA General Meeting with Officers and Trustees.

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for Becky Spratford

Becky Spratford

Readers’ Advisory Specialist; HWA Secretary, RA for All
Becky Spratford is a Readers' Advisor in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All. She is under contract to provide content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and writes reviews for Booklist and a horror review column for Library Journal... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Gabino Iglesias
avatar for Lisa Kröger

Lisa Kröger

Trustee, Horror Writers Association
Horror writer. Author of MONSTER, SHE WROTE and TOIL AND TROUBLE. Cohost of the Know Fear Cast and The Monster, She Wrote podcast.
avatar for Brian Matthews

Brian Matthews

Trustee; Bram Stoker Awards® Show Coordinator, Pitch Session Coordinator, Horror Writers Association
Author, financial planner, former psychologist, husband, and father. That pretty much sums it up.
avatar for Meghan Arcuri

Meghan Arcuri

Vice-President, Horror Writers Association
Meghan Arcuri is a Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author. Her work can be found in various anthologies, including Borderlands 7 (Borderlands Press), Madhouse (Dark Regions Press), Chiral Mad, and Chiral Mad 3 (Written Backwards). She is currently the Vice President of the Horror... Read More →
avatar for Linda D. Addison

Linda D. Addison

Trustee, Horror Writers Association
Linda D. Addison is an award-winning author of five collections, including How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend, recipient of the HWA Lifetime Achievement Award, HWA Mentor of the Year and SFPA Grand Master of Fantastic Poetry.
avatar for Ellen Datlow

Ellen Datlow

Trustee, Editor of short fiction through novellas
Ellen Datlow has been editing sf/f/h, short fiction for more than forty years. She currently acquires short fiction and novellas for Tor.com. She’s edited more than one hundred anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series and has won multiple awards for... Read More →
avatar for John Edward Lawson

John Edward Lawson

President, Horror Writers Association
John Edward Lawson is an author, artist, and musician from Maryland. His work has been nominated for the Dwarf Stars, Rhysling, Stoker, and Wonderland Awards in addition to the Pushcart Prize. For his work as an editor John received the 2018 HWA Specialty Press Award. He currently... Read More →
avatar for Maxwell I. Gold

Maxwell I. Gold

Treasurer, Horror Writers Association
Maxwell I. Gold is a Jewish American multiple award nominated author who writes prose poetry and short stories in cosmic horror and weird fiction with half a decade of writing experience. Four time Rhysling Award nominee, two time Pushcart Award nominee, and author of forthcoming... Read More →
avatar for James Chambers

James Chambers

Trustee; Co-Chair, Horror University, Horror Writers Association
James Chambers received the Bram Stoker Award® for the graphic novel, Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe and is a four-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. He is the author of the short story collections On the Night Border and On the Hierophant Road... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Haselton I-II
  Convention Keynotes

9:00am EDT

Articles of the Damned: Writing Nonfiction
Articles and essays within horror allow writers to explore a range of topics, from academic to personal. We can share a fascinating new take on a classic scary film, or share an experience that might spark conversation and awareness. What elements are needed to make nonfiction memorable? Why is the horror community a perfect place to explore the many directions nonfiction can go in?
Moderators
avatar for Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Volunteer Coordinator, HWA LA
Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr. is the author, editor or co-editor of twenty-seven books, including Bram Stoker Award nominees Uncovering Stranger Things, The Streaming of Hill House, Devil’s Advocates: The Conjuring, and Eaters of the Dead: Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters. He is... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Meg Elison

Meg Elison

Meg Elison is an author and essayist in the D.C. metro. She's a Locus and Philip K. Dick Award winner, as well as a Hugo, Sturgeon, Nebula, and Otherwise awards finalist. She has published short fiction and essays with Slate, Lightspeed, Catapult, Electric Literature, Fantasy & Science... Read More →
avatar for Lee Murray

Lee Murray

Lee Murray is an author, editor, screenwriter, and poet from Aotearoa-New Zealand. A USA Today Bestselling Author, double Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson Award winner, she’s a serial panellist with a passion for horror. Read more at https://www.leemurray.info/... Read More →
avatar for John Kachuba

John Kachuba

Author
Shapeshifters! Ghosts! Middle Grade horror! Author of 12 books. Haycorn Smith and the Castle Ghost (middle-grade) coming June 14 from Paper Angel Press. Several of John's nonfiction books are about ghosts and the paranormal and he is a frequent speaker on that subject on TV, radio... Read More →
avatar for Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Attendee, Lone Star College University Park
Rhonda Jackson Garcia, AKA RJ Joseph, is a Stoker Award™ nominated, Texas based academic and creative writer/professor whose writing regularly focuses on the intersections of gender and race in the horror and romance genres and popular culture. She has had works published in various... Read More →
avatar for L. Marie Wood

L. Marie Wood

L. Marie Wood is an award-winning psychological horror author and screenwriter.  She won the Golden Stake Award for her novel The Promise Keeper.  Her screenplays have won Best Horror, Best Afrofuturism/Horror/Sci-Fi, and Best Short Screenplay awards at several film festivals.  Wood’s... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Pointview
  Genre and Sub-Genre

9:00am EDT

Characters Like Me: The Impact of Representation and Diverse Voices
Panelists discuss the importance of diverse representation in horror and speculative fiction. What has been done to promote representation, why is it important, and how can we continue to keep up the good fight for diverse voices?
Moderators
avatar for M. Lopes da Silva

M. Lopes da Silva

M. Lopes da Silva (he/they/she) is a non-binary trans masc author from Los Angeles. He writes pulp and poetry. Previously he’s been employed as a sex worker, an art critic, and an educator. His poetry can be found in Eye to the Telescope, The Dread Machine, and Electric Literature... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for K.P. Kulski

K.P. Kulski

K.P. KULSKI is a Hawaii-born Korean-American author, historian, and career vampire of patriarchal tears. Channeling a lifelong obsession with history and the morose she’s managed to birth the gothic horror novel, Fairest Flesh, and novella, House of Pungsu. She bartered nine years... Read More →
avatar for S. Alessandro Martinez

S. Alessandro Martinez

S. Alessandro Martinez is a Bram Stoker Award® -nominated author of Mexican and Spanish descent, and a native Southern Californian with Autism/Asperger’s who writes horror and fantasy for adults and children. His work has appeared in several magazines, websites, and anthologies... Read More →
avatar for Shane Hawk

Shane Hawk

Teacher-Writer-Editor, Birds May Not Be Real But Bigfoot Is
SHANE HAWK (enrolled Cheyenne-Arapaho, Hidatsa and Potawatomi descent) is a history teacher by day and a horror writer by night. Hawk is the author of Anoka: A Collection of Indigenous Horror and other short fiction featured in numerous anthologies. He lives in San Diego with his... Read More →
avatar for Steven Van Patten

Steven Van Patten

Writer/ Producer, Laughing Black Vampire Productions
Brooklyn native Steven Van Patten is the author of the critically acclaimed Brookwater’s Curse trilogy that features an 1860s Georgia plantation slave who becomes law enforcement within the vampire community. In contrast, the titular character in his Killer Genius series is a modern... Read More →
avatar for Erin E. Adams

Erin E. Adams

Erin E. Adams is a first-generation Haitian American writer and theater artist. Her debut novel, Jackal, was a finalist for the Edgar Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the Lefty Award. It was also named one of the best books of the year by Esquire, Vulture, PopSugar, Paste, and Publishers... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Horror History and Culture

9:00am EDT

Let Me Tell You About My Research!
Join panelists to discuss some of the weirdest, coolest, most eye-opening, most infuriating,or most esoteric things they learned while researching their writing.  How important is it to keep details realistic and historically accurate, and what can we get away with as writers?
Moderators
JL

Speakers
avatar for Jenny Kiefer

Jenny Kiefer

Jenny Kiefer is a horror writer and owner of the horror-only bookstore Butcher Cabin Books in Louisville, Kentucky. Her debut novel, THIS WRETCHED VALLEY, will be released by Quirk on January 16, 2024. Stories have appeared in Cosmic Horror Monthly, Pseudopod, Howls from the Dark... Read More →
avatar for Paul Michael Anderson

Paul Michael Anderson

Writer
Author of the novellas STANDALONE, HOW WE BROKE (with Bracken MacLeod), and the forthcoming THE ONLY WAY OUT IS THROUGH, as well as the collections BONES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN and EVERYTHING WILL BE ALL RIGHT IN THE END: APOCALYPSE SONGS. Occasional journalist and current writing... Read More →
avatar for Garrett Boatman

Garrett Boatman

I am the author of Stage Fright, (originally published by Onyx 1988, reissued by Valancourt Books as Paperback from Hell 11 2020), Floaters: A Victorian Zombie Adventure, (Crystal Lake Publishing 2021), & Night’s Plutonian Shore, (Crossroad Press 2023). Night's Plutonian Shore is... Read More →
avatar for Cynthia Gómez

Cynthia Gómez

Attendee/Panelist
Cynthia Gómez (she/her) is a writer and researcher. She writes horror and other types of speculative fiction, set primarily in Oakland, where she makes her home. She has a particular love for themes of revenge, retribution, and resistance to oppression. She has stories in Fantasy... Read More →
avatar for Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu

Guest of Honor
Alma Katsu is the author of historical horror novels such asThe Hunger and The Fervor, as well as the Red Widow spy series. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal, been featured in the NY Times and Washington Post, been nominated... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Writing and Publishing

9:00am EDT

Changing Our Nightmares and Making Them Your Own
How can writers make traditional monsters non-traditional? How can we find the productive, heroic side of our creations while still making them scary and unpredictable? Although most countries and cultures have various forms of “horror” mythology and folklore, members of those communities have often feared associating their cultures with what they see as mass-market, pulp-fiction monsters. For instructor Jewelle Gomez, however, two quotes are at the core of writing horror:
“We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.”—Stephen King
“Black History is black horror.” —Tananarive Due
When creating new and original monsters, it is necessary to step away from the tropes we’ve lived with for generations and look to individual, lived experience to reshape mythology. This workshop will focus on approaches and techniques for bringing new perspectives to favorite monsters and nightmares.
SEPARATE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. VISIT THE HORROR UNIVERSITY SITE FOR MORE DETAILS.


