StokerCon 2026: Full Schedule

3:00pm EDT

Thursday June 4, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT

Rare books and literary archival collections can be fertile ground for academic research, creative inspiration, and documentation of the writing process and publishing industry. Join us for a panel that uncovers how primary source research in the University of Pittsburgh Library System’s horror studies collections has been used to generate and inspire both academic and creative works, the processes behind this type of research, and the value that creating your own archive can provide to the next generation of writers and researchers.

This panel is sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Library System

Moderators

Kathy Haines

Librarian/Archivist, University of Pittsburgh

Speakers

Bridget Keown

Professor, University of Pittsburgh

Bridget Keown is a Teaching Associate 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 →

Ariana Marien

Dave V. Riser

Writer & Researcher

Victoria Timpanaro

Graduate Student/Educator/Film Scholar, Rutgers University

Educator and film scholar. PhD candidate with focus on women in genre film.

Lisa Wood

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... Read More →

Thursday June 4, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Somerset

Business and Craft of Writing and Publishing

4:00pm EDT

Something in the Water: Aquatic Horror

Thursday June 4, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT

Somerset

Aquatic horror goes way beyond Jaws. Our fear of what might lurk in the dark water is almost primordial—maybe humanity’s first fear. This panel explores the history of aquatic horror in literature and film—and offers a glimpse into what the future may hold.

Moderators

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.

Speakers

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. His short stories have appeared online and in print journals, as well as numerous anthologies. Born and raised in Arkansas, Andy makes his home in Georgia, where he teaches creative writing at Middle Georgia State University. He lives with his wife, Crys... Read More →

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 for multiple prestigious awards (and won a few), and appeared on numerous Best Books lists including NPR, the Observer, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Goodreads, and Amazon... Read More →

Nick Cutter

Real name: Craig Davidson. I write horror under the name Nick Cutter.

Hazel Zorn

I'm an oil painter and SFF/ Horror writer-- REEF MIND is out now from Tenebrous Press!

Nicole M. Wolverton

Horror Writer, Editor, & Academic, Professionally Unsettling Fear Enthusiast

Nicole M. Wolverton is the author of A Misfortune of Lake Monsters (2024, CamCat Books/Marble Press) and the upcoming Meat Sweats (March 2027, Horrorsmith Publishing) and Mother Mort's Carnival Phantasmagoria (October 2027, Ethereal Visions Publishing). She served as Editor of th... Read More →

Thursday June 4, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Somerset

Horror Genre and Media

5:00pm EDT

Demystifying the Stoker Awards

Thursday June 4, 2026 5:00pm - 5:50pm EDT

Somerset

Moderators

Laura Blackwell

Writer, copy editor, 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... Read More →

Speakers

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 →

Alex Hofelich

co-Editor, PseudoPod

Becky Spratford

Readers' Advisory Specialist and Reviewer, RA for All

Benjamin Thomas

Writer

Multi-genre writer from New England that loves spooky things.

Thursday June 4, 2026 5:00pm - 5:50pm EDT
Somerset

HWA Spotlight

9:00am EDT

Adolescent Terrors: Writing Young Adult Horror

Friday June 5, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am EDT

Somerset

Teens have been a staple in the horror genre for its whole existence, but their role as victims vs heroes vs monsters themselves has evolved, creating a breadth of teen portrayals in horror. How do writers go about writing stories about young people? How do Young Adult horror novels differ from Adult horror novels looking back? Join panelists as they discuss the potential of YA horror, its growth over recent years, and more.

Moderators

Ann Fraistat

Author

Ann Fraistat is an author, playwright, and narrative designer. Her debut novel, What We Harvest, is a 2022 Bram Stoker finalist, a 2026 HWA Summer Scares selection, and an ABA Indies Introduce and Kids' Indie Next Pick. A Place For Vanishing, her second book, is a 2024 Bram Stok... Read More →

Speakers

Rebekah Faubion

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 s... Read More →

Robert Ottone

Robert P. Ottone is a two-time Bram Stoker Award winning author from Long Island. He is the author of the novels AMITYVILLE AWAKENS, THE VILE THING WE CREATED, THE TRIANGLE, THERE'S SOMETHING SINISTER IN CENTERFIELD and the collections TEAR ME OPEN: FEARS UNWRAPPED and HER INFERNAL... Read More →

