[UPDATED February 27, 2018: I was added today to a Sunday morning panel. See below.]

I’ll be in Providence, Rhode Island next weekend for StokerCon 2018—will you?

If so, and you’d like to find me when I’m not hanging with friends in the bar, wandering the dealers room, at the banquet losing my eighth Stoker Award, or out recording new episodes of my Eating the Fantastic podcast (as I did with William F. Nolan, Elizabeth Hand, Dennis Etchison, Nancy Holder, and George R. R. Martin at StokerCon 2017 and Lynne Hansen and Jeff Strand, Maria Alexander, Mary Turzillo, Linda Addison, and Gene O’Neill at StokerCon 2016), here’s my assigned programming.

What’s Left to Say About the Dead that Walk?
Thursday, 4:00 p.m.
Have we reached “peak zombie?” Given the seemingly endless popularity of zombies in horror fiction and media it seems unlikely! Why do zombies remain so beloved by horror fans after more than twenty years of non-stop popularity in fiction, comics, television, and movies? What makes the walking dead so resilient? Are there still fresh, original stories to tell here?
with Marc Abbott, Jennifer Brozek, Craig Engler, Kristine Scheiner, and Daniel Waters

Reading
Friday, 11:00 a.m.
I’ll likely read an except from from Stoker Award-nominated novelette “Faking It Until Forever Comes.”
with Randy D. Rubin and Sara Tantlinger

Essential Works of Graphic Horror-Comic Books
Saturday, 11:00 a.m.
Horror comics have a long and gruesome publishing history. From the 1947 publication of Eerie # 1, the first dedicated horror comic, through the E.C. Comics of the 1950s, the horror renaissance in the 1970s, and into the Vertigo era of the 1980s and 90s, horror comics have been a mainstay for publishers. Today, The Walking Dead is among the most popular comics in print. Creators, such as Mike Mignola and Scott Snyder, keep the genre dark and spooky. What are the landmark works of horror comics? Why are they so significant? How do they illustrate the evolving nature of the horror genre?
with Paul Di Fillipo; Panelists: Michele Brittany, Robert Payne Cabeen, Nathan Carson, Scott Edelman, James Moore

Voice, Tense, and Narrators
Saturday, 3:00 p.m.
How authors tell a story is as important as the story they tell. The choice of voice and tense directly affects the reader’s experience and defines their connection to the characters. What are the pros and cons of different voices, such as third-person limited, first person, and second person; tense, past or present; and narrators, from unreliable to omniscient. How do these choices shape one’s storytelling? How can they influence the reader’s experience and affect your work’s chances of being published?
with Marc Abbott, Ed Kurtz, Curtis Lawson, Elizabeth Massie, and Kathleen Scheiner

Edit Your Way Past the Slush Pile
Sunday, 11:00 a.m.
The competition to stand out is stiff. Often slush readers review hundreds of submissions before selecting a mere handful to pass on to an editor. What are the top edits to make to any manuscript to help you skip the slush pile and get published? What are the mistakes to avoid?
with Karen Bovenmyer, Julie Day, Wayne Edwards, Erin Roberts

I hope to see you there!

Last night, the Horror Writers Association revealed those works which made its 2017 Bram Stoker Awards preliminary ballot—and if you examine that list closely, you’ll find a familiar name in the category of Superior Achievement in Long Fiction—

Alan Baxter: The Book Club (PS Publishing)

Tom Deady: Weekend Getaway (Grinning Skull Press)

Scott Edelman: Faking it Until Forever Comes (Liars, Fakers, and the Dead Who Eat Them) (Written Backwards)

Stephen Graham Jones: Mapping the Interior (Tor.com)

Todd Keisling: The Final Reconciliation (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Caitlín R. Kiernan: Agents of Dreamland (Tor.com)

Seanan McGuire: Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Tor.com)

Lucy Taylor: Sweetlings (Tor.com)

Jeff Vandermeer: The Strange Bird: A Borne Story (MCD x FSG Originals)

Tim Waggoner: A Kiss of Thorns (DarkFuse)

That’s right—me!

Check out the complete preliminary ballot here.

It’s important to note this does not make me or my story a Bram Stoker Award nominee or finalist—that still must be decided by members of the HWA voting between now and January 30, with the final ballot being announced on February 5. But I’m thrilled “Faking it Until Forever Comes” has gotten this far!

One reason I’m so pleased is that I’m currently the Susan Lucci of the HWA—that is, I hold the record for the most nominations without ever having won, as you can see below.

So if my story does happen to make the final ballot, I’ll have the unique opportunity to change my record from 0-7—

—to 0-8!

I can become even Susan Lucci-ier!

And as my photo from last year’s Stoker Awards banquet shows, I have a special way of celebrating.

