Australian Horror Writers Association
Encyclopedia
The Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) is a non-profit organisation that commenced in 2003 with the goal of providing a unified voice and sense of community
for Australian writers of dark fiction (horror
and dark fantasy
) and to further the development of dark fiction in Australia
.
) and the Melbourne-based Australian Horror Writers (1994-1998) (see Bryce J. Stevens
), which grew out of Bloodsongs
magazine (its President being Bryce J. Stevens
, and its newsletter/journal Severed Head having been edited first by Stevens, then Aaron Sterns). However, the AHWA was a far more ambitious effort, conceived by its founding committee as drawing together horror writers and fans nationwide in Australia.
The AHWA was officially launched during the Continuum 3 science fiction convention
in Melbourne
on 17 July 2005 by author
Richard Harland
. http://www.australianhorror.com/index.php?view=6
The founding committee members were Dr Marty Young (President), Kirstyn McDermott
(Vice President), Mick Piemontese (Secretary), Carl Schaller (Treasurer), James R Cain and Angela Challis. http://www.australianhorror.com/index.php?view=6
In 2005, the AHWA established the Australian Shadows Award
as an annual literary award
to honour the best published work of horror fiction
written or edited by an Australian. The award was sponsored by Altair Australia Books in its first two years, through the donation of two statuettes created by dark fantasy artist Brom (supplied by The Franklin Mint).
Other projects established by the AHWA include the Southern Horror Yahoo! Group
mailing list for members, an annual flash fiction
and short story
competition (winning entries are published in Midnight Echo magazine), online chatrooms and forums, a Market Hive (markets database for current horror fiction markets), an annual mentorship
programme, and ongoing story critiquing groups.
Renowned Australian horror & ghost story anthologist James Doig has provided the AHWA website with a historical checklist of important Australian horror and fantasy works. http://www.australianhorror.com/index.php?view=141
The AHWA also maintains links with the British Fantasy Society
and Horror Writers of America.
The AHWA news service was amalgamated with Brimstone Press
's news
and review
webzine HorrorScope
between March 2007 and Sept 2010. With AHWA news editor Talie Helene joining the HorrorScope editorial team, the combined serviced provided a single, streamlined source for Australian horror publishing news until early 2011.
The Executive Editor of Midnight Echo Issues 1-5 was Australian author Scott Wilson. Leigh Blackmore
became Acting Executive Editor with Issue 5. Previous President Dr Marty Young returned to the AHWA as Executive Editor for Midnight Echo in Sept 2011 in time for the release of Issue 6. Marty Young launched the new Midnight Echo website in Oct 2011.
Each issue is edited by a different editor or editorial team drawn from AHWA's membership. The Art Director for Issues 1-3 was David Schembri. On Issue 5 the Art team consisted of Juliet Bathory and David Schembri. Issue 5 was the first issue printed entirely in Australia.
Colour cover artwork has featured on all issues from Issue 1 onwards. Issues 1 and 2 contained no poetry or colour internal artwork. Poetry was featured prominently alongside fiction in Issue 3, which was also the first issue to include a graphic novel (in black and white).
Individual issues of Midnight Echo have been edited by
replaced Dr Marty Young as the organisation's second President and served in that role for the year 2010-2011. Horrorscope
also ceased to be amalgamated with the AHWA.
At the Oct 2011 AGM of the Association, writer Geoff Brown was elected as the AHWA's third President.
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
for Australian writers of dark fiction (horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and dark fantasy
Dark fantasy
Dark fantasy is a term used to describe a fantasy story with a pronounced horror element.-Overview:A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down. Gertrude Barrows Bennett has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Both Charles L...
) and to further the development of dark fiction in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
History
The AHWA built to some extent on the work of previous horror writers' associations in Australia such as the Sydney-based Gargoyle Club (1987-92)(see Leigh BlackmoreLeigh Blackmore
Leigh David Blackmore is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist and musician. He served as the second President of the Australian Horror Writers Association . His work has been nominated twice for the Ditmar Award, once for fiction and once for criticism...
) and the Melbourne-based Australian Horror Writers (1994-1998) (see Bryce J. Stevens
Bryce J. Stevens
Bryce John Stevens is a horror writer/artist.Between 1987 and 1992 he co-edited, , Terror Australis: The Australian Horror and Fantasy Magazine...