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 GIRLS, a modern twist on the legend of Lizzie Borden, and in 2021, she published SMALL TOWN MONSTERS, named one of the “13 Scariest Books of 2021” by Kirkus Reviews (both through... Read More →

Carlyn Greenwald

Author

I’m a YA and Adult horror and thriller author and screenwriter, most famous for MURDER LAND, out with Sourcebooks Fire. I have another YA horror-thriller coming out in summer 2026 called WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE GIRLS with more YA and adult titles to be announced. I’m an LA native... Read More →

Friday June 5, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Somerset

Horror Genre and Media

10:00am EDT

Better the Devil You Know: A Panel on the Value of Queer Villians

Friday June 5, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am EDT

Somerset

The Bury Your Gays trope is a great example of how the queer community has been used to advance a plot while being punished for who they are, even when their actions are heroic. Often we feel forced to only represent our queer characters as tokenized heroes. So why not claim our birthright to become a villain? This panel explores why queer creators should present both positive and negative representations of queer characters in horror.

Moderators

Andrew Robertson

Founder, Great Lakes Horror Company

Speakers

Sephera Giron

Writer/screenwriter/trustee

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.
He has recently produced arcane texts such as "We Have (Never) Been Here Before" in The Rack (Vol. II) and “To What Do We Owe This Pleasure” from the Bram Stoker Award nominated, Long Division: Stories of Social Decay, Societal Collapse and Bad Manners. Other stories in print... Read More →

Emma Murray

Author of Crushing Snails, When the Devil, and Shoot Me in the Face on a Beautiful Day

Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, A Game in Yellow, A Light Most Hateful, Teenage Girls Can Be Demons, The Worm and His Kings, and other books of horror. She is also the author of over 120 short stories appearing in Weird Tales, Pseudopod... Read More →

James Tynion IV

James Tynion IV is the writer of the New York Times Best-Selling BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES cross-over for DC Comics and IDW Publishing, as well as the bi-weekly DETECTIVE COMICS, a key title in DC Comics' Rebirth initiative.He is best known for his work on the Batman titles... Read More →

Friday June 5, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Somerset

Horror Genre and Media

11:00am EDT

Bloodsplatters: Art, Storytelling, and Horror

Friday June 5, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am EDT

Somerset

It’s more important than ever to support visual art made by humans. Join artists, book designers, cover artists and other creators in horror to learn more about their process and inspiration, and also to discuss actionable ways to continue the support of art created by people.

Moderators

Chris Panatier

Writer

Speakers

Grey Cross

Lynne Hansen

Artist, Lynne Hansen Art

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

Christi Nogle

Author of BEULAH and three short fiction collections

Christi Nogle is the author of the Bram Stoker Award® winning and Shirley Jackson Award nominated novel Beulah (Cemetery Gates Media, 2022) and the Bram Stoker Award® nominated short story collection The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future.

She is co-editor with Willow Daw... Read More →

May Walker

Hazel Zorn

I'm an oil painter and SFF/ Horror writer-- REEF MIND is out now from Tenebrous Press!

Friday June 5, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Somerset

Business and Craft of Writing and Publishing

12:00pm EDT

Female Asian Gothic: Fury and Metamorphosis

Friday June 5, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT

Somerset

Every Gothic fiction wave reflects the anxieties of its time and its cohort. What fears, furies, and transformations have emerged in the recent groundswell of Asian female horror? Join authors and editors as they discuss the influences that have shaped their works, how the female Asian Gothic converges and diverges from other Gothic literature, share recommendations, and explore what’s next.

Moderators

Geneve Flynn

Author, editor, poet. HWA Diverse Works Inclusion Committee

Speakers

Kylie Lee Baker

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 →

Kristy Park Kulski

Rena Mason

J.A.W. McCarthy

J.A.W. McCarthy is a two-time Bram Stoker Award and two-time Shirley Jackson Award finalist and author of Sometimes We’re Cruel and Other Stories and Sleep Alone. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including Vastarien, PseudoPod, Split Scream Vol. 3, The D... Read More →

Friday June 5, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Somerset

Horror Genre and Media

1:00pm EDT

Sell Your Books! Tips and Tricks for Hand-Selling Books

Friday June 5, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT

Somerset

Authors are stereotypically quiet and insular people, working alone most of the time. How can an author best shift focus to meet people at signings, conventions, and events, and more importantly, sell their books? This panel will give authors a solid foundation on tactics and strategies on picking events to sell at, the nuts and bolts of pitching your books to strangers, and pitfalls to avoid for the experienced and inexperienced alike.

