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Welcome to the premiere horror literary convention presented by the Horror Writers Association. Registration for StokerCon 2025 is now available! This year the convention is being hosted by the city of Stamford, Connecticut, at the Hilton Stamford Hotel and Executive Meeting Center. We’re taking over from June 12th through the 15th, 2025.
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Saturday, June 14
 

8:00am EDT

Breakfast with the Guests of Honor
Saturday June 14, 2025 8:00am - 10:00am EDT
Grand Ballroom 1
Come have breakfast and visit with our Guests of Honor and Lifetime Achievement Award winner!

Note: Joyce Carol Oates will not be able to make this event.

This event requires a separate ticket purchase. You can purchase tickets here.

Catering:  Fresh Baked Breads and Pastries, Assorted Bagels with Butter, Cream Cheese, Honey & Preserves, Assorted Scones, Sliced Seasonal Melons & Berries, Scrambled Egg Whites with Diced Tomato & Spinach, Applewood Smoked Bacon & Breakfast Sausage, Roasted Skillet Potatoes with Roasted Onions & Peppers, Pancakes with Maple Syrup & Wild Berry Compote, Belgian Waffles with Fresh Berries & Maple Syrup
Speakers
avatar for Scott Edelman

Scott Edelman

Author
SCOTT EDELMAN has published 125+ short stories in magazines such as Lightspeed, Analog, Apex, and The Twilight Zone, and in anthologies such as Why New Yorkers Smoke, Crossroads: Southern Tales of the Fantastic, and MetaHorror. He began his professional writing career in the comics... Read More →
avatar for Paula Guran

Paula Guran

Editor, anthologist, and reviewer Paula Guran has edited more than 50 science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies and more than 50 novels and collections featuring the same. She was senior editor for Prime Books for seven years. Previously, she edited the Juno fantasy impr... Read More →
avatar for Del Howison

Del Howison

Owner, Dark Delicacies
Del Howison is an author, journalist, SAG actor including a cameo in the upcoming horror film Big Baby produced by Cher and directed by Spider One. He is a Bram Stoker Award-winning editor of the anthology Dark Delicacies: Original Tales of Terror and the Macabre by the World’s... Read More →
avatar for Adam Nevill

Adam Nevill

Adam L. G. Nevill was born in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. He is an author of horror fiction. Of his novels, The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and The Reddening were all winners of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. He... Read More →
avatar for Gaby Triana

Gaby Triana

GABY TRIANA is the Cuban-American author of 24 books for adults and teens, including Dark and Dangerous Things, Moon Child, Island of Bones, River of Ghosts, City of Spells, Wake the Hollow, Cubanita, and Summer of Yesterday. Her short stories have appeared in Classic Monsters Unleashed... Read More →
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

i've published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. I write original horror and dark fantasy as well as media tie-ins. I'm a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and I've been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 8:00am - 10:00am EDT
Grand Ballroom 1
  Convention Event

9:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 09 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Aspen 2
Speakers
avatar for ROYCE BUCKINGHAM

ROYCE BUCKINGHAM

Author--Penguin/Random House (Blanvalet)
Royce is an author of 14 novels with Penguin/Random House (Blanvalet) in Germany and with Putnam's and St. Martin's Press in North America. He is a member of the HWA and WGAw. Royce grew up with Stephen King and D&D and has been publishing horror and fantasy as a grown-up since 2006... Read More →
avatar for Stacie Herrington

Stacie Herrington

Stacie writes funny-scary-feminist horror fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Recent work appears in HWA Poetry Showcase XI (2024) and Defenestration (December 2024). Pieces forthcoming in Last Girls Club (Summer 2025) and Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Writers (fall 2025 from... Read More →
avatar for Carina Stopenski

Carina Stopenski

Teen Librarian, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Carina Stopenski (they/them) is a librarian, author, and scholar based in Pittsburgh, PA. In their day to day, Carina works as a teen librarian at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, as a freelance humanities educator for teens, and as the director of the Pittsburgh Mobile Cartoon... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

9:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 09 Elm
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Elm 1 & 2
Speakers
avatar for Rachel Harrison
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. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
avatar for Ryan Marie Ketterer

Ryan Marie Ketterer

Author & Editor
Ryan Marie Ketterer is an author and editor from Malden, Massachusetts. Her editorial debut, Welcome to Your Body: Lessons in Evisceration, released in May 2024 from Salt Heart Press. Her short fiction can be found in Clarkesworld, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and various anthologies. She’s... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Elm 1 & 2
  Convention Event

9:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 09 Glen
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for KC (Kristina) Grifant

KC (Kristina) Grifant

Author, Editor, San Diego HWA co-chair
A previous StokerCon chair, KC Grifant is an award-winning writer based in Southern California who creates internationally published horror, fantasy, science fiction, and weird west stories. Dozens of her short stories have appeared in podcasts, magazines, games, and Stoker-nominated... Read More →
SS

Sarena Straus

Author
I write novels for the curious and adventurous, for people who are intrigued by a “what happens if,” scenario, and who like to explore the outcomes. My characters are ordinary people who find out that they are capable of extraordinary things and discover that one person can truly... Read More →
KJ
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

9:00am EDT

New England Gothic
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Grove 2
In Gothic fiction, the past returns to haunt the present. From ghosts to witches to the Jewett City vampires, New England is emblematic of the dark themes of the Gothic literary tradition, its history combed by writers from Hawthorne to King. Yet while areas in Canada and eastern Virginia have longer histories of European presence, none carry the same mystique as New England. We will delve into some possible reasons why this is, and through comparisons to other regions like the American South and Appalachia, attempt to pinpoint what separates New England from the rest. Finally, we will explore whether New England has any ore left to mine for the modern Gothic writer.
Moderators
avatar for Jackson Kuhl

Jackson Kuhl

StokerCon 2025 Author Readings Coordinator
Jackson Kuhl is the author of the gothic mysteries The Island of Small Misfortunes and A Season of Whispers, as well as the Revolutionary War biography Samuel Smedley, Connecticut Privateer. He has worked as a journalist, ghostwriter, and freelance writer and editor. His short fiction... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Norman Prentiss

Norman Prentiss

NORMAN PRENTISS is the author of ODD ADVENTURES WITH YOUR OTHER FATHER, THE APOCALYPSE-A-DAY DESK CALENDAR, and LIFE IN A HAUNTED HOUSE, and he won the 2010 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction for INVISIBLE FENCES, published by Cemetery Dance (www.cemeterydance.com... Read More →
avatar for Christa Carmen

Christa Carmen

writer
Christa Carmen is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of The Daughters of Block Island and Beneath the Poet’s House, coming fall 2024 from Thomas & Mercer.Additional work can be found in Vastarien, Nightmare, Orphans of Bliss, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror, and the Stoker-nominated... Read More →
avatar for Rebecca Cuthbert

Rebecca Cuthbert

Writer, Undertaker Books
Rebecca Cuthbert writes feminist horror, gothic fiction, and dark poetry. Her books include IN MEMORY OF EXOSKELETONS (dark poetry, Alien Buddha Press, 2023); CREEP THIS WAY (nonfiction, Seamus and Nunzio Productions, 2024); SELF-MADE MONSTERS (feminist horror stories and poetry... Read More →
avatar for Victoria Dalpe

Victoria Dalpe

Victoria L. Dalpe is a Providence-based horror writer and painter. She has published over forty-five short stories in various collections, the gothic horror novel PARASITE LIFE and the short story collection LES FEMMES GROTESQUES. “Dalpe’s horror stories are equal parts int... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Grove 2
  Convention Event

9:00am EDT

The Halloween Librarians and You: A Not So Scary Partnership
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
Join members of the HWA’s Library Advisory Council and author Clay McLeod Chapman for a discussion on how authors can make connections with libraries, foster relationships, and bring horror to more communities throughout the year. Moderated by author and librarian Corey Farrenkopf.
Moderators
avatar for Corey Farrenkopf

