The Horror Writers Association now runs the dominant convention for writers on the dark side, StokerCon — named after Bram Stoker (author of Dracula) and the trophy of the award the association gives to the top books in the horror genre each year. StokerCon convenes annually for serious horror professionals who want to learn and reconnect with the horror genre through topical panel discussions, excellent author readings, significant writing workshops, a mass booksigning and varied presentations… climaxing in a formal Bram Stoker Awards banquet, which celebrates the genre’s top practitioners with what I think remains the coolest trophy in the world: a creepy “house of usher” statuette. As I’ve written elsewhere, the Stoker Award really matters. And this year’s conference, held in the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, Michigan, mattered a lot, too. Kudos to those who worked tirelessly behind the scenes on site, and all year in preparation — esp. Brian Matthews, James Chambers, and outgoing HWA president Lisa Morton. Your efforts paid off and were appreciated by all.
The convention is for all writers on the dark side, but the Bram Stoker Award banquet was such a treat this year. All the finalists wrote amazing books, and I am still applauding the winners, the majority of whom are pictured below:
Not Pictured, but present as ghosts: Paul Tremblay, Kiersten White, Victor LaValle, Jess Landry, Meredith Averill
I have a lot of friends in the genre, but I was struck by how many of the winners of the award (as well as the finalists) this year were people I would call close friends and colleagues I’ve worked with in one way or another over my career. And their books were all not only excellent, but a set a high bar for excellence in the genre. It was a joy to applaud them from the audience. I’m particularly proud of my long-term publisher, Raw Dog Screaming Press, for winning the HWA Specialty Press Award for their contributions to the horror genre. RDSP is an independent press who has consistently produced edgy avant-horror, dark full-length poetry collections, and risk fiction by marginalized voices over the years. Well-earned, John Edward Lawson and Jennifer Barnes! (Hint: Come to PulpFest in Pittsburgh this August and you can join in celebrating their Sweet Sixteen).
Jennifer Barnes and John Edward Lawson, hoisting their Specialty Press Award at the 2019 Bram Stoker Award Banquet.
(Yes John is that tall and Jonathan Maberry, the emcee for the banquet, even jokingly called him ‘Sasquatch’ when he had to lower the microphone after John gave his speech).
It was also really cool to see my editor for the Exploring Dark Short Fiction series from Dark Moon Books, Eric Guignard, take the trophy for his Fiction Collection, That Which Grows Wild (Cemetery Dance, 2018) — it was quite a win, because that whole category was amazing, with notable books by Gabino Iglesias, Tim Waggoner, Lucy Snyder and Gemma Files also deserving the honor. If you want to see the range of what horror fiction was about this year, read the numerous stories told in all these collections. (Hint: You also should keep your eyes peeled for the next book in the Dark Short Fiction series on Jeffrey Ford … I’m writing the academic portion of it now and his horror fiction is AMAZING!)
(image courtesy of Ellen Datlow)
At the Stoker Banquet, I had the honor of presenting the first award, for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection alongside poet and horror writer Angela Yuriko Smith. Usually presenters either ham it up with some kind of funny skit, or get right down to business and read the list of nominees. Instead of doing that, we decided to treat it like the Oscars, which shows clips from the nominated films before announcing the winner — only in this case, we read excerpts from the poetry books. The lineup was impressive, with Bruce Boston, Marge Simon, Alessandro Manzetti, David Cowen, Donna Lynch and Sara Tantlinger all in the running.
I teach with Sara Tantlinger at Seton Hill, and even mentored her long ago in our MFA program, so I almost lost it when I was handed the envelope and read her name as the winner of the Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection! Her acceptance speech was incredibly moving. I am proud of her beyond words. She won the prize for
her fantastic second book, The Devil’s Dreamland (Strangehouse Books, 2018) — this book is deeply researched and written so well; the chilling history of serial killer HH Holmes is told through a poetic assemblage of voices that build to a stunning resolution. (Tip: You should get that book, but also pre-order her upcoming novella, To Be Devoured).
(image courtesy of Matt Betts)
The whole event was streamed on youtube, so if you scroll to about the 4:20 timestamp, you can watch the presentation and listen to the acceptance speech online:
Aside: Prior to the awards, I had the thought that Angela and I might try to be clever and each write a poem based on the titles and presses — treating the ballot like a creative prompt — but that was too obscure and silly for this event. Even so, I wrote one, and shared it instead during my reading at the convention. Here it is, for posterity:
A Horror Poetry Dreamland
near Devil’s Lake
legions of weasels and screaming dogs
press against the crystal doors of the strangehouse
where witches war with books
behind the saffron artifacts within
Speaking of my reading, perhaps you’d like to hear some of it? Here’s an excerpt I recorded for you:
At this reading session, Bob Eccles read several impressive drabbles, and April Grey shared excerpts from her books, and it was a lot of fun. Also that day, I taught a workshop to writers called “Making the Reader Squirm” — it was my fourth time running this course in “going for the gross-out” in artful ways, and I hope I get a chance to teach at the proverbial “Horror University” once again. People like Mark Matthews, Colleen Anderson and Den Shewman were good sports in the class. You can see a few snapshots from that class on my instagram page.
I attended several panels on hot topics in the genre, ranging from Weird Poetry to Historical Horror. The three panels I had the privilege to sit on during the con were also a highlight. “Writing from Prompts” allowed me to talk about creative writing exercises gleaned from my SHU classes, as well as my non-fiction guidebook, Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side — and to learn new strategies from my peers. Moderator Marge Simon and I even shared short stories we wrote about the same image, showing how a stimulus can lead to different imaginary reactions. I also was a respondent to a talk on “Horror Flash Fiction” along with Asher Ellis, moderated by another alum from the Writing Popular Fiction program, Donna Munro. This was a blast, and Donna even used a powerpoint about the art of the short-short that was really impressive. Another panel “Twisted Tropes” was an insightful conversation on bringing originality into horror, developing my thinking about a novel and short stories I’m working on, and it was a highlight to share the table with Stephen Graham Jones, Meghan Arcuri, Kyla Lee Ward, John Kachuba and Rob E. Boley.
Image courtesy of David E. Cowen
As you can tell, I was busy. But also just buzzing with joy. Beyond all the programming and ceremony, StokerCon was just a good time to chat up with old friends and make new ones, celebrating the diversity, the history, and the persistent growth of today’s horror community. I can’t possibly name everyone I shared a laugh with or was pleased to finally meet, but I enjoyed every encounter, and it was wonderful to gather with various factions I am a part of — from the many writers of Raw Dog Screaming Press who were in attendance or guests, to all the authors I’ve gotten to know through Seton Hill University’s MFA in Writing Popular Fiction program… there were so many in attendance it was like a rogue alumni party. (Hint: if curious about WPF, you could always attend the In Your Write Mind Workshop hosted every summer on the college campus — anyone can register, and it also features a fantastic (and huge) book fair open to the public — Raw Dog will be there this June, too! It runs June 27-30th in Greensburg, PA — details).
It’s impossible to wrap up this reflection, so I’ll just post a few photos to close out. Wish I took more, but the memories are branded on the brain. I probably will not be at the next StokerCon in UK, but I definitely will attend StokerCon 2021 planned to transpire in Denver! Meanwhile, see you online and in the bookstore…
Former WPF mentee EV Knight with Matt DeWitt
