31 Days of Horror Day 10-- The Horror Writers Association and Libraries

I am a proud member of the Horror Writers Association [HWA] and currently serve as the Association's Secretary. The HWA is the biggest advocate for the genre in the world, and as a result, their webpage is a treasure trove of information all year long. 

Every October I spend 1day of my blog-a-thon to highlight the HWA as a resource for you to use to help leisure readers.

I want to begin with the fact that the HWA has a category of membership for librarians, "Associate Ally" defined as a non-writing horror professional (bookseller, agent. illustrator, editor, teacher, librarian, or other)." This is a level above being a fan. The HWA values the work all library workers do to support and promote the genre and show us by including our profession as a path to becoming a member.

You should explore the entire site but below, you can find an annotated list with links as to the most useful HWA information for library workers:

• Librarians' Day is an annual event that usually happens live at StokerCon. I am the organizer of this event. This year, the live event was cancelled and moved online. You can sign up here to be a part of the 4th Annual Librarians' Day which will be delivered via pre-recorded videos beginning on 11/1/20, but registrants will have access to an email address to participate in an asynchronous  Q & A throughout the month of November. This is a full day Readers' Advisory CE event for all library workers. We finished recording the panels this week, and I can tell you, this event is going to be fun and useful. Again, click here to register.
• Summer Scares is the HWA led program aimed at introducing horror titles to school and public library workers in order to help them start conversations with readers that will extend beyond the books from each list and promote reading for years to come. Along with the annual list of recommended titles for readers of all ages, the Summer Scares committee also releases themed lists of even more “read-alike” titles for libraries to use when suggesting books to readers this summer and all year long. There is much more information about this program including the current  selected titles and a programming guide here. You can use all of the resources we have created to help horror readers at any age. 
• The HWA also runs the most prestigious award for Horror, The Bram Stoker Awards. There is a database of every winner since it's inception as well as links to the other awards such as speciality  press, lifetime achievement, etc... in one easy place, an entire Bram Stoker Awards website.
• The Recommended Reading List is one of the HWA's best resources for libraries, but it is also the least well known to library workers. It is a way for you  to see past years' favorite books and stories as nominated by the horror writers themselves. See what books they have loved. From the web page with the annual list:
• This list of Bram Stoker Award Recommendations is compiled during the year by members of the Horror Writers Association. We make it available to the public as something of a 'reading list' for horror readers and fans. These works are all new horror published during the year that our members feel worthy of recommending for Bram Stoker Award consideration. They are not 'Bram Stoker Award nominees', nor are they part of any ballot process at this stage, but it is likely they represent some of the best new horror fiction, poetry and non-fiction published during the year
• Quick Bites is the monthly newsletter of the HWA that goes out to anyone and everyone. You do not need to be a member to receive this. All library workers should click here to signup. It's an easy way to stay up to date on horror news and new releases. Quick Bites goes out on the 15th of every month, so there is still time to signup for the October newsletter!
• The Diverse Works Inclusion Committee for the HWA is charged with making sure the full breadth of horror is represented in the work of the association [full mission statement here]. To that end, the committee releases the a monthly column of diverse horror creators, introduces them and their work, and recommends a "start with" title. That column is called, The Seers Table, and you  can access every column with this link.
• Every October, the HWA also does a blog-a-thon. Their's is called Halloween Haunts and it is a great way to learn more about horror, its authors, and why HWA members love the genre personally. You can access Halloween Haunts on the HWA main page all month long.

I hope you can find something here in my list, or through your own poking around on the HWA's site, to help you help your scariest readers without forgetting yourself in the process.