THE HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION (HWA) is a nonprofit organization of writers and publishing professionals around the world, dedicated to promoting dark literature and the interests of those who write it. HWA was formed in 1985 with the help of many of the field’s greats, including Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon, and Joe Lansdale. Today——with over 1250 members in countries such as Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Germany, Honduras, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad, United Kingdom and the United States——it is the oldest and most respected professional organization for the much-loved writers who have brought you the most enjoyable sleepless nights of your life.

One of HWA’s missions is to encourage public interest in and foster an appreciation of good Horror and Dark Fantasy literature. To that end we offer the public areas of our website, www.horror.org; sponsor or take part in public readings and lectures; publish a monthly newsletter for members; maintain outreach to booksellers, librarians, fans and readers; facilitate readings and signings by horror writers; offer scholarships; maintain an official presence at genre convention, literary festivals, and publishing trade shows; and hold our own yearly gathering, StokerCon.

Also to that end, we sponsor the annual Bram Stoker Awards® for superior achievement in horror literature. Named in honor of the author of the seminal horror novel Dracula, the Awards are presented for superior writing in eleven categories including traditional fiction of various lengths, poetry, screenplays, and non-fiction. In addition, HWA presents an annual Lifetime Achievement Award to living persons who has made significant contributions to the writing of Horror and Dark Fantasy over the course of a lifetime. The gala awards presentation banquet takes place each year as part of StokerCon.