StokerCon 2026: Full Schedule

3:00pm EDT

Don’t Forget to Like and Subscribe: How to Work with Horror Influencers

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

Lauded as the modern way to reach readers, book influencers have seen great success with places like BookTok and Bookstagram, where they frequently drive trends. Some influencers have even been able to become acquiring editors in their own right. But is engaging with an influencer the best choice for an author? What kind of etiquette should be expected between authors and influencers? Further, how can authors protect themselves and spot scams? This panel will include discussions on proper behavior, how to deal with problematic influencers, and best practices to establish healthy professional relationships.

Moderators

Emily Hughes

Author, critic, listmaker, Darker Times

Speakers

Agatha Andrews

Lorin Dearing

Michelle Delgado

Hi! I'm Michelle, a horror fan, journalist, and constant reader based on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. For the past decade, I've covered arts and culture for national publications including Smithsonian, Wired, The Atlantic, Vox, LitHub, and Catapult, among others.

But my relationship to writing transformed (for the better) in 2025 when I began covering horror. Over the past year, I've written somewhere in the neighborhood of 90,000 words for my weekly newsletter, Scare Me! From interviews with Nat Cassidy, Neil McRobert, Night Worms' Sadie... Read More →

Stephanie Gagnon

Host, Books in the Freezer Podcast

Christina Persaud

Writer, Articles of Horror

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

Business and Craft of Writing and Publishing

4:00pm EDT

Meet Your HWA Chapter Chairs

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

Westmoreland

Moderators

Douglas Ford

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 →

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 →

Francesca Maria

SF Bay Area HWA Co-Chair, Black Cat Publishing

Francesca Maria writes dark fiction surrounded by cats near the Pacific Ocean. She is the award-winning, bestselling author of They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark from Brigids Gate Press, the co-editor of Black Cat Tales: An Anthology of Black Cats which debuted as a... Read More →

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

Writer and Teacher

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.

Rami Ungar

I am a novelist from Columbus, Ohio specializing in horror and dark fantasy. I have published six books and several short stories.

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

HWA Spotlight

5:00pm EDT

Monster Evolutions

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

Westmoreland

The portrayal of creatures in horror has continuously changed to fit styles and tastes of the time. Through the lens of classic film monsters such as vampires, werewolves, and zombies, we will explore how they evolve to fit different times and attitudes. This discussion will further examine how these portrayals have been reinvented in film and on the page as well as what new creatures are on the rise.

Moderators

Victoria Dalpe

Victoria Dalpe is a Providence-based horror writer and painter. To date, her short fiction has appeared in over sixty anthologies. She has put out the collection Les Femmes Grotesques and the horror fantasy trilogy Selene Shade: Resurrectionist for Hire with CLASH Books. Book 2 Selene... Read More →

Speakers

Bill Bridges

Author, Game Designer

Erik Hanson

Cradle to the Grave podcast

I'm Erik, host of the horror movie podcast Cradle to the Grave. I've been making my way through horror movies, starting in 1971 and working my way up to modern-day. In addition to podcasting, I am an author; my first novel, Death Machine, was self-published. I am currently working... Read More →

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 →

Lisa Morton

Co-Chair, StokerCon 2026

Author of four novels and over 200 short stories, screenwriter, Halloween and paranormal expert, past President of the Horror Writers Association, and 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Alan Orloff

Writer. Thirteen books, 60+ short stories, most crime fiction. Won an Anthony, an Agatha, a Derringer, and two Thriller Awards. Have two horror novels coming out in 2027.

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

Horror History

10:00pm EDT

A Decade of StokerCon

Thursday June 4, 2026 10:00pm - 10:50pm EDT

Westmoreland

Join us for a special late night panel to celebrate StokerCon’s 10th anniversary!

Learn the history of the HWA’s annual conference from the people who pioneered it and carried the torch forward-a milestone assembly of con chairs from years past and present. Why did the HWA start StokerCon? What has it come to mean to the HWA and the horror community? Join in the discussion for memorable anecdotes and memories of our favorite event.

Moderators

Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Volunteer Coordinator, HWA LA

Speakers

Lisa Morton

Co-Chair, StokerCon 2026

Author of four novels and over 200 short stories, screenwriter, Halloween and paranormal expert, past President of the Horror Writers Association, and 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Rena Mason

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.