Corey Farrenkopf

Staff Librarian, Eastham Public Library
Corey Farrenkopf is a Cape Cod based writer and librarian. His work has been published in Nightmare, The Deadlands, Strange Horizons, Vastarien, Three-Lobed Burning Eye, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Bourbon Penn, and elsewhere. He is the author of the novel, Living in Cemeteries and the... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Jocelyn Codner

Jocelyn Codner

Reference & Outreach Librarian, Chatham University
avatar for Ben Rubin

Ben Rubin

Horror Studies Collection Coordinator, 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 the horror genre and serving as subject area expert for reference... Read More →
avatar for Clay McLeod Chapman

Clay McLeod Chapman

Author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, Kill Your Darling, Stay on the Line, What Kind of Mother, Ghost Eaters, Whisper Down the Lane, The Remaking, and others.
avatar for Meghan Bouffard

Meghan Bouffard

Information Services Librarian, Sargent Memorial Library
Public Librarian in Massachusetts. Serves as Secretary of the HWA’s Library Advisory Council. As a librarian I advocate for horror readership by challenging genre perceptions and fostering a culture of exploration. You will often find me reading stories of witches, crumbling haunted... Read More →
YS
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

9:00am EDT

Wrestling with Horror
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Aspen 1
In the shadow of Titan Towers—former headquarters of the WWE—we're going to explore the relationship between professional wrestling and horror. Whether it be wrestling characters like the Phenom or the Undertaker, or horror stories set in the wrestling world, such as the recent film Dark Match, or the books Bladejob by Lucas Mangum, or the Wrestlemaniacs anthology, these two art forms have long drawn inspiration from one another. Why and how do wrestling and horror dovetail as nicely as chocolate and peanut butter? And what can horror writers learn from their wrestling counterparts?
Moderators
avatar for Ryan Bradley

Ryan Bradley

Ryan C. Bradley (he/him) is a musician, podcaster, and the author of Say Uncle, Saint's Blood, Bad Connections: Horror Stories, and co-author of Dumb Bullshit for Brilliant Idiots. His short fiction has appeared in NoSleep, Tales to Terrify, and Dark Moon Digest among others. He co-hosts... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Patrick Barb

Patrick Barb

Patrick Barb is an author of weird, dark, and spooky tales, currently living (and trying not to freeze to death) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His published works include the dark fiction collection Pre-Approved for Haunting (Keylight Books), the novellas Gargantuana's Ghost (Grey Matter... Read More →
avatar for Bridget D. Brave

Bridget D. Brave

author, lawyer, weirdo
author, lawyer, weirdo
avatar for Johnny Compton
avatar for L.P. Hernandez

L.P. Hernandez

Author and publisher, Sobelo Books
Writer of In the Valley of the Headless Men, Stargazers, and No Gods Only Chaos. Co-owner of Sobelo Books with L.C. Marino. Host of Dog-eared Nightmares. Air Force officer. Father, husband, metalhead.
avatar for Michael Allen Rose

Michael Allen Rose

Bizarro Writers Association President, RoShamBo Publishing
Michael Allen Rose is a Wonderland Award winning author, musician, and performance artist based in Chicago, IL. In addition to writing books such as Jurassichrist & Inappropriate Toasts For All Occasions, he also edits and publishes anthologies under the name RoShamBo Publishing... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 10 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Aspen 2
Speakers
avatar for Jonathan Fortin

Jonathan Fortin

Jonathan Fortin is a neurodivergent author and voice actor from Oakland, California. His debut novel LILITU: THE MEMOIRS OF A SUCCUBUS was published in 2020 by Crystal Lake Publishing, and his short fiction has been published by such markets as Dark Recesses Press, Mocha Memoirs Press... 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 Stevie Morley

Stevie Morley

Fossil Preparator, La Brea Tar Pits & Museum
Stevie Morley worked as a dedicated conservator and preparator of Late Pleistocene asphaltic fossils at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum from 2017 until 2024. During their tenure, Stevie has conducted research into the effects of various solvents on asphaltic bone and their efficacy... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 10 Elm
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Elm 1 & 2
Speakers
avatar for Kristy Park Kulski (K.P. Kulski)

Kristy Park Kulski (K.P. Kulski)

KRISTY PARK 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... Read More →
avatar for Nelson Pyles

Nelson Pyles

Nelson W. Pyles is an author, musician, podcast creator and voice actor living in Pittsburgh. He has written two novels and is currently working on his third. His second collection of short stories, essays and articles All These Steps Lead Down will be released in July 2024 from Cold... Read More →
avatar for Gordon B. White

Gordon B. White

Gordon B. White is a Shirley Jackson Award and Bram Stoker Award nominee, as well as  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).  A graduate... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Elm 1 & 2
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 10 Glen
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for JP Behrens

JP Behrens

JP Behrens is the author of the Travis Daniels Investigations Series. When he isn’t writing, reading, or practicing Kung Fu, you can find him playing games, building Legos, and spending time with family. On occasion, he sleeps.
avatar for Tamika Thompson

Tamika Thompson

Author
Tamika is author of THE CURSE OF HESTER GARDENS (Erewhon/Kensington, 2026) & Next Generation Indie Book Awards Horror WINNER, UNSHOD, CACKLING, and NAKED (Unnerving Books), which Publishers Weekly calls “powerful,” “unsettling,” and “terrifying.” She is also the author... Read More →
avatar for Clay McLeod Chapman

Clay McLeod Chapman

Author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, Kill Your Darling, Stay on the Line, What Kind of Mother, Ghost Eaters, Whisper Down the Lane, The Remaking, and others.
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Behind The Scenes Of Anthology Editing
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
We will go deeper into assembling a memorable anthology beyond just choosing perfect stories, exploring how to curate and arrange stories according to theme, setting, and mood, and building an arc throughout the book.
Moderators
avatar for Gevera Bert Piedmont

Gevera Bert Piedmont

Editor/Author, Transformations by Obsidian Butterfly
STOKERCON VENDOR COORDINATORNeurodivergent cyborg author/editor of weird and horror fiction@bybertabird | Linktree
Speakers
avatar for Sofia Ajram

Sofia Ajram

Queer novelist, editor & metalsmith. I am a 2024 Bram Stoker Award finalist in the Long Fiction and Anthology categories. Writer of “Coup De Grâce” (Titan Books, 2024). Editor of “Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror” (Ghoulish Books, 2024).
avatar for Douglas Gwilym

Douglas Gwilym

Bram Stoker Award nominated short story author, querying novelist, editor of NOVUS MONSTRUM
Douglas Gwilym has been known to write a weird-fiction rock opera or two, and carry a uke around at StokerCon. His short story "Poppy's Poppy" was a Bram Stoker Award finalist last year. His story "Year Six" was on the longlist in 2022, and is on Ellen Datlow’s recommended reading... Read More →
avatar for Michael Bailey

Michael Bailey

Writer / Editor / Mentor, Written Backwards
Michael Bailey is a recipient and ten-time nominee of the Bram Stoker Award, a five-time Shirley Jackson Award nominee, and a three-time recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Award, along with several independent publishing accolades. He has written, edited, and published many books... Read More →
avatar for Paula Guran

Paula Guran

Editor, anthologist, and reviewer Paula Guran has edited more than 50 science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies and more than 50 novels and collections featuring the same. She was senior editor for Prime Books for seven years. Previously, she edited the Juno fantasy impr... Read More →
avatar for Douglas Murano

Douglas Murano

Founder/CEO, Bad Hand Books
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Pitch Session Panel
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Aspen 1
The Pitch Session Pitch Takers will discuss what they are looking for in pitches, what to do during a pitch, and what not to do. There will be a questions and answer section.
Moderators
avatar for Brian Matthews

Brian Matthews

Trustee; Co-Chair, StokerCon Governing Committee; Bram Stoker Awards® Show Coordinator; Pitch Session Coordinator, Horror Writers Association
Author, financial planner, former psychologist, husband, and father. Trustee for the Horror Writers Association, as well a National Co-Chair for StokerCon. I also run the Pitch Sessions and act as the Bram Stoker Awards Show Coordinator. That pretty much sums it up.
Speakers
avatar for Alec Shane