Horror University is Sponsored by Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction: http://setonhill.edu/fiction/
Moderators
avatar for Jewelle Gomez

Jewelle Gomez

Guest of Honor
Jewelle Gomez is the author of several books including the double Lambda Literary Award winning vampire novel, The Gilda Stories. She is the recipient of a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, two California Arts Council fellowships and an Individual Artist... Read More →


Saturday June 17, 2023 9:00am - 10:50am EDT
Stoops Ferry
  Horror University

9:00am EDT

Dealer Room
Featuring official StokerCon 2023 bookseller White Whale Bookstore

Full list of dealers coming soon!
Saturday June 17, 2023 9:00am - 6:00pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom III-V
  Dealer Room

10:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Thom Erb

Thom Erb

Author/Artist
Refusing to pigeonhole his writing, hybrid author, Thom Erb–Author of  The Last in Line, Heaven-Hell-Houston, Tones of Home, Dark Gardens, loves to explore varying concepts and definitions of heroism. He crafts gripping, fast-paced tales that ignore genres; only seeking to tell... Read More →
avatar for John Edward Lawson

John Edward Lawson

President, Horror Writers Association
John Edward Lawson is an author, artist, and musician from Maryland. His work has been nominated for the Dwarf Stars, Rhysling, Stoker, and Wonderland Awards in addition to the Pushcart Prize. For his work as an editor John received the 2018 HWA Specialty Press Award. He currently... Read More →
avatar for J.W. Donley

J.W. Donley

Dark Forest Press & Publishing Services
I am an author, editor, designer, and web admin. I live with my wife and son in the Pacific Northwest where the Cascade Mountains meet the Salish Sea. Growing up I enjoyed R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps. Later I discovered Mark Danielewski’s House of Leaves and authors like Clive Barker... Read More →
avatar for Ally Wilkes

Ally Wilkes

Ally Wilkes is the author of ALL THE WHITE SPACES (Atria/Titan, 2022), the upcoming WHERE THE DEAD WAIT (Atria/Titan, 2023) and JAMIE HALLOW AND THE END OF THE WORLD (Cemetery Gates, 2023). Her short fiction has been published in magazines including Nightmare, and anthologies including... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

10:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine is a self-proclaimed cheerful goth who writes horror fiction and poetry. Her debut novel, Frost Bite, and her debut collection, The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls, are forthcoming from Dark Matter INK. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in/on over forty anthologies... Read More →
RC

Rocky Colavito

Professor of English, Butler University
Horror Scholarship, Grindhouse films, teaching horror, teaching horror writing, horror as a genre, adaptation and appropriation, and rookie horror author.
avatar for Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Attendee, Lone Star College University Park
Rhonda Jackson Garcia, AKA RJ Joseph, is a Stoker Award™ nominated, Texas based academic and creative writer/professor whose writing regularly focuses on the intersections of gender and race in the horror and romance genres and popular culture. She has had works published in various... Read More →
avatar for Robert Ottone

Robert Ottone

Robert P. Ottone is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of THE TRIANGLE. His other works include HER INFERNAL NAME & OTHER NIGHTMARES (an honorable mention in THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR VOLUME 13) as well as the suburban folk horror novel, THE VILE THING WE CREATED.His short stories... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

10:00am EDT

You Just Live Here: Inhabiting the Modern Haunted House
Exploring the nuances of the haunted house in an age of short term rentals, unmitigated suburban expansion, and cutthroat flippers. Most buildings will outlive you.  
Moderators
avatar for Andrew F Sullivan

Andrew F Sullivan

Author of The Marigold and The Handyman Method
Andrew F. Sullivan is the author of The Marigold (ECW Press) a novel about a city eating itself. The Handyman Method, a novel cowritten with Nick Cutter about home improvement gone wrong, is forthcoming from Gallery Books / Saga Press in August 2023. Sullivan is also the auth... Read More →

Speakers
AD
avatar for Johnny Compton
avatar for Craig Davidson

Craig Davidson

I write horror under the name Nick Cutter.
avatar for EV Knight
avatar for Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, Boneset & Feathers, and Pretty Marys All in a Row, among others. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub, Nightmare, Best American Science... Read More →
avatar for Sarah Read

Saturday June 17, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Genre and Sub-Genre

10:00am EDT

The Cryptid Panel: Legends of Strange Creatures in North America.
Are there unknown creatures lurking deep in the forests? Does Bigfoot, The Mothman, The Little People, and the Tall Men really exist? Join our panel of experts as they discuss cryptid sightings, eerie encounters, and legends of strange beasts across North America and elsewhere.

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for Owl Goingback

Owl Goingback

Guest of Honor
Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous novels, children's books, short stories, screenplays, comics, and magazine articles. He is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and has received the Bram Stoker Award for Novel... Read More →

Speakers
MR

Michelle River-McLachlin

Eerie River Publishing
avatar for Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, No Gods for Drowning, The Worm and His Kings, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, Benny Rose the Cannibal King, and Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing. She is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, with... Read More →
avatar for Shane Hawk

Shane Hawk

Teacher-Writer-Editor, Birds May Not Be Real But Bigfoot Is
SHANE HAWK (enrolled Cheyenne-Arapaho, Hidatsa and Potawatomi descent) is a history teacher by day and a horror writer by night. Hawk is the author of Anoka: A Collection of Indigenous Horror and other short fiction featured in numerous anthologies. He lives in San Diego with his... Read More →
avatar for Yaika Sabat

Yaika Sabat

Manager of Reader Services, NoveList
avatar for James Chambers

James Chambers

Trustee; Co-Chair, Horror University, Horror Writers Association
James Chambers received the Bram Stoker Award® for the graphic novel, Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe and is a four-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. He is the author of the short story collections On the Night Border and On the Hierophant Road... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Haselton I-II
  Horror History and Culture

10:00am EDT

The Long and Short of It: Prose Other than the Novel
Our panelists discuss the importance of short and long fiction, the resurgence of novellas in the market, and how the horror genre can say a lot in just the span of a short story.
Moderators
avatar for John F. D. Taff

Speakers
avatar for Douglas Gwilym

Douglas Gwilym

author, co-editor of Novus Monstrum
Douglas Gwilym's short story "Poppy's Poppy" (Penumbric Magazine) has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award this year. His story "Year Six" (LampLight Magazine) was on the preliminary ballot last year, and is on Ellen Datlow’s recommended reading list for Best Horror 14.He has... Read More →
avatar for Karlo Yeager Rodriguez

Karlo Yeager Rodriguez

Attendee, Author
Karlo Yeager Rodríguez is originally from the enchanting island of Puerto Rico, but moved to the Baltimore area some years ago where he now lives with his wife and one odd dog. His fiction has appeared in places like Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Seize the Press, Pseudopod, and khōréō. He... Read More →
avatar for Eric LaRocca

Eric LaRocca

Eric LaRocca (he/they) is the Bram Stoker Award®-nominated and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of the viral sensation, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. A lover of luxury fashion and an admirer of European musical theatre, Eric can often be found roaming the streets of his home city, Boston, MA, for inspiration... Read More →
avatar for J.A.W. McCarthy

J.A.W. McCarthy

J.A.W. McCarthy is the Bram Stoker Award and Shirley Jackson Award nominated author of Sometimes We’re Cruel and Other Stories (Cemetery Gates Media, 2021) and Sleep Alone (Off Limits Press, 2023). Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including The Best Horror... Read More →
avatar for Paula D. Ashe

Paula D. Ashe

Paula D. Ashe (she/her) is an author of dark fiction. Her debut collection We Are Here to Hurt Each Other (Nictitating Books) is a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. She is also an associate editor for Vastarien: A Literary Journal. She lives... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Horror History and Culture

10:00am EDT

Welcome to the Darkive: how archival creation and research can inspire, inform, and incite work within the genre
Horror studies collections and author archival collections can be fertile ground for academic research, creative inspiration, and documentation of the writing process and publishing industry. Join us for a panel that uncovers how archival research in Pitt’s horror studies collections has been used to generate academic work and commercial fiction, as well as the value that creating your own archive can provide to the next generation of writers and researchers.
Moderators
KH

Kathy Haines

Librarian/Archivist, University of Pittsburgh

Speakers
EK
avatar for Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus

Guest of Honor
Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels and graphic novels, including his latest,Whalefall (August 2023). He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based... Read More →
GO
RS

Rebecca Shapass

Graduate Student, Carnegie Mellon University

Saturday June 17, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Pointview
  Writing and Publishing

11:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Valerie B. Williams

Valerie B. Williams

Writer, reader, dog lover.
avatar for Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is waaaaaay too obsessed with all of the Silent Hill games, weirdo italian movies and poop. Hence, the poetry collections, THIS STORY DOESN'T END THE WAY WE WANT ALL THE TIME, MEANINGLESS CYCLES IN A VICIOUS GLASS PRISON and HAIPOO: 7 POOSPECTIVES IN POOETRY. They also... Read More →
avatar for Douglas Ford
avatar for Bridget Brave

Bridget Brave

Author, Lawyer, Dreamweaver
Writer, lawyer, weirdo

Saturday June 17, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

11:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Rebekah L Webb

Rebekah L Webb

Rebekah L Webb is an author living in California. She writes horror with help from her bearded dragon, Leap. She wrote the novel Burrows of Blood and Shadow, a surreal horror combining short stories into an interconnected narrative
avatar for Kate Maruyama

Kate Maruyama

Kate Maruyama (she/her) writes, teaches, cooks, and eats in Los Angeles, where she lives.She is the author of Harrowgate(47North 2013) and Halloween Beyond: A Gentleman's Suit (Crystal Lake, 2022) and her novella Family Solstice (Omnium Gatherum) was named Best Fiction Book of... Read More →
avatar for Maxwell I. Gold

Maxwell I. Gold

Treasurer, Horror Writers Association
Maxwell I. Gold is a Jewish American multiple award nominated author who writes prose poetry and short stories in cosmic horror and weird fiction with half a decade of writing experience. Four time Rhysling Award nominee, two time Pushcart Award nominee, and author of forthcoming... Read More →
SK

Saturday June 17, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

11:00am EDT

Revamping Classic Monsters
There’s something timeless about classic monsters, like vampires, werewolves, and zombies, but how can writers update and refresh these tropes?

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for JG Faherty

JG Faherty

Horror Writers Association
Writer of dark fiction (horror, S/F, fantasy). HWA Mentorship Program Manager. Talk to me about horror, writing, books, editing, movies, guitars, bourbon, or just about anything except politics!

