RA for All is at StokerCon and I Have All the Details and Even Some Goodies for Everyone, No Matter Where You Are This Weekend

Click here to enter the StokerCon 2025 website

StokerCon 205 begins today in Stamford, CT. Here is what is going on over the next few days and ways you can get in on the fun from home.

I got there yesterday and will be presenting on a panel today-- Thursday-- about how to be a better juror for the Stoker Awards. My part is that I have created a training video for those who want to serve on a jury.

Friday the 13th is Librarians' Day which is a full day of CE training for library workers and Konrad Stump and I are overseeing a great team.

Librarians' Day is Sponsored by The University of Pittsburgh Libraries, LibraryReads, and NoveList and there are representatives from all three organizations there as part of the day. You can click here to see the full StokerCon Librarians' Day schedule.

Most of the day are panels but there is a Book Buzz and I have the link with the panelists and their picks. Thanks to Emily Vinci for organizing the panel and making the great slides. There are 24 horror books coming soon, all picked by Horror experts. These slides are collection development and horror suggestion GOLD! And we are sharing them with all of you.

Please note, we will also be encouraging everyone to vote for these titles for LibraryReads as well. Their release dates are on the slides. You should consider voting for thees titles as well. Click here for those slides. Click here for directions from LibraryReads on how to vote.

Saturday, the library team is giving a panel for HWA members about how to work with your library better. I will be in the audience for that one, but I did a version of this panel as part of a pre-taped virtual presentation. We are hoping to use that pre-recorded video to help connect libraries and authors going forward. Look for more information about that coming soon.

Saturday night the Bram Stoker Awards will be broadcast live on YouTube here. You can watch past awards shows there as well. Please note, these are the 2024 Bram Stoker Award presented in 2025. 

And here is the BIG NEWS-- I am giving the keynote address for the ceremony. It is entitled, "Why We Need Horror Authors in the Fight For the Freedom to Read." It is a plea to the authors to get their butts to their local library and school board meetings to speak up for the freedom to read BEFORE there are problems in their communities.

The blogs will be off until Monday, but I will be back with the full text of my keynote address so that everyone can use it to help inspire others in their communities to speak out as well. More about that Monday.

Please go to the StokerCon 2025 website to learn more about the full slate of actives and panels.