Alec Shane

Writers House
Writers House is one of the largest literary agencies in the world and prides itself on providing an extraordinary amount of individual client attention combined with the full service benefits of foreign and sub rights departments, as well as a full accounting and royalty staff.I... 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 Cherry Weiner

Cherry Weiner

Cherry Weiner grew up in Australia, lived in Europe for three and a half years and moved to American when she married her husband, Jack in1972.  She has been agenting since 1977, when she left the Robert P. Mills AgencyMills’ famous clients (she will not any drop further names... Read More →
avatar for Michael Dolan

Michael Dolan

Editorial Director, Winding Road Stories
Michael Dolan is a writer and editor with over 25 years of experience at the highest levels of publishing. In addition to being the author of several books, he has served as executive editor for many publishing companies, including Condé Nast. As the founder of Winding Road Stories... Read More →
avatar for Christoph Paul

Christoph Paul

Christoph Paul is the singer/songwriter of Goth Rock band The Dionysus Effect, he is the EIC of CLASH Books, and an award-winning author represented by Inkwell.
avatar for Rachel Glimer

Rachel Glimer

Editor, Sourcebooks, Poisoned Pen Press
I acquire for Poisoned Pen Press at Sourcebooks, and my books are primarily in Mystery, Thriller, Horror, and Contemporary Fantasy. I especially enjoy character-driven projects and am eagerly looking for diverse voices and stories.
avatar for Emma Cole

Emma Cole

Editor, Harlequin
Editor @Harlequin, acquiring for Intrigue as well as for our Harlequin Trade Publishing imprint Hanover Square Press, which publishes horror, mystery, speculative fiction and nonfiction.
avatar for Bradley Englert

Bradley Englert

Executive Editor, Run For It / Orbit Books
Bradley Englert is an Executive Editor at Run For It, the new horror imprint from Orbit Books. He’s worked with horror authors Craig DiLouie, Andy Marino, and Nicholas Pullen. He is now looking forward to building Run For It into a premiere destination for diehard horror readers... Read More →
AM
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Power of A Poetic Voice
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Grove 2
Allen Ginsburg said, “Poetry is words that are empowered to make your hair stand on end, that you recognize instantly as being some form of subjective truth that has an objective reality to it, because somebody’s realized it.” Poetry, regardless of genre, seeks to tell the truth, speak out, and advocate for those who might not otherwise speak for themselves. In this panel, panelists will discuss how poetry can be both advocative and subjective truth.
Moderators
avatar for Maxwell Ian Gold

Maxwell Ian Gold

Executive Director, 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. Five time Rhysling Award nominee, two time Pushcart Award nominee, and author of the Bram Stoker... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Jamal Hodge

Jamal Hodge

CEO, Hodge Cinema
JAMAL HODGE is a multi-award-winning filmmaker and writer from Queens NYC who has won over 80 awards with screenings at Tribeca Film Festival, Sundance, Cannes, and others. He directed the first season of Investigation Discovery Channel’s ‘Primal Instinct’ and is a Producer... 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 Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

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 Pedro Iniguez

Pedro Iniguez

SF/Horror Writer
Pedro Iniguez is a Mexican-American Bram Stoker, Elgin, Rhysling, and Dwarf Star Award-nominated horror and science-fiction writer from Los Angeles, California. He is also a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee. He is the author of MEXICANS ON THE MOON: SPECULATIVE POETRY FROM... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Grove 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

10:00am EDT

Dealer Room
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 6:00pm EDT
Grove 1
Come visit our many vendors!

Anastasia Garcia
Ari Loeb
Black Women in Horror
Ciaran Cooper
CLASH Books
Dan Hodge - Bandwidth Publishers
Diane Corso
Falstaff Books
Jacques Mersereau
Joe Alo
Joe Baldwin
John Haas
Lanternfish Press
Lethe Press Books
Muzzleland Press
Phill Bradley
Raw Dog Screaming Press
Royce Buckingham
Ryan Marie Ketterer/P.L. McMillan
SHP Comics
Sif Sniffs
Stephen Anthony
Studio Hibernacula
Tantor Media
Tom Deady
Victoria Kingsley
Winding Road Stories
Jake Pinegar--Jake's Rare Books
Ohio HWA Chapter
Melissa Bobe
Frank Destefano
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 6:00pm EDT
Grove 1
  Convention Event

11:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 11 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Aspen 2
Speakers
avatar for Gaby Triana

Gaby Triana

GABY TRIANA is the Cuban-American author of 24 books for adults and teens, including Dark and Dangerous Things, Moon Child, Island of Bones, River of Ghosts, City of Spells, Wake the Hollow, Cubanita, and Summer of Yesterday. Her short stories have appeared in Classic Monsters Unleashed... Read More →
avatar for Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

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 Gevera Bert Piedmont

Gevera Bert Piedmont

Editor/Author, Transformations by Obsidian Butterfly
STOKERCON VENDOR COORDINATORNeurodivergent cyborg author/editor of weird and horror fiction@bybertabird | Linktree
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

11:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 11 Elm
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Elm 1 & 2
Speakers
avatar for Michael Allen Rose

Michael Allen Rose

Bizarro Writers Association President, RoShamBo Publishing
Michael Allen Rose is a Wonderland Award winning author, musician, and performance artist based in Chicago, IL. In addition to writing books such as Jurassichrist & Inappropriate Toasts For All Occasions, he also edits and publishes anthologies under the name RoShamBo Publishing... Read More →
avatar for Kathleen Palm
avatar for Emmett Nahil

Emmett Nahil

LET ME OUT (Oni Press, 2023) // FROM THE BELLY (Tenebrous Press, 2024). Writing featured in THE BOOK OF QUEER SAINTS, VOLUME II, Laura Kate Dale's GENDER EUPHORIA anthology, and elsewhere. Favoring the historic, the strange, and the gory, in his other life Emmett makes video games... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Elm 1 & 2
  Convention Event

11:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 11 Glen
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for Jessica Drake-Thomas

Jessica Drake-Thomas

Jessica Drake-Thomas is a poet and novelist, as well as PhD student focusing on the Gothic. She's the author of Hollow Girls, which was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, as well as two poetry collections, Burials and Bad Omens. She lives in Milwaukee with Nick and their two dogs... Read More →
avatar for Logan Alexander Johnson

Logan Alexander Johnson

Logan Alexander Johnson is a writer, designer, and researcher who uses words as a vehicle for activism, inclusion, and empowerment. He brings a designer’s empathy to the page, shaped by over a decade of experience in human-centered design. Logan writes stories that highlight the... Read More →
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

i've published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. I write original horror and dark fantasy as well as media tie-ins. I'm a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and I've been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

11:00am EDT

Fowl Play: Birds in Horror
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Aspen 1
Our avian friends have long accompanied dark tales, sometimes as companions and other times as ingredients in a spell. From old myths and fairy tales to Hitchcock’s famous adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s “The Birds”, to contemporary works of horror and even stories in the news, there’s something about these creatures that evolved from small, carnivorous dinosaurs that invites us to welcome them into our fiction.
Moderators
avatar for Sara Tantlinger

Sara Tantlinger

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 Christa Carmen

Christa Carmen

writer
Christa Carmen is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of The Daughters of Block Island and Beneath the Poet’s House, coming fall 2024 from Thomas & Mercer.Additional work can be found in Vastarien, Nightmare, Orphans of Bliss, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror, and the Stoker-nominated... Read More →
avatar for Douglas Gwilym

Douglas Gwilym

Bram Stoker Award nominated short story author, querying novelist, editor of NOVUS MONSTRUM
Douglas Gwilym has been known to write a weird-fiction rock opera or two, and carry a uke around at StokerCon. His short story "Poppy's Poppy" was a Bram Stoker Award finalist last year. His story "Year Six" was on the longlist in 2022, and is on Ellen Datlow’s recommended reading... 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, Pretty Marys All in a Row, and The Haunting of Velkwood. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub,  Nightmare, Best... Read More →
avatar for Kristy Park Kulski (K.P. Kulski)

