Women in Horror Month – our recommendations!

I did an online reading Feb. 25 with Syosset Public Library and HWA NY Chapter (more about that under the Appearances tab above). Readers were Linda D Addison (an HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient), plus three writers from HWA-NY: Meghan Arcuri, April Grey and me.

Each of us made a list of five women in horror that we’d recommend for you to check out. I put them into a little video, and the list is below so that you don’t miss any names!

Linda D. AddisonHow To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend https://www.amazon.com/Recognize-Demon-Become-Your-Friend/dp/1530128102/
 Her website:www.LindaAddisonPoet.com
Linda recommends:1. Silvia Moreno-Garcia – MEXICAN GOTHIC  (Del Rey)
 2. Lee Murray – GROTESQUE: MONSTER STORIES (Things in the Well)
 3. Christina Sng – A COLLECTION OF DREAMSCAPES (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
 4. Nicole Givens Kurtz  – SLAY: STORIES OF THE VAMPIRE (Mocha Memoirs Press)
 5. Mercedes M. Yardley – ARTERIAL BLOOM (Crystal Lake Publishing) — also strong writer
Meghan ArcuriA New York State of Fright (Hippocampus Press) https://www.hippocampuspress.com/mythos-and-other-authors/fiction/a-new-york-state-of-fright
 Her website:
www.MeghanArcuri.com
Meghan recommends:1. Marianne Halbert – COLD COMFORTS (Crossroad Press)
–fiction collection
 2. doungjai gam – glass slipper dreams, shattered (Apokrupha)
–fiction collection
 3. Alma Katsu – THE HUNGER (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) –novel
 4. Justina Ireland – DREAD NATION (Balzer + Bray) –novel
 5. Christina Sng – A COLLECTION OF NIGHTMARES (Raw Dog Screaming Press) –poetry collection (same author as Linda, different collection)
April GreyHell’s Mall: Sinister Shops, Cursed Objects and Maddening Crowds (Lafcadia Press) tinyurl.com/339bhusk
 Her website:AprilGrey.blogspot.com
April recommends:1. Jessica McHugh – THE TRAIN DERAILS IN BOSTON (Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing)
 2. Ania Ahlborn – SEED (47North) — or anything else by her
 3. Helen Phifer – THE GOOD SISTERS  (HQ Digital) — or any of her detective/haunted house books
 4. Darcy Coates – THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR: A Ghost Story (Black Owl Books) — or any of her haunted house books
 5. J. K. Rowling, pseudonym Robert Galbraith – The Cuckoo’s Calling – Cormoran Strike series (Mulholland Books) — Or, anything by Charlaine Harris (had to sneak her in!)
Carol GyzanderStories We Tell After Midnight (Crone Girls Press) https://www.amazon.com/Stories-We-Tell-After-Midnight/dp/1696935164/
 Her website:Right here! CarolGyzander.com
Carol recommends:1. Lee Murray and Geneve Flynn, editors – BLACK CRANES: TALES OF UNQUIET WOMEN (Omnium Gatherum Media)
 2. Caitlin Starling – THE LUMINOUS DEAD: A NOVEL (Harper Voyager)
 3. Rachel A Brune, editor/publisher at Crone Girls Press (and a great writer, too!)
 4. Michelle Renee Lane – INVISIBLE CHAINS (Haverhill House Publishing)
 5. Chris Marrs – PRAIRIE GOTHIC: An Anthology (Prairie Soul Press)

The toughest thing was narrowing it down to only five!

If you want to watch our reading, check it out at bit.ly/SyossetWiHMreading

Chapter Announcement: Carol Gyzander is HWA-NY’s New Chapter Co-Coordinator

(From the HWA NY Chapter website at HWANY.com, Feb. 3, 2021)

Carol Gyzander

HWA-NY is pleased to announce the appointment of Carol Gyzander to the role of Chapter Co-Coordinator, joining James Chambers in leading the New York Chapter. Since Carol joined the Horror Writers Association in 2017 she has gone above and beyond to help with organizing and running our readings, convention appearances, and many of the HWA-NY’s most celebrated reading series, including Women in Horror Month, Night Terrors, and the recently launched online reading series, Galactic Terrors. Our chapter wouldn’t be the same without her, and we’re excited for her to receive this well-deserved recognition.

When Galactic Terrors was in the planning stages, Carol took the lead in investigating the technical details of various streaming platforms to find the best fit for the chapter’s needs. She’s also responsible for pulling together much of the information required for each episode and even learned how to make video clips to introduce each reader, but reports she is quite relieved that Lou Rera has taken over this task and immensely improved it. Carol also co-hosts Galactic Terrors with James Chambers on the second Thursday of each month, streaming new episodes live via YouTube and Facebook.

Earlier in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic made in-person chapter meetings impossible, Carol reacted swiftly, researching online meeting platforms for safety and accessibility before pivoting the group to an online venue. She also added a series of mid-month check-ins to ensure that HWA-NY members felt supported and connected during those first brutal months of lockdown.

Carol is also a gifted author and editor. Her stories appear in a dozen anthologies including Stories We Tell After Midnight from Crone Girls Press; Across the Universe: Tales of Alternate Beatles from Fantastic Books (amidst stories by Cat Rambo, Spider Robinson and David Gerrold); Cat Ladies of the Apocalypse from Camden Park Press; and The Devil’s Due: Nothing is Ever as it Seems from Valhalla Books (payment is due for deals you make!). She also has stories in Hell’s Highways: Terrifying Tales of Tormented Travels and Hell’s Mall: Sinister Shops, Cursed Items and Maddening Crowds from Lafcadia Press.

As editor and co-founder of Writerpunk Press, she’s edited four anthologies of punk stories inspired by classic tales including Merely This and Nothing More: Edgar Allan Poe Goes Punk and Hideous Progeny: Classic Horror Goes Punk. She and James Chambers are also co-editing the forthcoming charity anthology, Even in the Grave, which will raise funds for the HWA-NY Chapter to support events and help cover expenses for their reading series and other activities.

“The HWA community, and HWA-NY in particular, has been so friendly and welcoming,” Carol said. “I’m delighted to be able to help serve and promote such a supportive group, and to work with Jim who is a tireless resource and advocate for our Chapter and HWA overall. I’ve been particularly excited about the way our new online platforms help reach members who are a bit farther away in our chapter, and I look forward to seeing those continue in some way in the future.”

With deep appreciation for her many contributions to the New York chapter, as well as the larger horror writing community, please join us in congratulating Carol Gyzander and welcoming her in her new role as HWA-NY Chapter Co-Coordinator.