Moderators

Joshua Ginsberg

Author

Speakers

Russ Colchamiro

Robbie Dorman

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 →

Kenya Moss-Dyme

Author/Nightmare Vendor

As a child, I realized that my entertainment choices leaned more toward ghosts and goblins than princesses and fairy godmothers. My favorite authors were Stephen King and Jack Ketchum, as I wasn't aware of any BIack women - or Black men - who wrote horror, so I began writing short-form hor... Read More →

Sonora Taylor

Author

Sonora Taylor (she/her) is the award-winning author of several books and short stories. Her books include Someone to Share My Nightmares: Stories, Seeing Things, Little Paranoias: Stories, Without Condition, The Crow’s Gift and Other Tales, and Wither and Other Stories. She a... Read More →

Friday June 5, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Somerset

Business and Craft of Writing and Publishing

2:00pm EDT

Digital Campfires: How Internet Built a New Generation of Readers and Writers

Friday June 5, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT

Somerset

Internet horror has evolved from anonymous forum posts and copy-paste folklore into one of the most powerful pipelines in modern genre storytelling. This panel explores the history of online horror, its roots in urban legend and campfire storytelling, and how digital platforms reshaped craft, readership, and publishing paths. Panelists will discuss what makes internet horror distinct on the page, how community feedback accelerates voice and concept, and how writers can ethically and effectively leverage these spaces today.

Moderators

DR Forge

Speakers

Alex Gonzalez

Wrote "rekt" and "The Man of Wind and Moss" for Erewhon. Happy to be here! Cheeky pint, king?

Jonathan Lees

Gray O'Reilly

Mar Romasco-Moore

Author of queer YA multimedia horror novel Deadstream (VIking, 2025) and several other books.

Ande Thomas

Editor in Chief, What Sleeps Beneath

Ande Thomas is a life-long horror fan, supporting member of the Horror Writers Association and a founding member of What Sleeps Beneath. His work centers on original academic research that links narrative and plot to current political and social discourse. As a standing judge of the Pittsburgh Moving Picture Festival, Ande looks for independently made films that disrupt and challenge the definition of the horror genre... Read More →

Friday June 5, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Somerset

Horror History

3:00pm EDT

Making Modern Spaces Scary

Friday June 5, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT

Somerset

Dilapidated castles and decrepit asylums? Easy-peasy-horror-trope-squeezy. Many of us love abandoned places for all the scary opportunities they offer, but what about contemporary office high-rises, new-build subdivisions, and corporate pressboard landscapes? They may lack gothic atmosphere, but they're awash in their own beige nightmares. Panelists would discuss the narrative opportunities of these fluorescent and anonymous spaces, showing attendees they can be just as scary as any creaky haunted house

Moderators

Rebecca Cuthbert

Writer, Undertaker Books

Speakers

Grace Daly

Author

Grace Daly (she/her) is a disabled author with multiple invisible chronic illnesses. She lives near Chicago and spends most of her free time with her dog, who is a very good boy. Her debut horror comedy novel, “The Scald-Crow”, is currently available and her fantasy novella, “The... Read More →

Jamal Hodge

Founder, Hodge Cinema

Jamal Hodge is a 2x Bram Stoker Award-nominated writer and an award-winning director. He has directed for Investigation Discovery’s Primal Instinct and PBS’s Southern Storytellers, while producing credits include the Academy Award–nominated documentary Armed Only With a Cam... Read More →

Allison Mick

Writer

Allison Mick is a Los Angeles-based horror-comedy writer, originally from the Great Lakes. She is the author of Humboldt Cut (Erewhon Books) out January 2026, and DIVE (Tenebrous Press) out November 2026.

Mick’s humor writing appears in Trailer Park Boys: Big A$$ Comic Collectio... Read More →

Sarah Read

Andrew F. Sullivan

Author of The Marigold and The Handyman Method

Andrew F. Sullivan is the author of The Marigold, a finalist for Best Novel at the Aurora Awards and named a Best Book of the Year by The Verge, Book Riot and the Winnipeg Free Press. He cowrote The Handyman Method with Nick Cutter, a novel about home improvement gone wrong. Su... Read More →

Friday June 5, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Somerset

Horror Genre and Media

4:00pm EDT

The Ghost in the Margins: Queerness in Gothic Horror

Friday June 5, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT

Somerset

With queer authors such as Mary Shelley and Oscar Wilde at the forefront of the genre, the gothic has long been a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ writers, characters, and readers. From Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray to The Haunting of Hill House and The Gilda Stories, the genre abounds with tales that are at once transcendent and terrifying. Join our panelists as we discuss our love of the queer gothic and how we employ the gothic tradition in our own work as well as why the gothic is such a perfect outlet for queerness in horror.