Kristy Park Kulski (K.P. Kulski)

KRISTY PARK 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... 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 →
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

11:00am EDT

How To Promote Your Book Without A Big Budget
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
Creators offer strategies for leveraging social media, finding ARC readers, bookstore/library outreach and other techniques to plan a successful book launch with a minimal budget.
Moderators
avatar for KC (Kristina) Grifant

KC (Kristina) Grifant

Author, Editor, San Diego HWA co-chair
A previous StokerCon chair, KC Grifant is an award-winning writer based in Southern California who creates internationally published horror, fantasy, science fiction, and weird west stories. Dozens of her short stories have appeared in podcasts, magazines, games, and Stoker-nominated... Read More →
Speakers
DA
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 Pedro Iniguez

Pedro Iniguez

SF/Horror Writer
Pedro Iniguez is a Mexican-American Bram Stoker, Elgin, Rhysling, and Dwarf Star Award-nominated horror and science-fiction writer from Los Angeles, California. He is also a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee. He is the author of MEXICANS ON THE MOON: SPECULATIVE POETRY FROM... Read More →
avatar for Ai Jiang

Ai Jiang

Ai Jiang is a Chinese-Canadian writer, Ignyte, Bram Stoker, and Nebula Award winner, and Hugo, Astounding, Locus, Aurora, and BFSA Award finalist from Changle, Fujian currently residing in Toronto, Ontario. Her work can be found in F&SF, The Dark, The Masters Review, among others... Read More →
avatar for Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley

Author / Screenwriter / Professor
Brian McAuley’s debut novel Curse of the Reaper was named one of the Best Horror Books of 2022 by Esquire. His holiday slasher novella Candy Cain Kills earned praise from Kirkus Reviews for its “sublimely drawn characters,” some of whom survived for the sequel, Candy Cain Kills... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

11:00am EDT

Parental Horror: Generational Trauma and the Family Ties That Terrify
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Grove 2
From emotionally immature mothers to monstrous fathers and legacies soaked in dread, horror has long used family as a vessel for fear. In recent years, the genre has seen a surge in stories centered on parental horror—where the most terrifying relationships aren’t with ghosts or ghouls, but with those closest to us.

This panel brings together authors whose work examines parent-child relationships at every stage of life: from Nat Cassidy’s When the Wolf Comes Home, where grief, care, and monstrous memory collide; to CJ Leede’s American Rapture, where family fractures amidst an apocalyptic collapse; to Philip Fracassi’s The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre, where the horror of aging meets the scars of the past. Panelists will explore how dysfunctional families, generational trauma, and the “parent as monster” trope shape their work—and why horror remains the perfect genre for unpacking the complexities of love, fear, and legacy.


Moderators
avatar for B.C. Bull

B.C. Bull

Co-Chair For New England HWA, Horror Writers Association
Speakers
avatar for Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy writes horror for the page, stage, and screen. His acclaimed novels Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings were featured in best-of lists from Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, NPR, the Chicago Review of Books, the NY Public Library, and more, and he was named one of the... Read More →
PF
avatar for Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu

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 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 Tanya Pell

Tanya Pell

author
Tanya Pell's debut novel, HER WICKED ROOTS, a queer Gothic horror, releases in October 2025 with Gallery/S&S. She is the author of Cicada (Shortwave) and her short fiction can be found in the Bram Stoker Award nominated antho Mother Knows Best, the forthcoming Fever Dreams, OBSOLESCENCE, Shortwave... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Grove 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

12:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 12 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
Speakers
avatar for Stephanie Feldman

Stephanie Feldman

Stephanie Feldman is the author of the novels Saturnalia, a Locus Award finalist, and The Angel of Losses, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, winner of the Crawford Fantasy Award, and finalist for the Mythopoeic Award. Her stories and essays have appeared in... 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 Paul Tremblay

Paul Tremblay

Paul Tremblay has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book awards and is the author of Horror Movie, The Pallbearers Club, Survivor Song, The Cabin at the End of the World, Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, A Head Full of Ghosts, the crime novels The Little Sleep... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

12:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 12 Elm
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Elm 1 & 2
Speakers
AC

Amanda Casile

Author
Amanda is a writer and speech pathologist living in suburbia with her partner, two (nice) kids and one (naughty) cat. When she's not writing or chasing kids, she can usually be found wandering the woods looking for ghosts. Her shorts have appeared in anthologies from Quill and Crow... Read More →
avatar for Catlyn Ladd

Catlyn Ladd

Writer
Catlyn Ladd loves alliteration, the poetic slip of similar sounds through throat and tongue. She blends metaphors and archetypes from the shadow self, illuminating the monsters, beautiful and horrifying, that gestate there. Her speculative fiction has been published in over a dozen... Read More →
avatar for Raymonde Chira

Raymonde Chira

Author
Raymonde Chira (she/they) is a writer, illustrator and librarian based in New York City. She is the author of multiple dark short stories and comics, having been published in Ghost Parachute, Dark Matter Presents: The Off-Season, Let Her Be Evil, and Bump in the Night (forthcoming... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Elm 1 & 2
  Convention Event

12:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 12 Glen
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for Barbara Cottrell

Barbara Cottrell

Barbara Cottrell is a former professor who gave up her career to pursue her true passion: writing weird fiction. The first book in her series of supernatural thrillers, Darkness Below, won a gold medal at the Book Fest, was named best first novel by Indie Reader and was an editor’s... Read More →
avatar for Teel James Glenn

Teel James Glenn

writer
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 Ronald Malfi
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

12:00pm EDT

Runnin' With the Devil
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
The rock music of the 1970s was a horror fan's dream come true. From the onstage horror theatrics of Ozzy Osborne and Alice Cooper to the bewitching presence of Stevie Nicks, this era of songwriting was filled with horror and dark fantasy imagery.  With music as varied as the eccentric glam rock of David Bowie and the werewolves and excitable boys of Warren Zevon to the real-life horrors of Starkweather in Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska," these artists explored ghosts, witches, the occult, monsters, true crime, and the downright weird in some of the decade's most enduring tunes. This panel will delve into this creepy era of music and discuss how these songs have impacted the horror genre as a whole as well as the panelists' own work.
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, Pretty Marys All in a Row, and The Haunting of Velkwood. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub,  Nightmare, Best... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Sara Tantlinger

Sara Tantlinger

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 Renee S. DeCamillis

Renee S. DeCamillis

Author & Editor, Renee S. DeCamillis, Editing & Writing Services
     Renee S. DeCamillis is a horror author and freelance editor, and the author of the psychological thriller/supernatural horror novella The Bone Cutters, Book 1 in The Bone Cutters series, and Chisel the Bone, Book 2 in the series. She also has a book forthcoming on Sept. 10... Read More →
avatar for Michael Allen Rose

Michael Allen Rose

Bizarro Writers Association President, RoShamBo Publishing
Michael Allen Rose is a Wonderland Award winning author, musician, and performance artist based in Chicago, IL. In addition to writing books such as Jurassichrist & Inappropriate Toasts For All Occasions, he also edits and publishes anthologies under the name RoShamBo Publishing... Read More →
avatar for Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy writes horror for the page, stage, and screen. His acclaimed novels Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings were featured in best-of lists from Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, NPR, the Chicago Review of Books, the NY Public Library, and more, and he was named one of the... Read More →
avatar for Douglas Gwilym

Douglas Gwilym

Bram Stoker Award nominated short story author, querying novelist, editor of NOVUS MONSTRUM
Douglas Gwilym has been known to write a weird-fiction rock opera or two, and carry a uke around at StokerCon. His short story "Poppy's Poppy" was a Bram Stoker Award finalist last year. His story "Year Six" was on the longlist in 2022, and is on Ellen Datlow’s recommended reading... Read More →
avatar for David Simms

David Simms

Writer. Psychologist. Musician. Reviewer.
David Simms is the author of PIERCE THE VEIL, FEAR THE REAPER, and DARK MUSE, published by Crossroad Press. His new middle grade novel, CURSE OF THE BARRENS is the latest entry in HWA legend's Elizabeth Massie's AMERI-SCARES series. Residing in Staunton, VA, he works as a psychology... Read More →
PF
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event