If you’re a voting member of the HWA, and would like a copy of my story so you can consider it before casting your vote, please contact me and I’ll send one off right away.

And whatever happens next, I hope to see you at Stokercon in Providence this March!

On the final day of the second annual StokerCon—which took place in Long Beach, California aboard the now permanently docked Queen Mary—I disembarked with one of the Guests of Honor to record the fifth and final Eating the Fantastic episode of the weekend. We headed to Thai District, which serves dishes from Northern Thailand, as opposed to most of the other Thai restaurants in the area which tend to focus on that country’s central region.

I’ve known this episode’s guest in the flesh for decades, and on the page for even longer, going back to my earliest days in comics fandom. George R. R. Martin is a multifaceted talent, with a list of credits so vast, many might only be aware of a fraction of them.

Some of might know him from the superhero short stories such as “Manta Ray Meets the Executioner” he was publishing in the ’60s in one of the greatest fanzines of all time, Star Studded Comics (which is where, as a young teen, I first encountered him), or as the creator and editor of the long-running Wild Cards series of mosaic, multi-author novels, some may know him better from such award-winning short fiction as “Sandkings” and “The Pear-Shaped Man,” or novels like Fevre Dream and The Armageddon Rag, while still others might know him best from his TV work … like … you know … The Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast—and don’t forget Max Headroom!

We discussed why he was annoyed Marvel Comics printed his letters but DC never did, the reason Gardner Dozois was responsible for his first science fiction short story sale, how the rock ‘n’ roll novel Armageddon Rag got him a job on the rebooted Twilight Zone, what he learned from the arc of Stephen R. Donaldson’s career, how losing the John W. Campbell Memorial Award got him his first editing gig, why he almost became a realtor, the time Harlan Ellison convinced him to apply to be the editor of Analog, and more. PLUS: Hear a snippet from an interview I did back in 1993 in which he makes an amusing admission about “a fantasy novel I’ve been working on off and on for awhile.”

Here’s how you can join us for our Thai feast— (more…)

On the final day of StokerCon 2017, I woke ridiculously early for a breakfast recording of Eating the Fantastic at Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles—to the great skepticism of almost everyone I’d told at the con, who doubted those two foodstuffs were meant to be ingested simultaneously.

Luckily, my guest this episode was not a skeptic, and enthusiastically accompanied me for the greasy goodness. Five-time Bram Stoker Award winning-writer Nancy Holder had been the Toastmaster during the previous night’s ceremony, is the author of the young adult horror series Possessions, and has written many tie-in works set in such universes as Teen Wolf, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Smallville, and Wonder Woman.

We discussed her somewhat secret origin as a romance novelist, why her first horror convention made her burst into tears, how she got off on the wrong foot with acclaimed editor Charles L. Grant, what caused her Edgar Allan Poe obsession to begin, why she was a fan of DC Comics instead of Marvel as a kid, what Ed Bryant might have meant when he called her “the first splatterpunk to chew with her mouth closed,” and more.

Here’s how you can take a bite out of that chicken and waffles, too— (more…)

Some of my favorite moments from last year’s inaugural StokerCon were those spent talking late into the night with William F. Nolan and Dennis Etchison. So when this year’s StokerCon rolled around, I knew I had to capture them both for Eating the Fantastic. You’ve already heard me chat with Bill over Thai food aboard the Queen Mary back in Episode 38 (at least I hope you have). Now it’s time to for you to eavesdrop as Dennis and I dig into a couple of classic dishes at Long Beach’s Chen’s Chinese Restaurant.

Dennis is a writer and editor who’s a three-time World Fantasy Award winner and a three-time British Fantasy Award winner. His 1982 debut short story collection, The Dark Country, is one of the best horror short story collections ever. And you don’t have to take my word for how good he is—some guy named Stephen King has called him “one hell of a fiction writer.”

We discussed how Philip K. Dick staged scenes as he wrote his stories, Ray Bradbury’s baffling advice which helped Etchison make his first fiction sale, whether he’d still have become a writer had he not been an only child, why most writing workshops don’t work, how he came to write his best-selling Halloween novel for John Carpenter in six weeks, the speech he really wanted to give when he received his Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horror Writers Association, and more.

Here’s how you can dig into dumplings with us— (more…)

When I was investigating venues where I could record episodes of Eating the Fantastic during the recent Long Beach StokerCon, one dish stood out above all others—the whole grilled snook served by chef Sergio Peñuela at his restaurant Cheko El Rey Del Sarandeado. So that’s where I headed for dinner on Thursday during the con, in order to learn whether that dish lived up to its rep.

Spoiler alert: It did.

My guest that night was Elizabeth Hand, a brilliant writer who’s won four World Fantasy Awards, two Nebula Awards, three Shirley Jackson Awards, and more other awards than I have space to mention. The latest novel in her Cass Neary series, Hard Light, was released last year.