Speakers
avatar for Jamie Flanagan

Jamie Flanagan

Jamie Flanagan writes television shows. Credits include The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, The Fall of the House of Usher. Theatre nerd. Avid gamer (tabletop and video).
avatar for Rachel Harrison
avatar for Steven Van Patten

Steven Van Patten

Writer/ Producer, Laughing Black Vampire Productions
Brooklyn native Steven Van Patten is the author of the critically acclaimed Brookwater’s Curse trilogy that features an 1860s Georgia plantation slave who becomes law enforcement within the vampire community. In contrast, the titular character in his Killer Genius series is a modern... Read More →
JA
avatar for L. Marie Wood

L. Marie Wood

L. Marie Wood is an award-winning psychological horror author and screenwriter.  She won the Golden Stake Award for her novel The Promise Keeper.  Her screenplays have won Best Horror, Best Afrofuturism/Horror/Sci-Fi, and Best Short Screenplay awards at several film festivals.  Wood’s... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Haselton I-II
  Genre and Sub-Genre

11:00am EDT

The Dead Don't Die: Romero's Enduring Legacy
Everyone knows how George A. Romero changed zombies. But that was only the start. Join panelists in discussing Romero's influence beyond the undead, from his role in reviving interest in EC horror comics to his effect on indie filmmaking in general.  
Moderators
JH

Speakers
avatar for Emily Hughes

Emily Hughes

Writer/Editor/Listmaker
Emily Hughes wants to talk to you about scary books. Formerly the editor of Unbound Worlds and TorNightfire.com, she writes about horror literature and tweets bad puns @emilyhughes. You can find her writing elsewhere on Vulture, Tor.com, Electric Literature, Thrillist, and more.
avatar for Clare Castleberry

Clare Castleberry

Clare Castleberry grew up in the swamps of Louisiana and lived behind her family's neighborhood bar, which fueled her imagination for southern gothic stories, often with erotic, horrific, or crime-laden themes. She has worked as a librarian, model, phone sex operator, ghostwriter... Read More →
avatar for Owl Goingback

Owl Goingback

Guest of Honor
Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous novels, children's books, short stories, screenplays, comics, and magazine articles. He is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and has received the Bram Stoker Award for Novel... Read More →
avatar for Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus

Guest of Honor
Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels and graphic novels, including his latest,Whalefall (August 2023). He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based... Read More →
avatar for Brian Keene

Brian Keene

Award-Winning Author
BRIAN KEENE writes novels, comic books, short stories, and nonfiction. He is the author of over fifty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and fantasy genres. They have been translated into over a dozen different languages and have won numerous awards (see below).His 2003 novel, The... Read More →
avatar for Ben Rubin

Ben Rubin

Horror Studies Collection Coordinator, Co-Chair, StokerCon® 2023, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Horror Studies Collection Coordinator for Archives & Special Collections at the University of Pittsburgh Library System - responsible for building, managing, and curating archival and rare book resources related to horror studies and serving as subject area expert for reference related... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Horror History and Culture

11:00am EDT

Youthful Frights: the importance of YA and Middle Grade Horror
Moderators
avatar for Robert Ottone

Robert Ottone

Robert P. Ottone is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of THE TRIANGLE. His other works include HER INFERNAL NAME & OTHER NIGHTMARES (an honorable mention in THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR VOLUME 13) as well as the suburban folk horror novel, THE VILE THING WE CREATED.His short stories... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Darcy Coates
KB
avatar for Ally Malinenko

Ally Malinenko

Ally Malinenko is the author of several poetry collections as well as Ghost Girl and the Stoker nominated This Appearing House both from Katherine Tegen Books/Harper Collins
avatar for Lora Senf

Lora Senf

All the scary things but especially middle grade horror.
avatar for Clare Withers

Clare Withers

Curator, Liaison Librarian, University of Pittsburgh
I'm interested in horror, the macabre, and agency in children's and YA literature.  My background is in children's literature, storytelling, and librarianship (public and academic). In my Archives & Special Collections capacity, I'm also focused on book history, curating and collaborating... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Pointview
  Horror History and Culture

11:00am EDT

Pitch Session Panel
Pitch Session Coordinator Brian Matthews moderates a panel of our pitch takers for a question and answer period.
Moderators
avatar for Brian Matthews

Brian Matthews

Trustee; Bram Stoker Awards® Show Coordinator, Pitch Session Coordinator, Horror Writers Association
Author, financial planner, former psychologist, husband, and father. That pretty much sums it up.

Speakers
avatar for Michael Dolan

Michael Dolan

Editorial Director, Winding Road Stories
We are an independent traditional publisher of many different genes of books including horror.
avatar for Michael Cieslak

Michael Cieslak

Michael Cieslak is a lifetime reader and writer of horror, mystery, and speculative fiction. A native of Detroit, he still lives within 500 yards of the city with his wife and their two dogs Tesla and Titus. The house is covered in Halloween decorations in October and dragons the... Read More →
avatar for Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her work has been showcased in numerous magazines and anthologies such as Weird Tales, Nightmare Magazine, Southwest Review, Year's Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2, The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8 & 15, as well... Read More →
avatar for Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Attendee, Lone Star College University Park
Rhonda Jackson Garcia, AKA RJ Joseph, is a Stoker Award™ nominated, Texas based academic and creative writer/professor whose writing regularly focuses on the intersections of gender and race in the horror and romance genres and popular culture. She has had works published in various... Read More →
avatar for Sarah Read
avatar for Becky LeJeune

Becky LeJeune

Agent, Bond Literary Agency
Becky LeJeune is an agent at Bond Literary Agency, a Denver-based agency run by Sandra Bond. Prior to joining the agency, Becky spent time working as a bookseller, a freelance cookbook editor, and an acquisitions editor for a small, regional press. She is a graduate of the Denver... Read More →
RB
CW
avatar for Matt Blairstone

Matt Blairstone

Publisher, Tenebrous Press
Publisher & Founder of Tenebrous Press, the home of New Weird Horror
avatar for Alex Woodroe

Alex Woodroe

EIC, Tenebrous Press
Author of WHISPERWOOD (Flame Tree Press) and EIC of Tenebrous Press
avatar for Willow Becker
avatar for Kristin Temple

Kristin Temple

Associate Editor, Tor Nightfire
Kristin Temple has been at Tor Publishing Group since 2016 and has been editing nightmares for Nightfire since its inception. She's had the honor of working with brilliantly talented authors like Nina Nesseth, KC Jones, Ellen Datlow, Cassandra Khaw, Ness Brown, Alison Rumfitt, Philip... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Pitch Sessions

11:00am EDT

Using Oral Storytelling Techniques in Horror Fiction
This unique workshop will look at how horror writers can utilize their oratory skills to help
both write and tell horror stories. It will explore three main topics. Effectively Reading Your Work: When reading to an audience, how do you give life to the words on the page? What techniques such as pacing, voice pitch, and vocal characterization will keep listeners engaged while you tell your story. What can you learn about good writing from reading you work out loud? Conversations with Your Characters: Characters are more than creations in a story or names on a page. They speak to writers and tell us where the story should take them. Writers will learn how to talk to their characters one on one and step into the scenes with them. Without Words: Storytelling doesn’t exist only on the page. Writers will learn how to abridge their work in order to tell it without the written work before them and how this can help their writing process. Learn how to “perform” using your voice on and off the page.
SEPARATE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. VISIT THE HORROR UNIVERSITY SITE FOR MORE DETAILS.


Horror University is Sponsored by Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction: http://setonhill.edu/fiction/
Moderators
avatar for Marc Abbott

Marc Abbott

Author/Storyteller
I’m the author of the horror anthologies Hell at the Way Station (Winner of the African Literary award for Best Anthology)and Hell at Brooklyn Tea. My works have been featured in Under Twin Suns, Even in the Grave, New York State of Fright and Hells Malls. I have also been a featured... Read More →


Saturday June 17, 2023 11:00am - 12:50pm EDT
Stoops Ferry
  Horror University

12:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Jessi Ann York

Jessi Ann York

Jessi Ann York’s stories have been featured at several professional rate horror markets, including PseudoPod, Vastarien, Cemetery Gates Media, Love Letters to Poe, and more. Her first two stories, “Phases of the Shadow” and “Women of the Mere,” were mentioned as standouts... Read More →
avatar for Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, No Gods for Drowning, The Worm and His Kings, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, Benny Rose the Cannibal King, and Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing. She is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, with... Read More →
avatar for Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy

Nat writes horror for the page, stage, and screen. He's the author of the horror novels Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings, both published by Nightfire. His critically-acclaimed, award-winning horror plays have been produced across the United States, as well as Off- and Off-Off-Broadway... Read More →
avatar for Erin E. Adams

Erin E. Adams

Erin E. Adams is a first-generation Haitian American writer and theater artist. Her debut novel, Jackal, was a finalist for the Edgar Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the Lefty Award. It was also named one of the best books of the year by Esquire, Vulture, PopSugar, Paste, and Publishers... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

12:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for EV Knight
avatar for Lauren Elise (L. E.) Daniels

Lauren Elise (L. E.) Daniels

Editor, Author, Brisbane Writers Workshop
A Rhode Islander living in Australia for over 20 years, Lauren Elise Daniels (L. E. Daniels) has worked in publishing since '92. She attained an MFA from Emerson College and has edited over 100+ titles, including the Aurealis Award-winning Relics, Wrecks and Ruins (2021), Aiki Flinthart's... Read More →
avatar for Briana Una McGuckin

Briana Una McGuckin

Briana Una McGuckin has cerebral palsy, a concerningly large collection of perfume oils, and an MFA from Western Connecticut State University. Her debut novel, On Good Authority, is a kink-positive, below-stairs Victorian Gothic/Romantic Suspense novel. Her short fiction appears... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

12:00pm EDT

Conversation with Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Elizabeth Massie
Moderators
avatar for Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton

Past President, Horror Writers Association
Author, screenwriter, Halloween expert, and Past President of the Horror Writers Association.

Speakers
avatar for Elizabeth Massie

Saturday June 17, 2023 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Pointview
  Guests of Honor Spotlight

12:00pm EDT

The Invisible Other: Bisexuality and the Horror Genre
Bisexuality represents the largest population of the LGBT umbrella, yet biphobia and bi-erasure remain all too prevalent, both in everyday life and in media. However, bisexuality has always been present in the horror genre. From Carmilla to Jennifer's Body, this panel will discuss the good, the bad, and the monstrous when it comes to representations of bisexuality in horror, as well as the panelists' hopes for the future of bi-representation in literature, cinema, and beyond.