12:00pm EDT

The Chapter Experience: Making the Most of Your Horror Writers Association Membership
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
Curious about joining an HWA chapter or launching one in your area? This panel explores how local chapters can expand your creative community. From critique groups and author events to mentorship and networking, chapters offer meaningful ways to connect and grow. Panelists will share what they’ve learned from building and participating in chapters, including what’s worked, what to avoid, and how to get the most from your involvement. Whether you’re new to HWA or a longtime member looking to engage more deeply, this session will show you how to bring your membership to life.
Moderators
avatar for Carol Gyzander

Carol Gyzander

I love quiet horror, weird fiction, and cosmic horror! More about me:Two-time Bram Stoker Award® finalist Carol Gyzander writes and edits horror, weird fiction, and science fiction—with strong women in twisted tales that touch your heart. She has stories in Weird Tales, Weird House... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for B.C. Bull

B.C. Bull

Co-Chair For New England HWA, Horror Writers Association
avatar for Douglas Ford
avatar for Christopher Hawkins

Christopher Hawkins

Co-chair, Chicagoland Chapter
Christopher Hawkins (he/him) is the multi-award-winning author of Downpour and Suburban Monsters. His latest novel is I Contain Multitudes.
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 James Chambers

James Chambers

Trustee; Co-Chair, StokerCon Governing Committee; Chair, Horror University, Horror Writers Association
James Chambers is the Bram Stoker Award® and Scribe Award-winning editor and author of A Bright and Beautiful Eternal World, On the Night Border, On the Hierophant Road, the graphic novel, Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe, and editor of Under Twin... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

12:00pm EDT

Perspectives in the Writing Life: From Rookie to Veteran
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
Grove 2
This panel brings together StokerCon’s Guests of Honor—writers at different stages of their careers—to explore how the writing life evolves over time. From first publications to award wins, from chasing deadlines to mentoring the next generation, panelists will reflect on how their creative process, career goals, and relationship to the industry have changed over the years. How has the horror genre shifted? What challenges remain the same? What advice would they give to their younger selves—and to those just starting out today? Whether you're a new writer looking for inspiration or a seasoned author reflecting on your journey, this conversation offers candid insights from those who’ve seen the industry grow and transform.

NOTE: This panel lasts for ninety minutes.
Moderators
avatar for John Langan

John Langan

Author, THE FISHERMAN
John Langan is the author of two novels and five collections of stories.  For his fiction, he has received the Bram Stoker and the This Is Horror awards.  With Paul Tremblay, he co-edited Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters (2011).  He is one of the founders of the Shirley Jackson... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates is the author of 58 novels and many novellas, plays, short stories, and other work. She is a recipient of the National Book Award, two O. Henry Awards, the National Humanities Medal, and the Jerusalem Prize and a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Among Oates... Read More →
avatar for Scott Edelman

Scott Edelman

Author
SCOTT EDELMAN has published 125+ short stories in magazines such as Lightspeed, Analog, Apex, and The Twilight Zone, and in anthologies such as Why New Yorkers Smoke, Crossroads: Southern Tales of the Fantastic, and MetaHorror. He began his professional writing career in the comics... Read More →
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

i've published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. I write original horror and dark fantasy as well as media tie-ins. I'm a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and I've been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award... Read More →
avatar for Gaby Triana

Gaby Triana

GABY TRIANA is the Cuban-American author of 24 books for adults and teens, including Dark and Dangerous Things, Moon Child, Island of Bones, River of Ghosts, City of Spells, Wake the Hollow, Cubanita, and Summer of Yesterday. Her short stories have appeared in Classic Monsters Unleashed... Read More →
avatar for Adam Nevill

Adam Nevill

Adam L. G. Nevill was born in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. He is an author of horror fiction. Of his novels, The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and The Reddening were all winners of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. He... Read More →
avatar for Paula Guran

Paula Guran

Editor, anthologist, and reviewer Paula Guran has edited more than 50 science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies and more than 50 novels and collections featuring the same. She was senior editor for Prime Books for seven years. Previously, she edited the Juno fantasy impr... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
Grove 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

12:00pm EDT

Pitch Sessions
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom 2-3
Pitch Sessions!

You have to have preregistered for this event.
Moderators
avatar for Rena Mason
avatar for Brian Matthews

Brian Matthews

Trustee; Co-Chair, StokerCon Governing Committee; Bram Stoker Awards® Show Coordinator; Pitch Session Coordinator, Horror Writers Association
Author, financial planner, former psychologist, husband, and father. Trustee for the Horror Writers Association, as well a National Co-Chair for StokerCon. I also run the Pitch Sessions and act as the Bram Stoker Awards Show Coordinator. That pretty much sums it up.
avatar for Sarah Read
Speakers
avatar for Alec Shane

Alec Shane

Writers House
Writers House is one of the largest literary agencies in the world and prides itself on providing an extraordinary amount of individual client attention combined with the full service benefits of foreign and sub rights departments, as well as a full accounting and royalty staff.I... Read More →
avatar for Arley Sorg

Arley Sorg

assoc agent, co-Editor-in-Chief, senior editor, kt literary agency, Fantasy Magazine, Locus Magazine
associate agent at kt literary; co-Editor-in-Chief at Fantasy Magazine; senior editor at Locus Magazine; and some other stuff - Blue Sky is: ‪@arleysorg.bsky.social‬  and website is https://arleysorg.com/
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 Cherry Weiner

Cherry Weiner

Cherry Weiner grew up in Australia, lived in Europe for three and a half years and moved to American when she married her husband, Jack in1972.  She has been agenting since 1977, when she left the Robert P. Mills AgencyMills’ famous clients (she will not any drop further names... Read More →
avatar for Michael Dolan

Michael Dolan

Editorial Director, Winding Road Stories
Michael Dolan is a writer and editor with over 25 years of experience at the highest levels of publishing. In addition to being the author of several books, he has served as executive editor for many publishing companies, including Condé Nast. As the founder of Winding Road Stories... Read More →
avatar for Christoph Paul

Christoph Paul

Christoph Paul is the singer/songwriter of Goth Rock band The Dionysus Effect, he is the EIC of CLASH Books, and an award-winning author represented by Inkwell.
avatar for Rachel Glimer

Rachel Glimer

Editor, Sourcebooks, Poisoned Pen Press
I acquire for Poisoned Pen Press at Sourcebooks, and my books are primarily in Mystery, Thriller, Horror, and Contemporary Fantasy. I especially enjoy character-driven projects and am eagerly looking for diverse voices and stories.
avatar for Emma Cole

Emma Cole

Editor, Harlequin
Editor @Harlequin, acquiring for Intrigue as well as for our Harlequin Trade Publishing imprint Hanover Square Press, which publishes horror, mystery, speculative fiction and nonfiction.
avatar for Bradley Englert

Bradley Englert

Executive Editor, Run For It / Orbit Books
Bradley Englert is an Executive Editor at Run For It, the new horror imprint from Orbit Books. He’s worked with horror authors Craig DiLouie, Andy Marino, and Nicholas Pullen. He is now looking forward to building Run For It into a premiere destination for diehard horror readers... Read More →
AM
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom 2-3
  Convention Event

1:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 01 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
Speakers
avatar for Victoria Navarra

Victoria Navarra

Victoria Navarra lives half in Atlanta, GA and half in Richmond, VA. Her fiction has been published in Analog, ParSec, and Andromeda Spaceways, and her first horror story is forthcoming in F&SF. She was a 2023 AnLab finalist, and recently she won the Emerson First Chapter Prize for... Read More →
avatar for Sofia Ajram

Sofia Ajram

Queer novelist, editor & metalsmith. I am a 2024 Bram Stoker Award finalist in the Long Fiction and Anthology categories. Writer of “Coup De Grâce” (Titan Books, 2024). Editor of “Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror” (Ghoulish Books, 2024).
avatar for N.J. Gallegos