James Chambers

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

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 →

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 →

Sara Tantlinger

Sara Tantlinger is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning The Devil’s Dreamland: Poetry Inspired by H.H. Holmes, as well as other works like To Be Devoured, Cradleland of Parasites, and her recent fiction collection, Cyanide Constellations. She embraces all things macab... Read More →

Dennis K. Crosby

Sarah Faxon

KC (Kristina) Grifant

Author, Editor, San Diego HWA co-chair

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 →

Thursday June 4, 2026 10:00pm - 10:50pm EDT
Westmoreland

Horror History

11:00pm EDT

Monster Mash

Thursday June 4, 2026 11:00pm - 11:59pm EDT

Westmoreland

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

James Chambers

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

Thursday June 4, 2026 11:00pm - 11:59pm EDT
Westmoreland

HWA Spotlight

9:00am EDT

Out of the Shadows: the Evolution of Horror into Everyday Life

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

Westmoreland

In the 20th century, horror moved out of the realm of antiquarians, mad scientists, old dark houses, and forgotten villages–and into the modern world! Richard Matheson pioneered the idea of the common man as a horror protagonist in I Am Legend and The Shrinking Man and decades later, Stephen King made the everyman central to the genre with characters such as Carrie White, Jack Torrance, Johnny Smith, Stu Redman, and others living ordinary lives invaded by horrors they never sought or contemplated. Ira Levin wrote about an ordinary young couple starting out in New York City in Rosemary’s Baby, and Joyce Carol Oates wrote about teenage murderer, Richard Everett, in Expensive People. What made this brand of horror so popular. How has it influenced the genre? Did it hold it back creatively or help expand interest to general readers?

Moderators

Tom Deady

Speakers

Nat Cassidy

Nat Cassidy is a bestselling and Bram Stoker Award-nominated author whose acclaimed works include Mary ("One of the Best Horror Novels of All Time" - Audible), Nestlings, and Rest Stop. Esquire described him as one "of the best horror writers of this generation" and among the writers "shaping horror's next golden age." His award-winning plays have been produced across the country, including Off-Broadway and the Kennedy Center. You've also maybe seen Nat guest-starring... Read More →

Gillian Daniels

Gillian Daniels' poetry and short fiction have appeared in Nightmare Magazine, Strange Horizons, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, among more than thirty other publications. She was born in Des Moines, Iowa, grew up in Greater Cleveland, Ohio, and she now writes, works, and haunts the... Read More →

Sephera Giron

Writer/screenwriter/trustee

John G. Hartness

Author, Podcaster, Editor, Publisher, Billionaire, Philanthropist, Playboy, Falstaff Books

John G. Hartness is a teller of tales, a righter of wrong, defender of ladies’ virtues, and some people call him Maurice, for he speaks of the pompatus of love. He is also the award-winning author of the urban fantasy series The Black Knight Chronicles, the Bubba the Monster Hunter... Read More →

Kevin Lucia

Kevin Lucia’s short fiction has been published in many venues, most notably with Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, David Morell, Peter Straub, Bentley Little, and Robert McCammon. His first novel, The Horror at Pleasant Brook, was released from Crystal Lake Publishing, October 2023... Read More →

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

Horror History

10:00am EDT

Nevertheless We Persist: Resilient Souls Share Their Journeys

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

Westmoreland

Writers with lived experience and who face mental health challenges, yet continue to write, will share their journey. How do these challenges present themselves? How do writers deal with these challenges while typically playing multiple other roles (parents, caregivers, employees) yet persist to write and publish and stay engaged with the Horror Writing community? In a supportive, non-stigmatizing environment, panelists will discuss these experiences, and how it expresses itself in their horror fiction. Is horror fiction itself a coping skill? Walk for a mile in their shoes and discuss how horror and hope intersect in facing mental health symptoms with courage and resilience.

This panel is part of the HWA Mental Health Initiative.

Moderators

Lauren Elise (L. E.) Daniels

Author/Editor, HWA Mental Health Committee, Brisbane Writers Workshop

Speakers

Douglas Gwilym

Bram Stoker Award nominated short story author, querying novelist, editor of NOVUS MONSTRUM

Carina Bissett

The Storied Imaginarium

Geneve Flynn

Author, editor, poet. HWA Diverse Works Inclusion Committee

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 →

Tim Waggoner

Tim Waggoner’s first novel came out in 2001, and since then he’s published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. He’s written tie-in fiction based on Supernatural, Conan the Barbarian... Read More →

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

HWA Spotlight

about <br>

11:00am EDT

Guest of Honor Spotlight: Speculative Musings: the influence of Linda D. Addison

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

Westmoreland

Guest of Honor Linda D. Addison is one of the most esteemed (and beloved) speculative poets of our time. Join Linda and fellow panelists as we honor her influence, share advice about working collaboratively on projects, discuss the growth of dark poetry, and reflect on the importance of community within horror.

