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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.
Type: Convention Event clear filter
Thursday, June 12
 

3:00pm EDT

Roleplaying Games and Horror
Thursday June 12, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
TTRPGS and LARPs allow players to take on the roles of their characters in a truly immersive way. Yet how does that work in a horror setting, where classic heroism might be in short supply, goals are less about acquiring treasure and more about staying alive and sane, and players must lean into what their characters would do even if it isn't always the smartest thing? Let's explore how to create horror in a roleplaying setting in this panel aimed at players, game masters, and writers.
Moderators
avatar for Richard Dansky

Richard Dansky

Narrative Director, Romero Games
Richard Dansky is a 25+ year veteran of the video game industry and is widely regarded as a leading authority on game writing and narrative. He has written and narrative designed for bestselling franchises including The Division, Assassins Creed, Far Cry, and Splinter Cell. His book... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Bill Bridges

Bill Bridges

Author, Game designer
Bill Bridges is a writer and game designer, most known for developing White Wolf’s World of Darkness and the Fading Suns science-fiction universe. He currently serves as the project manager for Ulisses’ line of Fading Suns roleplaying-game books. Bill lives near Atlanta, GA, where... 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 Oliver Baer

Oliver Baer

Oliver Baer does many things. He was the editor of Cthulhu Sex Magazine and Two Backed Books. His epistolary novel, Letters to the Editor of Cthulhu Sex Magazine, was published in October 2019. His short stories have appeared in April Grey's anthologies as well as others. His essays... 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 →
Thursday June 12, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

4:00pm EDT

Adapting Books to Film: Bringing Horror from the Page to the Screen
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
Join Adam Nevill and other panelists for a look at what it takes to adapt horror stories for film. They’ll share real-world experiences with optioning material, working with screenwriters and producers, and balancing creative vision with industry demands.
Moderators
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 →
Speakers
avatar for Lisa Wood

Lisa Wood

Vice President, Horror Writers Association
L. Marie Wood is an award-winning psychological horror author and screenwriter.  She won the Golden Stake Award for her novel The Promise Keeper.  Her screenplays have won Best Horror, Best Afrofuturism/Horror/Sci-Fi, and Best Short Screenplay awards at several film festivals.  Wood’s... Read More →
avatar for 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 →
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 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 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 →
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

4:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Thursday 04 Aspen
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
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 Stephanie Sanders-Jacob

Stephanie Sanders-Jacob

Stephanie Sanders-Jacob writes horror and weird fiction. Her books include Pyramidia, Dropshipped, and Singing All the Way Up. She loves murderous and mystical cowboys, satirical stories, and Furbys. She is the editor-in-chief of Squirm Books, the YA imprint of Slashic Horror Pre... Read More →
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

4:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Thursday 04 Elm
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Elm 1 & 2
Speakers
JB
avatar for Debra K Every

Debra K Every

Debra K. Every is an author of horror, thrillers, and stories with twisted perspectives. Her debut novel, Deena Undone, has won multiple awards including an American Fiction Award, a Storytrade Book Award and a Page Turner Award. A Spanish edition of Deena Undone will be released... Read More →
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Elm 1 & 2
  Convention Event

4:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Thursday 04 Glen
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for larry hinkle

larry hinkle

The least famous author you've never heard of, Larry Hinkle writes horror comedy, pulp, and cosmic horror, tinged with a touch of weird. His short stories made the Preliminary Stoker Awards ballot in 2020 and 2022. His debut collection "The Space Between" was released in February... Read More →
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 Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam is the author of the novel Grim Root and the collection Where You Linger. Her short stories have appeared in over 90 publications such as Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Lightspeed, and LeVar Burton Reads, as well as in six languages. By night, she has... Read More →
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

4:00pm EDT

Eco-Horror: Is Nature Trying to Kill Us?
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
This panel will discuss some of the early examples of eco-horror in literature, like Algernon Blackwood’s The Willows, and trace those influences on today’s eco-horror classics. We will also seek to define the sub-genre more clearly through our discussion: Is eco-horror merely a horror story set in the woods? Is it when nature turns against humanity? Or is it when the story carries a message about humanity's impact on the ecosystem?
Moderators
ME
Speakers
BC
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 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 Sean Carlin

Sean Carlin

Author
Sean Patrick Carlin (he/him) is an author and essayist, as well as an environmental activist with the Climate Reality Project. His debut novel, The Dogcatcher, was published in 2023 by DarkWinter Press. An occult horror/dark comedy in the spirit of Shaun of the Dead, it's the story... Read More →
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

4:00pm EDT

Found Forms in Horror
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
Join us for a panel about unique and unusual formatting of your writing beyond the epistolary -- stories told as documentary transcripts, academic papers, scientific reports, legal documents, and more. Together, we’ll look at examples of genre stories that successfully play with writing as a medium and how creative use of form can support and benefit narrative.
Moderators
avatar for Sofia Ajram

Sofia Ajram

Queer writer, poet & metalsmith. Writer of “Coup De Grâce” (Titan Books) 10/24. Editor of “Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror” (Ghoulish Books) 03/24
Speakers
avatar for Neil McRobert

Neil McRobert

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

B.R. Yeager

Author
Wrote NEGATIVE SPACE, BURN YOU THE FUCK ALIVE, PEARL DEATH, and AMYGDALATROPOLIS
avatar for Sapphire Lazuli
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
avatar for Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton

Author of four novels and over 200 short stories, screenwriter, Halloween and paranormal expert, past President of the Horror Writers Association.
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

4:00pm EDT

Dealer Room
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 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

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 1
  Convention Event

5:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Thursday 05 Aspen
Thursday June 12, 2025 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
avatar for Asher Ellis

Asher Ellis

Author of THE REMEDY and THE THERAPY (Deadite Press), PET (Crossroad Press), CRACKER JACK (Crystal Lake Publishing) and CURSE OF THE PIGMAN (Crossroad Press.) Screenwriter of the award-winning films EXIT 7A (Hammer & Saw ), MY NAME IS ART (Think Speak Films), and TROPHY (Elsewhere... Read More →
avatar for Jessi Ann York

Jessi Ann York

Jessi Ann York’s stories have been featured at several professional rate horror markets, including PseudoPod, Vastarien, Cemetery Gates Media, Love Letters to Poe, and more. Her first two stories, “Phases of the Shadow” and “Women of the Mere,” were mentioned as standouts... Read More →
avatar for 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 →
Thursday June 12, 2025 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

5:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Thursday 05 Elm
Thursday June 12, 2025 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Elm 1 & 2
Speakers
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 →
avatar for Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Young Adult Author
Diana Rodriguez Wallach is a multi-published author of young adult novels, most recently YA horror novels. Her next book, THE SILENCED, described as Girl Interrupted meets Poltergeist, comes out in September 2025 through Random House/Delacorte. In October 2023, she released HATCHET... Read More →
Thursday June 12, 2025 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Elm 1 & 2
  Convention Event

5:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Thursday 05 Glen
Thursday June 12, 2025 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
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 →
RC
Thursday June 12, 2025 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

5:00pm EDT

Bram Stoker Awards Panel
Thursday June 12, 2025 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
What are the Awards about, how do they work, how can HWA members and non-members participate in the Awards.
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 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 Laura Blackwell

Laura Blackwell

Writer and Story Hour cohost
Laura Blackwell is a Shirley Jackson Award-winning writer of speculative fiction. Her stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies including Nightmare, PseudoPod, CatsCast, and Shirley Jackson Award-winner Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic. She is copy editor for The Deadlands, and... Read More →
avatar for Lila Denning