We discussed why she probably won’t take LSD on her deathbed, what made her a fan of Marvel rather than DC when she was a kid, her unusual fee for writing term papers back in college, the true meaning of Man’s Search for Meaning, the unfortunate occupational hazard of book reviewing, who was the best science fiction writer of all time (and why), plus more.

Here’s how you can hook a snook with us— (more…)

All aboard!

Welcome to the permanently moored Queen Mary, which sailed the seas from 1936 to 1967, but which is now a retired ocean liner turned hotel in Long Beach, California—and last month the home of the second annual StokerCon. My guest for this episode snuck away with me from the con for some peace and quiet in my room—and to share take-out food delivered from nearby Thai Silk.

The first of five episodes I captured for you while out West is with the legendary William F. Nolan, who’s written more than 2,000 pieces of fiction and non-fiction, co-wrote with George Clayton Johnson the novel Logan’s Run, co-wrote with Richard Matheson the screenplay to the movie Trilogy of Terror (which contains perhaps the scariest doll ever seen on film), plus—he’s received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horror Writers Association and was named a World Horror Society Grand Master. His most recent short story collection is Like a Dead Man Walking.

We discussed how Ray Bradbury helped him sell his first short story in 1954, the way a slush pile sale to Playboy convinced him to abandon a successful career as a commercial artist, why his Twilight Zone episode was never filmed, the difference between the real truth and Charles Beaumont’s “greater truth,” why he only ever acted in one movie (and got punched by William Shatner), how Stan Freberg pranked diners aboard the Queen Mary and made them think the ship was sinking, which novel he thinks is his best (and it’s not Logan’s Run), and more.

Before you dive in, a reminder—if you like what you hear and what Eating the Fantastic is trying to accomplish, check out how you can support the show by subsidizing some of the travel, bandwidth, meal, and other costs over on Patreon. (There are perks for all patrons, of course.) Or, if you’d prefer, make a one-time donation via Paypal.me. With your help, I can keep capturing all those who make the world of the fantastic great, and also make this podcast even bigger and better.

And now—here’s how you can dig into some of that Pad-Se-Ew with us— (more…)

As I told you earlier, going into Saturday’s Bram Stoker Awards ceremony I was tied at 6-0 with three other writers for the most nominations without ever having won. I even wore a button throughout the weekend to ensure the other StokerCon attendees knew of my exalted state, as this Thursday night selfie with Becky Stratford, the Librarian Guest of Honor, proves.

What waited for me on the other side of that ceremony was either an award for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction … or something far more historic. How historic? So much so that emcee Jeff Strand felt moved to take notice of my potential achievement during his opening monologue.

Give a listen to what he had to say … (more…)

For the fifth and final episode of Eating the Fantastic recorded in Las Vegas during StokerCon, I headed out to Hash House A Go Go, one of my favorite restaurants—at least in its San Diego incarnation. My breakfast there is always one of my favorite Comic-Con meals. But alas, there turned out to be more than a 90-minute wait that Sunday morning in Vegas, so I moved on to Yard House at the recommendation of my guest, Gene O’Neill, who’d eaten there earlier that weekend.

Gene, with whom I attended the Clarion Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers’ Workshop when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, has been nominated 11 times for the Bram Stoker Award, and has won twice, in the categories of Long Fiction and Fiction Collection.

We reminisced about our shared Clarion experience way back in 1979, our reaction upon seeing a stack of Jack London’s rejection slips, the personality trait he shares with Harlan Ellison, what he learned from Carol Emshwiller, what he and Kim Stanley Robinson taught each other during their eight-hour drives to Eugene, Oregon for workshops with Damon Knight and Kate Wilhelm, and much more.

Here’s how you can get a seat at the table— (more…)

For my fourth episode of Eating the Fantastic recorded during StokerCon, Linda Addison joined me at Yardbird, a Southern food restaurant inside The Venetian which Eater, a site I trust, promised that once you’re done, “you’ll feel like you just ate at your favorite Southern relative’s home.” Since I have no Southern relatives, I can’t attest to the truth of that statement, only that my Chicken ‘n’ Watermelon ‘n’ Waffles was excellent.

You may know Linda primarily as a four-time Bram Stoker Award-winning poet, but she is oh so much more, as you’ll learn should you give this episode a listen.

We talked of how someone who earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics transforms into a four-time Bram Stoker Award winning writer, the way a chance encounter with Grand Master Frederik Pohl during a New York is Book Country Festival helped her make her first sale to Asimov’s, why this acclaimed horror poet has now decided to go from micro to macro and write a science fiction trilogy, and much more.

Here’s how you can join us—though sadly, you’ll have to get your own Shrimp ‘n’ Grits. (more…)