Moderators
avatar for Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, Boneset & Feathers, and Pretty Marys All in a Row, among others. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub, Nightmare, Best American Science... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Eric Raglin

Eric Raglin

Cursed Morsels Press
Eric Raglin (he/him) is a Nebraskan horror/Weird fiction writer and the editor-in-chief of Cursed Morsels Press. He frequently writes about queerness, the terrors of capitalism, and body horror. His debut short story collection is Nightmare Yearnings. His second collection Extinction... Read More →
avatar for K.P. Kulski

K.P. Kulski

K.P. KULSKI is a Hawaii-born Korean-American author, historian, and career vampire of patriarchal tears. Channeling a lifelong obsession with history and the morose she’s managed to birth the gothic horror novel, Fairest Flesh, and novella, House of Pungsu. She bartered nine years... Read More →
avatar for Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine is a self-proclaimed cheerful goth who writes horror fiction and poetry. Her debut novel, Frost Bite, and her debut collection, The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls, are forthcoming from Dark Matter INK. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in/on over forty anthologies... Read More →
avatar for J.A.W. McCarthy

J.A.W. McCarthy

J.A.W. McCarthy is the Bram Stoker Award and Shirley Jackson Award nominated author of Sometimes We’re Cruel and Other Stories (Cemetery Gates Media, 2021) and Sleep Alone (Off Limits Press, 2023). Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including The Best Horror... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Horror History and Culture

12:00pm EDT

AI and Bots
There have been a lot of discussions within creative communities around AI in fiction and art as content written by or assisted with AI tools/bots remains on the rise. Where do creators go from here? Join panelists to discuss generative text, possible issues, if there are any benefits, and what impact could be had on the publishing world.
Moderators
avatar for Leigh Hennig

Leigh Hennig

Author, editor, engineer. My work has appeared in anthologies by Flame Tree Press, Crystal Lake Publishing, and Love Letters to Poe. This year I have a story in MOTHER: TALES OF LOVE AND TERROR, a finalist in the Anthology category. Founder of https://humanityinfiction.org

Speakers
avatar for Colleen Anderson

Colleen Anderson

Colleen Anderson lives in Vancouver, BC and is a Canada Council and BC Arts Council grant recipient for writing. She has been widely published, and has performed her work before audiences in the US, UK and Canada. A Pushcart Prize, and multiple Aurora (poetry & anthology), Dwarf Stars... Read More →
avatar for C.W. Briar

C.W. Briar

Author, C.W. Briar
LC
avatar for Maxwell I. Gold

Maxwell I. Gold

Treasurer, Horror Writers Association
Maxwell I. Gold is a Jewish American multiple award nominated author who writes prose poetry and short stories in cosmic horror and weird fiction with half a decade of writing experience. Four time Rhysling Award nominee, two time Pushcart Award nominee, and author of forthcoming... Read More →
avatar for Douglas Gwilym

Douglas Gwilym

author, co-editor of Novus Monstrum
Douglas Gwilym's short story "Poppy's Poppy" (Penumbric Magazine) has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award this year. His story "Year Six" (LampLight Magazine) was on the preliminary ballot last year, and is on Ellen Datlow’s recommended reading list for Best Horror 14.He has... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Writing and Publishing

12:00pm EDT

Listening to the Voices in Your Head: Crafting Point of View
Finding the right point-of-view can make or break a manuscript, subdue or elevate the desired effects of horror and terror. It also poses challenges when writers seek to cross the boundaries of gender, culture, and privilege, especially when writing from the first-person. When is it right—or wrong—to venture into the world and experiences of a group different from one's own? When does the chosen point-of-view keep us too far--or too close--to our protagonists? When does an unconventional device such as second-person offer the key to unlocking a character's individuality, and when does it become a gimmick? Join our panelists as they discuss these questions and many more.

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for Douglas Ford

Speakers
avatar for Valerie B. Williams

Valerie B. Williams

Writer, reader, dog lover.
avatar for Joseph Scipione
avatar for Ruthann Jagge

Ruthann Jagge

Author, Brazen Folk Horror
Author of dark speculative and horror fiction published in numerous successful anthologies. My solo novella “The New Girls' Patient" released in January 2022. “Delevan House,” a contemporary gothic novel rooted in folklore and written with my collaborative partner in Scotland... Read More →
SF
avatar for Catriona Ward

Catriona Ward

CATRIONA WARD was born in Washington, DC and grew up in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. She read English at the University of Oxford and is a graduate of the Creative Writing MFA at the University of East Anglia.Her fourth novel, the gothic thriller Sundial (2022... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Haselton I-II
  Writing and Publishing

12:00pm EDT

Pitch Sessions
StokerCon Pitch Sessions! You must have an appointment scheduled in advance to attend the pitch sessions. Please arrive fifteen minutes before your pitch session is to start.
Moderators
avatar for Rena Mason
avatar for Brian Matthews

Brian Matthews

Trustee; Bram Stoker Awards® Show Coordinator, Pitch Session Coordinator, Horror Writers Association
Author, financial planner, former psychologist, husband, and father. That pretty much sums it up.
avatar for Sarah Read

Speakers
avatar for Michael Dolan

Michael Dolan

Editorial Director, Winding Road Stories
We are an independent traditional publisher of many different genes of books including horror.
avatar for Michael Cieslak

Michael Cieslak

Michael Cieslak is a lifetime reader and writer of horror, mystery, and speculative fiction. A native of Detroit, he still lives within 500 yards of the city with his wife and their two dogs Tesla and Titus. The house is covered in Halloween decorations in October and dragons the... Read More →
avatar for Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her work has been showcased in numerous magazines and anthologies such as Weird Tales, Nightmare Magazine, Southwest Review, Year's Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2, The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8 & 15, as well... Read More →
avatar for Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Attendee, Lone Star College University Park
Rhonda Jackson Garcia, AKA RJ Joseph, is a Stoker Award™ nominated, Texas based academic and creative writer/professor whose writing regularly focuses on the intersections of gender and race in the horror and romance genres and popular culture. She has had works published in various... Read More →
avatar for Becky LeJeune

Becky LeJeune

Agent, Bond Literary Agency
Becky LeJeune is an agent at Bond Literary Agency, a Denver-based agency run by Sandra Bond. Prior to joining the agency, Becky spent time working as a bookseller, a freelance cookbook editor, and an acquisitions editor for a small, regional press. She is a graduate of the Denver... Read More →
RB
CW
avatar for Matt Blairstone

Matt Blairstone

Publisher, Tenebrous Press
Publisher & Founder of Tenebrous Press, the home of New Weird Horror
avatar for Alex Woodroe

Alex Woodroe

EIC, Tenebrous Press
Author of WHISPERWOOD (Flame Tree Press) and EIC of Tenebrous Press
avatar for Willow Becker
avatar for Kristin Temple

Kristin Temple

Associate Editor, Tor Nightfire
Kristin Temple has been at Tor Publishing Group since 2016 and has been editing nightmares for Nightfire since its inception. She's had the honor of working with brilliantly talented authors like Nina Nesseth, KC Jones, Ellen Datlow, Cassandra Khaw, Ness Brown, Alison Rumfitt, Philip... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 12:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Pitch Sessions

1:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Lisa Kastner

Lisa Kastner

Founder and Executive Editor, Running Wild, LLC
Lisa was born in Camden, NJ which was one of the most dangerous cities in America. In high school, she was a dancer and co-host on Dance Party USA. At the age of 20 she came home to find her house had burned down and she was suddenly homeless. She spent the next several years rebuilding... Read More →
avatar for Nicole Willson

Nicole Willson

Stoker-nominated author of TIDEPOOL (2021), THE SHADOW DANCERS OF BRIXTON HILL (2023) and THE KEEPER OF THE KEY (2024). Find out more about me at http://www.nicolewillson.com
avatar for Cody Langille

Cody Langille

Owner/Editor-in-Chief, Timber Ghost Press
C.R. Langille spent many a Saturday afternoon watching monster movies with their mother. It wasn't long before they started crafting nightmares to share with their readers. They are a retired, disabled veteran with a deep love for weird and creepy tales. This prompted them to form... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

1:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Guest of Honor Readings II
Speakers
avatar for Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

Guest of Honor
Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone... Read More →
avatar for Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus

Guest of Honor
Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels and graphic novels, including his latest,Whalefall (August 2023). He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based... Read More →
avatar for Wrath James White

Wrath James White

Guest of Honor
Wrath James White is a former World Class Heavyweight Kickboxer, a professional Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts trainer, distance runner, performance artist, and former street brawler, who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print.​Wrath is... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

1:00pm EDT

Funny Horror
While death is one of the most somber of topics, horror authors often are fearlessly funny when it comes to writing about it.  Panelists will discuss ways in which humor overlaps with horror, from familiar tropes to absurd situations to morbid puns to silly splatstick. How can humor enhance a horror story? What pitfalls should comedic writers of terror avoid? What are the classics and emerging trends in this hilariously sick subgenre?
Moderators
avatar for Jeff Strand

Jeff Strand

Five-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. One-time Bram Stoker Award winner. Ten-time (!) Bram Stoker Award Master of Ceremonies.Author of plentiful books for your reading pleasure, including Pressure, Dweller, My Pretties, Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary), Clowns Vs. Spiders... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for DM Guay

DM Guay

Hello! I write horror comedy, and am best known for the 24/7 Demon Mart series. I'm a member of the Ohio chapter, and am their unofficial social media manager.
avatar for Amanda Worthington

Amanda Worthington

Hi everyone! I'm Amanda!I volunteer as the HWA's scholarship coordinator, chair the newly created MO/KS chapter, and slush read for Space and Time (among other things.) I also created a critique group for horror writers in my city, the first of its kind that I'm aware of!I am newer... Read More →
avatar for ROYCE BUCKINGHAM

ROYCE BUCKINGHAM

Author--Penguin/Random House (Blanvalet)
Penguin/Random House Horror and Urban Fantasy Author. HWA, WGAw.I'll be speaking on the Funny Horror panel about horribly funny stuff, including my new Monster Lawyer novel series with PRH in Germany. Happy to chat with anyone! Would specifically like to talk with editors about available... Read More →
avatar for Paul Lubaczewski

Paul Lubaczewski

Author
Paul has lived all over the country before settling in Appalachia over fifteen years ago with his wife Leslie and their son. He also has two adult children living in his native Pennsylvania. He has written numerous horror comedy novels, and he has no idea at this point how many short... Read More →
avatar for Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine is a self-proclaimed cheerful goth who writes horror fiction and poetry. Her debut novel, Frost Bite, and her debut collection, The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls, are forthcoming from Dark Matter INK. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in/on over forty anthologies... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Pointview
  Genre and Sub-Genre

