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 ceremony will be held on the evening of Saturday, March 27 at the famous Palm Court fish-and-chips restaurant situated right at the heart of the historic Brighton Pier , with magnificent views of the coastline and out to sea. This event will be one of the highlights of the convention, and will include World Horror Guests of Honour and past Stoker Award winners as award presenters.
The meal will consist of a gala traditional Fish-and-Chips Banquet (or Vegetarian option) costing £32.00 (approximately US$51.00) per person. TICKETS FOR THE AWARDS BANQUET ARE STRICTLY LIMITED AND ARE SOLD ON A FIRST-COME BASIS. They are available to all HWA members, Bram Stoker Award nominees, and anyone with a registered membership for World Horror Convention 2010. Any HWA member or 2010 Stoker nominee who only wants to pay to attend the Banquet can do so, although they will not 20be allowed into any other convention events without a full membership.
Nominees for the 2010 Bram Stoker Awards can only be voted on by members of the Horror Writers Association and will be announced early in the new year. The HWA also bestows a yearly Lifetime Achievement Award in acknowledgement of superior achievement over a career. Previous winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Fritz Leiber, R. Chetwynd-Hayes, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Richard Matheson, Christopher Lee, Harlan Ellison, Ira Levin, Ramsey Campbell, Charles L. Grant, Stephen King, Anne Rice and F. Paul Wilson.
The annual World Horror Convention Grand Master Award will also be presented at the Awards Banquet of the Saturday evening. The 2009 winner, Tanith Lee, is a Guest of Honour at World Horror Convention 2010 and will be in attendance with previous Grand Master Award winners Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell and F. Paul Wilson.
A menu and PayPal booking form are now available on the World Horror Convention 2010 website (www.whc2010.org). Tables for 10 people can be reserved with payment.
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= 0was 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 is situated directly opposite the iconic Brighton 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= 0Centre 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 HER BERT is the Special Guest of Honour, INGRID PITT is Special Media Guest, and Mistress of Ceremonies is JO FLETCHER.
Other writers, artists, agents, editors and publishers already registered as attending World Horror Convention 2010 include: ABADDON BOOKS (UK), ANGRY ROBOT BOOKS (UK), Kelley Armstrong, ASH-TREE PRESS (Canada), ATOMIC FEZ PUBLISHING (Canada), Anne Billson, Randy Broecker, Edward W. Bryant Jr., Pat Cadigan, Ramsey Campbell, CENTIPEDE PRESS (USA), Mort Castle, Simon Clark, Storm Constantine, Basil Copper, Peter Crowther, DARK ARTS BOOKS (USA), Ellen Datlow, Scott Edelman, Bob Eggleton, Christopher Fowler, Jane Frank, Gary Fry, W. Paul Ganley, GOLLANCZ/ORION PUBLISHING GROUP (UK), GRAY FRIAR PRESS (UK), Simon= 0R. Green, Heather Graham, IMMANION PRESS (UK), John Jarrold, JEMMA PRESS (Greece), Stephen Jones, Paul Kane, Nancy Kilpatrick, Allen Koszowski, Joel Lane, Tim Lebbon, Samantha Lee, D.F. Lewis, Brian Lumley, Dorothy Lumley, L.H. Maynard & M.P.N. Sims, Gary McMahon, Farah Mendlesohn, MORRIGAN BOOKS (Sweden), MORTBURY PRESS (UK), Mark Morris, Lisa Morton, Yvonne Navarro, Adam L.G. Nevill, NEWCON PRESS (UK), Kim Newman, Reggie Oliver, Weston Ochse, PENDRAGON PRESS (UK), Sarah Pinborough, David Pirie, John L. Probert, PS PUBLISHING (UK), Tina Rath, REBEL E PUBLISHERS (South Africa), Tony Richards, David A. Riley, Barbara & Christopher Roden, Nicholas Royle, Mark Samuels, SCI FI WIRE, 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, Ian Watson, Conrad Williams, and F. Paul Wilson, amongst many others.
You can also sign up for three different Writing Workshops held over the Saturday and Sunday of the convention. These will be tutored by MORT CASTLE ("Creative Writing"), NANCY KILPATRICK ("Vampire Fiction") and JO FLETCHER ("Publishing & Editing"), who will also be holding manuscript critiques. More details can be found on the website.
And don't forget, registered members of the convention can now vote for the World Horror Convention's prestigious GRAND MASTER AWARD, which will presented at the Stoker Banquet. An electronic voting form is available on the convention website and a printed version was included in the printed Progress Report #1. A list of past recipients—who have included Stephen King, Dean R. Koontz, Anne Rice, Ray Bradbury, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell and Tanith Lee—is displayed on the same page.
All information about the convention, hotel and location is available on our website: www.whch2010.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.
PLEASE NOTE: The registration price will increase on October 1st, 2009, so if you have not already—book NOW! Registration to the convention is strictly limited and memberships are selling out fast. ONCE WE REACH OUR MAXIMUM NUMBER, THERE WILL BE NO DAY OR AT-THE-DOOR MEMBERSHIPS.
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
(September 25, 2009)