Links to a plethora of upcoming events, workshops, book launches, and more were disseminated, and folks shared their successes and challenges, favourite summer horror movies & books and more! Event planning has begun for our first Chapter event for Spring 2026; stay tuned!

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 & Creativity Prize for Creative Writing (2002 and 2005), and his second novel, The Liminal Man, was an Indie Book Award finalist in Horror & Suspense (2013).

Todd will chat with us about his upcoming book The Sundowner’s Dance, the inspiration for it, and what research he did, as well as the different strategies he employs when starting a novel vs. a short story/collection of short stories

This was a fantastic sneak-preview/pre-release of the session Molly Cernik is presenting for Editors Canada on April 10, and what is a $70 per person 1 hour webinar was offered to HWA Vancouver chapter members at no cost!!

Whatever else their concerns may be, horror authors care dearly about readers’ feelings. The genre is bigger than frightening tales, though; in fact, the presence (or absence) of fear is often the least interesting part of the story. Horror instead finds strength in what its many emotions teach us about ourselves, our cares, and what it means to live in this world together. Plus, sometimes there’re witches.

Molly discussed horror priorities and how editors can nurture authors’ horror works, as well as the horror genre’s foundations, mechanics, themes, and its overlap with neighbouring genre traditions.

Steven James, best-selling award-winning author of over 40 books and winner of the Storytelling World Award for being one of the “highest quality storytelling resources”, chatted with us about his latest novels as well as DELVE, PIVOT, PROPEL, a how-to book packed with practical tips, charts, and time-saving strategies that tackle the tough questions that writers face, offering fresh perspectives and unorthodox advice that challenges conventional wisdom.

The winner of several local awards for short stories and an occasional poem, and author of the acclaimed horror novels The Eater of Gods, Down Into the Sea, and These Things Linger, Dan Franklin, a freelance editor and associated editor for Cemetery Dance, will chat with us about Cemetery Dance publications and what it’s like to be both an editor and a published author.

Jo Lepeska of Vancouver’s Pretty Dead Taxidermy spoke to us about what it’s like to be a taxidermist who also creates dead “pet heroes” for movies (that’s her dead cow in Nicholas Cage’s Longlegs!) Pretty Dead Taxidermy offers such unique services as paw print castings for pet memorials to full body taxidermy. Her Academy of Oddities offers workshops in bone cleaning, mummification, whole body taxidermy, and butterfly pinning, all providing a compellingly gross and very suitable Halloween-month meeting!

Kate Jonez discussed common editing mistakes she saw as the chief editor at the Bram Stoker Award winning small press Omnium Gatherum. Many Omnium Gatherum titles have been nominated or won Bram Stoker, Locus or Shirley Jackson Awards, and Kate herself has been nominated 3 times for the Bram Stoker award and once for the Shirley Jackson. She is now offering editing and publishing advice at Omnium Gatherum Publishing Services.

Konn Lavery entertained and informed us on some of the basics of Do-It-Yourself Graphic design. A round-robin discussion followed regarding Research for Horror Writers and the research methods and resources we each use in our writing, from historical events and folklore to true crime and the darkest corners of human psychology.

In her pre-writing, pre-Canadian life, Bebe Bayliss owned a product design company in the USA, and as part of her business she licensed film, TV, and book properties to develop products. This dynamic short-short PowerPoint presentation re: Licensing Your Book shared some general info on what authors can expect and how she created products from the descriptions in books, working closely with the authors.

A super-casual, member-led, PowerPoint presentation to stimulate dialogue and share/pool knowledge regarding in-person literary events. Kicked off by Janine Cross, who discussed her recent experience at the New York Write to Pitch Conference, which ought to be called the New York Pitch Practice Conference due to the number of agents/editors present who were NOT actively acquiring but only critiquing pitches.

Molly Cernik, who’s been an editor in various capacities since 2009, led us through an interactive 30 minute PowerPoint presentation entitled Tools for Reader Investment & Immersive fiction: Reinventing Fiction Craft From Philosophy, showing how imagination, phenomenology, affect theory, and more strengthen a writer’s work. If you missed this fascinating presentation, you can find the slides here:

We tried out an energetic new format for our Chapter meetings, and it was a huge success! Our intent was for 2 of our members to present a short (5-15 minute) PowerPoint presentation on whatever subject they feel knowledgeable or passionate about as a way to share/pool knowledge in a super-casual way while provoking an interactive dialogue.

In two dynamic, individual 15 minute presentations, first Phil Harris entertained and informed us about his recent journey that led to winning Best First Time Screenwriter (Short) at the Prague Screenplay Awards for his adaptation of his horror sci-fi short story, Pod Fifteen, and then Konn Lavery regaled and educated us with his vast pool of knowledge regarding self-publishing, which tied in neatly with the release of his latest self-published novel, World Mother Ascension: An Ash Born Novel.

An immersive workshop on crafting engaging TikTok content led by Sandra Wickham. From understanding the platform’s basics to creating and posting your very own videos, Sandra talked about how to build your follower base and gain the confidence to keep posting on Tiktok.

Gwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe, Pretty Marys All in a Row, The Invention of Ghosts, and Boneset & Feathers. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub, Nightmare, Tor Nightfire, Titan Books, Vastarien, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, and The Dark among others. She’s a Lambda Literary Award winner, and her fiction has also received the This Is Horror award for Novel of the
Year as well as nominations for the Premios Kelvin and Ignotus awards.

Eric LaRocca (he/they) is the Bram Stoker Award®-nominated and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of several works of horror and dark fiction, including the viral sensation, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. An active member of the Horror Writers Association, a lover of luxury fashion, and an admirer of European musical theatre, Eric lives with his partner and can often be found roaming the streets of his home city, Boston, MA for inspiration.

Hailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, A Light Most Hateful, The Worm and His Kings series, and other books of dark fiction. She is also the author of over one hundred short stories appearing in Weird Tales, Pseudopod, Vastarien, Cast of Wonders, and various other publications. She lives with her wife in Maryland, where their occult rituals are secret. Producer Tony Eldridge (The Equalizer films) of Lonetree Entertainment has optioned film rights to Piper’s new horror novel A Light Most Hateful, which Titan Books recently acquired at a competitive auction.

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.