Moderators

Gwendolyn Kiste

Speakers

J.A.W. McCarthy

Corey Niles

Andrew Robertson

Founder, Great Lakes Horror Company

Mae Murray

Billy Martin

Stephen King, John Kennedy Toole, cats, birds (wild ones, not pets), New Orleans, Jaws, Goodfellas, international food, travel, old music (mainly 1960s - 1980s)

Friday June 5, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Somerset

Horror Genre and Media

9:00am EDT

HWA Open Member Board Meeting

Saturday June 6, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am EDT

Somerset

Annual HWA Board Meeting open to the public. Come meet members of the Executive Board and the Board of Trustees. There will be a Q&A section during the meeting.

Moderators

Becky Spratford

Readers' Advisory Specialist and Reviewer, RA for All

Speakers

Andrew Wolter

Author/Columnist/HWA Trustee

Marc Abbott

Author/Teacher/Storyteller/Vice President Horror Writers Association

I’m the author of Sinister Ascension, 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... Read More →

Linda Addison

Trustee, Horror Writers Association

Patrick Barb

Author & HWA Treasurer

Patrick Barb is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of weird, dark, and horrifying tales, currently living in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. His published works include the short-story collections The Children's Horror and Pre-Approved for Haunting; novellas The Big One, The Nu... Read More →

James Chambers

Trustee; Co-Chair, StokerCon Governing Committee; Chair, Horror University, Horror Writers Association

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 her work. Her most recent original anthology is Night and Day published by Saga Press. She has won the Karl Edward Wagner (special) award given by the British Fantasy Convention, and Life Achievement Awards given by the Horror Writers Association... Read More →

Sephera Giron

Writer/screenwriter/trustee

Maxwell Ian Gold

Executive Director, Horror Writers Association

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.

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.

Lisa Wood

President, Horror Writers Association

Saturday June 6, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Somerset

HWA Spotlight

10:00am EDT

The Legacy of Dell Abyss

Saturday June 6, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am EDT

Somerset

The acclaimed Abyss Books line of the early-mid 1990s brought underground experimentalism and literary existentialism into mass market horror, generating a half-decade of award-winning books and influential stories. The publisher launched the careers of writers like Poppy Z. Brite, Kathe Koja, and Robert Devereaux, while expanding the canon of the genre by featuring women and LGBTQ authors, as well as other writers working from the fringes. This panel will mark the 35th anniversary of the imprint by reflecting on the line's history and impact and how it fit in with the broader mass market horror trends of the 1990s.

Moderators

Grady Hendrix

I own too many paperbacks and write too many books. I apologize for both of these sins.

Speakers

Michael Arnzen

Director, MFA in Writing Popular Fiction at SHU

Michael Arnzen holds four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his disturbing (and often funny) fiction, poetry and literary experiments. He has been teaching as a Professor of English in the MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University sin... Read More →

Billy Martin

Stephen King, John Kennedy Toole, cats, birds (wild ones, not pets), New Orleans, Jaws, Goodfellas, international food, travel, old music (mainly 1960s - 1980s)

Ben Rubin

Horror Studies Collection Coordinator; Co-Chair StokerCon Governing Committee, University of Pittsburgh Library System

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

Saturday June 6, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Somerset

Horror History

11:00am EDT

The Black Gothic in America

Saturday June 6, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am EDT

Somerset

With an eye towards the gothic as a literary genre, “The Black Gothic in America” will explore recent growth in popularity and readership for gothic works written by Black authors, particularly of the Black Southern gothic in the vein of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which smashed 2025 box office records. This panel will discuss both classic and contemporary Black gothic works, their importance in shaping the genre, and more.