Lila Denning

HWA-Volunteer Coordinator, St Petersburg Library System
avatar for Shawnna Deresch
avatar for Becky Spratford

Becky Spratford

Readers’ Advisory Specialist; HWA Secretary, RA for All
 Becky Spratford [MLIS] is a Librarian in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All. She writes reviews for Booklist and a Horror review column for Library Journal. Becky was a 24 year locally elected Library Trustee and a former Board member for both the Reaching Across Illinois Library System and the Illinois Library Association. Known for her work with Horror... Read More →
Thursday June 12, 2025 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event

5:00pm EDT

Stake the Landing
Thursday June 12, 2025 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
Horror fiction thrives in establishing mood and creating suspense…but, as many aficionados will tell you, too often it flubs the finale. Panelists will contend with the bugbear of their chosen field. What makes a good horror ending? Is there something inherent to the genre which complicates crafting a satisfying resolution? What stories end well…and which don’t? Does a climax that accentuates the uncanny or ineffable lose clarity? Do any stories adapted to film/video change the original prose endings for the better?
Moderators
avatar for Jason A. Wyckoff

Jason A. Wyckoff

Jason A. Wyckoff is the author of two short story collections published by Tartarus Press, Black Horse and other Strange Stories (2012) and The Hidden Back Room (2016). HIs short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and journals. His debut novel, IXIXIKLIS is due in early... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Kristin Dearborn
avatar for JG Faherty

JG Faherty

HWA, Writer, Editor
Writer of dark fiction (horror, S/F, fantasy). HWA Mentorship Program Manager. Editor at large. Talk to me about horror, writing, books, editing, movies, guitars, bourbon, or just about anything except politics!
avatar for Sephera Giron

Sephera Giron

Writer/screenwriter
avatar for Erika T. Wurth

Erika T. Wurth

Writer/Professor, Flatiron/Macmillan
Erika T. Wurth’s novel WHITE HORSE is a New York Times editors pick, a Good Morning America buzz pick, and an Indie Next, Target book of the Month, and Book of the Month Pick. She is both a Kenyon and Sewanee fellow, and Kenyon faculty. She’s published in Buzzfeed, and The Writer’s... Read More →
Thursday June 12, 2025 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

6:00pm EDT

Hooked on Horror: Writing Horror for YA and Middle Grade Audiences
Thursday June 12, 2025 6:00pm - 6:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
Horror isn’t just for adults—it has long captivated young readers, from those first spine-chilling stories to the narratives that keep us coming back for more. Panelists will discuss their experiences with horror as young readers, how they craft engaging yet age-appropriate stories, and the unique challenges of writing for children. Topics will include what’s “too scary,” the importance of diverse voices, and navigating sensitive issues like book bans and censorship in children’s literature.
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 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... Read More →
avatar for Anastasia Garcia

Anastasia Garcia

Author of the Frights to Tell at Night Series
avatar for Alyssa Alessi

Alyssa Alessi

Author•Spooktastic Book Fair creator/host
Please talk to me about 90’s horror shows and movies, ghosts, witchcraft, the struggles and triumphs of publishing and the moon.
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 →
avatar for Robert Ottone

Robert Ottone

Robert P. Ottone is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE TRIANGLE and is also the best-selling author of CURSE OF THE COB MAN, THE SLEEPY HOLLOW GANG, THE VILE THING WE CREATED and NOCTURNAL CREATURES.His short fiction has been collected in TEAR ME OPEN as well as HER INFERNAL... Read More →
Thursday June 12, 2025 6:00pm - 6:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event

6:00pm EDT

Public Domain Horror
Thursday June 12, 2025 6:00pm - 6:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
“It’s free real estate!” From projects like the HWA’s SCARING AND DARING anthology and low-budget bloody slashers like WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD & HONEY, horror writers are dipping their pens into the public domain pot for inspiration, characters, and plot springboards. Panelists will discuss the merits and drawbacks of using public domain material, potential pitfalls for creators, the morality of using non-horror public domain material in horror projects, and will consider what upcoming public domain works might be best suited for a horror revival.
Moderators
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 →
Speakers
avatar for Eric J. Guignard

Eric J. Guignard

Gentleman Extraordinaire, Dark Moon Books
Eric J. Guignard is a writer and anthologist of dark and speculative fiction, operating from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles, where he also runs the small press Dark Moon Books. He’s twice won the Bram Stoker Award, won the Shirley Jackson Award, and been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and International Thriller Writers Award.He has over 150 stories appearing in publications around the world and has edited and published thirteen anthologies, such... 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 →
avatar for Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

Guest of Honor
Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone... Read More →
avatar for 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 →
Thursday June 12, 2025 6:00pm - 6:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

6:00pm EDT

Sex and Monsters: How Horror Is Redefining Bodies and Relationships
Thursday June 12, 2025 6:00pm - 6:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
The panel explores the intersections of desire and the monstrous. How does horror defy boundaries, transform bodies, intimacy, and connection? Join us as we discuss the grotesque, sexuality, and how monsters can subvert norms, fear, and taboo cravings.
Moderators
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 →
Speakers
avatar for V. Castro
avatar for Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper

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

Eric LaRocca

Eric LaRocca (he/they) is a 3x Bram Stoker Award® finalist and Splatterpunk Award winner. He was named by Esquire as one of the “Writers Shaping Horror’s Next Golden Age” and praised by Locus as “one of the strongest and most unique voices in contemporary horror fiction... Read More →
avatar for Clare Castleberry

Clare Castleberry

Clare Castleberry is an author, artist, and narrator from Louisiana. She began her career writing adult content for online zines, then moved on to erotic horror shorts such as Hungry for Control (which also appeared in Year's Best Hardcore Horror, Volume I) and Toxic Femininity. Several... 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 →
Thursday June 12, 2025 6:00pm - 6:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

6:00pm EDT

Open Mic Poetry Reading
Thursday June 12, 2025 6:00pm - 7:30pm EDT
Aspen 1
Open Mic is a great place to read your poetry to a supportive audience and to be inspired by hearing the poetry of others. Each poet reads for 5 minutes or less. The host will loop around the room until we run out of time. All poets are welcome.
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.
Thursday June 12, 2025 6:00pm - 7:30pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

11:00pm EDT

Monster Mash!
Thursday June 12, 2025 11:00pm - 11:59pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
A fun, late-night programming piece, not at all a serious discussion--though it might just get intense! Nine participants and one host. Two teams of three. Three judges. An intrepid group who will strive to answer the age old question: "Which monster would win in a fight?" In each round, each team will randomly be assigned a monster out of classic horror or folklore and a random setting will be chosen (or provided by the audience). Each team will then make their case for why their monster would defeat the other team's monster, how their powers or characteristics would match up, and how their environment might be a factor. After the cases are presented, the judges will assess the arguments and decide the winner! Tongue-in-cheek! Outlandish! Deeply meaningful! Place yer bets and let fate decide!
Moderators
avatar for James Chambers

James Chambers

Trustee; Co-Chair, 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 →
Speakers
avatar for Mo Moshaty

Mo Moshaty

Writer, Lecturer, Producer and Journalist, NightTide Magazine/Mourning Manor Media
Mo Moshaty is a multi-award-winning horror writer, producer, and international lecturer whose work explores trauma, folklore, and the boundaries of fear through a diverse and inclusive lens. She is the author of Maddalena – 206 Word Stories (2022), Henry – A Quaint and Curious... Read More →
Thursday June 12, 2025 11:00pm - 11:59pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event
 