1:00pm EDT

Death to Tropes, Long Live Tropes
From final girls to jump scares, we often come to horror with expectations rooted in longstanding storytelling conventions. This panel will discuss the horror tropes that endure through the ages (for better or worse) and how modern authors have refreshed them in recent years. Which tropes are deliciously immortal and which ones need a stake driven through the heart? We'll find out as soon as we split up in search of cell reception...
Moderators
avatar for Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley is a WGA screenwriter with six produced film credits, including the award-winning thriller DISMISSED. He wrote an episode of the Netflix sitcom FULLER HOUSE and sold his horror series pitch AFFLICTION to Syfy Network in a pilot development deal. Brian's debut horror... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy

Nat writes horror for the page, stage, and screen. He's the author of the horror novels Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings, both published by Nightfire. His critically-acclaimed, award-winning horror plays have been produced across the United States, as well as Off- and Off-Off-Broadway... Read More →
avatar for Neil McRobert

Neil McRobert

Host/Producer, Talking Scared Podcast
Hi. I'm the host and producer (and everything else) of Talking Scared. Every week I talk to a different horror writer about their work, their life and their fears. It's fun. I also write about horror for Esquire. If you've heard the show then you probably already know an alarming... Read More →
avatar for Rachel Harrison
avatar for Stephanie Gagnon

Stephanie Gagnon

Host, Books in the Freezer Podcast
avatar for Agatha Andrews

Agatha Andrews

Host of the She Wore Black Podcast and writer that haunts old Texas cemeteries and lurks in libraries and bookstores.

Saturday June 17, 2023 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Horror History and Culture

1:00pm EDT

Different Paths into Darkness
Authors take a variety of ways to build their careers and brands. And the ever-changing marketplace offers new opportunities and old hurdles. From self-publishing and indie to traditional and hybrid approaches, each comes with its own challenges and rewards. Panelists will share their personal experiences, their advice, and the different marketing strategies they've taken in navigating their particular path to successful publication.
Moderators
avatar for Eric J. Guignard

Eric J. Guignard

Gentleman Extraordinaire, Dark Moon Books
Eric J. Guignard is a writer and anthologist of dark and speculative fiction, operating from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles, where he also runs the small press Dark Moon Books. He’s twice won the Bram Stoker Award, won the Shirley Jackson Award, and been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and International Thriller Writers Award.He has over 100 stories appearing in publications around the world and has edited and published nine anthologies, most... Read More →

Speakers
JW
avatar for Darcy Coates
avatar for Ben Farthing

Ben Farthing

Ben Farthing writes supernatural horror. His upcoming novella "I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls" is the standalone sequel to his bestselling novella "I Found a  Circus Tent In The Woods Behind My House," which has been described as both "Goosebumps for adults" and a "Thomas... Read More →
avatar for Jessica Luke García

Jessica Luke García

Jessica Luke García (any pronouns) is a non-binary queer writer, editor, and college dropout from the midwestern United States. For the last decade, they have worked under bestselling pen names in the romance industry as a ghostwriter and self-publisher. Their horror fiction can... Read More →
avatar for Zoje Stage

Zoje Stage

Author
Zoje Stage is the author of BABY TEETH, WONDERLAND, GETAWAY, THE GIRL WHO OUTGREW THE WORLD, and MOTHERED. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA.

Saturday June 17, 2023 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Writing and Publishing

1:00pm EDT

Exploring the Canon of Queer Horror
Join panelists as we celebrate Pride Month! A discussion surrounding the trailblazers for queer horror, writers who are continuing in those footsteps today and making their own innovations, and how queer horror has created such an impact on the modern landscape of horror fiction.

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for Paula D. Ashe

Paula D. Ashe

Paula D. Ashe (she/her) is an author of dark fiction. Her debut collection We Are Here to Hurt Each Other (Nictitating Books) is a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. She is also an associate editor for Vastarien: A Literary Journal. She lives... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Maxwell I. Gold

Maxwell I. Gold

Treasurer, Horror Writers Association
Maxwell I. Gold is a Jewish American multiple award nominated author who writes prose poetry and short stories in cosmic horror and weird fiction with half a decade of writing experience. Four time Rhysling Award nominee, two time Pushcart Award nominee, and author of forthcoming... Read More →
AD
avatar for Jewelle Gomez

Jewelle Gomez

Guest of Honor
Jewelle Gomez is the author of several books including the double Lambda Literary Award winning vampire novel, The Gilda Stories. She is the recipient of a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, two California Arts Council fellowships and an Individual Artist... Read More →
avatar for Eric LaRocca

Eric LaRocca

Eric LaRocca (he/they) is the Bram Stoker Award®-nominated and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of the viral sensation, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. A lover of luxury fashion and an admirer of European musical theatre, Eric can often be found roaming the streets of his home city, Boston, MA, for inspiration... Read More →
avatar for Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, No Gods for Drowning, The Worm and His Kings, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, Benny Rose the Cannibal King, and Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing. She is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, with... Read More →
avatar for Ally Wilkes

Ally Wilkes

Ally Wilkes is the author of ALL THE WHITE SPACES (Atria/Titan, 2022), the upcoming WHERE THE DEAD WAIT (Atria/Titan, 2023) and JAMIE HALLOW AND THE END OF THE WORLD (Cemetery Gates, 2023). Her short fiction has been published in magazines including Nightmare, and anthologies including... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Haselton I-II
  Genre and Sub-Genre

1:00pm EDT

Poetry Techniques for Writing Fiction and Non-Fiction
For writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, this workshop will help you use poetry techniques of compression, word choices, and sentence structure to deepen your style/voice, increase energy, and defeat writing blocks. We will explore each type of writing by attendees doing guided “wild” writing and practice covered methods to edit the writing. The workshop will include several writing exercises focusing on different tools of poetry and applying them to fiction and non-fiction. Attendees will receive writing prompts and feedback on their exercises.

SEPARATE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. VISIT THE HORROR UNIVERSITY SITE FOR MORE DETAILS.


Horror University is Sponsored by Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction: http://setonhill.edu/fiction/
Moderators
avatar for Linda D. Addison

Linda D. Addison

Trustee, Horror Writers Association
Linda D. Addison is an award-winning author of five collections, including How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend, recipient of the HWA Lifetime Achievement Award, HWA Mentor of the Year and SFPA Grand Master of Fantastic Poetry.


Saturday June 17, 2023 1:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Stoops Ferry
  Horror University

2:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Andrew F Sullivan

Andrew F Sullivan

Author of The Marigold and The Handyman Method
Andrew F. Sullivan is the author of The Marigold (ECW Press) a novel about a city eating itself. The Handyman Method, a novel cowritten with Nick Cutter about home improvement gone wrong, is forthcoming from Gallery Books / Saga Press in August 2023. Sullivan is also the auth... Read More →
avatar for Christa Carmen

Christa Carmen

writer, CLB Creative, LLC
Author bio: Christa Carmen lives in Rhode Island and is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of the short story collection Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked. She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Boston College, and an MFA from the University of Southern... Read More →
avatar for Nicole Cushing

Nicole Cushing

Nicole Cushing is a Bram Stoker Award® winning novelist and a two-time nominee for the Shirley Jackson Award. Cemetery Dance will be publishing her new novella, The Plastic Priest, this December.
avatar for Garrett Boatman

Garrett Boatman

I am the author of Stage Fright, (originally published by Onyx 1988, reissued by Valancourt Books as Paperback from Hell 11 2020), Floaters: A Victorian Zombie Adventure, (Crystal Lake Publishing 2021), & Night’s Plutonian Shore, (Crossroad Press 2023). Night's Plutonian Shore is... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

2:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Erika T. Wurth

Erika T. Wurth

Writer/Professor, Flatiron/Macmillan
Erika T. Wurth’s literary-horror/speculative novel, White Horse, is forthcoming with Flatiron/Macmillan. She teaches creative writing at Western Illinois University and has been a guest writer at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous... Read More →
avatar for Marc Abbott

Marc Abbott

Author/Storyteller
I’m the author of the horror anthologies Hell at the Way Station (Winner of the African Literary award for Best Anthology)and Hell at Brooklyn Tea. My works have been featured in Under Twin Suns, Even in the Grave, New York State of Fright and Hells Malls. I have also been a featured... Read More →
avatar for Sonora Taylor

Sonora Taylor

Author
Sonora Taylor is the award-winning author of several books and short stories. Her books include Seeing Things, Little Paranoias: Stories, Without Condition, The Crow’s Gift and Other Tales, and Wither and Other Stories.  She also co-edited Diet Riot: A Fatterpunk Anthology with... Read More →
avatar for Rebecca Cuthbert

Rebecca Cuthbert

Writer
Bio: Rebecca Cuthbert is the author of IN MEMORY OF EXOSKELETONS, a dark poetry collection (Alien Buddha Press, 2023). Forthcoming publications include the hybrid collection SELF-MADE MONSTERS (ABP, 2024) the sonnet "No Rest Nor Relief For You With Me Dead" (SHAKESPEARE UNLEASHED... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

2:00pm EDT

The Night Strangler: 51 Years of Kolchak
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the second TV movie, The Night Strangler, which brought horror icon, Carl Kolchak, to millions of TV screens and helped launch the seminal TV series that debuted the following year. Five decades--and yet Kolchak seems more popular than ever today! Why does this character and the horror stories that feature him resonate so strongly with contemporary horror writers and readers? What is the real extent of Kolchak's influence on the horror genre? What are the essential elements of a Kolchak story that inform modern horror? What might be in store for this classic character in the years to come?
Moderators
avatar for James Chambers

James Chambers

Trustee; Co-Chair, Horror University, Horror Writers Association
James Chambers received the Bram Stoker Award® for the graphic novel, Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe and is a four-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. He is the author of the short story collections On the Night Border and On the Hierophant Road... Read More →

Speakers
JA
avatar for Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton

Past President, Horror Writers Association
Author, screenwriter, Halloween expert, and Past President of the Horror Writers Association.
avatar for Steven Van Patten

Steven Van Patten

Writer/ Producer, Laughing Black Vampire Productions
Brooklyn native Steven Van Patten is the author of the critically acclaimed Brookwater’s Curse trilogy that features an 1860s Georgia plantation slave who becomes law enforcement within the vampire community. In contrast, the titular character in his Killer Genius series is a modern... Read More →
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

I’ve published over fifty novels and seven collections of dark fiction as well as media tie-ins. I’m a three-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, and I teach creative writing at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. People can talk to me about anything! But anything horror-related... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Pointview
  Horror History and Culture

2:00pm EDT

From Bloody Page to Haunted Screen
With Hollywood becoming increasingly invested in established IPs, writers must learn to adapt across different mediums -- from short stories, novels and comic books to movies, television and podcasts. This panel gathers writers with experience telling stories in various arenas to talk about what works and what doesn't translate in each. We'll also touch on the business side of navigating optioning agreements and screenwriting contracts.

