31 Days of Horror: Day 5 : Connect With Your Local Horror Writers with the Help of the HWA's Library Committee

Yesterday, I welcomed Konrad Stump as he shared Why I Love Horror." Today, I want to introduce you to the some of the work Konrad and I are doing together as the Co-Chairs of the Library Committee for the HWA and how we can help make your job easier.

We are revamping the entire Library program and are still working on the new homepage, but basically, our mission is to make it easier for library workers to promote Horror in their libraries and with their patrons.

We are approaching this mission from two directions:

1. We are helping to connect libraries who ask with Horror authors and ideas for programming while also working to help them curate their collections through programs like Summer Scares.
2. We are actively reaching out to HWA member authors to help them connect with their local libraries.

Since Konrad and I are both library workers AND HWA members this two pronged approach makes sense. We are there for our fellow library workers with author connections and Horror expertise that is perfectly tailored to libraries and, quite often, already proven in the real world.

But we are also there for our fellow author members, providing them information about how libraries work, what they are looking for, and the proper behavior when approaching your local library. 

To address that second point, in September we worked with the local chapters of the HWA to create a program entitled, "Meet Your Local Horror Authors" and encouraged the chapters to reach out to libraries to offer a panel where they introduce themselves to library workers, talk about Horror, their own work, and offer their assistance during the spooky season. We also reached out to libraries who were interested in offering  program like this and connected them to their local chapter coordinators. 

While it is already October, I am happy to say, these programs are available anytime of year. And to encourage you to schedule one for your library or system, I am sharing the one I did with my local system, RAILS. Click here to watch Meeting Your Local Horror Author moderated by me and introducing the Chicagoland Chapter of the HWA to Northern IL's library workers. And click here to access the chat with all of the titles that were suggested during the event.

If you want to get in touch with Konrad and me about anything horror and libraries, all you need to do is  send us an email to libraries [at] horror [dot] org. That will reach both of us. You can reach out to share the cool things you are doing, ask to be connected to your local chapter, inquire about HWA member authors who are available to appear at your larger events [especially if they are virtual], or even just get programing advice from Konrad or collection development help from me.

 Also, don't forget, as a library worker, you are eligible to join the HWA yourself, at the Affiliate Ally level. All members can also join their local chapters and get involved with their meetings and programming. Your local chapter is a great place to meet authors, start making connections, and collaborate to provide programming in your communities. And, if you don't have a local chapter, we are also working with the National Chapter Coordinators to get more started all over the country.

Again, that email is libraries [at] horror [dot] org.

Back tomorrow with another library worker/HWA member and her essay on "Why I Love Horror." You do not want to miss this one! And bring your tissues.