Friday, June 13
 

9:00am EDT

Author Readings - Friday 09 Aspen
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
avatar for Anastasia Garcia

Anastasia Garcia

Author of the Frights to Tell at Night Series
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 Hilary Wilson

Hilary Wilson

Literary Correspondent, The Folklore Podcast
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

9:00am EDT

Author Readings - Friday 09 Glen
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for Taylor Grothe

Taylor Grothe

Taylor is a neurodivergent (ASD) NB writer passionate about voice-driven narratives centering on strong, compelling femmes and enbies. They are 2024 MFA Candidate in Fairfield University’s Creative Writing Program. Their shorts can be found in Coffin Bell, Bag of Bones Press, Haven... Read More →
avatar for John F. D. Taff
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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

9:00am EDT

Bleeding Hearts: Where Horror Meets Romance
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
Horror and romance might seem like strange bedfellows, but when done well, they can elevate each other in powerful, unexpected ways. This panel explores the rich intersection between terror and tenderness—where love stories unfold amid dread, danger, and darkness. As genre mashups continue to rise in popularity, especially in the wake of the romantasy boom, more authors are weaving emotionally complex relationships into their horror-forward stories.

Join us for a candid conversation with authors who are pushing the boundaries of genre: developing compelling romantic arcs within gruesome, unsettling worlds; balancing suspense and swoon; and navigating the tonal tightrope between tragedy and happily ever after. How do they craft believable romantic pairings in stories filled with paranormal or psychological horror? Can romance ground a horror narrative—or does it risk making it less believable? Is it possible to satisfy both horror and romance readers at once?

This conversation will offer insights for writers looking to explore genre fusion and readers drawn to the emotional stakes of love in the face of fear. Expect a lively, thoughtful, and slightly twisted discussion about why these two genres might be a perfect match.
Moderators
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.
Speakers
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 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 Rachel Harrison
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 →
avatar for Sarah Hans

Sarah Hans

Sarah Hans is an award-winning writer, editor, and teacher whose stories have appeared in more than 40 publications, including Apex Magazine, Love Letters to Poe, and Pseudopod. Her debut horror novel, Entomophobia, was released in 2022. You can read Sarah’s short stories in the... Read More →
avatar for Chloe Spencer

Chloe Spencer

Minnesota native Chloe Spencer is an award winning writer, indie gamedev, and filmmaker. She is the author of multiple sapphic horror novellas, novels, and short stories. In her spare time she enjoys playing video games, trying her best at Pilates, and cuddling with her cats. She... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

9:00am EDT

Horror Podcasts: Conversations That Feed the Genre
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
Join Guest of Horror Scott Edelman, host of Eating the Fantastic, and fellow panelists for a conversation on the power of podcasting to build community, preserve genre history, and spark meaningful dialogue. From one-on-one interviews to roundtable discussions and narrative formats, panelists will share their experiences creating and appearing on podcasts that deepen connections between horror creators and fans.
Speakers
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 →
avatar for Stephanie Gagnon

Stephanie Gagnon

Host, Books in the Freezer Podcast
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 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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

9:00am EDT

How To Be A Pro
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Aspen 2
A discussion of proper etiquette and professional behavior for authors approaching agents, editors, and publishers, promoting their work, engaging in the writing community, interacting with readers, being active online, and other aspects of being a professional writer. The panel will offer tips, do's and don'ts and general advice about how to succeed in making good connections and advancing your career.
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
PF
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 Emily Hughes

Emily Hughes

Author, reviewer, listmaker
Emily C. Hughes (she/her) wants to scare you. Formerly the editor of Unbound Worlds and TorNightfire.com, she writes about horror and curates a list of the year’s new scary books. Her first book, Horror For Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You’re Too Scared... 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 Douglas Murano

Douglas Murano

Founder/CEO, Bad Hand Books
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Author Readings - Friday 10 Aspen
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
avatar for Todd Keisling

Todd Keisling

Author, Graphic Designer, Precipice Books / Dullington Design Co.
TODD KEISLING is the two-time Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author of Devil’s Creek, Scanlines, Cold, Black & Infinite, and most recently, The Sundowner’s Dance, among several others. A pair of his earlier works were recipients of the University of Kentucky’s Oswald Research... Read More →
avatar for TJ Price

TJ Price

TJ Price’s corporeal being is currently located in Raleigh, NC, where he lives with his handsome partner of many years, but his ghosts can be found in northeastern Connecticut, southern Maine, and north Brooklyn. He is the author of The Disappearance of Tom Nero, a novelette, and... Read More →
avatar for Nicole Wolverton

Nicole Wolverton

Nicole M. Wolverton is a fear enthusiast and Pushcart-nominated writer of 50-plus works of short fiction, creative nonfiction, and pop culture essays, as well as two novels—including A MISFORTUNE OF LAKE MONSTERS, Nicole's 2024 young adult horror novel (CamCat Books). She also served... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Author Readings - Friday 10 Glen
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for Erika T. Wurth

Erika T. Wurth

Writer/Professor, Flatiron/Macmillan
Erika T. Wurth’s novel WHITE HORSE is a New York Times editors pick, a Good Morning America buzz pick, and an Indie Next, Target book of the Month, and Book of the Month Pick. She is both a Kenyon and Sewanee fellow, and Kenyon faculty. She’s published in Buzzfeed, and The Writer’s... 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 Robert Ottone

Robert Ottone

Robert P. Ottone is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE TRIANGLE and is also the best-selling author of CURSE OF THE COB MAN, THE SLEEPY HOLLOW GANG, THE VILE THING WE CREATED and NOCTURNAL CREATURES.His short fiction has been collected in TEAR ME OPEN as well as HER INFERNAL... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Combating Loneliness in the Writing Profession
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Aspen 2
As we fuel both creativity and resilience, so much of our work unfolds in seclusion. We need communities for support and to stay informed in a rapidly changing field. Join these writers for a conversation on how they manage loneliness and establish connection.
--Our best strategies for combating loneliness in the writing profession
--Explore the anthology experience as editors/authors seeking connection
--Special events, conventions, readings, writing groups
--Overcoming geography and using tech
--Good manners and mind, body, spirit takeaways
Moderators
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 →
Speakers
avatar for Crystal O’Leary-Davidson (C. O. Davidson)

Crystal O’Leary-Davidson (C. O. Davidson)

Writer and Teacher
Crystal’s work has appeared in Pseudopod, Vastarien, Cemetery Gates and in various horror anthologies. She co-edited MONSTERS OF FILM, FICTION, AND FABLE and is a founding member of the Atlanta chapter of the HWA. She teaches writing, the Gothic, and horror at Middle Georgia State... 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 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 Geneve Flynn

Geneve Flynn

Editor and author
Geneve Flynn is a speculative fiction editor, author, and poet. Winner of two Bram Stoker Awards and the Shirley Jackson, Aurealis, and Brave New Weird Awards; recipient of the 2022 Queensland Writers Fellowship. Her work has been nominated and short/longlisted for the British Fantasy... Read More →
avatar for Katherine Silva

Katherine Silva

Author and EIC, Strange Wilds Press
Katherine Silva is an ace Maine horror author, a connoisseur of coffee, and victim of cat shenanigans. Her favorite flavors of the genre mix grief and existentialism which she combines with her love of the New England wilderness in her works. She is a three-time Maine Literary Award... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Scaring And Daring Anthology Panel
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
From Captain Hook’s run-in with dark magic to Sherlock Holmes narrowly escaping graveyard spirits to a happily never after for Cinderella, this horror anthology is anything but a bedtime story. In this terrifying new assemblage for young readers, the best-loved stories from the literary canon are revisited and reimagined with a deadly twist by some of the top authors working in middle grade today. Join contributors from the Scaring and Daring official HWA anthology as they talk about their stories.
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 Teel James Glenn