Moderators
avatar for Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley is a WGA screenwriter with six produced film credits, including the award-winning thriller DISMISSED. He wrote an episode of the Netflix sitcom FULLER HOUSE and sold his horror series pitch AFFLICTION to Syfy Network in a pilot development deal. Brian's debut horror... Read More →

Speakers
PF
avatar for Lisa Kröger

Lisa Kröger

Trustee, Horror Writers Association
Horror writer. Author of MONSTER, SHE WROTE and TOIL AND TROUBLE. Cohost of the Know Fear Cast and The Monster, She Wrote podcast.
avatar for Jonathan Lees

Jonathan Lees

Beyond his current career as a Creative Director, Video, for the streaming service, TIDAL, Jonathan Lees has spent over twenty years championing filmmakers through his programming work with the New York Underground Film Festival, Anthology Film Archives, TromaDance, and now, Final... Read More →
avatar for Jamal Hodge

Jamal Hodge

Catch me as a Guest in Pen Game this Friday!
avatar for Clay McLeod Chapman

Clay McLeod Chapman

Author of Ghost Eaters, Whisper Down the Lane, The Remaking and the upcoming novel What Kind Of Mother, among others.
avatar for Jamie Flanagan

Jamie Flanagan

Jamie Flanagan writes television shows. Credits include The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, The Fall of the House of Usher. Theatre nerd. Avid gamer (tabletop and video).

Saturday June 17, 2023 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Writing and Publishing

2:00pm EDT

Promoting Dread: The Publicity of Horror Fiction
How do writers promote their fiction in today's marketplace? What special approaches can horror authors take to building an audience, working social media, touring bookstores, and more? Panelists will share the successes and pitfalls based on their personal experiences in this practical and important panel.

Moderators
avatar for Emily Hughes

Emily Hughes

Writer/Editor/Listmaker
Emily Hughes wants to talk to you about scary books. Formerly the editor of Unbound Worlds and TorNightfire.com, she writes about horror literature and tweets bad puns @emilyhughes. You can find her writing elsewhere on Vulture, Tor.com, Electric Literature, Thrillist, and more.

Speakers
avatar for Becky Spratford

Becky Spratford

Readers’ Advisory Specialist; HWA Secretary, RA for All
Becky Spratford is a Readers' Advisor in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All. She is under contract to provide content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and writes reviews for Booklist and a horror review column for Library Journal... Read More →
avatar for Janine Cross

Janine Cross

Author
Janine Cross's dark fantasy trilogy The Dragon Temple Saga was published with Random House USA and with Heyne in Germany.  Publishers Weekly called the trilogy a “bold debut in a richly detailed, well-imagined world”, and Library Journal voted Touched by Venom (Book One in the... Read More →
avatar for Jordan Hanley

Jordan Hanley

Senior Marketing Manager, Nightfire
Jordan is a founding member of the Nightfire team. She is part of the hivemind behind Nightfire social and writes the Nightfire monthly newsletter. She runs major digital and print marketing campaigns for Catriona Ward, CJ Leede, Lucy Snyder, and more. She's a Constant Reader and... Read More →
avatar for Solomon Forse

Solomon Forse

Editor and Author, HOWL Society Press
Solomon Forse is the founder of HOWL Society. When not hanging out on the Discord server or handling publisher duties, Solomon spends his time role-playing horror with tabletop RPGs like Call of Cthulhu or shredding horror on the guitar in his Lovecraftian metal band Crafteon. Otherwise... Read More →
avatar for Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy

Nat writes horror for the page, stage, and screen. He's the author of the horror novels Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings, both published by Nightfire. His critically-acclaimed, award-winning horror plays have been produced across the United States, as well as Off- and Off-Off-Broadway... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Writing and Publishing

2:00pm EDT

Guest of Honor Spotlight
Join our Guests of Honor as they discuss a multitude of topics on horror and writing, including: supernatural horror vs. the horrors of humans; themes, both recurring and forbidden; and love affairs they've had with their characters.  

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.
Moderators
avatar for Meghan Arcuri

Meghan Arcuri

Vice-President, Horror Writers Association
Meghan Arcuri is a Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author. Her work can be found in various anthologies, including Borderlands 7 (Borderlands Press), Madhouse (Dark Regions Press), Chiral Mad, and Chiral Mad 3 (Written Backwards). She is currently the Vice President of the Horror... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu

Guest of Honor
Alma Katsu is the author of historical horror novels such asThe Hunger and The Fervor, as well as the Red Widow spy series. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal, been featured in the NY Times and Washington Post, been nominated... Read More →
avatar for Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

Guest of Honor
Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone... Read More →
avatar for Owl Goingback

Owl Goingback

Guest of Honor
Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous novels, children's books, short stories, screenplays, comics, and magazine articles. He is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and has received the Bram Stoker Award for Novel... Read More →
avatar for Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus

Guest of Honor
Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels and graphic novels, including his latest,Whalefall (August 2023). He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based... Read More →
avatar for Jewelle Gomez

Jewelle Gomez

Guest of Honor
Jewelle Gomez is the author of several books including the double Lambda Literary Award winning vampire novel, The Gilda Stories. She is the recipient of a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, two California Arts Council fellowships and an Individual Artist... Read More →
avatar for Wrath James White

Wrath James White

Guest of Honor
Wrath James White is a former World Class Heavyweight Kickboxer, a professional Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts trainer, distance runner, performance artist, and former street brawler, who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print.​Wrath is... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
Haselton I-II
  Guests of Honor Spotlight

3:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Ai Jiang
avatar for Rena Mason
avatar for Frances Ippolito

Frances Ippolito

Editor, Writer, Publisher
Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito (she/her) is a Chinese American judge, mom, and writer in Portland, Oregon. Her writing has appeared in Nightmare Magazine, Flame Tree’s Asian Ghost Stories, Chromophobia, Mother: Tales of Terror and Love, Death’s Garden Revisited, and Unquiet Spirits... Read More →
avatar for Geneve Flynn

Geneve Flynn

Editor and author
Geneve Flynn is an award-winning fiction editor, author, and poet.She is the co-editor of Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women (with Lee Murray). The anthology won the 2020 Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson awards and shortlisted for the British Fantasy, Aurealis, and Australian Shadows awards.Geneve’s short stories have been published in various markets, including Flame Tree Publishing, PseudoPod, Crystal... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

3:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Elizabeth Massie
avatar for Scott Edelman
avatar for Darius Jones

Darius Jones

Darius Jones’s stories and poems have appeared in Strange Horizons, The No Sleep Podcast, Star*Line Magazine, and other places. He is a member of the HWA, SFWA, and SFPA. Please feel free to ask him anything Horror or writing related. See you at Stoker! 
avatar for James Chambers

James Chambers

Trustee; Co-Chair, Horror University, Horror Writers Association
James Chambers received the Bram Stoker Award® for the graphic novel, Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe and is a four-time Bram Stoker Award nominee. He is the author of the short story collections On the Night Border and On the Hierophant Road... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

3:00pm EDT

The Rise of Sporror
A panel about the unease we have around fungi and the possibilities of ecological horror - what it means about our future and what we have hidden in the past
Moderators
avatar for Rick Claypool

Rick Claypool

author
I write absurdist horror. Author of TENTACLEHEAD (Bear Creek Press 2022), THE MOLD FARMER (Six Gallery Press 2020), and LEECH GIRL LIVES (Spaceboy Books 2017). Work described by Nick Mamatas as "If China Mieville wrote Saturday morning cartoons." He/him.

Speakers
avatar for Carol Gyzander

Carol Gyzander

Carol writes horror, dark fiction, and sci-fi/cyberpunk. She's the Co-Chair of HWA NY Chapter and co-host of HWA NY Galactic Terrors reading series, as well as one of the HWA Chapter Program Co-Managers, supporting chapters in the US.Her story, "The Yellow Crown," was nominated for... Read More →
avatar for JG Faherty

JG Faherty

Horror Writers Association
Writer of dark fiction (horror, S/F, fantasy). HWA Mentorship Program Manager. Talk to me about horror, writing, books, editing, movies, guitars, bourbon, or just about anything except politics!
avatar for Gordon B. White

Gordon B. White

Gordon B. White is a Stoker nominee this year!!  He's also a Shirley Jackson Award nominee and the author of the weird horror collection As Summer’s Mask Slips and Other Disruptions, as well as the novellas Rookfield and And In Her Smile, The World (with Rebecca J. Allred... Read More →
avatar for Danger Slater

Danger Slater

Writer guy. Good time party dude.
I'm an author and a performer and a good time party dude. I eat a lot of soup. I am soup.
avatar for Andrew F Sullivan

Andrew F Sullivan

Author of The Marigold and The Handyman Method
Andrew F. Sullivan is the author of The Marigold (ECW Press) a novel about a city eating itself. The Handyman Method, a novel cowritten with Nick Cutter about home improvement gone wrong, is forthcoming from Gallery Books / Saga Press in August 2023. Sullivan is also the auth... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Genre and Sub-Genre

3:00pm EDT

Everybody Must Get Stoned
Addiction by its nature is full of tragedy and darkness (as well as a sense of the supernatural), so what better way to portray the issue than with the horror genre. This panel will discuss how to write characters with addictions or substance use with verity and sensitivity. A discussion of how addiction is portrayed in horror in fiction and other media, what works have done it well and not well.
Moderators
avatar for Mark Matthews

Mark Matthews

Mark Matthews is a graduate of the University of Michigan and a licensed professional counselor who has worked in behavioral health for over 20 years. He is the author of On the Lips of Children, All Smoke Rises, and Milk-Blood, as well as the editor of (and contributor to) Lullabies... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Christa Carmen

Christa Carmen

writer, CLB Creative, LLC
Author bio: Christa Carmen lives in Rhode Island and is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of the short story collection Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked. She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Boston College, and an MFA from the University of Southern... Read More →
avatar for Brandon Ketchum