Moderators

Sara Tantlinger

Speakers

Linda Addison

Trustee, Horror Writers Association

Maxwell Ian Gold

Executive Director, Horror Writers Association

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 →

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

Guest of Honor/Lifetime Achievement Winner Spotlight

12:00pm EDT

Lifetime Achievement Award Spotlight: Creating and Developing Compelling Characters and Worlds with Jonathan Maberry

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

Westmoreland

Join LAA recipient Jonathan Maberry, Justina Ireland, Alma Katsu, and moderator Dennis Crosby for a discussion of what makes characters fascinating and memorable, especially over time in a series. Explore ideas and techniques for building worlds that readers want to visit again and again, and characters they love to spend time with. How can authors grow characters and keep them interesting over multiple books and years?

Moderators

Dennis K. Crosby

Speakers

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 →

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 →

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 →

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

Guest of Honor/Lifetime Achievement Winner Spotlight

1:00pm EDT

Bizarro Fiction: The Wrecking Ball of Weird vs. the Boundaries of Genre

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

Westmoreland

In the early 2000s, a new subgenre peeled itself off of horror and slithered forward, picking up the detritus of other genres on its way. Bizarro fiction is the genre for people who don't like to color inside the lines. Too funny, too weird, too off-beat for traditional horror publishers, the bizarro community coalesced around the same purity of storytelling as children: no boundaries, no limits, and an internal logic that assumed it didn't matter how things would happen in the real world. From surreal lit fiction to pulpy insanity, and weirding up everything from spaghetti westerns to noir, Bizarro has come into its own over the past two decades, but still maintains a strong tie to its roots in the horror scene. How is the Adult Swim of literature helping shape modern horror? Let's talk about that.

Moderators

Michael Allen Rose

Bizarro Writers Association President, RoShamBo Publishing

Speakers

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 →

Bridget D. Brave

author, lawyer, weirdo

Jessica McHugh

Jessica McHugh is a 3x Bram Stoker Award-nominated poet, a multi-genre novelist, & an internationally-produced playwright who spends her days surrounded by artistic inspiration at a Maryland tattoo shop. She’s had thirty-two books published in seventeen years, including her Elgin... Read More →

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.

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

Horror History

2:00pm EDT

Guest of Honor Spotlight: The Writing Life and Building a Career with James Tynion

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

Westmoreland

Join Guest of Honor James Tynion, Clay McLeod Chapman, Hailey Piper, and moderator Erika T. Wurth for a discussion of the writing life, balancing creative and commercial goals, how to connect with readers, and build a successful writing career while realizing your creative visions. Explore how to market your work, protect your copyrights and intellectual properties, and build strong collaborative relationships.

Moderators

Erika T. Wurth

Writer/Professor, Flatiron/Macmillan

Speakers

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 →

Clay McLeod Chapman

Author of Devil Inside, Bodies of Work, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, Acquired Taste, Shiny Happy People, Kill Your Darling, Stay on the Line, What Kind of Mother, Ghost Eaters, Whisper Down the Lane, The Remaking, and others.

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 →

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

Guest of Honor/Lifetime Achievement Winner Spotlight

3:00pm EDT

Editing as an Art Form

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

Westmoreland

Most authors know—and many quickly learn—that an editor is more than a simple curator of stories. A good editor can be the difference between a flawed gem and a brilliant masterpiece. What can we gain from viewing the work of editing as an art in its own right? How does the craft of editing vary from place to place? What happens when authors push back on certain edits?

Moderators

Emma Cole

Editor; Author, MIRA Books

Editor at MIRA Books. Writer of Love Never Dies: Romance in Horror Movies.

Speakers

Ardyce Alspach

Senior Editor, Union Square / Hachette

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 →

Arley Sorg

associate literary agent, senior editor, kt literary agency, Locus Magazine

Kristin Temple

Associate Editor, Tor Nightfire

Kristin Temple has been at Tor Publishing Group since 2016 and has been editing nightmares for Nightfire since its inception. She acquires novels and novellas, and has had the honor of working with many of the twistedly talented authors in the Nightfire coven. She's always on the... Read More →

Ann VanderMeer

editor/anthologist/writer, VanderMeer Creative, Inc.