Teel James Glenn

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

Lisa Morton

Author of four novels and over 200 short stories, screenwriter, Halloween and paranormal expert, past President of the Horror Writers Association.
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

10:00am EDT

The Myth of Making It
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
Surviving life as a creative. How we make ends meet. What we sacrifice and what we gain. Join our group of panelists as we talk day jobs, work/life balance, career shifts, and the many unconventional paths we walk as writers. The audience will have a look behind the curtain at some of their favorite writers while being invited to share their own experiences, as we collectively dispel the myth of making it, in a casual and candid conversation with lots of back-and-forth.
Moderators
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).
Speakers
avatar for Denise Tapscott

Denise Tapscott

Enchanted Flower Productions
I'm the author of Gypsy Kisses and Voodoo Wishes as well as the sequel, Enlightening of the Damned. Not only do I play a spicy vampire named Tasha on the YouTube show The Vamps Next Door, I am proud to be a member of the podcast Beef, Wine, and Shenanigans
avatar for Meg Ripley

Meg Ripley

Writer of horror and dark fantasy, designer, and drawer. My debut novel, Necrology, is a Foreword INDIES Finalist for Best Fantasy 2024.
avatar for Mercedes M. Yardley

Mercedes M. Yardley

They call me Miss Murder. I'm a two-time Bram Stoker Award-Winner in Long Fiction and Short Fiction, and a finalist in Anthology, Fiction Collection, and Short Fiction. I bake voodoo doll cookies and make darling little quilts with skulls on them.
avatar for Matthew Bartlett
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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

10:00am EDT

Dealer Room
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 6:00pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 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
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00am - 6:00pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 1
  Convention Event

11:00am EDT

80's/90's Kindertrauma
Friday June 13, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
The 80's and 90's were a splendor of dark fantasy and science fiction for children, some of which have haunted us since in a phenomenon known as Kindertrauma. Panelists will look back on some of their favorite classic kids media and discuss how the stories, characters and settings influenced their work and how that frightening nostalgia has driven the narrative of today's television shows and books.
Moderators
avatar for Katherine Silva

Katherine Silva

Author and EIC, Strange Wilds Press
Katherine Silva is an ace Maine horror author, a connoisseur of coffee, and victim of cat shenanigans. Her favorite flavors of the genre mix grief and existentialism which she combines with her love of the New England wilderness in her works. She is a three-time Maine Literary Award... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Robert Ottone

Robert Ottone

Robert P. Ottone is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE TRIANGLE and is also the best-selling author of CURSE OF THE COB MAN, THE SLEEPY HOLLOW GANG, THE VILE THING WE CREATED and NOCTURNAL CREATURES.His short fiction has been collected in TEAR ME OPEN as well as HER INFERNAL... Read More →
avatar for Alyssa Alessi

Alyssa Alessi

Author•Spooktastic Book Fair creator/host
Please talk to me about 90’s horror shows and movies, ghosts, witchcraft, the struggles and triumphs of publishing and the moon.
avatar for Ann Dávila Cardinal
avatar for Jamie Flanagan

Jamie Flanagan

Jamie Flanagan writes television shows. Credits include The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, The Fall of the House of Usher. Theatre nerd. Avid gamer (tabletop and video).
avatar for 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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

11:00am EDT

Author Readings - Friday 11 Aspen
Friday June 13, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
avatar for Tom Deady

Tom Deady

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

J.V. Gachs

Author
J. V. Gachs is a Spanish ESL writer/ J.V. Gachs es una escritora de terror bilingüe. Her debut novel, Epiphany, was published by Off Limits Press in 2023, and in Spanish by Dolmen Editorial in 2024, and will have a rerelease in 2025 from Sobelo Books. As a self-translating author... Read More →
avatar for David Simms

David Simms

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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

11:00am EDT

Author Readings - Friday 11 Glen
Friday June 13, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for Sarah Hans

Sarah Hans

Sarah Hans is an award-winning writer, editor, and teacher whose stories have appeared in more than 40 publications, including Apex Magazine, Love Letters to Poe, and Pseudopod. Her debut horror novel, Entomophobia, was released in 2022. You can read Sarah’s short stories in the... Read More →
avatar for Valerie Williams

Valerie Williams

Writer, reader, dog lover.Valerie B. Williams' short fiction has been published by Flame Tree Press, Dark Recesses Press, and Crystal Lake Publishing, among others. Her debut novel, "The Vanishing Twin" was released by Crossroad Press in October 2024.
avatar for Zachary Ashford

Zachary Ashford

Hi folks, I'm Zac Ashford. I'm an Australian horror writer with a big love of creature features and psychological horror.My debut novel Polyphemus was released last year and is a finalist in the Australian Shadows Awards' best novel category and the Imadjinn Awards' best horror novel... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

12:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Friday 12 Aspen
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
avatar for Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine is a Bram Stoker Award nominated author and self-proclaimed cheerful goth who writes speculative fiction and poetry. Her novel, Frost Bite, a ‘90s sci-fi horror comedy, and her retro ‘80s YA mall slasher novella, Chopping Spree, embody her cheerful side. Her short... Read More →
avatar for Kate Maruyama

Kate Maruyama

Kate Maruyama (she/her) writes, teaches, cooks, and eats in Los Angeles, where she lives.She is the author of Harrowgate(47North 2013) and Halloween Beyond: A Gentleman's Suit (Crystal Lake, 2022) and her novella Family Solstice (Omnium Gatherum) was named Best Fiction Book of... Read More →
avatar for D. Matthew Urban
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

12:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Friday 12 Glen
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Glen 1
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 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 Lara Frater

Lara Frater

writer
Lara Frater (she/her) is the author of Paranormal Pest Control series, the End of the Lines Zombie series and many short stories and poems. She is also the author of the non-fiction book Fat Chicks Rule. http://www.larafrater.com.
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

12:00pm EDT

Oh My Goth: The Gothic Heroine Renaissance
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
Gothic horror is undergoing a thrilling revival in both literature and film, and at the heart of this resurgence is the Gothic heroine—haunted, complex, and newly empowered. Once confined to windswept corridors and shadowy attics, today’s Gothic heroines are reclaiming their narratives, confronting modern anxieties like gaslighting, isolation, generational trauma, and societal expectations. This panel will explore how contemporary writers are reimagining the Gothic heroine for a new era—subverting traditional tropes while honoring the emotional intensity and atmosphere that define the genre. Why is the Gothic heroine resonating so strongly right now? What cultural forces are driving her return, and how are these characters evolving to meet today’s fears? As Gothic horror continues to surge in popularity, this conversation will explore why the genre—and its most iconic figure—is more relevant than ever.
Moderators
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 →
Speakers
avatar for Leanna Renee Hieber

Leanna Renee Hieber

Author, Ghost Tour Guide, Actress, Kensington, Tor and Union Square Books
An actress, playwright, ghost tour guide and award-winning, bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction for Kensington, Tor and Union Square, Leanna’s A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America’s Ghosts, co-authored with Andrea Janes, was a Stoker Award Finalist... Read More →
avatar for Sarah Read
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 Paula Cappa

