Weird Little Worlds Press was pleased to be a part of StokerCon 2023. Stokercon took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this year June 15-18, presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA). During the event, Weird Little Worlds Press was highlighted through panels, interviews, and a nomination for Excellence in an Anthology for Mother: Tales of Love and Terror. The highlight of the event was during the Bram Stoker Award® ceremony for Excellence in Short Fiction, which was won by Mercedes M. Yardley for her contribution to Mother: Tales of Love and Terror, “Fracture.”
Weird Little Worlds Press CEO, Willow Dawn Becker, was on the ground at the convention as a vendor, speaker, and nominee. She was a featured contributor to the Monstrous Mothers panel, alongside Krista Carmen, K.P. Kulski, Zoje Stage, Katrina Monroe, and Stephanie M. Wytovich. She also participated in the Pitch Panel Session, taking pitches from horror writers from as far away as Ukraine.
Many of the Weird Little Worlds Press authors were also on hand participating in events including Lisa Morton, Maxwell I Gold, John Langan, Shane Hawk, Gabino Iglesias, and many more. Lisa Morton, an author in Humans are the Problem: A Monster’s Anthology, was the Keynote Speaker at the Awards Banquet, and highlighted the growing presence of women in horror fiction. Gabino Iglesias, an author in both of the WLW Press anthologies, walked home with the penultimate award of the night, Excellence in a Novel, for The Devil Takes You Home.
The competition for the Excellence in an Anthology award that Mother: Tales of Love and Terror participated in was stiff and included an all-woman lineup of anthologists including such great names as Ellen Datlow, Sadie Hartmann and Ashley Sawyers, Lindy Ryan, and Sara Tantlinger. WLW Press did not take home the award for Excellence in an Anthology, which went to legendary editor Ellen Datlow. Of the loss, Willow Becker said on Twitter, “If we have to lose to someone, I am glad that it’s to Ellen.”
Christi Nogle, co-editor of Mother: Tales of Love and Terror was also in attendance, she was nominated both for her editorial work on Mother and her novel, Beulah, in the category of Excellence in a First Novel, which she won.
Weird Little Worlds is extremely pleased to help celebrate the wins of both Christi Nogle and Mercedes M. Yardley for their individual Stoker awards, We feel blessed to be surrounded by so many great talents willing to support WLW and each other.
The StokerCon literary horror convention highlights the best in horror fiction. Next year, the convention will take place in San Diego, and Weird Little Worlds Press is looking forward to participating again.
You can find the full schedule for the convention here
Maddie is a 24-year-old full-time university student. She is currently getting get bachelors degree in English from Arizona State University. She is also a member of Delta Sigma sorority and a writer for The Spark Newsletter. In her free time she enjoys reading, watching movies, D&D, and playing with her two-year-old dog Sam.