Moderators

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 →

Speakers

Nicole Givens Kurtz

Author, Award-winning publisher, Mocha Memoirs Press

Nicole Givens Kurtz has been called “a genre polymath who does crime, horror, and science fiction and fantasy (Book Riot).” They’ve named her as one of the 6 Black SFF Indie Writers You Should be Reading, 30 Must-Read SFF Books by Black Authors, and The Best of the West: 8 Alternative... Read More →

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

Johnny Compton

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 m... Read More →

Tamika Thompson

Author

Tamika is author of THE CURSE OF HESTER GARDENS (Erewhon/Kensington, 2026) and 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 →

Saturday June 6, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Somerset

Horror Genre and Media

about <br>

12:00pm EDT

The Roots of Dark Poetry

Saturday June 6, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT

Somerset

This panel will explore the history of dark poetry and pay homage to the macabre voices who conjured and wrote some of our favorite verses today. From the political turmoil of Dante Alighieri to the mystical visions of W.B. Yeats, to the confessional trauma of Sylvia Plath and the surreal nightmares of Alejandra Pizarnik, panelists will discuss theme, style, and voice while comparing/contrasting them against their contemporaries to see what horrors still plague us and what new terrors are beginning to rear their heads.

Moderators

Stephanie M. Wytovich

Speakers

Grace R. Reynolds

Author

GRACE R. REYNOLDS is an American speculative fiction writer. She was raised in New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers University. Having lived in seven states, she currently calls Maryland “home,” where she writes dark fiction and poetry. In addition to her short fiction, she is... Read More →

Linda Addison

Trustee, Horror Writers Association

Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning poet and author.

She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of sta... Read More →

Leticia A Urieta

Leticia Urieta (she/her/hers) is a Tejana writer from Austin, TX. She works as a teaching artist and freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Las Criaturas, published in 2021 by Flowersong Press and was a finalist for the Sergio Troncoso Award for Best First Book of Fic... Read More →

John Shirley

Decades of experience in horror, television, science fiction,thriller writing, movie scripting. Strong opinions on AI, the future of our civilization, esoteric spirituality. Weird poetry.The book I won the Bram Stoker for: Black Butterflies. My new horror novel (written with Ma... Read More →

Saturday June 6, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Somerset

Horror History

1:00pm EDT

Mary Shelley's Monster: the Legacy of Frankenstein

Saturday June 6, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT

Somerset

When Mary Shelley published Frankenstein in 1818, she unleashed a monster onto the world that is still making its mark. The first dramatic adaptation of Frankenstein was staged only six years later in 1824. Today, with hundreds of adaptations in film, graphic novels, music, and the stage, plus many novels and short stories adding to the Monster’s legend, the story remains one of the most fascinating creations in all of dark literature. This panel will discuss what makes the Monster so enduring and compelling, the best and worst offspring of the novel, and why the ideas and themes remain relevant today.

Moderators

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

Writer and Teacher

Speakers

Lawrence C. Connolly

Writer

Lawrence C. Connolly’s books include the collections This Way to Egress, whose titular tale of psychological horror was adapted for the Mick Garris film Nightmare Cinema; and the Bram-Stoker-nominated Voices, which features Connolly’s best stories from The Magazine of Fantasy... Read More →

Teel James Glenn

writer

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

Gwendolyn Kiste

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.

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 Jac... Read More →

Saturday June 6, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Somerset

Horror History

2:00pm EDT

We are all Sinners: Southern Horror from the Mississippi Delta and Beyond

Saturday June 6, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT

Somerset

Using Ryan Coogler’s Oscar-winning film SINNERS as a spring board, this panel will explore themes of race, poverty, and religion. Moderated by a Delta native of mixed heritage who grew up four counties above the setting of the film, and featuring authors forged by the South and its landscapes, together they will explore the universal truths of a “post-colonial” society within stories entirely unique to the Deep South. We gather here for the ancestors.

Moderators

Mae Murray

Speakers

Rhonda Jackson Garcia AKA RJ Joseph

academic and creative writer/editor/professor, RJ Joseph, Writer/Speaker

Johnny Compton

P.M. Raymond

Author

P.M. Raymond is a principal consultant on the East Coast with 27 cookbooks and an imaginary dog named Walter. As a native of New Orleans, mystical undertones are the roux in her crime and horror writing. She was named to the 160 Black Women in Horror and is a 2024 Killer Shorts Horror... Read More →

Saturday June 6, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Somerset

Horror History

3:00pm EDT

Nonbinary Authors in Horror

Saturday June 6, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT

Somerset

Nonbinary identities have a nuanced and complex history, especially within the world of horror where characters who don't fit into the binary are often mistreated. It's important to make space for an often marginalized and looked over corner of horror, and to discuss why nonbinary characters belong in horror. After all, horror is the best space to push boundaries and definitions. Join panelists as they discuss if/how gender roles play into their work, themes they like to explore within horror, how nonbinary characters in horror can engage readers in unique ways, and more.