Paula Cappa

Paula Cappa is a multiple award-winning novelist and short story author of supernatural mysteries, Gothic thrillers, and dark fantasy. Her Gothic novel Draakensky, A Supernatural Tale of Magick and Romance is published by Crystal Lake Publishing. Other supernatural novels are The... Read More →
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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

12:00pm EDT

Oi Vey, The Horror! Issac Bashevis Singer and the Unholy Horror
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
Issac Bashevis Singer, Polish-born novelist and essayist known famously for his works that inspired films such as Yentl from his acclaimed work “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy” aren’t usually the first on the shelf for horror readers. His works explore a wide array of literary themes such as cultural and political trauma,  and Jewish folklore to name a few. This panel will explore the connection between Singer’s nuanced use of the absurd and the innate darkness within his stories.
Moderators
DB
Speakers
avatar for Lila Denning

Lila Denning

HWA-Volunteer Coordinator, St Petersburg Library System
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 Lane Heymont

Lane Heymont

President, The Tobias Literary Agency
As Literary Assistant at the Seymour Agency, Lane led the marketing efforts for their authors and enjoyed connecting clients with readers. As a lover of literature since childhood, and at the prodding of his mentor Nicole Resciniti, he decided to pursue his passion as a literary... Read More →
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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

12:00pm EDT

Salem's Lot at 50/Nosferatu at 103
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
This panel addresses the evolution of the Nosferatu mythos since the original film and how it has evolved over the last 100 years. This evolution includes Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot (and its prequel "Jerusalem's Lot"), which takes stronger inspiration from Nosferatu than from Dracula or other vampire traditions.
Moderators
avatar for Chris Panatier
Speakers
avatar for Andy Davidson

Andy Davidson

Andy Davidson is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of In the Valley of the Sun, The Boatman's Daughter, and The Hollow Kind. His novels have been listed among NPR's Best Books, the New York Public Library's Best Adult Books of the Year, and Esquire’s Best Horror of the Year... Read More →
LJ

Leadie Jo Flowers

How to change the world through education using science fiction (including horror and fantasy, of course). STEM education works as well!
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 Steven Van Patten

Steven Van Patten

Writer/ Producer/ Stage Manager, Laughing Black Vampire Productions
Brooklyn native Steven Van Patten is the author of the critically acclaimed Brookwater’s Curse trilogy that features an 1860s Georgia plantation slave who becomes law enforcement within the vampire community. In contrast, the titular character in his Killer Genius series is a modern... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

1:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Friday 01 Aspen
Friday June 13, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
avatar for John Kachuba

John Kachuba

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

Jeff C. Carter

Host, We Bleed Orange & Black
Jeff C. Carter’s stories have been featured in dozens of anthologies, translated for international markets and adapted for podcasts.His love of science and Halloween inspires his Sci-Fi and horror writing. He lives in New Mexico with a cat, a dog and a human.He is a contributor... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

1:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Friday 01 Glen
Friday June 13, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for Douglas Gwilym

Douglas Gwilym

Bram Stoker Award nominated short story author, novelist seeking representation, 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 Ann Heyward

Ann Heyward

Ann O’Mara Heyward is a horror fiction and non-fiction writer in Cleveland, Ohio.  Her short story “The Carny” recently received the Supernatural Fiction Award from The Ghost Story (theghoststory.com).  Her short fiction will be adapted by the NoSleep Podcast (air date TBA... Read More →
avatar for Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar

Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar

Associate Professor of English/Author
Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar is a writer and associate English professor in Pennsylvania who teaches creative writing, composition, and composition theory courses. A former secondary English teacher in Delaware public schools, she received her Doctorate of Education with a Literacy... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

1:00pm EDT

Feedback That Doesn’t Haunt You: What to Look for in Writing Groups and Beta Readers
Friday June 13, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
The wrong feedback can kill a story—or worse, a writer’s confidence. The right feedback? It can transform your horror into something unforgettable. In this panel, we’ll explore the full spectrum of constructive critique, from beta reader partnerships to long-term writing groups. Panelists will share experiences building supportive feedback circles, surviving toxic ones, and crafting critique that actually helps. You’ll learn how to set expectations, spot red flags, give and receive feedback that empowers, and build relationships that sharpen your storytelling and strengthen your creative resilience. Whether you’re hoping to join a writing group, build a beta reader network, or stop dreading feedback, this panel offers practical tools and cautionary tales. We’ll also leave time at the end for attendees to network and start forming their critique communities.


Moderators
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 →
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 Meghan Arcuri

Meghan Arcuri

Meghan Arcuri is a Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author. Her work can be found in various anthologies, including Borderlands 7 (Borderlands Press), Madhouse (Dark Regions Press), Chiral Mad, and Chiral Mad 3 (Written Backwards). She served over two terms as the Vice President... Read More →
avatar for Tom Deady

Tom Deady

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

Jonathan Lees

Jonathan Lees has spent over twenty years championing filmmakers through his programming work with the New York Underground Film Festival, Anthology Film Archives, TromaDance, and currently at the Final Frame Horror Short Film Competition at StokerCon.
Friday June 13, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

1:00pm EDT

Industrial Gothic: Horror in the Industrial and Post-Industrial Age
Friday June 13, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
Many American cities grew powerful during the Industrial Revolution by establishing factories and mills, luring immigrants with the promise of the American Dream. When the boom ended, the cities were left in ruins. The ghosts of the past loom in every decrepit mansion, lavish cemetery, worker row house, or the block-spanning structures left to decay. This panel will explore the unique subgenre of industrial horror and towns left to ruin. What happens when a capitalistic dream dies and the machines go off, never to turn on again?
Moderators
avatar for Leanna Renee Hieber

Leanna Renee Hieber

Author, Ghost Tour Guide, Actress, Kensington, Tor and Union Square Books
An actress, playwright, ghost tour guide and award-winning, bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction for Kensington, Tor and Union Square, Leanna’s A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America’s Ghosts, co-authored with Andrea Janes, was a Stoker Award Finalist... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Paul Magnan
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 →
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 →
EN
Friday June 13, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

1:00pm EDT

The Fearsome Final Girl
Friday June 13, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
A fan-favorite trope, final girls channel hope, grit, and vindication in fearsome fights for survival—but these novels offer even more to cheer on with their original portrayals of horror’s favorite heroes. Whether it be a late-70’s grandmother sleuthing around a retirement home, a good Catholic teen thrust into the rapture, or a struggling actress saddled with more responsibilities than she bargained for, these novels reimagine the convention and allow us to root for final girls that don’t fit the mold. In this panel, authors will discuss their own favorite final girls throughout horror history, their inspirations for these original characters, and their predictions for how this trope and the horror genre writ large might evolve in the future.
Moderators
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 →
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 →
PF
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 →
GH
Friday June 13, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

2:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Friday 02 Aspen
Friday June 13, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
avatar for Patty Templeton - she, her

Patty Templeton - she, her

Writer. Archivist.
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 Jonathan Reddoch

Jonathan Reddoch

Collective Tales Publishing
Jonathan Reddoch is co-owner of Collective Tales Publishing. He is a father, writer, editor, and publisher. He writes sci-fi, fantasy, romance, and especially horror. He focuses primarily on flash fiction, but also writes poetry and short stories. He has been working on his enormous... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

2:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Friday 02 Glen
Friday June 13, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for Pamela K. Kinney

Pamela K. Kinney

Author
Pamela K. Kinney gave up long ago, ignoring the demanding voices in her head and has been writing ever since. Her horror short story, “Bottled Spirits,” was runner-up for the 2013 WSFA Small Press Award and considered one of the seven best genre short fiction for that year. She... Read More →
avatar for Scotty Milder
avatar for Elizabeth Devecchi