N.J. Gallegos

ER Doc and writer who loves all things horror. She is a cohost of The Scream Kings Podcast. She has two novels, The Broken Heart and The Fatal Mind, with Winding Road Stories. N.J. Gallegos has three novellas available: Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires and It’s Me, Hi, I’m the... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

1:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 01 Elm
Saturday June 14, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Elm 1 & 2
Speakers
avatar for V. Castro
avatar for Corey Farrenkopf

Corey Farrenkopf

Staff Librarian, Eastham Public Library
Corey Farrenkopf is a Cape Cod based writer and librarian. His work has been published in Nightmare, The Deadlands, Strange Horizons, Vastarien, Three-Lobed Burning Eye, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Bourbon Penn, and elsewhere. He is the author of the novel, Living in Cemeteries and the... Read More →
avatar for Sumiko Saulson

Sumiko Saulson

2 Time Bram Stoker Finalist in the Poetry Collection category, Author
Sumiko Saulson is a two-time Bram Stoker Finalist in the Poetry Collection for the poetry collections Melancholia: A Book of Dark Poetry (Bludgeoned Girls Press) and The Rat King: A Book of Dark Poetry (Dooky Zines), Elgin Nominee, 3rd Place Dwarf Stars Award Winner, Winner... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Elm 1 & 2
  Convention Event

1:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 01 Glen
Saturday June 14, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for Jonathan Gensler

Jonathan Gensler

Writer
Colorado-based writer of dark speculative fiction. US Army veteran and recovering entrepreneur. Words in Cosmic Horror Monthly, CreepyPod, and others. Stay in touch at jonathangensler.com
avatar for Christi Nogle

Christi Nogle

Christi Nogle is the author of the Bram Stoker Award® winning novel Beulah and the short story collections The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future; Promise; and One Eye Opened in That Other Place. Her work has appeared in many publications including Apex Magazine, Strange Horizons, and... Read More →
avatar for Phill Bradley

Phill Bradley

Short Story Specialist
Phill Bradley is a short story specialist from Austin, Texas, who writes in the Horror, Thriller, Speculative, and Sci-fi genres. He has released two collections: Back End of the Bell Curve and Hope In One Hand.... This is Phill's first StokerCon.
Saturday June 14, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

1:00pm EDT

Horror as Therapy
Saturday June 14, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
Themes about human nature and social commentary abound in written and visual horror. The panelists will discuss how horror can be used to process real-life experiences, how they have grown as individuals from consuming and writing horror, and what themes they hope their audiences will see within their works. Further, the panel will also dissect the myth of the morose and depressed writer and suggest ways positive psychology can help writers in their work.
Moderators
avatar for Sarah Faxon

Sarah Faxon

Sarah Faxon, who publishes under S. Faxon, is a dark fantasy, horror, and urban fantasy author. Sarah is the author of the books: The Animal Court, Foreign & Domestic Affairs, Tiny Dreadfuls, Origins: The Blue Dragon Society, co-writer of Lost Aboard and How to Become A Successful... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for B.C. Bull

B.C. Bull

Co-Chair For New England HWA, Horror Writers Association
avatar for Kevin Kennel

Kevin Kennel

Hello, I am a fiction writer with many writing projects in various forms of development. I have recently been published in the anthology: Satan Rides Your Daughter Again and have had some poetry published online at misfitsmiscellany.com Some of my favorite writers are: Grady Hendrix... Read More →
avatar for Mark Matthews

Mark Matthews

Mark Matthews is a Shirley Jackson Award Finalist, a graduate of the University of Michigan, and a licensed professional counselor. He is the author of On the Lips of Children, All Smoke Rises, Milk-Blood, and The Hobgoblin of Little Minds. He also edited, published, and contributed... Read More →
avatar for David Simms

David Simms

Writer. Psychologist. Musician. Reviewer.
David Simms is the author of PIERCE THE VEIL, FEAR THE REAPER, and DARK MUSE, published by Crossroad Press. His new middle grade novel, CURSE OF THE BARRENS is the latest entry in HWA legend's Elizabeth Massie's AMERI-SCARES series. Residing in Staunton, VA, he works as a psychology... Read More →
avatar for Nicole Wolverton

Nicole Wolverton

Nicole M. Wolverton is a fear enthusiast who is the author of the upcoming young adult horror novel MEAT SWEATS (fall 2026, Horrorsmith Publishing), as well as A MISFORTUNE OF LAKE MONSTERS (2024, CamCat Books). She served as Editor of BODIES FULL OF BURNING (2021, Sliced Up Press... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

1:00pm EDT

Writing for Performance: Horror Across Audio and Screen
Saturday June 14, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
This panel explores the craft of writing horror for performance, whether it's through the chilling intimacy of audio storytelling or the visual tension of television and film. What unique considerations must a writer consider when adapting horror from the page to the ear or the screen? How do pacing, structure, and atmosphere shift when a story is meant to be heard or seen rather than read? Panelists will discuss the challenges and opportunities of writing for mediums like audiobooks, podcasts, TV, and film, where timing, voice, and visual storytelling carry the weight of fear. They'll also explore why authors should consider expanding into performance-based formats and how doing so can amplify both reach and impact.
Moderators
avatar for Alex Hofelich

Alex Hofelich

co-Editor, PseudoPod
Alex Hofelich is Co-Editor of Pseudopod, a weekly horror podcast magazine. It is part of the pro-paying Escape Artists network, which has been delivering weekly short fiction in multiple genres since 2005. He has been involved with PseudoPod since 2009, and edited the anthology... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Craig Engler

Craig Engler

Craig Engler is the co-creator of the TV series Z Nation and executive producer of the Netflix spin-off, Black Summer. He worked at the Syfy Channel and Chiller TV before becoming the head of Shudder at AMC Networks from 2018-2022. He's currently at work on several horror screenplays... 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 thirty 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 also... Read More →
avatar for Tony Sarrecchia

Tony Sarrecchia

Tony is a writer who creates audio dramas, including the award-winning, HARRY STRANGE RADIO DRAMA, and SCARLETT HOOD ADVENTURES. His LADY SHERLOCK HOLMES Episode, ‘The Lady in Red’, performed at DragonCon and the National Audio Theatre Festival won the NATF’s Platinum Festival... Read More →
avatar for Teel James Glenn

Teel James Glenn

writer
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 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).
CV
Saturday June 14, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

2:00pm EDT

Authentic Representation in Horror
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Grove 2
As horror continues to evolve, so does the need for authentic, nuanced representation of marginalized characters. From disabled protagonists and LGBTQ+ survivors to characters of diverse racial, cultural, and neurodivergent identities, today’s horror readers are demanding stories that reflect a broader range of human experiences, without relying on stereotypes or exploitative tropes.

This panel will feature writers from marginalized communities who bring their lived experience to the conversation about representation in horror. Panelists will explore the challenges and responsibilities of writing characters from identities other than their own, the harm caused by inauthentic or exploitative depictions, and how to craft stories that are both respectful and resonant. Examples may include the use of disability as a scare tactic, the mishandling of queer trauma, or missed opportunities for inclusive storytelling.

