Thursday, October 27, 2011

Now a member of the Horror Writer Association!

Just in time for Halloween, I've recently been informed that my application as an active, professional member of the international Horror Writer Association was reviewed and approved.

The membership requirements for eligibility are rigorous and involve being paid at a professional rate for a body of professional work. I appear to be one of the first Lao American poets and short story writers to successfully qualify.

Among the work that qualified me was "The True Tale of Yer," first featured in Bamboo Among the Oaks, and my books On the Other Side of the Eye, and BARROW.

My short story "What Hides and What Returns," in this year's Historical Lovecraft, and "A Model Apartment," from the 2010 Innsmouth Free Press, "The Dog at the Camp," from Tales of the Unanticipated's Autumn, 2006 issue also were included.

I was also able to point to numerous poems that appeared in magazines such as G-Fan, Dark Wisdom, Illumen, Future Lovecraft, and Apex Magazine, among others.

To put it all into perspective, the Horror Writer Association is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of Horror and Dark Fantasy writers.

It was formed in the 1980s with the help of many of the field's greats, including Joe Lansdale, Robert McCammon, and Dean Koontz. The group was originally called HOWL (Horror and Occult Writers League), but quickly changed to the Horror Writers of America when they formally organized. HWA now has members and regional chapters throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Japan, which led to the current name of the organization.


 HWA sponsors the annual Bram Stoker Awards for superior achievement in Horror and Dark Fantasy.

Thai horror writer and composer S.P. Somtow has been a past president of the Horror Writer Association.

I look forward to meeting and connecting with many new and familiar colleagues of mine in the coming years ahead, and of course, continuing to share scary stories and poems with all of you.

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