Elizabeth Devecchi

Author
I am a fairly new, seasoned author who recently signed with Wicked House Publishing for my first two novels. Sewer Dogs will be published this October and A Twist of the Lens is scheduled for mid 2025. I have also published some short stories and poems. Most of my work fits into... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

2:00pm EDT

Building a Prolific Career in Horror
Friday June 13, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
Join Gaby Triana and fellow panelists for a conversation on sustaining a long-term writing career in horror. They’ll share real-world strategies for producing consistently, staying inspired, and managing writing demands alongside life’s responsibilities. Whether you’re just starting out or working to expand your body of work, you’ll hear insights from both newer and more established writers on how to keep showing up for the work — and yourself.
Moderators
avatar for Ann Dávila Cardinal
Speakers
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 →
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 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... 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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

2:00pm EDT

Slashers Never Die!
Friday June 13, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
Recent years have seen a resurgence of the slasher subgenre on the page and the screen. This panel of slasher fans and writers will explore which tropes endure through the decades, which have been left in the bloody dust, and how modern writers can carve new paths to keep the blood flowing into the future.
Moderators
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 →
Speakers
CE

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 Jonathan Lees

Jonathan Lees

Jonathan Lees has spent over twenty years championing filmmakers through his programming work with the New York Underground Film Festival, Anthology Film Archives, TromaDance, and currently at the Final Frame Horror Short Film Competition at StokerCon.
avatar for Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine

Angela Sylvaine is a Bram Stoker Award nominated author and self-proclaimed cheerful goth who writes speculative fiction and poetry. Her novel, Frost Bite, a ‘90s sci-fi horror comedy, and her retro ‘80s YA mall slasher novella, Chopping Spree, embody her cheerful side. Her short... 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 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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

2:00pm EDT

The Tangled Skein of Short Stories
Friday June 13, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
In his introduction to Bazaar of Bad Dreams, Stephen King noted, “I never feel the limitations of my talent so keenly as I do when writing short fiction.” Learn why short stories aren’t just lazy novels; they are an art form with its own set of rules and skills.
Moderators
avatar for Crystal O’Leary-Davidson (C. O. Davidson)

Crystal O’Leary-Davidson (C. O. Davidson)

Writer and Teacher
Crystal’s work has appeared in Pseudopod, Vastarien, Cemetery Gates and in various horror anthologies. She co-edited MONSTERS OF FILM, FICTION, AND FABLE and is a founding member of the Atlanta chapter of the HWA. She teaches writing, the Gothic, and horror at Middle Georgia State... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Ananda Lima

Ananda Lima

Author
ANANDA LIMA is a poet, translator, and fiction writer born in Brasília, Brazil, now living in Chicago, IL. She's the author of the poetry collection Mother/land, winner of the Hudson Prize. Her work has appeared in The American Poetry Review, Poets.org, Kenyon Review Online, Gulf... Read More →
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 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 Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton

Author of four novels and over 200 short stories, screenwriter, Halloween and paranormal expert, past President of the Horror Writers Association.
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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

3:00pm EDT

A Conversation with Del Howison
Friday June 13, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
HWA Past President Lisa Morton sits down with Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Del Howison, to discuss his life with Co-Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Sue Howison, their accomplishments, their love of horror, and their horror-themed bookstore, Dark Delicacies.
Moderators
avatar for Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton

Author of four novels and over 200 short stories, screenwriter, Halloween and paranormal expert, past President of the Horror Writers Association.
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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

3:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Friday 03 Aspen
Friday June 13, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
avatar for Ananda Lima

Ananda Lima

Author
ANANDA LIMA is a poet, translator, and fiction writer born in Brasília, Brazil, now living in Chicago, IL. She's the author of the poetry collection Mother/land, winner of the Hudson Prize. Her work has appeared in The American Poetry Review, Poets.org, Kenyon Review Online, Gulf... Read More →
avatar for Richard Dansky

Richard Dansky

Narrative Director, Romero Games
Richard Dansky is a 25+ year veteran of the video game industry and is widely regarded as a leading authority on game writing and narrative. He has written and narrative designed for bestselling franchises including The Division, Assassins Creed, Far Cry, and Splinter Cell. His book... Read More →
avatar for Sapphire Lazuli
Friday June 13, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

3:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Friday 03 Glen
Friday June 13, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for C.C. Adams

C.C. Adams

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

Chelsea Conradt

Chelsea Conradt (she/her) writes twisty speculative thrillers and horror. Her books are packed with both murder and kindness because we can be more than one thing.When not writing stories that make you question what’s real, she is likely watching a baking show or a true-crime documentary... Read More →
avatar for Chloe Spencer

Chloe Spencer

Minnesota native Chloe Spencer is an award winning writer, indie gamedev, and filmmaker. She is the author of multiple sapphic horror novellas, novels, and short stories. In her spare time she enjoys playing video games, trying her best at Pilates, and cuddling with her cats. She... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

3:00pm EDT

Southern Gothic in the Contemporary South
Friday June 13, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
Southern Gothic literature is undeniably drenched in the south’s dark past. How have sub-genres like Southern Gothic changed in relation to the current social and socioeconomic issues in that region of the United States, and how are contemporary writers using horror to represent them?
Moderators
avatar for Jessi Ann York

Jessi Ann York

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

Crystal O’Leary-Davidson (C. O. Davidson)

Writer and Teacher
Crystal’s work has appeared in Pseudopod, Vastarien, Cemetery Gates and in various horror anthologies. She co-edited MONSTERS OF FILM, FICTION, AND FABLE and is a founding member of the Atlanta chapter of the HWA. She teaches writing, the Gothic, and horror at Middle Georgia State... Read More →
avatar for Andy Davidson

Andy Davidson

Andy Davidson is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of In the Valley of the Sun, The Boatman's Daughter, and The Hollow Kind. His novels have been listed among NPR's Best Books, the New York Public Library's Best Adult Books of the Year, and Esquire’s Best Horror of the Year... 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... Read More →
avatar for Clare Castleberry

Clare Castleberry

Clare Castleberry is an author, artist, and narrator from Louisiana. She began her career writing adult content for online zines, then moved on to erotic horror shorts such as Hungry for Control (which also appeared in Year's Best Hardcore Horror, Volume I) and Toxic Femininity. Several... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

3:00pm EDT

Joyce Carol Oates Reading
Friday June 13, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom 2-3
Join Guest of Honor Joyce Carol Oates for a reading from her work followed by a question-and-answer session.
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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom 2-3
  Convention Event

4:00pm EDT

Mass Author Signing
Friday June 13, 2025 4:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Garden Pavillion
This event is open to the public. Given the size of the Pavilion, we hope to accommodate everyone who wants to participate as a signer. We will update everyone once we finalize the details.

Author seating will be alphabetical by last name. There will be no exceptions; so, please, don't even ask.




Friday June 13, 2025 4:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Garden Pavillion
  Convention Event

6:00pm EDT

Nightfire Happy Hour!
Friday June 13, 2025 6:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom Foyer
Nightfire is sponsoring a Happy Hour, where you can stop by, meet and chat their authors, and have a drink or two.

There will be a hosted bar at this event.
Speakers
avatar for Anne Heltzel

Anne Heltzel

Senior Editor, Abrams Books
I'm a YA fiction/nonfiction editor at Amulet, an imprint of Abrams Books--talk to me about my upcoming projects or pitch me something new!
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 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 →
PF
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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 6:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom Foyer
  Convention Event

8:00pm EDT

Final Frame Short Film Competition
Friday June 13, 2025 8:00pm - 10:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom 2-3
Do you like scary movies? Yes? Then join us to watch some of the best short horror films during our annual Final Frame Short Film Competition!