), which grew out of Bloodsongs
Bloodsongs
Bloodsongs magazine was created by Steve Proposch and Chris A. Masters in 1993 as a vehicle for original horror fiction. It was published by Bambada Press in Melbourne Australia from 1993 to 1997....
magazine (its President being Bryce J. Stevens
Bryce J. Stevens
Bryce John Stevens is a horror writer/artist.Between 1987 and 1992 he co-edited, , Terror Australis: The Australian Horror and Fantasy Magazine...
, and its newsletter/journal Severed Head having been edited first by Stevens, then Aaron Sterns). However, the AHWA was a far more ambitious effort, conceived by its founding committee as drawing together horror writers and fans nationwide in Australia.
The AHWA was officially launched during the Continuum 3 science fiction convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on 17 July 2005 by author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Richard Harland
Richard Harland
Richard Harland Richard Harland Richard Harland (born 15 January 1947 in Yorkshire is an English fantasy and science fiction writer, living in New South Wales, Australia. He was born in 1947 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom and migrated to Australia in 1970...
. http://www.australianhorror.com/index.php?view=6
The founding committee members were Dr Marty Young (President), Kirstyn McDermott
Kirstyn McDermott
Kirstyn McDermott is an Australian writer of speculative fiction.-Biography:McDermott was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia on 31 October. She grew up in Woodberry, New South Wales and attended the University of Newcastle where she completed a Bachelor of Arts. In 1995 McDermott moved...
(Vice President), Mick Piemontese (Secretary), Carl Schaller (Treasurer), James R Cain and Angela Challis. http://www.australianhorror.com/index.php?view=6
In 2005, the AHWA established the Australian Shadows Award
Australian Shadows Award
The Australian Shadows Award is an annual literary award established by the Australian Horror Writers Association in 2005 to honour the best published work of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian...
as an annual literary award
Literary award
A literary award is an award presented to an author who has written a particularly lauded piece or body of work. There are awards for forms of writing ranging from poetry to novels. Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing . There are also awards...
to honour the best published work of horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
written or edited by an Australian. The award was sponsored by Altair Australia Books in its first two years, through the donation of two statuettes created by dark fantasy artist Brom (supplied by The Franklin Mint).
Other projects established by the AHWA include the Southern Horror Yahoo! Group
Yahoo! Groups
Yahoo! Groups is one of the world’s largest collections of online discussion boards. The term Groups refers to Internet communication which is a hybrid between an electronic mailing list and a threaded Internet forum, in other words, Group messages can be read and posted by e-mail or on the Group's...
mailing list for members, an annual flash fiction
Flash fiction
Flash fiction is a style of fictional literature or fiction of extreme brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category...
and short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
competition (winning entries are published in Midnight Echo magazine), online chatrooms and forums, a Market Hive (markets database for current horror fiction markets), an annual mentorship
Mentorship
Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....
programme, and ongoing story critiquing groups.
Renowned Australian horror & ghost story anthologist James Doig has provided the AHWA website with a historical checklist of important Australian horror and fantasy works. http://www.australianhorror.com/index.php?view=141
The AHWA also maintains links with the British Fantasy Society
British Fantasy Society
The British Fantasy Society began in 1971 as the British Weird Fantasy Society, an offshoot of the British Science Fiction Association. The society is dedicated to promoting the best in the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres....
and Horror Writers of America.
The AHWA news service was amalgamated with Brimstone Press
Brimstone Press
Brimstone Press was an Australian independent publisher of dark fiction . Brimstone Press was established in 2004 by Angela Challis and Shane Jiraiya Cummings and was based in Western Australia....
's news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
and review
Review
A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
webzine HorrorScope
HorrorScope (webzine)
HorrorScope: The Australian Dark Fiction Web Log is a news and review webzine dedicated to horror literature and movies. The zine was created by Australian independent publisher Brimstone Press in August 2005...
between March 2007 and Sept 2010. With AHWA news editor Talie Helene joining the HorrorScope editorial team, the combined serviced provided a single, streamlined source for Australian horror publishing news until early 2011.