Moderators

Carina Stopenski

Teen Librarian, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

academic HWA member | library advisory council member | pgh chapter co-chair | phd student of literature | author of STUFFED (unveiling nightmares) and THE THINGS WE DO FOR BLOOD (alien buddha press)

Speakers

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 fict... Read More →

Jes Malitoris

I am a trans-nonbinary horror and dark fantasy author from North Carolina with a PhD in history and a day job in books marketing. My work has been featured in horror magazines and speculative fiction anthologies, shortlisted for Brave New Weird: Volume 3, and included on the Stoker award reading list... Read More →

Rook Riley

Rook Riley (she/they) is a horror author, game writer, voice actor, middle school teacher, and former Army linguist who occasionally participates in the Good Morning Evildoers podcast. Their work on Edge Games' Arkham Horror RPG solidified a lifelong aversion to Lovecraft's part... Read More →

Saratoga Schaefer

author of SERIAL KILLER SUPPORT GROUP and TRAD WIFE

(they/them) author of SERIAL KILLER SUPPORT GROUP and TRAD WIFE, as well as the upcoming THE LAST TIME WE DROWNED and A THOUSAND MONSTROUS FORMS.

Saturday June 6, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Somerset

Horror Genre and Media

4:00pm EDT

Why Graphic Horror Matters: Horror Comics from E.C. Comics to Something is Killing the Children

Saturday June 6, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT

Somerset

No other mainstream genre of comic books has been as widely banned and panned than horror comics during the 100+ year history of the medium. From the infamous pre-code horror comics that led to a shocking incident of industry self-censorship to the boundary-pushing horror magazines of the 70s and 80s to to contemporary horror series that make horror one of the most popular comic book genres today, our panelists will discuss the history of sequential art scares and why these comics matter, from E.C. Comics to Something Is Killing the Children and beyond. Why do horror comics invite so much controversy and why do they persist in popularity against all odds?

Moderators

Scott Edelman

Author

SCOTT EDELMAN has published 135+ 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 →

Speakers

Christopher Golden

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Carry Me to My Grave, The House of Last Resort, All Hallows, Road of Bones, and Ararat, among many others. He has also written and cowritten screenplays, comic books, and audio dramas. His work has won the Bram Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Audie Award, and been nominated for the British Fantasy and Eisner Awards, among others... Read More →

Justina Ireland

Author and Literary Agent, Handspun Literary Agency

Justina Ireland is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous short stories and books including Vengeance Bound, Promise of Shadows, Dread Nation and its sequel Deathless Divide, Rust in the Root, and the middle-grade novel Ophie's Ghosts, which won the Scott O'Dell award... Read More →

Jonathan Maberry

Author, Jonathan Maberry Productions

JONATHAN MABERRY is a NYTimes bestselling author, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, poet, and comic book writer. He writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and action, for adults, teens... Read More →

James Tynion IV

Saturday June 6, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Somerset

Horror History

10:00am EDT

We've Always Been Here: Transgender Imagery and Characters Throughout Horror History

Sunday June 7, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am EDT

Somerset

Transgender imagery and gender nonconformity have played a significant and long-running role in horror's history, from 19th century gothic novels to Psycho and Sleepaway Camp to the glorious explosion of trans horror over the last several years. Panelists will look back on this history and consider how it has helped shape the genre, what past representations work for us, and which might better serve as an example of what not to do? We’ll also consider what the future holds for Trans and Gender non-conforming (GNC) horror, given the uptick in global transphobia and the capacity of the genre to provide power through transgression. Join panelists as they reflect on, critique, and celebrate the history, present, and future of Trans Horror.

