IMPORTANT: This award can NOT be used to pay college tuition.
The Horror Writers Association is proud to announce The Dark Poetry Scholarship to supplement its Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and Horror Writers Association Scholarships.
The first Dark Poetry Scholarship was awarded in 2015. Thereafter, the scholarship will be given annually. The scholarship is designed to assist in the professional development of our members writing Horror and/or Dark Fantasy Poetry.
A sub-committee appointed by the HWA Board will choose the winner, who will be announced each year.
The Dark Poetry Scholarship is worth $1250, which may be spent on approved writing education over the two years following the granting of the scholarship. Exclusions may apply.
Rules – The Dark Poetry Scholarship.
Please read the rules before submitting to give yourself the best chance of success.
One cannot be eligible for the same scholarship, grant, or endowment 2 years in a row.
Applicants need to show an active interest in writing horror/dark fiction or poetry, as the case may be.
The Dark Poetry Scholarship was originally made possible by a grant from Michael Randolph. It is currently funded by monies received by HWA from the Authors Coalition.
IMPORTANT: This award can NOT be used to pay college tuition. Applicants need to show an active interest in writing horror/dark fiction or poetry, as the case may be.
You are applying for both scholarships with this form.
The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship may be awarded to a writer who identifies as a woman.
The HWA Scholarship may be awarded to any writer of any identity.
One cannot be eligible for the same scholarship, grant, or endowment 2 years in a row. Rules — The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship and the Horror Writers Association Scholarship
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) has established two $2500 Scholarships to assist in the professional development of horror writers:
- The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship,
- and the Horror Writers Association Scholarship.
The Scholarships are effectively two facets of the same award; applicants enter the same competition using the same application form. A sub-committee of the HWA Board chooses the scholarship winners from that pool of applicants. The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship is available for those members who identify as women and the Horror Writers Association Scholarship is available for any member, regardless of gender.
The Scholarships are made by possible by monies received by HWA from the Authors Coalition.
Deadline: Midnight, August 1 (Pacific Time)
“Where members have a grievance over issues such as plagiarism, with a publisher over a contractual issue, or a similar matter; and that grievance has not been resolved after the member has made reasonable endeavors, the member may approach the HWA Grievance Committee. The Committee will consider the facts and endeavor to assist the Member in getting a satisfactory resolution.” - HWA Member Handbook
Function
HWA Grievance Committee is established to provide an avenue within the organization where members may freely and openly inform the association of events that may negatively affect the organization or its members. The Chairman of the Grievance Committee must appoint volunteers to act as committee members. The committee must have a minimum of 5 volunteers including the chairman, but never exceed 9 members, including chairman.
The committee DOES NOT:
- Make decisions regarding the morality of members.
- Take sides on any issue.
- Play favorites.
The HWA offers this service as a benefit to its members and acts solely as an investigator/mediator. The HWA does not provide legal advice to anyone. If a party to a dispute informs the HWA that such party is represented by legal counsel, the HWA will immediately cease its investigation or mediation unless all parties and their counsel agree otherwise. The HWA is not obligated to conduct an investigation or mediation with regard to any matter that, in its sole discretion, the HWA deems to be outside the scope of the Grievance Committee or deems might place any of the HWA or its officers, trustees, or members of the Grievance Committee in jeopardy or expose any of them to liability.
Purpose
The purpose of the Grievance Committee is to help members resolve various complaints AFTER the member has utilized their own methods of resolution.
The chairman will notify HWA leadership and Board of Directors of any negative trends found in grievances.
Steps of grievance committee upon receiving complaint:
- Ensure that complainant is a dues-paying member of the HWA.
- Ensure that complaint specifies type of grievance.
- Contact complainant within 72 hours.
- Contact defendant within 48 hours after receiving a completed grievance form from the complainant.
- Check complaint against the current bylaws of the association.
Grievance Submission:
Complete the form below to submit a grievance to the HWA.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH. Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.
We have two submission periods:
- January 1 through November 30 — For all works published between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026
- December 1 through December 31 — For all works published between December 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026
We do this to save our jurors from having too big an avalanche of works at the end of the year, so please submit early. You or your authorized agent are offering your own work to be read by the Bram Stoker Award Jury. This will not get the work on the Recommended Reading List — that is a separate process. Neither submitting to the Jury nor the work’s presence on the Recommended Reading List guarantees that the work will make it to the ballot. By submitting, you are affirming no AI was used in your submission.
SUBMIT A DIGITAL COPY OF THE WORK
- Upload files only in PDF (Adobe), EPUB, MOBI, DOC (Word), or RTF (rich text format)
- If you cannot upload your work, then upload a DOC, RTF, or PDF document about your work and where to get a review copy (NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc) plus the required information from the form below.
DEEP BREATH.
Take your time. Make sure your recommendation is neatly formatted and complete. For questions or concerns, please email stokerchair@horror.org.