Brandon Ketchum

Brandon Ketchum is a speculative fiction writer from Pittsburgh, PA who enjoys putting a weird spin or strange vibe into every story, dark or light.
avatar for Clay McLeod Chapman

Clay McLeod Chapman

Author of Ghost Eaters, Whisper Down the Lane, The Remaking and the upcoming novel What Kind Of Mother, among others.
avatar for Jessica McHugh

Jessica McHugh

Jessica McHugh is a 2x Bram Stoker Award-nominated poet, a multi-genre novelist, & an internationally-produced playwright who spends her days surrounded by artistic inspiration at a Maryland tattoo shop. She’s had twenty-nine books published in fourteen years, including her Elgin... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Pointview
  Writing and Publishing

3:00pm EDT

The Horror Industry
Fears turn with the tide, and the publishing industry is in a constant state of flux. How do panelists see horror in the publishing industry today? What course corrections have occurred, and what difficulties are afoot, given the rise of technology, changes in culture, and genre trends? How has publishing changed over recent years, and what specific advice do panelists have for writers approaching today's market?  
Moderators
avatar for Anita Allen

Anita Allen

Anita Allen is a woman of many talents, perhaps best known for her work as a craftsman level costume designer and as an assistant publisher for Mythic Delirium and assistant editor for the anthology series Clockwork Phoenix, both of which she does with her amazing hubbie Mike Allen... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Kristin Temple

Kristin Temple

Associate Editor, Tor Nightfire
Kristin Temple has been at Tor Publishing Group since 2016 and has been editing nightmares for Nightfire since its inception. She's had the honor of working with brilliantly talented authors like Nina Nesseth, KC Jones, Ellen Datlow, Cassandra Khaw, Ness Brown, Alison Rumfitt, Philip... Read More →
avatar for Mike Allen

Mike Allen

Author/Editor/Publisher, Mythic Delirium Books
Mike Allen edits and publishes Mythic Delirium Books in Roanoke, Virginia, with his wife Anita and not-so-troublesome cat Pandora. His short stories have been gathered in three collections: UNSEAMING; THE SPIDER TAPESTRIES; and AFTERMATH OF AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT; with a fourth, SLOW BURN, now in the... Read More →
avatar for Jennifer Barnes

Jennifer Barnes

Managing Editor, Raw Dog Screaming Press
Jennifer Barnes is managing editor of Raw Dog Screaming Press which has been publishing off-kilter books for nearly two decades. She spent four years as an editor for The Dream People Literary Magazine. Her children’s book, Better Haunted Homes and Gardens, illustrated by Kristen... Read More →
avatar for Ellen Datlow

Ellen Datlow

Trustee, Editor of short fiction through novellas
Ellen Datlow has been editing sf/f/h, short fiction for more than forty years. She currently acquires short fiction and novellas for Tor.com. She’s edited more than one hundred anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series and has won multiple awards for... Read More →
avatar for Kevin Lucia

Kevin Lucia

Editor, Cemetery Dance Publications
Kevin Lucia is the eBook and trade paperback editor at Cemetery Dance Publications. His short fiction has been published in many venues, most notably with Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, David Morell, Peter Straub, Bentley Little, and Robert McCammon. His first novel, The Horror at Pleasant... Read More →
avatar for Richard Thomas

Richard Thomas

BIO: Richard Thomas is the award-winning author of eight books—Disintegration and Breaker (Penguin Random House Alibi), Transubstantiate, Herniated Roots, Staring Into the Abyss, Tribulations, Spontaneous Human Combustion (Turner Publishing), and The Soul Standard (Dzanc Books... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Writing and Publishing

3:00pm EDT

Using the Tarot to Guide Your Writing
This class will teach you how to use a deck of tarot cards to create well rounded characters, plot your story and/or breakthrough the dreaded writer's block. You will learn to intuitively read a card and use that knowledge to apply it to your work in progress or a brand new piece. You do not need to know how to read tarot to take this class. Many people shy away from the Tarot because it seems too overwhelming to learn the meanings behind each of the seventy-eight cards, but intuitive reading can be taught easily and quickly. By the end of class, attendees will have a basic understanding of the history and layout of the Tarot, know how to intuitively read cards at a basic level, learn several easy card spreads for writing characters, plot, and breaking writer’s block (as well as for divination), and use the cards and spreads as prompts to craft a story or aid in their current WIP. Class participants are invited to bring their own deck, but a deck will be provided to each attendee to use during class. Each attendee will also receive a laminated reference cards on a ring for quick keywords/meanings.

SEPARATE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. VISIT THE HORROR UNIVERSITY SITE FOR MORE DETAILS.


Horror University is Sponsored by Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction: http://setonhill.edu/fiction/
Moderators
avatar for EV Knight


Saturday June 17, 2023 3:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Stoops Ferry
  Horror University

4:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Willow Becker
avatar for Colleen Anderson

Colleen Anderson

Colleen Anderson lives in Vancouver, BC and is a Canada Council and BC Arts Council grant recipient for writing. She has been widely published, and has performed her work before audiences in the US, UK and Canada. A Pushcart Prize, and multiple Aurora (poetry & anthology), Dwarf Stars... Read More →
avatar for Karlo Yeager Rodriguez

Karlo Yeager Rodriguez

Attendee, Author
Karlo Yeager Rodríguez is originally from the enchanting island of Puerto Rico, but moved to the Baltimore area some years ago where he now lives with his wife and one odd dog. His fiction has appeared in places like Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Seize the Press, Pseudopod, and khōréō. He... Read More →
avatar for Amanda Headlee

Amanda Headlee

With a love of scary stories and folklore, Amanda Headlee spent her entire life crafting works of dark fiction. She has a fascination with the emotion of fear and believes it is the first emotion humans feel at the moment they are born. Most of her work focuses on dark fiction associated... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

4:00pm EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Lee Murray

Lee Murray

Lee Murray is an author, editor, screenwriter, and poet from Aotearoa-New Zealand. A USA Today Bestselling Author, double Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson Award winner, she’s a serial panellist with a passion for horror. Read more at https://www.leemurray.info/... Read More →
avatar for K.P. Kulski

K.P. Kulski

K.P. KULSKI is a Hawaii-born Korean-American author, historian, and career vampire of patriarchal tears. Channeling a lifelong obsession with history and the morose she’s managed to birth the gothic horror novel, Fairest Flesh, and novella, House of Pungsu. She bartered nine years... Read More →
avatar for J.A.W. McCarthy

J.A.W. McCarthy

J.A.W. McCarthy is the Bram Stoker Award and Shirley Jackson Award nominated author of Sometimes We’re Cruel and Other Stories (Cemetery Gates Media, 2021) and Sleep Alone (Off Limits Press, 2023). Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including The Best Horror... Read More →
avatar for Yi Izzy Yu

Yi Izzy Yu

A hardcore K-drama and metaphysical philosophy superfan, and a lover of all things weird and haunted, Yi Izzy Yu is the co-translator of The Shadow Book of Ji Yun, Zhiguai, and Red in Darkness. Her fiction, nonfiction, and literary translations have also appeared in magazines and... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

4:00pm EDT

Horror Westerns
Welcome to the weird, wild west. With isolated settings and brutal conditions, horror stories set in the Old West are a match made in hell. Join panelists to discuss fusing elements of horror, sci-fi and/or fantasy in this historic setting, what books are hot in the subgenre, and general writing advice for horror westerns.
Moderators
avatar for KC (Kristina) Grifant

KC (Kristina) Grifant

KC Grifant is a Southern Californian author who writes internationally published horror, fantasy, science fiction and weird west stories for podcasts, anthologies and magazines. Her tales have appeared in Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, Unnerving Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Dark... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Michael Bailey

Michael Bailey

Senior Editor, Written Backwards
Michael Bailey is a writer, editor who lives near the Caribbean Sea in Costa Rica. He is a recipient of the Bram Stoker Award (and nine-time finalist), Benjamin Franklin Award, a four-time Shirley Jackson Award nominee, and an insane number of independent accolades. Publications include Palindrome... Read More →
ZR
avatar for Kenneth W. Cain

Kenneth W. Cain

Publisher/Editor-in-chief, Crystal Lake: Torrid Waters
Kenneth W. Cain is an author of horror and dark fiction, and a Splatterpunk Award nominated freelance editor. He is also the publisher and editor-in-chief at Crystal Lake: Torrid Waters. Cain is an Active member of the HWA and a Full member of the SFWA. To date, he has had over one... Read More →
avatar for Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, No Gods for Drowning, The Worm and His Kings, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, Benny Rose the Cannibal King, and Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing. She is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, with... Read More →
avatar for Emily Ruth Verona

Emily Ruth Verona

Emily Ruth Verona received her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Cinema Studies from the State University of New York at Purchase. In 2014 she won the Pinch Literary Award in Fiction. She is a Bram Stoker Award nominee, a Jane Austen Short Story Award Finalist, and a Luke Bitmead... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Ellwood I-II
  Genre and Sub-Genre

4:00pm EDT

"I well remembered the words of my father": Fathers and Fatherhood In Horror
Mary Shelley made the fathers and the role of fatherhood central to the horror genre. In honor of Father's Day, join us for a wide-ranging exploration of the significance of fathers and paternal figures in horror. How have fathers stood in for the violence and manipulation of patriarchal norms—and what is the potential to overcome those familiar symbols? How do we reckon with the "fathers" of horror and inheritances they have left to us? How does horror enable us to confront assumptions about gender, power, and traditional family dynamics? While our discussion will surely consider the historic role of male parents, this is a panel that welcomes fathers, dads, and role models of all genders.
Moderators
avatar for Bridget Keown

Bridget Keown

Professor, University of Pittsburgh
Bridget Keown is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh, and is the head of the Gender and Science Initiative. She earned her PhD in history at Northeastern University, where her research focused on the... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Eric J. Guignard

Eric J. Guignard

Gentleman Extraordinaire, Dark Moon Books
Eric J. Guignard is a writer and anthologist of dark and speculative fiction, operating from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles, where he also runs the small press Dark Moon Books. He’s twice won the Bram Stoker Award, won the Shirley Jackson Award, and been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and International Thriller Writers Award.He has over 100 stories appearing in publications around the world and has edited and published nine anthologies, most... Read More →
avatar for John Edward Lawson

John Edward Lawson

President, Horror Writers Association
John Edward Lawson is an author, artist, and musician from Maryland. His work has been nominated for the Dwarf Stars, Rhysling, Stoker, and Wonderland Awards in addition to the Pushcart Prize. For his work as an editor John received the 2018 HWA Specialty Press Award. He currently... Read More →
avatar for Mark Matthews

Mark Matthews

Mark Matthews is a graduate of the University of Michigan and a licensed professional counselor who has worked in behavioral health for over 20 years. He is the author of On the Lips of Children, All Smoke Rises, and Milk-Blood, as well as the editor of (and contributor to) Lullabies... Read More →
avatar for Scott Johnson
avatar for Wrath James White

Wrath James White

Guest of Honor
Wrath James White is a former World Class Heavyweight Kickboxer, a professional Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts trainer, distance runner, performance artist, and former street brawler, who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print.​Wrath is... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Pointview
  Horror History and Culture

4:00pm EDT

A Decade of Black Women in Horror
Join us as we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Black Women in Horror list, a milestone in recognizing and supporting black women in the horror genre. This panel, led by moderator and new list member Tamika Thompson, with list creator Sumiko Saulson, as well as list members Kenya Moss-Dyme, Paula D. Ashe, RJ Joseph, Linda Addison, and L. Marie Wood, as well as Guest of Honor Jewelle Gomez. They will discuss the list's origins, its evolution through projects like the BlackWomenInHorror.org website, and the impact of anthologies such as Sycorax's Daughters and Black Magic Women. Panelists will share their experiences as Black women writing horror, the progress made over the years, and the ongoing challenges they face in the industry.

