The World Horror Convention 2010 and The Horror Writers Association are proud to announce that, for the first time in their twenty-three year history, the HWA's prestigious annual Bram Stoker Awards for excellence in horror and fantasy fiction will be presented outside North America at the convention in Brighton, England.
The Bram Stoker Awards ceremony will take place at a gala banquet on the evening of Saturday, March 27. This event will be one of the highlights of the convention, and will include past Stoker Award winners as award presenters.
Tickets for the Awards Banquet are strictly limited and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. They will be available to both HWA members and anyone with a registered membership for World Horror Convention 2010. Any HWA member who only wants to pay to attend the Banquet can do so, although they will not be allowed into any other convention events without a full membership. Information about how tickets may be purchased will be appearing soon on both the HWA and WHC websites. The annual WHC Grand Master Award will also be presented at the Award Banquet of the Saturday evening.
Once again organised by HWA's Stoker Co-ordinators John R. Little and Lisa Morton, nominees for the 2010 HWA Bram Stoker Awards will be announced early in the new year. The Horror Writers Association also bestows a yearly Lifetime Achievement Award in acknowledgement of superior achievement over a career. Previous winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Stephen King and Anne Rice. One of the two most recent Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, F. Paul Wilson, attended the 2009 Awards presentation in Los Angeles and is set to be one of the many horror celebrities also attending the 2010 event in the U.K.
THE HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION (HWA) is a world-wide organisation of writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting dark literature and the interests of those who write it. HWA was formed in the late 1980s with the help of many of the field's greats, including Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon, and Joe R. Lansdale. Today, with members all around the globe, it is the oldest and most respected professional organisation devoted to the genre.
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, The World Horror Convention will be held over March 25-28, 2010, in the historic Regency seaside city of Brighton, on the picturesque south coast of England. This is the first time that the event will have been held off the North American continent.
The theme is "BRIGHTON SHOCK!—A CELEBRATION OF THE EUROPEAN HORROR TRADITION FROM VICTORIAN TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY", and the convention will host numerous panels, talks, presentations, readings, workshops and displays devoted to horror, macabre, mystery and thriller fiction and art in all its varied and fearsome forms.
The venue will be the historic Royal Albion Hotel, which dates back more than 180 years and stands directly opposite Brighton's iconic Palace Pier and a stone's throw from the beach. There are plenty of alternative hotels and Bed & Breakfasts in the immediate surroundings, catering for all budgets, and Brighton is filled with restaurants, wine bars and clubs.
Antiquarian shopping precinct The Lanes, the Sea Life Centre and the
world-famous Royal Pavilion are also within easy walking distance.
Brighton has direct transport links from Gatwick International Airport and the centre of London, and is easily accessible for overseas visitors, especially those from mainland Europe. And if you want to extend your stay, then Britain's annual National Science Fiction Convention, Odyssey 2010, is being organised near to Heathrow airport the following weekend. Come for World Horror and stay for Eastercon!
Author Guests of Honour are TANITH LEE and DAVID CASE, Artist Guests of Honour are LES EDWARDS and DAVE CARSON, and Editor Guest of Honour is HUGH LAMB. Best-selling author JAMES HERBERT is the Special Guest of Honour, and Mistress of Ceremonies is JO FLETCHER.
Other writers, artists, agents, editors and publishers already registered as attending World Horror Convention 2010 include: ANGRY ROBOT BOOKS (UK), Kelley Armstrong, Randy Broecker, Edward W. Bryant Jr., Pat Cadigan, Ramsey Campbell, CENTIPEDE PRESS (USA), Basil Copper, Peter Crowther, Ellen Datlow, Bob Eggleton, Christopher Fowler, Gary Fry, GRAY FRIAR PRESS (UK), Simon R. Green, John Jarrold, JEMMA PRESS (Greece), Stephen Jones, Paul Kane, Allen Koszowski, Tim Lebbon, Samantha Lee, Brian Lumley, Dorothy Lumley, L.H. Maynard & M.P.N. Sims, Gary McMahon, Farah Mendlesohn, MORTBURY PRESS (UK), Mark Morris, Lisa Morton, Yvonne Navarro, Adam L.G. Nevill, NEWCON PRESS (UK), Kim Newman, Reggie Oliver, Weston Ochse, Sarah Pinborough, David Pirie, John L. Probert, PS PUBLISHING (UK), REBEL E PUBLISHERS (South Africa), Tony Richards, David A. Riley, Mark Samuels, SCREAMING DREAMS (UK), Steven Savile, Robert Shearman, Michael Marshall Smith, SNOWBOOKS (UK), Alexandra Sokoloff, David A. Sutton, TARTARUS PRESS (UK), TELOS PUBLISHING (UK), Lisa Tuttle, Stephen Volk, Conrad Williams, and F. Paul Wilson, amongst many others.
All information about the convention, hotel and location is available on our website www.whc2010.org,
including an easy to use PayPal Registration Form (which will automatically convert your payment at the current exchange
rate). Or you can print off the form and send it with a cheque (sterling
only) to: World Horror Convention, PO Box 64317, London NW6 9LL, England.
With numerous writers, artists, editors, publishers and booksellers expected to attend from all
over the world, this is the one event that the dedicated horror fan, professional, collector
or dealer cannot afford to miss!
Wish you were here? . . . Well, now you can be.
WORLD HORROR CONVENTION.
MARCH 25-28, 2010.
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND.
www.whc2010.org
(1 May 2009)