This isn’t about creating a checklist of what not to do—it’s about encouraging deeper awareness, responsible storytelling, and a commitment to getting it right. Whether you're writing disabled, queer, BIPOC, or otherwise underrepresented characters, this conversation will provide practical insight into how horror can honor identity while still delivering a powerful scare.
Moderators
avatar for Logan Alexander Johnson

Logan Alexander Johnson

Logan Alexander Johnson is a writer, designer, and researcher who uses words as a vehicle for activism, inclusion, and empowerment. He brings a designer’s empathy to the page, shaped by over a decade of experience in human-centered design. Logan writes stories that highlight the... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Gaby Triana

Gaby Triana

GABY TRIANA is the Cuban-American author of 24 books for adults and teens, including Dark and Dangerous Things, Moon Child, Island of Bones, River of Ghosts, City of Spells, Wake the Hollow, Cubanita, and Summer of Yesterday. Her short stories have appeared in Classic Monsters Unleashed... Read More →
avatar for Tamika Thompson

Tamika Thompson

Author
Tamika is author of THE CURSE OF HESTER GARDENS (Erewhon/Kensington, 2026) & Next Generation Indie Book Awards Horror WINNER, UNSHOD, CACKLING, and NAKED (Unnerving Books), which Publishers Weekly calls “powerful,” “unsettling,” and “terrifying.” She is also the author... Read More →
avatar for Aaron Dries

Aaron Dries

Aaron Dries is a Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Award nominated, and Ditmar, Australian Shadows and Aurealis Award-winning author based in Canberra, Australia. His novels include HOUSE OF SIGHS, THE FALLEN BOYS, A PLACE FOR SINNERS, WHERE THE DEAD GO TO DIE (with Mark Allan Gunnells... 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 →
RU
avatar for Rob Costello

Rob Costello

Rob Costello (he/him) writes dark and contemporary fiction with a queer bent for and about young people. He’s the contributing editor of We Mostly Come Out At Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters, Angels & Other Creatures, nominated for a 2024 Bram Stoker Award® and named a 2024 CYBILS... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Grove 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

2:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 02 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
Speakers
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 Lauren Elise (L. E.) Daniels

Lauren Elise (L. E.) Daniels

Editor, Author, Poet, HWA Wellness Committee, Brisbane Writers Workshop
A Bram Stoker Awards® finalist, co-chair for the HWA Mental Health Initiative with Mark Matthews, and Rhode Islander living in Australia, Lauren Elise (L. E.) Daniels has worked in publishing since '92. An Emerson College MFA grad, she's edited over 140+ titles, including the Aurealis... Read More →
avatar for Marc Abbott

Marc Abbott

Author/Teacher/Storyteller/Treasurer, Horror Writers Association
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 Blackened Roots, The Chaos Clock, Under Twin Suns, Even in the Grave, New York State of Fright and Hells... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

2:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 02 Elm
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Elm 1 & 2
Speakers
avatar for John Langan

John Langan

Author, THE FISHERMAN
John Langan is the author of two novels and five collections of stories.  For his fiction, he has received the Bram Stoker and the This Is Horror awards.  With Paul Tremblay, he co-edited Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters (2011).  He is one of the founders of the Shirley Jackson... Read More →
avatar for James Chambers

James Chambers

Trustee; Co-Chair, StokerCon Governing Committee; Chair, Horror University, Horror Writers Association
James Chambers is the Bram Stoker Award® and Scribe Award-winning editor and author of A Bright and Beautiful Eternal World, On the Night Border, On the Hierophant Road, the graphic novel, Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe, and editor of Under Twin... Read More →
avatar for John Opalenik

John Opalenik

John Opalenik is an author and educator from Connecticut. He is the author of The Primeval series, The Blue Beneath the Mountain, and the short story collection Among the Willows & Other Strange Tales. He’s had numerous short stories published in anthologies, and zines. He lives... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Elm 1 & 2
  Convention Event

2:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 02 Glen
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for Del Howison

Del Howison

Owner, Dark Delicacies
Del Howison is an author, journalist, SAG actor including a cameo in the upcoming horror film Big Baby produced by Cher and directed by Spider One. He is a Bram Stoker Award-winning editor of the anthology Dark Delicacies: Original Tales of Terror and the Macabre by the World’s... Read More →
avatar for Maxwell Ian Gold

Maxwell Ian Gold

Executive Director, 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. Five time Rhysling Award nominee, two time Pushcart Award nominee, and author of the Bram Stoker... Read More →
avatar for Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito

Frances Lu-Pai 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 →
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

2:00pm EDT

Crafting Original Monsters
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
The legendary pantheon of horror monsters is never too full! These innovative novels introduce a brand-new bestiary with creeping, crawling critters beyond your wildest nightmares. In this panel, authors will discuss how they developed these lustful zombies, apocalyptic students, and fears-made-flesh—and offer advice on how budding writers can develop unique monsters of their own.
Moderators
avatar for Michael Arnzen

Michael Arnzen

Asst Director, MFA in Writing Popular Fiction at SHU
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 S. A. Barnes

S. A. Barnes

S.A. Barnes works in a high school library by day, recommending reads, talking with students, and removing the occasional forgotten cheese stick as bookmark. Barnes has published numerous novels across different genres under the pen name Stacey Kade. She lives in Illinois with more... Read More →
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

i've published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. I write original horror and dark fantasy as well as media tie-ins. I'm a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and I've been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award... Read More →
avatar for Cassandra Khaw

Cassandra Khaw

CASSANDRA KHAW is the USA Today bestselling author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth and the Bram Stoker Award-winner, Breakable Things. Other notable works of theirs are The Salt Grows Heavy and British Fantasy Award and Locus Award finalist, Hammers on Bone. Khaw’s work can... Read More →
avatar for Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy writes horror for the page, stage, and screen. His acclaimed novels Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings were featured in best-of lists from Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, NPR, the Chicago Review of Books, the NY Public Library, and more, and he was named one of the... 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 →
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

2:00pm EDT

The House Is Trying To Kill Me And Other Single-Location Horror
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
Whether it's a haunted house, a group of campers stuck in a supernatural patch of woods that won't let them leave (This Wretched Valley), or a family trapped in their bathroom after a storm (We Need to Do Something) or even a crew of workers after hours fighting ghosts (Horrorstor), contained horror is a unique subset of the genre. Single-location horror can present certain challenges that a larger setting does not.

Moderators
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, is a Bram Stoker Nominee. Her next book, CRAFTING FOR SINNERS, releases October 2025. Stories have appeared in Cosmic Horror Monthly... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Sofia Ajram

Sofia Ajram

Queer novelist, editor & metalsmith. I am a 2024 Bram Stoker Award finalist in the Long Fiction and Anthology categories. Writer of “Coup De Grâce” (Titan Books, 2024). Editor of “Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror” (Ghoulish Books, 2024).
avatar for Johnny Compton
avatar for Chelsea Conradt

Chelsea Conradt

Chelsea Conradt (she/her) writes twisty speculative thrillers and horror. Her novel The Farmhouse is one of Kobo’s Best of the Month for June—and hits shelves June 17. Her books are packed with both murder and kindness because we can be more than one thing.When not writing stories... Read More →
avatar for Corey Farrenkopf

Corey Farrenkopf

Staff Librarian, Eastham Public Library
Corey Farrenkopf is a Cape Cod based writer and librarian. His work has been published in Nightmare, The Deadlands, Strange Horizons, Vastarien, Three-Lobed Burning Eye, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Bourbon Penn, and elsewhere. He is the author of the novel, Living in Cemeteries and the... Read More →
avatar for Joshua Ginsberg
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event
  • about 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 Ages, and Miracle Monocle.

3:00pm EDT

50 Years of Jaws and Aquatic Horror
Saturday June 14, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
50 years ago, Jaws made audiences afraid to go in the water.  Join us as we explore the impact of the film as well as other aquatic horrors; be they from the ocean depths, the murky swamps, our inland lakes and rivers, or even the plumbing of your home.  The panel will also examine an early 1973 draft of Jaws. This panel is sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Moderators
avatar for Ben Rubin

Ben Rubin

Horror Studies Collection Coordinator, 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 the horror genre and serving as subject area expert for reference... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for John Langan

John Langan

Author, THE FISHERMAN
John Langan is the author of two novels and five collections of stories.  For his fiction, he has received the Bram Stoker and the This Is Horror awards.  With Paul Tremblay, he co-edited Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters (2011).  He is one of the founders of the Shirley Jackson... 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 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 →
JP
Saturday June 14, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

3:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 03 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
Speakers
avatar for Maria Alexander

Maria Alexander

Maria Alexander is a produced screenwriter, games writer, virtual world designer, award-winning copywriter, prolific fiction writer, and poet. Since 1999, her stories have appeared in acclaimed publications and anthologies.Her debut novel, Mr. Wicker, won the 2014 Bram Stoker Aw... Read More →
avatar for David Boop