Ann VanderMeer is an award-winning editor & anthologist. She currently serves as an acquiring editor for Reactormag.com. She was the editor-in-chief for Weird Tales, during which time she won the Hugo Award. Along with multiple other nominations, she has won a World Fantasy Award... Read More →

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

Business and Craft of Writing and Publishing

4:00pm EDT

Guest of Honor Spotlight: John Shirley, The Nature of Death in Horror Fiction

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

Westmoreland

Join Guest of Honor John Shirley to explore horror writers’ relationship to death, as a fact, an anticipation, and beyond. Is death a release or a harvesting? Does the contemplation of death improve the writing of horror? Does horror fiction help readers cope with fear of death?

Moderators

James Chambers

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

Speakers

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 →

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.

Jennifer McMahon

Author

Jennifer McMahon is the author of My Darling Girl and twelve other novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Promise Not to Tell and The Winter People. She lives in Florida with her partner, Drea. Visit her at jennifer-mcmahon.com or connect with her on Instagram @jennifer... Read More →

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

Guest of Honor/Lifetime Achievement Winner Spotlight

9:00am EDT

Uncanny Educators: Learning Horror, Writing Horror

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

Westmoreland

Is it any wonder that the works of authors like Edgar Allan Poe and Shirley Jackson are popular with students and can catch the imagination of potential authors at an early age? This panel explores how horror fiction can help turn readers into writers--and how teachers and well-meaning family can encourage the process. Horror fiction helps introduce us to techniques of atmosphere, suspense, and world-building, additionally lending itself well to the creative joys of imitation and parody. Panelists will discuss reading approaches and teaching strategies that have helped them mentor students to become successful horror writers.

Moderators

Norman Prentiss

Speakers

Douglas Ford

Alice Garcia

2nd generation (at least) horror aficionado (Thanks,Mom!) with deep, gnarled roots in horror fiction/literature. I am especially interested in horror by or about underrepresented groups in the U.S. and am eager to see more growth in the Latinae horror community.

Kosoko Jackson

Jonathan

Author & Artist

Jonathan Kincade is a writer and photographer interested in mining the uncanny. His fiction and art appear or are forthcoming in FIYAH, Clarkesworld, and The Sun Magazine. When he's not investigating the hidden world, you'll find him gardening, playing guitar, or spending time with... Read More →

Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar

Professor of English/Author

Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar is a Pennsylvania writer, editor, and English professor who teaches creative writing, composition, and composition theory classes. A former secondary English teacher in Delaware public schools , she received her Doctorate of Education with a Literacy... Read More →

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

Business and Craft of Writing and Publishing

10:00am EDT

Guest of Honor Spotlight: Rachel Harrison's Character Driven Narratives

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

Westmoreland

Join Rachel Harrison, Nat Cassidy, CJ Leede, and Agatha Andrews as they discuss Rachel’s craft of character driven narratives. They will deep dive into her voice, vulnerability, courage, and the appeal of her characters to fans from all genres, as well as the space she has carved for herself as a woman in Horror.

Moderators

Agatha Andrews

Speakers

Rachel Harrison

Rachel Harrison is the New York Times Bestselling author of PLAY NICE, SO THIRSTY, BLACK SHEEP, SUCH SHARP TEETH, CACKLE, and THE RETURN. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and in her debut story collection BAD DOLLS.

Her next novel, KISS SLAY REPLAY, is out this September from Berkley in the US and Titan in the UK... Read More →

Nat Cassidy

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 6, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Westmoreland

Guest of Honor/Lifetime Achievement Winner Spotlight

11:00am EDT

Lifetime Achievement Award Spotlight: The Devil's in the Details: writing to a theme with Lisa Morton

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

Westmoreland

Is it possible to write to the theme for a submission call, but maintain your own voice? In this panel, Lifetime Achievement Award winner Lisa Morton, Kate Maruyama, Jo Kaplan, and Rena Mason explore the art and nuance of crafting prose to a theme, whether in fiction or non-fiction, short story or essay, whether it be for a themed anthology or a full-length work-for-hire book.

