Contact: L. Marie Wood, president@horror.org or Laura Blackwell, stokerchair@horror.org
Horror Writers Association Releases the 2025 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce the Preliminary Ballot for the 2025 Bram Stoker Awards®. The HWA (see http://www.horror.org/) is the premier writers organization in the horror and dark fiction genre, with more than 2,000 members. We have presented the Bram Stoker Awards in various categories since 1987 (see http://www.thebramstokerawards.com/). Works on this ballot are not referred to as “nominees” or “finalists.” Only works appearing on the Final Ballot may be referred to as “nominated works” and their authors as “finalists.”
Laura Blackwell, Bram Stoker Awards® Committee’s Co-Chair, Administration says, “The Preliminary Ballot represents the discernment of thirteen awards juries, the work of HWA staffers and awards committee, and the admiration of the entire HWA membership. We’re delighted to present this curated list of 130 pieces of horror fiction and non-fiction, and I’m excited to see what our voting members select for the Final Ballot.”
The HWA Board and the Bram Stoker Awards® Committee congratulate all those appearing on the Preliminary Ballot. If your work appears on this ballot and you would like to offer it to voting members of the HWA in the Internet Mailer to be sent on or about January 27, please see important information following the ballot.
The 2025 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot
Superior Achievement in an Anthology
Allingham, LCW and Eno, River — Vampire Hunters: An Incomplete Record of Personal Accounts (Speculation Publications)
Armiento, Isabel, ed. — One Bad Night & Other Stories (Aardvark Book Club)
Bissett, Carina, ed — Fractured Reveries: A Storied Imaginarium Salon (Storied Imaginarium)
Day, Julie C.; Bissett, Carina; and Gidney, Craig Laurance, eds. — Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology (Essential Dreams Press)
Golden, Christopher and Keene, Brian — The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand (Gallery Books)
Ihezue, Somto and Kidula, Olivia — Will This Be A Problem? The Anthology (Shilitza Publishing)
Kulski, Kristy Park — Silk & Sinew: A Collection of Folk Horror from the Asian Diaspora (Bad Hand Books)
Murray, Lee and Jeffery, Dave — This Way Lies Madness: Stories from the Edge of Darkness (Flame Tree Publishing)
Pascale, Elaine — Darkness Most Fowl (The Godmother of Horror Press)
Ryan, Lindy and Wytovich, Stephanie M., ed. — HOWL: An Anthology of Werewolves from Women-in-Horror (Black Spot Books)
Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection
Castro, V. — The Pink Agave Motel & Other Stories (CLASH Books)
Chapman, Clay McLeod — Acquired Taste (Titan Books)
Files, Gemma — Little Horn: Stories (Shortwave)
Guignard, Eric J. — A Graveside Gallery: Tales of Ghosts and Dark Matters (Cemetery Dance)
Langan, John — Lost in The Dark and Other Excursions (Word Horde)
Ntumy, Cheryl S. — Black Friday: Stories from Africa (Flame Tree Press)
Piper, Hailey — Teenage Girls Can Be Demons (Titan Books)
Regan, M. — stories in the minor key (Sobelo)
Robertson, Andrew — InHUMANities(The Great Lakes Horror Company)
Tantlinger, Sara — Cyanide Constellations (Dark Matter INK)
Superior Achievement in a First Novel
Daly, Grace — The Scald-Crow (Creature Publishing)
Justine, H. Lee — You Watched in Silence (Blackstone Publishing)
Karella, Bitter — Moonflow (Run For It)
Madrid, L.L. — My Lips, Her Voice (Creature Publishing)
Pell, Tanya — Her Wicked Roots (Gallery Books)
Penney, Vanessa F. — The Witch of Willow Sound (ECW Press)
Steel, Hester — The Faceless Thing We Adore (Page Street Horror)
Tennison, Kathryn — Molting (Uncomfortably Dark Horror)
Viel, Neena — Listen to Your Sister (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Wehunt, Michael — The October Film Haunt (St. Martin’s Press)
Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel
Bunn, Cullen (writer) and Luckert, Danny (artist) – Jumpscare (Dark Horse Comics)
Bunn, Cullen (writer) and Mitten, Christopher (artist) – The Autumn Kingdom: Through the Blight (Oni Press)
Carey, Mike (writer) and Raimondi, Pablo (artist) – Ghostbox (Mad Cave Studios)
Cleveland, Anthony (writer) and Cormack, Alex (artist) – Buried Long, Long Ago (Mad Cave Studios)
King, Sandy (editor) – John Carpenter’s Tales for a HalloweeNight, Volume 11 (Storm King Comics)
Kraus, Daniel (writer) and Dani (artist) – Athanasia (VAULT Comics)
