Kendare is the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of several novels including ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD, ANTIGODDESS and THREE DARK CROWNS, as well as the NEXT GENERATION trilogy which is set in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her work is sort of dark, always violent, and features passages describing food from when she writes while hungry. She grew up in the small city of Cambridge, Minnesota and received a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Middlesex University in London, England. She loves to travel, is an advocate for animals, and cheats a lot when she plays Final Fantasy. Adopted from South Korea at the age of seven months, she arrived with the following instruction: “Feed her chocolate.” Though not medically advisable, she and her parents are eternally grateful for this advice.

A book-swap and brews event! Great camaraderie and sharing of successes, stumbling blocks, and industry tips. From left bottom corner clockwise: Konn Lavery, Rhea Rose, Colleen Anderson, Janine Cross, Lonnie Nadler, Linda Demeulemeester, Philip Harris, and Frank Cernick (photo credit: Frank)!

A psychological horror/supernatural suspense author for over 40 years, Lisa is also an award winning screenwriter and educator. Her novel The Promise Keeper won the Golden Stake Award for Literature at the International Film and Arts Festival. She’s also a three-time winner of Best Horror Screenplay at the NOVA International Film Festival,Best Afrofuturism/Horror/Sci-Fi Screenplay at Urban Media Makers Film Festival, Best Psychological Horror Short Script at Hollywood Horrorfest, and Best Short Screenplay Indo-Global International Film Festival. She’s a two-time Bram Stoker Award nominated author and was recognized in The Mammoth Book of Best Horror in 2004, and as one of the 100+ Black Women in Horror Fiction in 2018.  Among other topics, she’s going to be chatting with us about horror screenwriting and the Speculative Fiction Academy that she created. 

Jessikah Chautin, a library community engagement specialist in Syosset, New York, spoke about how to get our books into libraries and on book lists. In partnership with the HWA, United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Booklist, Jessikah promotes the Summer Scares reading program, which provides libraries and schools with an annual list of recommended horror titles for adult, young adult (teen), and middle grade readers. It introduces readers and librarians to new authors and helps start conversations extending beyond the books from each list to promote reading for years to come.

Angela Yuriko Smith is a third-generation Uchinanchu-American and an award-winning poet, author, and publisher with over 20 years of experience in newspaper journalism. Publisher of Space & Time magazine (est. 1966), a three-time Bram Stoker Awards® Finalist and HWA Mentor of the Year for 2020, she offers free classes for writers at angelaysmith.com.

Wendy N. Wagner is the author of the horror novel The Deer Kings and the gothic novella The Secret Skin. Previous work includes the SF thriller An Oath of Dogs and two novels for the Pathfinder Tales series, and her short stories, poetry, and essays have appeared in more than fifty venues. The current editor-in-chief at Nightmare Magazine, she also serves as the managing/senior editor of Lightspeed Magazine, and previously served as the guest editor of our Queers Destroy Horror! special issue. She lives in Oregon with her very understanding family, two large cats, and a Muppet disguised as a dog.

Jamie Flanagan is an American writer and actor. Writing credits include The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, The Fall of the House of Usher, Creepshow, and Hysteria! They began their professional career on stage in the world premiere of Columbinus (written by Stephen Karam and PJ Paparelli) at Round House Theatre in 2005, and later received a Drama League Nomination (Ensemble) for the production’s remount at New York Theatre Workshop in 2006. As a writer, they won the 2021 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Screenplay (shared with Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard) for the awesome Midnight Mass, Season 1, Episode 6: “Book VI: Acts of the Apostles” (Intrepid Pictures). The Midnight Mass episode: “Book V: Gospel” was nominated for a 2022 Best Writing for a Limited Series or TV Movie for the International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA), and the entire series was nominated for Best Original Long Form 2022 by the Writers Guild of America, USA.