Moderators

Kate Maruyama

Speakers

Lisa Morton

Co-Chair, StokerCon 2026

Author of four novels and over 200 short stories, screenwriter, Halloween and paranormal expert, past President of the Horror Writers Association, and 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Jo Kaplan

Author, HWA LA co-chair

Jo Kaplan is a Shirley Jackson Award nominated author whose work has been described as “immersive, chilling, and compelling” by Library Journal and “delightfully creepy” by Booklist. She is the author of It Will Just Be Us, When the Night Bells Ring, and The Midnight Muse... Read More →

Rena Mason

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

Guest of Honor/Lifetime Achievement Winner Spotlight

12:00pm EDT

Guest of Honor Spotlight: From Sexual Decadence to Dire Loneliness: A Range of Relationship-Driven Horror with Billy Martin (Poppy Z. Brite)

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

Westmoreland

Join Guest of Honor Billy Martin, Eric Larocca, Victoria Dalpe, and moderator Eric J. Guignard as they discuss the range of relationships in emotionally-resonant horror fiction—particularly in Billy’s own work—of longing, sexual exploration, intense romantic connections, tragic trysts, and abject loneliness in absence of it all.

Moderators

Eric J. Guignard

Gentleman Extraordinaire, Dark Moon Books

Speakers

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)

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 →

Victoria Dalpe

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

Guest of Honor/Lifetime Achievement Winner Spotlight

1:00pm EDT

When Horror Crosses the Line: the Rise of Genre-Blending Fear

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

Westmoreland

Horror is increasingly colliding with neighboring genres—thriller, romance, fantasy, and literary fiction—to create stories that are as emotionally intimate as they are terrifying. This panel explores why horror hybrids are dominating the current market, how writers balance multiple genre expectations, and what blending genres unlocks in terms of theme, audience, and tension. Panelists will discuss craft techniques, publishing trends, and how horror can amplify love stories, mysteries, and high-stakes suspense.

Moderators

Maddison Dawn

Author

Speakers

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 →

Keith Rosson

Keith Rosson is the author of the novels The Devil by Name, Fever House, Smoke City, Road Seven, and The Mercy of the Tide, as well as the Shirley Jackson Award–winning story collection Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his partner and their two children. More can be found at keithrosson.com... Read More →

Caitlin Starling

Caitlin Starling is the nationally bestselling author of The Starving Saints, the Bram Stoker-nominated The Luminous Dead, and the upcoming Milkteeth, among others. Her work showcases her love of genre-hopping horror; her bibliography spans besieged castles, alien caves, and haunted... Read More →

Rachel Harrison

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

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

Horror Genre and Media

2:00pm EDT

Guest of Honor Spotlight: Herding Three-Eyed Cats: editing weird fiction with Ann Vandermeer

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

Westmoreland

Join Guest of Honor Ann VanderMeer, Lifetime Achievement Award winner Ellen Datlow, and Weird Tales editor and Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Jonathan Maberry, for a deep dive into the weird and what goes into editing and publishing weird fiction.

Moderators

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 →

Speakers

Ann VanderMeer

editor/anthologist/writer, VanderMeer Creative, Inc.

Jonathan Maberry

Author, Jonathan Maberry Productions

Ellen Datlow

Trustee, Editor of short fiction through novellas

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

Guest of Honor/Lifetime Achievement Winner Spotlight

3:00pm EDT

Hopeful Nihilism: How Cosmic Horror Can Inspire

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

Westmoreland

Cosmic horror is often thought of as the darkest sub-genre, of deep, existential, looming doom. However, the most dread-filled stories can serve as a vehicle for themes of love, hope, and joy. This panel will spotlight the fullest possibilities of the booming sub-genre.

Moderators

Robbie Dorman

Speakers

James Chambers

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

Carol Gyzander

I love quiet horror, weird fiction, and cosmic horror!
More about me:
Bram Stoker Award® recipient and World Fantasy Award finalist Carol Gyzander writes and edits horror, weird fiction, and science fiction—with strong women in twisted tales that touch your heart. She has a stor... Read More →

Vaughn A. Jackson

Author

Vaughn A. Jackson is an Horror Writers Association affiliated author, editor, and sometimes poet of dark speculative fiction. His work generally focuses one one of three categories: Creatures, Kaiju, or Cosmic Horror. Often blending elements of fantasy, science fiction, and horror... Read More →

Hailey Piper

Ann VanderMeer

editor/anthologist/writer, VanderMeer Creative, Inc.