Mignola, Mike – Bowling With Corpses and Other Tales from Lands Unknown (Dark Horse Comics)
Oeming, Michael Avon – William of Newbury (Dark Horse Comics)
Tynion IV, James (writer), Foxe, Steve (writer), and Kowalski, Piotr (artist) – Let This One Be a Devil – (Dark Horse Comics & Tiny Onion Studios)
Tynion IV, James (writer) and Walsh, Michael (artist) – Exquisite Corpses (Image Comics & Tiny Onion Studios)
Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
Bacon, Eugen — The Nga’phandileh Whisperer: A Sauútiverse Novella (Stars and Sabers)
Ballingrud, Nathan — Cathedral of the Drowned (Tor Nightfire)
Cooper, S.H. — Reap, Sow (Independently Published)
Ha, Thomas — “Uncertain Sons” (Uncertain Sons and Other Stories, Undertow Publications)
Langan, Sarah — “Squid Teeth”(Reactor)
Langan, Sarah — Pam Kowolski is a Monster! (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
Marano, Luciano — Humbug (Crystal Lake Publishing)
McRobert, Neil — Good Boy (Wild Hunt Books)
Wise, A.C. — “Wolf Moon, Antler Moon” (Reactor)
Superior Achievement in Long Non-Fiction
Borwein, Naomi Simone, ed. — Global Indigenous Horror (University Press of Mississippi)
Cavallaro, Jason — Cracking Spines: Three Decades of Horror (Independently Published)
Grafius, Brandon R. and Morehead, John W., eds. — The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Monsters (Oxford University Press)
Hieber, Leanna Renee and Janes, Andrea — America’s Most Gothic (Kensington Publishing)
Isaacson, Johanna — What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (DieDieBooks)
Lisowksi, Zefyr — Uncanny Valley Girls — (Harper Perennial)
Rogerson, Matt, ed. — Darkest Margins: 24 Essays on Liminality and Liminal Spaces in the Horror Genre (1428 Publishing)
Scrivner, Coltan — Morbidly Curious: A Scientist Explains Why We Can’t Look Away (Penguin Random House)
Sederholm, Carl H. and Woofter, Kristopher, eds. — The Weird: A Companion (Peter Lang, Oxford)
Spratford, Becky Siegel, ed. — Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Fiction (Saga Press)
Superior Achievement in a Middle Grade Novel
Averling, Mary — The Ghosts of Bitterfly Bay (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
Blankenship-Kramer, Carey — Ghost Scout’s Honor (Scholastic Press)
Collings, Michaelbrent — Grimmworld: The Big Bad Wolf (Shadow Mountain Publishing)
Dawson, Delilah S. — Ride or Die (Delacorte Press)
Field, Colm — Uncle Zeedie (Fox and Ink Books)
Kuyatt, Meg Eden — The Girl in the Walls (Scholastic Press)
Malinenko, Ally — Broken Dolls (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Ocker, J.W. — Welcome to the Ghost Show (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Oh, Ellen — The House Next Door (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Russell, Ally — Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave (Delacorte Press)
Superior Achievement in a Novel
Baker, Kylie Lee — Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng (MIRA / Hodder & Stoughton)
Chapman, Clay McLeod — Wake Up and Open Your Eyes (Quirk Books)
Hendrix, Grady — Witchcraft for Wayward Girls (Berkley)
Hill, Joe — King Sorrow (William Morrow)
Jones, Stephen Graham — The Buffalo Hunter Hunter (Saga Press)
Kraus, Daniel — Angel Down (Atria Books)
Moreno-Garcia, Silvia — The Bewitching (Del Rey)
Piper, Hailey — A Game in Yellow (Saga Press)
Tingle, Chuck — Lucky Day (Tor Nightfire)
Wagner, Wendy N. — Girl in the Creek (Tor Nightfire)
Superior Achievement in Poetry (Collection and Long Form)
Addison, Linda D. and Hodge, Jamal — Everything Endless (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
Byrdlong, Brian — Strange Flowers (YesYes Books)
Couturier, Scott J. — Nightmuse: Poems of Speculative Darkness (Jackanapes)
Gold, Maxwell I. — Songs of Enough: An Inferno All My Own (Hippocampus Press)
Kearns, Shannon — The Uterus is an Impossible Forest (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
Niles, Frederick — Slender Bones in Sacred Soil (Blood Moon Publishing)
Peebles, Cate — The Haunting (Tupelo Press)
Raguso, MarieAnn C, Ph.D — Allegories of Beauty & Violence: a collection of Gothic Romance Poems (Analyze This)
Rockwell, Griffin — listen—a poetic creature (Interstellar Flight Press)
Schultz, K. A. — PÔËTÍQUE Dark Poems & Lyric Poetry (Dakeha Taunus LLC)
Superior Achievement in a Screenplay
Busick, Guy and Taylor, Lori Evans — Final Destination: Bloodlines (New Line Cinema / Domain Entertainment / Practical Pictures)
Coogler, Ryan — Sinners (Warner Bros. / Domain / Proximity)
Cregger, Zach — Weapons (New Line Cinema / Domain / Subconscious)