Jonathan Lees will once again curate and moderate this stellar film competition. Our judges this year are Aaron Dries, Lisa Morton, Jamal Hodge, Lisa Wood, Jamie Flanagan, and producer and former head of SHUDDER, Craig Engler!
Moderators
avatar for Jonathan Lees

Jonathan Lees

Jonathan Lees has spent over twenty years championing filmmakers through his programming work with the New York Underground Film Festival, Anthology Film Archives, TromaDance, and currently at the Final Frame Horror Short Film Competition at StokerCon.
Speakers
CE

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 Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton

Author of four novels and over 200 short stories, screenwriter, Halloween and paranormal expert, past President of the Horror Writers Association.
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 Lisa Wood

Lisa Wood

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

Jamie Flanagan

Jamie Flanagan writes television shows. Credits include The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, The Fall of the House of Usher. Theatre nerd. Avid gamer (tabletop and video).
avatar for 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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 8:00pm - 10:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom 2-3
  Convention Event

10:00pm EDT

Final Frame Film Competition Reception
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00pm - 11:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom Foyer
Come talk about the films while the judges decide the winner!

This is a catered event. There will be a cash bar.
Friday June 13, 2025 10:00pm - 11:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom Foyer
  Convention Event
 
Saturday, June 14
 

8:00am EDT

Breakfast with the Guests of Honor
Saturday June 14, 2025 8:00am - 9:45am EDT
Garden Pavillion
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.​​​
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... 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 - 9:45am EDT
Garden Pavillion
  Convention Event

9:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 09 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Aspen 1
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 1
  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
Aspen 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
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
Aspen 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 horror studies and serving as subject area expert for reference related... 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
Grove Ballroom 2
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
RB
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
Grove Ballroom 2
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 10 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
avatar for Lisa Kröger

Lisa Kröger

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

Darrell Schweitzer

Darrell Schweitzer's books include four novels, THE WHITE ISLE, THE SHATTERED GODDESS, THE MASK OF THE SORCERER, and THE DRAGON HOUSE, plus nine short-story collections, the most recent of which is a volume of Lovecraftian stories, THE CHILDREN OF CHORAZIN, published by Hippocampus... Read More →
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 1
  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
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 writer, poet & metalsmith. Writer of “Coup De Grâce” (Titan Books) 10/24. Editor of “Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror” (Ghoulish Books) 03/24
avatar for Douglas Gwilym

Douglas Gwilym

Bram Stoker Award nominated short story author, novelist seeking representation, 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

Senior Editor, 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 2
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
I acquire for both the Poisoned Pen Press and Casablanca imprints at Sourcebooks, and my books are primarily in Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Romance, 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 2
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Power of A Poetic Voice
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Grove Ballroom 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

Guest of Honor
Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone... Read More →
avatar for 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 Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

10:00am EDT

Dealer Room
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 6:00pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 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
Saturday June 14, 2025 10:00am - 6:00pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 1
  Convention Event

11:00am EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 11 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Aspen 1
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... Read More →
avatar for Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo

Guest of Honor
Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone... Read More →
avatar for 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 1
  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 2
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, novelist seeking representation, 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 2
  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 Ballroom 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
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 Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

12:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 12 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
SF
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 1
  Convention Event

12:00pm EDT

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

I am the author of The Shadows Of Miskatonic, a series of supernatural thrillers set in the world of H.P. Lovecraft.
avatar for Teel James Glenn

Teel James Glenn

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

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 2
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.
Speakers
avatar for B.C. Bull
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 2
  Convention Event

12:00pm EDT

Perspectives in the Writing Life: From Rookie to Veteran
Saturday June 14, 2025 12:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 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... 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 Ballroom 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
I acquire for both the Poisoned Pen Press and Casablanca imprints at Sourcebooks, and my books are primarily in Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Romance, 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 1
Speakers
avatar for Victoria Navarra
avatar for Sofia Ajram

Sofia Ajram

Queer writer, poet & metalsmith. Writer of “Coup De Grâce” (Titan Books) 10/24. Editor of “Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror” (Ghoulish Books) 03/24
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. NJ 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 1
  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
I'm a short story specialist from Austin, Texas, and I write in the Horror, Thriller, Speculative, and Sci-fi genres. I have released two collections, Back End of the Bell Curve and Hope In One Hand.... This is my 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
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

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 and Pushcart-nominated writer of 50-plus works of short fiction, creative nonfiction, and pop culture essays, as well as two novels—including A MISFORTUNE OF LAKE MONSTERS, Nicole's 2024 young adult horror novel (CamCat Books). She also served... 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 2
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 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, self
Teel James Glenn has killed hundreds and been killed more times-- on stage and screen as he has traveled the world for forty plus years as a stuntman, fight choreographer, swordmaster, jouster, illustrator, storyteller, bodyguard, actor and haunted house barker.His stories have been... Read More →
avatar for 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 2
  Convention Event

2:00pm EDT

Authentic Representation in Horror
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 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... 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 Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

2:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 02 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
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 1
  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 2
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 writer, poet & metalsmith. Writer of “Coup De Grâce” (Titan Books) 10/24. Editor of “Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror” (Ghoulish Books) 03/24
avatar for Johnny Compton
avatar for Chelsea Conradt

Chelsea Conradt

Chelsea Conradt (she/her) writes twisty speculative thrillers and horror. Her books are packed with both murder and kindness because we can be more than one thing.When not writing stories that make you question what’s real, she is likely watching a baking show or a true-crime documentary... 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 →
JG
Saturday June 14, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Aspen 2
  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 2
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 horror studies and serving as subject area expert for reference related... 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 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

3:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 03 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
avatar for Andy Boyle

Andy Boyle

Andy Boyle is a Chicago-based writer whose work has appeared in Esquire, NBC News, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and more. Raised and educated in Nebraska, his journalism was cited in the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. He's also the author of... 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 1
  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 Ballroom 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 Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

4:00pm EDT

Author Readings - Saturday 04 Aspen
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Aspen 1
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 1
  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
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 Ballroom 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
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 →
JI
Saturday June 14, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 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 2
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 2
  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
 
Sunday, June 15
 

9:00am EDT

Dealer Room
Sunday June 15, 2025 9:00am - 1:00pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 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
Sunday June 15, 2025 9:00am - 1:00pm EDT
Grove Ballroom 1
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Author Readings - Sunday 10 Aspen
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:30am EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
avatar for Vaughn A. Jackson

Vaughn A. Jackson

Even More Panicked Writer
Vaughn A. Jackson is an author, editor, and sometimes poet of dark speculative fiction. His work generally falls into one of categories: Creatures, Kaiju, or Cosmic Horror, often blending elements of fantasy, science fiction, and horror into one unholy abomination. His published novels... Read More →
avatar for Pauline Chow

Pauline Chow

Pauline Chow is a writer, coach, and ancestral magic practitioner, crafting alternative histories and optimistic futures. She is a Pushcart Prize nominated author with words in Cosmic Monthly Horror, Space and Time Magazine, Apocalypse Confidential, and more. Not your average data... Read More →
avatar for Carol Gyzander

Carol Gyzander

I love quiet horror, weird fiction, and cosmic horror.
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:30am EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Author Readings - Sunday 10 Elm
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Elm 1 & 2
Speakers
FM
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.
avatar for Emily Hughes