This session will be live-streamed to our virtual audience.

Moderators
avatar for Tamika Thompson

Tamika Thompson

Author
Tamika is author of Unshod, Cackling, and Naked (Unnerving Books), which Publishers Weekly calls “powerful,” “unsettling,” and “terrifying,” as well as author of Salamander Justice (Madness Heart Press). She is co-creator of the artist collective POC United and fiction... Read More →

Speakers
KM
avatar for Sumiko Saulson

Sumiko Saulson

Social Media Manager, Horror Writers Association
Sumiko Saulson, authorWriter of Dark Speculative Fictionwwww.SumikoSaulson.comPronouns: ze/hir/hirsSumiko Saulson is a Bram Stoker and Elgin nominated poet and award-winning author of Afrosurrealist and multicultural sci-fi and horror. Author of the Bram Stoker nominated The Rat... Read More →
avatar for Linda D. Addison

Linda D. Addison

Trustee, Horror Writers Association
Linda D. Addison is an award-winning author of five collections, including How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend, recipient of the HWA Lifetime Achievement Award, HWA Mentor of the Year and SFPA Grand Master of Fantastic Poetry.
avatar for Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Attendee, Lone Star College University Park
Rhonda Jackson Garcia, AKA RJ Joseph, is a Stoker Award™ nominated, Texas based academic and creative writer/professor whose writing regularly focuses on the intersections of gender and race in the horror and romance genres and popular culture. She has had works published in various... Read More →
avatar for L. Marie Wood

L. Marie Wood

L. Marie Wood is an award-winning psychological horror author and screenwriter.  She won the Golden Stake Award for her novel The Promise Keeper.  Her screenplays have won Best Horror, Best Afrofuturism/Horror/Sci-Fi, and Best Short Screenplay awards at several film festivals.  Wood’s... Read More →
avatar for Paula D. Ashe

Paula D. Ashe

Paula D. Ashe (she/her) is an author of dark fiction. Her debut collection We Are Here to Hurt Each Other (Nictitating Books) is a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. She is also an associate editor for Vastarien: A Literary Journal. She lives... Read More →
avatar for Jewelle Gomez

Jewelle Gomez

Guest of Honor
Jewelle Gomez is the author of several books including the double Lambda Literary Award winning vampire novel, The Gilda Stories. She is the recipient of a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, two California Arts Council fellowships and an Individual Artist... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Haselton I-II
  Horror History and Culture

4:00pm EDT

The Evolution of the Zombie from Slave to Flesheater
The panel would discuss how, prior to Night of the Living Dead, cinematic zombies were typically the creations of voodoo masters, resurrected to continue the colonialist servitude they'd suffered in life; George Romero, however, recreated zombies to function as shambling metaphors for conformity and consumerism. How did these different types reflect their times, and were there films in which the two zombie worlds collided?
Moderators
avatar for Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton

Past President, Horror Writers Association
Author, screenwriter, Halloween expert, and Past President of the Horror Writers Association.

Speakers
NH
avatar for Scott Edelman
avatar for Marc Abbott

Marc Abbott

Author/Storyteller
I’m the author of the horror anthologies Hell at the Way Station (Winner of the African Literary award for Best Anthology)and Hell at Brooklyn Tea. My works have been featured in Under Twin Suns, Even in the Grave, New York State of Fright and Hells Malls. I have also been a featured... Read More →
JA

Saturday June 17, 2023 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Brighton III-IV
  Horror History and Culture

6:00pm EDT

Bram Stoker Awards® Cocktail Reception
Join friends old and new for a cocktail reception before the Bram Stoker Awards® banquet and awards show.

Cash bar available.
Saturday June 17, 2023 6:00pm - 6:45pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom III Foyer
  Parties!

7:00pm EDT

Bram Stoker Awards® Banquet
The Bram Stoker Awards® banquet.

This event requires a separate ticket purchase.
Saturday June 17, 2023 7:00pm - 7:45pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Convention Keynotes

8:00pm EDT

Bram Stoker Awards® Presentation
Join our emcee, multiple Bram Stoker Award nominee, Kevin Wetmore, Jr., as we find out who are the Bram Stoker Award® winners. Bram Stoker Award winning author and HWA Past President Lisa Morton will deliver the keynote address.

This event is open to all registered attendees.
Speakers
avatar for Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton

Past President, Horror Writers Association
Author, screenwriter, Halloween expert, and Past President of the Horror Writers Association.
avatar for Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Volunteer Coordinator, HWA LA
Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr. is the author, editor or co-editor of twenty-seven books, including Bram Stoker Award nominees Uncovering Stranger Things, The Streaming of Hill House, Devil’s Advocates: The Conjuring, and Eaters of the Dead: Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters. He is... Read More →

Saturday June 17, 2023 8:00pm - 9:45pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Convention Keynotes

10:00pm EDT

Bram Stoker Awards® After Party
Party with the winners!  Enjoy snacks and a cash bar.
Saturday June 17, 2023 10:00pm - 11:30pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Parties!
 
Sunday, June 18
 

9:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Teel James Glenn

Teel James Glenn

writer, self
Teel James Glenn has killed hundreds and been killed more times-- on stage and screen as he has traveled the world for forty plus years as a stuntman, fight choreographer, swordmaster, jouster, illustrator, storyteller, bodyguard, actor and haunted house barker.His stories have been... Read More →
avatar for Catriona Ward

Catriona Ward

CATRIONA WARD was born in Washington, DC and grew up in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. She read English at the University of Oxford and is a graduate of the Creative Writing MFA at the University of East Anglia.Her fourth novel, the gothic thriller Sundial (2022... Read More →
avatar for Meg Elison

Meg Elison

Meg Elison is an author and essayist in the D.C. metro. She's a Locus and Philip K. Dick Award winner, as well as a Hugo, Sturgeon, Nebula, and Otherwise awards finalist. She has published short fiction and essays with Slate, Lightspeed, Catapult, Electric Literature, Fantasy & Science... Read More →

Sunday June 18, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

9:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Scott Johnson
avatar for Polly Schattel

Polly Schattel

Writer/Filmmaker
I'm the author of "The Occultists," "Shadowdays" and "8:59:29." I've also written and directed multiple acclaimed features and short films. Maybe more of a dark fantasist than outright horror, but hey ... Passionately trans.
avatar for John Kachuba

John Kachuba

Author
Shapeshifters! Ghosts! Middle Grade horror! Author of 12 books. Haycorn Smith and the Castle Ghost (middle-grade) coming June 14 from Paper Angel Press. Several of John's nonfiction books are about ghosts and the paranormal and he is a frequent speaker on that subject on TV, radio... Read More →
JV

Sunday June 18, 2023 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

9:00am EDT

Dealer Room
Featuring official StokerCon 2023 bookseller White Whale Bookstore

Full list of dealers coming soon!
Sunday June 18, 2023 9:00am - 11:00am EDT
Grand Station Ballroom III-V
  Dealer Room

10:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Holley Cornetto

Holley Cornetto

Lover of coming-of-age horror, folk horror, southern gothic, and wiener dogs. Librarian and creative writing professor. I write the weekly newsletter for The Horror Tree.
PF
avatar for Cynthia Gómez

Cynthia Gómez

Attendee/Panelist
Cynthia Gómez (she/her) is a writer and researcher. She writes horror and other types of speculative fiction, set primarily in Oakland, where she makes her home. She has a particular love for themes of revenge, retribution, and resistance to oppression. She has stories in Fantasy... Read More →

Sunday June 18, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Brighton I
  Author Readings

10:00am EDT

Author Readings
Speakers
avatar for Dacia Arnold
avatar for M. Lopes da Silva

M. Lopes da Silva

M. Lopes da Silva (he/they/she) is a non-binary trans masc author from Los Angeles. He writes pulp and poetry. Previously he’s been employed as a sex worker, an art critic, and an educator. His poetry can be found in Eye to the Telescope, The Dread Machine, and Electric Literature... Read More →
avatar for Richard Kadrey

Richard Kadrey

Richard Kadrey is a freelance writer living in San Francisco. He is the author of dozens of stories, plus eight novels, including Sandman Slim, Kill the Dead, Aloha from Hell, Metrophage and Butcher Bird. His Wired magazine cover story, Carbon Copy, was made into one of the worst... Read More →

Sunday June 18, 2023 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Brighton II
  Author Readings

11:00am EDT

Closing Ceremony
Come celebrate the end of StokerCon 2023, say goodbye to friends old and new, and start the excitement of next year's StokerCon 2024

Speakers
avatar for John Edward Lawson

John Edward Lawson

President, Horror Writers Association
John Edward Lawson is an author, artist, and musician from Maryland. His work has been nominated for the Dwarf Stars, Rhysling, Stoker, and Wonderland Awards in addition to the Pushcart Prize. For his work as an editor John received the 2018 HWA Specialty Press Award. He currently... Read More →

Sunday June 18, 2023 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Grand Station Ballroom I-II
  Convention Keynotes
 
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  • Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference
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  • Dealer Room
  • Genre and Sub-Genre
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