Tomorrow night is the Bram Stoker Award banquet, thrown by the Horror Writers Association. The Stoker Award is not a juried award but rather an award voted upon by all its active members. Which means that, oftentimes, what's nominated is not always read but yet voted for anyway. This is why the term "Stoker grubbing" has become an almost common term around every award season. Of course, sometimes the members vote simply on name recognition too, as they believe that will give more credibility to their organization. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to pick some random winners. I have not read hardly any of what is nominated and am choosing based simply on a gut feeling (or just randomly if I'm not sure). We'll see how close my predictions are tomorrow night. If you'd like to play along, tell me who you think the winners will be in the comments section for each category. Whoever comes closest to the right answer after tomorrow night gets a free book.
NovelHORNS by Joe Hill ROT AND RUIN by Jonathan Maberry DEAD LOVE by Linda Watanabe McFerrin APOCALYPSE OF THE DEAD by Joe McKinney DWELLER by Jeff Strand A DARK MATTER by Peter Straub
First Novel
BLACK AND ORANGE by Benjamin Kane Ethridge A BOOK OF TONGUES by Gemma Files CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES by Lisa Morton SPELLBENT by Lucy Snyder
Long Fiction
THE PAINTED DARKNESS by Brian James Freeman DISSOLUTION by Lisa Mannetti MONSTERS AMONG US by Kirstyn McDermott THE SAMHANACH by Lisa Morton INVISIBLE FENCES by Norman Prentiss
Short Fiction
RETURN TO MARIABRONN by Gary Braunbeck THE FOLDING MAN by Joe R. Lansdale 1925: A FALL RIVER HALLOWEEN by Lisa Mannetti IN THE MIDDLE OF POPLAR STREET by Nate Southard FINAL DRAFT by Mark W. Worthen
Anthology
DARK FAITH edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon HORROR LIBRARY IV edited by R.J. Cavender and Boyd E. Harris MACABRE: A JOURNEY THROUGH AUSTRALIA’S DARKEST FEARS edited by Angela Challis and Marty Young HAUNTED LEGENDS edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas THE NEW DEAD edited by Christopher Golden
Collection
OCCULTATION by Laird Barron BLOOD AND GRISTLE by Michael Louis Calvillo FULL DARK, NO STARS by Stephen King THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY by Stephen Graham Jones A HOST OF SHADOWS by Harry Shannon
Nonfiction
TO EACH THEIR DARKNESS by Gary A. Braunbeck THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE by Thomas Ligotti WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE by Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman LISTEN TO THE ECHOES: THE RAY BRADBURY INTERVIEWS by Sam Weller
Poetry
DARK MATTERS by Bruce Boston WILD HUNT OF THE STARS by Ann K. Schwader DIARY OF A GENTLEMAN DIABOLIST by Robin Spriggs VICIOUS ROMANTIC by Wrath James White