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

Horror Genre and Media

about <br>

4:00pm EDT

The Past is Now: Modern Folk and Gothic Horror

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

Westmoreland

How do today’s writers engage with folk and gothic traditions we grew up loving, while forging our own paths? From conventional tales to transcendent modern expressions, these subgenres have created frameworks for discourse from many perspectives and experiences, including worldwide storytelling that predate categorizations. This panel will explore how these subgenres have been understood, how they have evolved, and how modern authors continue to enrich and redefine these traditions.

Moderators

Kristy Park Kulski

Speakers

Cynthia Gómez

Attendee

Cynthia Gómez writes horror and other types of speculative fiction. She has a particular love for themes of revenge, retribution, and resistance to oppression. The Nightmare Box and Other Stories, her first collection, was released from Cursed Morsels Press in July 2024. Her novella... Read More →

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 →

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 →

Ted Van Alst

Writer, Vintage/PRH

Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. is the author of Chicago-set award-winning story collections Sacred Smokes, Sacred City; and Sacred Folks as well as Pour One for the Devil. He is the co-editor of the bestselling Never Whistle at Night from Vintage/Penguin Random House. His debut novel... Read More →

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

Horror History

10:00am EDT

Abridge to Terror: The Horror Short Story

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

Westmoreland

Short stories are more than just stepping stones in an author’s journey. They allow writers to hone their craft, experiment with structure and point of view, and are a strong way to connect with editors and publishers. Short stories can also help writers achieve Active Membership in the HWA, and they build up the potential for an eventual collection. Join panelists to discuss how short stories helped strengthen their craft and career, why this length works so well for horror, and what makes a story stand out.

Moderators

Arley Sorg

associate literary agent, senior editor, kt literary agency, Locus Magazine

Speakers

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... Read More →

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 →

Lauren Elise (L. E.) Daniels

Author/Editor, HWA Mental Health Committee, Brisbane Writers Workshop

Julie C. Day

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Essential Dreams Press

Julie C. Day is a finalist for the Lambda and Bram Stoker awards. Her longer works include her novellaThe Rampant and her genre-bending debut collection Uncommon Miracles, which was praised by Kelly Link, John Crowley, Nathan Ballingrud, and Jeffrey Ford. She is the editor-in-ch... Read More →

S. Alessandro Martinez

Writer

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

Erika T. Wurth

Writer/Professor, Flatiron/Macmillan

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

Business and Craft of Writing and Publishing

11:00am EDT

Sludging Through Doom: Heavy Metal and Horror History

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

Westmoreland

Good horror disturbs and distorts reality with all the fuzz of a heavy metal guitar pedal. And metal music, for its part, has long drawn inspiration from the genre of the supernatural and occult. In "Sludging through Doom," panelists will explore how the horror genre has intersected with heavy metal music across time and how horror writers continue to derive inspiration from the scary music genre, banging their heads as they bang stories out on their keyboards.

Moderators

Michael Arnzen

Director, MFA in Writing Popular Fiction at SHU

Speakers

John Collins

Brian Cummings

Brian is an author of occult fantasy rooted in supernatural horror. He’s a metal musician, reluctant psychic, and host of the fiction/paranormal podcast, Dark Concepts. If you want to talk about spooky, reality-blurring stuff, he’s your dude.

Edward J. Flora

Author, Gravesend Books

Ed is a horror author and audiobook narrator. His most recent book, In The Shadow of a Broken Spire, is a small-town folk horror story. He is a fan of cosmic horror, ghost stories and discovering new indie authors.

Gillian Daniels

Jo Kaplan

Author, HWA LA co-chair

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

Horror Genre and Media

12:00pm EDT

You Can't Get There From Here: Tales of Weird Pittsburgh

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

Westmoreland

Welcome to Pittsburgh! Join our panelists as they bathe our Convention city in unholy and horror-worthy light. What mysteries hide in the alleyways of the Southside? Is there real magic at the convergence of three rivers? Can you feel the pull of the Fourth River? How many cemeteries have you haunted? How many bridges and tunnels does one city need? What cryptids, legends, ghosts, or maniacs haunt our Rust Belt abode. Hear from Pittsburgh horror writers who have been influenced by the often uncanny history, folklore, cultural oddities, and decaying buildings surrounded by an urban wilderness.

Moderators

Brandon Ketchum

LCSW, Local Recovery Coordinator, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Speakers

Nelson W 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 was released in October 2024 from Cold... Read More →

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)

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

Horror Genre and Media