Ezban, Isaac and Fentanes, Ricardo Aguado — Parvulos: Children of the Apocalypse (Corazon Films / MalignoGorehouse / Red Elephant)
Garland, Alex — 28 Years Later (Sony / Columbia Pictures / TSG Entertainment)
Hancock, Drew — Companion (New Line Cinema / BoulderLight Pictures / Vertigo Entertainmen)
Hassel, Lukas — House of Abraham (Jump Rock Pictures)
Mollner, JT — The Long Walk (Lionsgate / Media Capital Technologies / Vertigo Entertainment)
Philippou, Danny and Hinzman, Bill — Bring Her Back (Causeway Films / Salmira Productions / The South Australian Film Corporation)
Shanks, Michael — Together (1.21 / 30West / Picturestart / Princess Pictures)
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
Daniels, L.E. — “Stomata” (Darkness Most Fowl, The Godmother of Horror Press)
Joseph, RJ – “Inheritance” (Full Throttle: A Dark Dozen Anthology, Uncomfortably Dark Publishing)
Keeling, Phil – “The Elevated Table” (Red Cedar Review, Vol. 60)
Lee, Felicia – “Chichilo” (Short(b)Reads) (Hollow Oak Press)
McKenzie, Amy Lynne – “Because I Am Writing Another Horror Screenplay” (Out There, Sans. PRESS)
Nelson, David Erik – “The Nölmyna” (Reactor)
Szczepaniak-Gillece, Jocelyn — “Saint Dymphna’s School for Borderland Girls” — (Weird Horror #10, Undertow Publications)
Taborska, Anna — “[Ir]reversible” (Witches and Witchcraft: An Anthology of Stories, Poems, and Essays, Hippocampus Press)
Tierney, Charlotte – “Who Kills a Spider” (Extra Teeth Magazine, Extra Bite)
Wongsatayanont, Champ – “Autogas Ferryman” (Nightmare Magazine #156, Adamant Press)
Superior Achievement in Short Non-Fiction
Barb, Patrick —“Deathwish Wolf Man: The Tragic Hero at the Heart of the Universal Monster” (Interstellar Flight Magazine) (Interstellar Flight Press)
Cassels, Pat — “Coney Island’s Last Surviving Classic Haunted Ride” (Atlas Obscura)
Chapman, Clay McLeod —“Why I Am Horror” (Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Fiction, Saga Press)
Due, Tananarive —“My Long Road to Horror” (Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Fiction, Saga Press)
Jones, Stephen Graham — “Why Horror” (Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Fiction, Saga Press)
Kerestman, Katherine — “Frank Belknap Long Letters, Written to Michael E. Ambrose, 1976-1979” (Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts Oct 2025, International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts)
Moshaty, Mo —“Haunted Thresholds: Liminal Horror and the Psychological Disintegration of Women from Post-Partum, Grief, Trauma and Religious Fanaticism” (Darkest Margins: 24 Essays on Liminality and Liminal Spaces in the Horror Genre) (1428 Publishing Ltd)
Pelayo, Cynthia — “My Mother Was Margaret White” (Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Fiction, Saga Press)
Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew — “Author Functions: Stephen King’s Writers” (Theorizing Stephen King, Amsterdam University Press)
Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew — “The Victorian American Ghost Story” (The Victorian Ghost Story: An Edinburgh Companion) (Edinburgh University Press)
Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel
Chapman, Clay McLeod – Shiny Happy People (Delacorte Press)
Cheng, Linda — Beautiful Brutal Bodies (Roaring Brook Press)
Chupeco, Rin — We’re Not Safe Here (Sourcebooks)
Goldsmith, Amy — Predatory Natures (Delacorte Press)
Harris, Pamela N. — Through Our Teeth (Quill Tree Books)
Moreau, Khalia — He Burns By The River (Augustine Books)
Rodriguez Wallach, Diana — The Silenced (Delacorte Press)
Roux, Madeleine — A Girl Walks Into The Forest (Quill Tree Books)
Sain, Ginny Myers — When The Bones Sing (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Tobias, Trisha — Honeysuckle and Bone (Sweet July Books)
Our voting members will now vote on these Preliminary Ballot items, with voting closing on February 15, 2025. Only Active and Lifetime Members in good standing are eligible to vote.
If your work appears on the ballot and you wish to provide a link allowing Voting Members to read the work please email the Co-Chairs at stokerchair@horror.org with a link to your work as soon as you can but no later than January 26. You may submit only a link, no description of the Work or other information. Anyone validly representing a work appearing on the Preliminary Ballot may submit via this method, whether or not they are HWA members (this includes the author, agent, editor, publisher, or publicist of the work).