David Boop

Owner, Longshot Productions
David Boop is an award-winning Denver-based speculative fiction author & editor. He’s also an award-winning essayist, and screenwriter. Before turning to fiction, David worked as a DJ, film critic, journalist, and actor. As Editor-in-Chief at IntraDenver.net, David’s team was... Read More →
avatar for Robbie Dorman

Robbie Dorman

Robbie Dorman believes in horror. He has published seventeen novels. His newest is WORDS OF CHRIST IN RED. When he's not writing, he's walking his dog, mixing cocktails, or watching pro wrestling.
Saturday June 14, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

3:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 03 Glen
Saturday June 14, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
ME
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, Brazil and Canada. A multiple award nominee, Colleen won the long-form Rhysling... Read More →
avatar for Scott Edelman

Scott Edelman

Author
SCOTT EDELMAN has published 125+ short stories in magazines such as Lightspeed, Analog, Apex, and The Twilight Zone, and in anthologies such as Why New Yorkers Smoke, Crossroads: Southern Tales of the Fantastic, and MetaHorror. He began his professional writing career in the comics... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

3:00pm EDT

Writing Horror Novelizations and Media Tie-Ins
Saturday June 14, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
Learn what it takes to thrive in the world of horror tie-ins and novelizations with Guest of Honor Tim Waggoner and V. Castro. They’ll share real-world examples of IP assignments, how to craft standout pitches, outlines, and chapters, and tips for adapting your voice to a shared universe. You'll also get advice on finding tie-in work, honing your shared-world writing skills, and delivering quality under deadline.
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.
Speakers
avatar for V. Castro
avatar for Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner

i've published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. I write original horror and dark fantasy as well as media tie-ins. I'm a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and I've been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

3:00pm EDT

A Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates
Saturday June 14, 2025 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Grove 2
A conversation with Joyce Carol Oates, her works, and her history.
Moderators
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 →
Speakers
avatar for Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates is the author of 58 novels and many novellas, plays, short stories, and other work. She is a recipient of the National Book Award, two O. Henry Awards, the National Humanities Medal, and the Jerusalem Prize and a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Among Oates... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Grove 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

4:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 04 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
Speakers
avatar for Caitlin Starling

Caitlin Starling

Author of The Luminous Dead, The Death of Jane Lawrence, and The Staving Saints. Genre hopping horror! Toxic lesbians! Too much medical detail!
avatar for Johnny Compton
avatar for Jason Dry

Jason Dry

I put together my first literary gem, an I Dream of Genie picture book, when I was four years old. It was made with jumbo-size crayons and a Big Chief tablet. My works have been finalists in the following screenwriting competitions: ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship, Filmmakers... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

4:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 04 Glen
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for B.C. Bull

B.C. Bull

Co-Chair For New England HWA, Horror Writers Association
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 Adam Nevill

Adam Nevill

Adam L. G. Nevill was born in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. He is an author of horror fiction. Of his novels, The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and The Reddening were all winners of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. He... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

4:00pm EDT

Chilling Comics
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Grove 2
A discussion of horror comics, what makes them special and influential, how to break into comics writing, historical highlights of horror comics, and why some stories can only be told in the comics medium. This will look at key horror comics through history from the EC Comics of the 1950s to the Marvel horror comics of the 1970s, the Vertigo comics of the 1980s and 90s, to current horror manga by Junji Ito and Gou Tanabe. The emphasis will be on the unique storytelling aspects of the comic book format.
Moderators
SH

Shawn Hainsworth

Publisher / Author, SHP Comics
Speakers
avatar for Alys Arden

Alys Arden

Author
Alys Arden was raised by the street performers, tea leaf-readers, and glittering drag queens of the New Orleans, French Quarter. Her debut novel, The Casquette Girls, garnered over one million reads online before it was acquired (Skyscape). The fifth book in the series, The Immortal... Read More →
avatar for Raymonde Chira

Raymonde Chira

Author
Raymonde Chira (she/they) is a writer, illustrator and librarian based in New York City. She is the author of multiple dark short stories and comics, having been published in Ghost Parachute, Dark Matter Presents: The Off-Season, Let Her Be Evil, and Bump in the Night (forthcoming... Read More →
avatar for Scott Edelman

Scott Edelman

Author
SCOTT EDELMAN has published 125+ short stories in magazines such as Lightspeed, Analog, Apex, and The Twilight Zone, and in anthologies such as Why New Yorkers Smoke, Crossroads: Southern Tales of the Fantastic, and MetaHorror. He began his professional writing career in the comics... Read More →
avatar for Justina Ireland

Justina Ireland

Author and Cat Wrangler
I write. A lot. Bluesky: justinaireland.com
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Grove 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

4:00pm EDT

Editing Horror: Shaping Stories and Building Worlds
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
Get an inside look at the editing side of horror with Guest of Honor Paula Guran and other panelists. They’ll share real-world experiences working with authors, selecting stories for anthologies, and shaping manuscripts into finished books. You’ll also get advice on developing an editorial eye, collaborating with writers, managing deadlines, and navigating the evolving horror market as an editor.
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 150 stories appearing in publications around the world and has edited and published thirteen anthologies, such... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Kelly Lonesome

Kelly Lonesome

Executive Editor, Tor Nightfire
I am a Hugo Award nominated editor of novels and novellas. I joined Tor Publishing Group in 2019, and I have had the privilege of working with terrifyingly talented authors for our Nightfire imprint. I acquire adult fiction across TPG and while I am always searching for unique stories... 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 Paula Guran

Paula Guran

Editor, anthologist, and reviewer Paula Guran has edited more than 50 science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies and more than 50 novels and collections featuring the same. She was senior editor for Prime Books for seven years. Previously, she edited the Juno fantasy impr... Read More →
avatar for John F. D. Taff
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

4:00pm EDT

Gunslingers And Ghouls: Western Horror
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
Authors share their insights around the growing popularity and diversity of horror westerns; tips for writing in this unique subgenre; and their reading recommendations. This panel will touch on why westerns are so fitting for the horror genre and how horror westerns have become an avenue for telling more diverse stories of the Old West.
Moderators
avatar for KC (Kristina) Grifant

KC (Kristina) Grifant

Author, Editor, San Diego HWA co-chair
A previous StokerCon chair, KC Grifant is an award-winning writer based in Southern California who creates internationally published horror, fantasy, science fiction, and weird west stories. Dozens of her short stories have appeared in podcasts, magazines, games, and Stoker-nominated... Read More →
Speakers
NK
CH
avatar for Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

academic and creative writer/editor/professor, RJ Joseph, Writer/Speaker
Rhonda Jackson Garcia, AKA RJ Joseph, is a Stoker Award™ and Shirley Jackson 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... Read More →
avatar for John Opalenik

John Opalenik

John Opalenik is an author and educator from Connecticut. He is the author of The Primeval series, The Blue Beneath the Mountain, and the short story collection Among the Willows & Other Strange Tales. He’s had numerous short stories published in anthologies, and zines. He lives... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

4:00pm EDT

Joyce Carol Oates Book SIgning
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Grand Ballroom Foyer
Following Joyce Carol Oates's conversation with Ellen Datlow, join us for a book signing opportunity. Many of Joyce's books will be available for purchase in the dealers room.
Speakers
avatar for Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates is the author of 58 novels and many novellas, plays, short stories, and other work. She is a recipient of the National Book Award, two O. Henry Awards, the National Humanities Medal, and the Jerusalem Prize and a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Among Oates... Read More →
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Grand Ballroom Foyer
  Convention Event
 
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    Jun 12 - 15, 2025
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    Stamford, CT, USA
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    Ann Radcliff Academic Conference
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Thursday, June 12
Friday, June 13
Saturday, June 14
Sunday, June 15
Alder
Aspen 1
Aspen 2
Charter Oak
Elm 1 & 2
Garden Pavillion
Glen 1
Glen 2 & 3
Grand Ballroom 1
Grand Ballroom 2-3
Grand Ballroom Foyer
Grove 1
Grove 2
Linden
Map
  • Ann Radcliff Academic Conference
  • Convention Event
  • Horror University
  • HWA Event
  • Librarians' Day
  • Official HWA Business
  • Popular