Emily Hughes

Author, reviewer, listmaker
Emily C. Hughes (she/her) wants to scare you. Formerly the editor of Unbound Worlds and TorNightfire.com, she writes about horror and curates a list of the year’s new scary books. Her first book, Horror For Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You’re Too Scared... Read More →
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Elm 1 & 2
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Author Readings - Sunday 10 Glen
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for Oliver Baer

Oliver Baer

Oliver Baer does many things. He was the editor of Cthulhu Sex Magazine and Two Backed Books. His epistolary novel, Letters to the Editor of Cthulhu Sex Magazine, was published in October 2019. His short stories have appeared in April Grey's anthologies as well as others. His essays... Read More →
LR
avatar for Danger Slater

Danger Slater

Writer guy. Good time party dude.
I'm an author and a performer and a good time party dude. I eat a lot of soup. I am soup.
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 1
  Convention Event

10:00am EDT

Cosmic Horror: Beyond Lovecraft
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
A panel discussion of non-Lovecraftian cosmic horror with an emphasis on the works of Algernon Blackwood, Robert W. Chambers, Lord Dunsany, William Hope Hodgson, and Clark Ashton Smith, who contributed to the foundation of this horror sub-genre. The panel will also look at contemporary trends in cosmic horror that take the genre beyond HPL, and where authors are finding new, fertile ground for this kind of horror.
Moderators
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 →
Speakers
avatar for Barbara Cottrell

Barbara Cottrell

I am the author of The Shadows Of Miskatonic, a series of supernatural thrillers set in the world of H.P. Lovecraft.
avatar for Ann Dávila Cardinal
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 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 Darrell Schweitzer

Darrell Schweitzer

Darrell Schweitzer's books include four novels, THE WHITE ISLE, THE SHATTERED GODDESS, THE MASK OF THE SORCERER, and THE DRAGON HOUSE, plus nine short-story collections, the most recent of which is a volume of Lovecraftian stories, THE CHILDREN OF CHORAZIN, published by Hippocampus... Read More →
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Grove Ballroom 2
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

10:00am EDT

Off the Beaten Path: Self-Publishing, Indie Presses, and Crowdfunding for Horror Writers
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
Traditional publishing isn't the only way to get your horror stories into the hands of readers. In fact, more writers than ever are finding success through alternative routes—whether by self-publishing, partnering with indie presses, or launching crowdfunding campaigns to bring their visions to life.

This panel will explore the strengths, challenges, and opportunities in self-publishing and indie publishing, focusing on how each path specifically serves horror writers. Panelists will demystify what indie publishers are looking for in submissions and how the author-publisher relationship differs from working with a Big Five house. They'll also dive into the self-publishing process and how crowdfunding can be used to fund your project.

From submission tips and marketing strategies to connecting with indie booksellers and leveraging your community, this panel will offer practical insights for horror writers ready to take the non-traditional path and make it their own.
Moderators
DA
Speakers
NK
avatar for Russ Colchamiro

Russ Colchamiro

Russ Colchamiro is author of the Sci-Fi thrillers Crackle and Fire, Fractured Lives, Hot Ash, Blunt Force Rising, and Trigger Point, the ongoing series featuring hardboiled private eye Angela Hardwicke. Russ also is the author of the rollicking time travel/space adventure, Crossline... Read More →
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 L.C. Marino

L.C. Marino

Author
Author of thrills, suspense, and horror fiction and host of The Suspense is Killing Me Podcast. Author of The Haunting of the Whispering House series, including titles Bury the Child, Burn the Girls, and Bless the Mother. Lucas is also cofounder of Sobelo Books, owner of the Spineless... 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 →
Exhibitors
SH
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Glen 2 & 3
  Convention Event, Livestreamed Session

10:00am EDT

What's So Scary About Video Games?
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Aspen 2
Horror is a fertile ground for video game stories. Whether we are talking about survival games, story games, or action horror games, it's clear the horror golden age includes games. How does one write for a horror game, what narrative tricks and techniques work? How does narrative intersect with mechanics to create atmosphere and scares in effective ways? And what is missing from the horror genre that we should hope (or fear!) in works to come?
Moderators
avatar for Jesse Scoble

Jesse Scoble

Senior Narrative Designer, Beamdog
Jesse Scoble is a Senior Narrative Designer at Beamdog Studios. Previously, he has been Chief Narrative Designer at Tencent; lead writer on HyperScape for Ubisoft; and contributed to Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Far Cry 5, AC Origins, and Watch Dogs 2. Before Ubisoft, he was lead writer... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Todd Keisling

Todd Keisling

Author, Graphic Designer, Precipice Books / Dullington Design Co.
TODD KEISLING is the two-time Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author of Devil’s Creek, Scanlines, Cold, Black & Infinite, and most recently, The Sundowner’s Dance, among several others. A pair of his earlier works were recipients of the University of Kentucky’s Oswald Research... Read More →
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 Richard Dansky

Richard Dansky

Narrative Director, Romero Games
Richard Dansky is a 25+ year veteran of the video game industry and is widely regarded as a leading authority on game writing and narrative. He has written and narrative designed for bestselling franchises including The Division, Assassins Creed, Far Cry, and Splinter Cell. His book... Read More →
avatar for Amanda Headlee

Amanda Headlee

Amanda Headlee is the author of Till We Become Monsters, This is How a Villain is Made, Madness and Greatness Can Share the Same Face, and several short stories. A devoted connoisseur of cosmic and psychological horror, Amanda can often be found unraveling the universe’s darkest... Read More →
avatar for Robert Ottone

Robert Ottone

Robert P. Ottone is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE TRIANGLE and is also the best-selling author of CURSE OF THE COB MAN, THE SLEEPY HOLLOW GANG, THE VILE THING WE CREATED and NOCTURNAL CREATURES.His short fiction has been collected in TEAR ME OPEN as well as HER INFERNAL... Read More →
Sunday June 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Aspen 2
  Convention Event

11:00am EDT

Author Readings - Sunday 11 Aspen
Sunday June 15, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Aspen 1
Speakers
BC
avatar for Peter Rosch

Peter Rosch

If you are at a loss for a conversation starter, let's just begin with three horror books/films you read or saw way to young and what lasting impact you believe their darkness had on the way you still move through the world and go from there. Or ask me about the time I threatened... Read More →
avatar for Rachel Bolton

Rachel Bolton

Hello! This is my first Stoker Con! I feel very honored to be nominated for a Bram Stoker Award in the Short Fiction Category. Come say hi! I'd love to chat.
Sunday June 15, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Aspen 1
  Convention Event

11:00am EDT

Author Readings - Sunday 11 Elm
Sunday June 15, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Elm 1 & 2
Speakers
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 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 Chris Panatier
Sunday June 15, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Elm 1 & 2
  Convention Event

11:00am EDT

Author Readings - Sunday 11 Glen
Sunday June 15, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Glen 1
Speakers
avatar for Ann Dávila Cardinal
avatar for Emily Ruth Verona

Emily Ruth Verona

Author
Emily Ruth Verona is the author of the novel Midnight on Beacon Street, published by Harper Perennial in 2024. She is a Pinch Literary Award winner and a Bram Stoker Awards® nominee with work featured in magazines and anthologies that include Under Her Eye, Under Her Skin, Mystery... Read More →
avatar for B.R. Yeager

B.R. Yeager

Author
Wrote NEGATIVE SPACE, BURN YOU THE FUCK ALIVE, PEARL DEATH, and AMYGDALATROPOLIS
Sunday June 15, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Glen 1
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