Midnight Echo magazine
AHWA produces a regular print publication Midnight Echo (Oct 2008 - ). It is designed to showcase the best in Australian horror writing, though it also publishes work by non-Australian writers. The magazine began as a PDF publication with limited hardcopies being printed outside Australia. As from Issue 5, the hardcopy magazine is printed in Australia by Black House Comics.The Executive Editor of Midnight Echo Issues 1-5 was Australian author Scott Wilson. Leigh Blackmore
Leigh Blackmore
Leigh David Blackmore is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist and musician. He served as the second President of the Australian Horror Writers Association . His work has been nominated twice for the Ditmar Award, once for fiction and once for criticism...
became Acting Executive Editor with Issue 5. Previous President Dr Marty Young returned to the AHWA as Executive Editor for Midnight Echo in Sept 2011 in time for the release of Issue 6. Marty Young launched the new Midnight Echo website in Oct 2011.
Each issue is edited by a different editor or editorial team drawn from AHWA's membership. The Art Director for Issues 1-3 was David Schembri. On Issue 5 the Art team consisted of Juliet Bathory and David Schembri. Issue 5 was the first issue printed entirely in Australia.
Colour cover artwork has featured on all issues from Issue 1 onwards. Issues 1 and 2 contained no poetry or colour internal artwork. Poetry was featured prominently alongside fiction in Issue 3, which was also the first issue to include a graphic novel (in black and white).
Individual issues of Midnight Echo have been edited by
- Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond (Issue 1, Oct 2008))
- Angela Challis and Shane Jiraiya CummingsShane Jiraiya CummingsShane Jiraiya Cummings is an Australian horror short story writer and editor. He lives in Perth, Western Australia with his partner Angela Challis...
(Issue 2 (June 2009)) - Stephen Studach (see The Australian Horror and Fantasy MagazineThe Australian Horror and Fantasy MagazineThe Australian Horror and Fantasy Magazine was edited by Barry Radburn and Stephen Studach. It was published by Radburn's imprint Dark Press...
) (Issue 3 (Nov 2009)) - Lee BattersbyLee BattersbyLee Battersby is an Australian author of science fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction. His story "Carrying The God" made him the first Western Australian winner in the Writers of the Future Competition in 2002, and was awarded the 2003 Ditmar Award for Best New Talent...
(Issue 4 (July 2010) - Leigh BlackmoreLeigh BlackmoreLeigh David Blackmore is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist and musician. He served as the second President of the Australian Horror Writers Association . His work has been nominated twice for the Ditmar Award, once for fiction and once for criticism...
(Issue 5, Feb 2011). - David ConyersDavid ConyersDavid Conyers writes predominantly science fiction and Lovecraftian horror.Most of his childhood was spent in the Adelaide Hills, before moving to Melbourne. There he achieved a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at the University of Melbourne in 1993...
, Jason FischerJason FischerJason Fischer is a speculative fiction writer from South Australia, Australia. He is predominantly recognised as a writer in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres....
and David Kernot (Issue 6, forthcoming Nov 2011)
AHWA officeholders
In Sept 2010 all committee positions of the AHWA were declared vacant and new officeholders were elected. Leigh BlackmoreLeigh Blackmore
Leigh David Blackmore is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist and musician. He served as the second President of the Australian Horror Writers Association . His work has been nominated twice for the Ditmar Award, once for fiction and once for criticism...
replaced Dr Marty Young as the organisation's second President and served in that role for the year 2010-2011. Horrorscope
HorrorScope (webzine)
HorrorScope: The Australian Dark Fiction Web Log is a news and review webzine dedicated to horror literature and movies. The zine was created by Australian independent publisher Brimstone Press in August 2005...
also ceased to be amalgamated with the AHWA.
At the Oct 2011 AGM of the Association, writer Geoff Brown was elected as the AHWA's third President.
External links
- Australian Horror Writers Association official website
- Midnight Echo official website
- Krasnostein, Alisa (August 2007). "2007 Snapshot Interview: Marty Young". Australian Specific In Focus Retrieved 9-9-2007.
- Interview with Leigh Blackmore re AHWA http://www.horrorscope.com.au/2010/11/news-ahwa-president-leigh-blackmore.htmlhttp://hellnotes.com/ahwa-president-leigh-blakmore-interview?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ahwa-president-leigh-blakmore-interview