Moderators

Dave V. Riser

Writer & Researcher

Speakers

Jamie Flanagan

Writer, Editor, Actor, Freelance

Jamie Flanagan (they/them) is a WGA East screenwriter, SAG actor, HWA author, and editor. Screenwriting credits include Netflix's The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, The Fall of the House of Usher, AMC Shudder's CREEPSHOW, Peacock's HYSTERIA!, and Amazon's... Read More →

Bitter Karella

goblin, Moonflow, Split Scream 5

Bitter Karella is a genderfluid transvestite goblin, author of Moonflow, The Ballad of Horse Girl, and the upcoming Quaint Folk. She is the creator of the three time Hugo-nominated microfiction comedy account @Midnight_Pals which asks what if all your favorite horror writers were... Read More →

Lee Mandelo

Lee Mandelo (he/him) is a USA Today Bestselling writer, scholar, and editor whose work focuses on queer/trans and speculative fiction. His recent books include the original anthology Amplitudes: Stories of Queer Futurity, the contemporary gay Southern gothic novel Summer Sons, a... Read More →

Rath Mercury

Hi, I’m Rath Mercury. I write horror, fantasy, romance, and science fiction, always queer.

I’ve published in Reckoning, Small Wonders, Stance on Dance, DASH Literary Journal, Avatar Review, and Jersey Devil Press. I’m a member of Codex and SFWA.

I’ve also worked as a choreo... Read More →

Sunday June 7, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Somerset

Horror History

11:00am EDT

A Psychotropic Medium: Reanimating the Horror Novella

Sunday June 7, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am EDT

Somerset

Novellas, once viewed as difficult sales, seem to be having a resurgence within horror from both indie and traditional publishers. What is it about this format that attracts horror writers? How have sales really been for novellas? Join panelists as they discuss tips for writing strong novellas, why this format fits horror so well, and more.

Moderators

Paul Michael Anderson

Writer

Speakers

Patrick Barb

Author & HWA Treasurer

Clare Castleberry

Clare Castleberry is an author, artist, and narrator from Louisiana. For updates, follow https://femmebionic.substack.com/

Sarah Langan

Sarah Langan is the three-time Bram Stoker Award Winning author of the novels Trad Wife (2026) A Better World (2024), Good Neighbors (2021), Audrey's Door (2009), The Missing (2007), and The Keeper (2006). She works in prose and film and lives in Los Angeles.

Andromeda Ruins

Author, Andromeda Ruins

Heyyo, I'm a dark fantasy and horror author from a small town in the midwest! I mostly focus on Greek Mythology retellings and religious horror, but I have a soft spot for just about anything folk related as well!

Kelsea Yu

Sunday June 7, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Somerset

Business and Craft of Writing and Publishing

12:00pm EDT

Little Bookshop of Horrors: Working with Indie Booksellers

Sunday June 7, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT

Somerset

If you’ve ever wondered how to get your book on the shelves of a bookstore, especially your favorite local indie store, this panel is for you. Discussion will cover how to engage with booksellers, how to get an event, what to expect, proper etiquette, as well as additional do's and don'ts.

Moderators

Ryan Elizabeth Clark

Manager of Events & Marketing, Queen of Scream, Gibson’s Bookstore

Speakers

Mark Leslie Lefebvre

Writer / Industry Representative, Stark Publishing / Draft2Digital

Mark Leslie Lefebvre (who often writes under the name Mark Leslie) has been deeply involved in the book world since his first short story was published in 1992. A horror and speculative fiction writer at heart, he is the author of the Canadian Werewolf urban fantasy series, inclu... Read More →

L.C. Marino

Author, Publisher, Bookstore Owner, Sobelo Books

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, Bless the Mother, and Banish the Dead. Lucas is also cofounder of Sobelo Books publishing company, and owner of the Spineless Reads indie bookstore in Williamsburg, VA. Lucas is a retired veteran of the US Coast Guard and earned his Doctor of Engineering degree from The George Washington University. He now lives in a... Read More →

Cate Peebles

Poet

Cate Peebles is the Bram Stoker Award nominated author of The Haunting (Tupelo Press, 2025) and Thicket (Lost Roads Press, 2018), as well as five chapbooks, including Sun King (winner of the Editor's Choice/Tomaž Šalamun Prize from Factory Hollow Press, 2025) and The Woodlands... Read More →

Marguerite Turley

Bookseller, Lahaska/Doylestown Bookshop

I’m a bookseller in Bucks County Pa and the horror section is all mine! I love horror more than any other genre. I also love to go outside and take nature photos, it’s my other passion!

Sunday June 7, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Somerset

Business and Craft of Writing and Publishing