I am delighted to share with you this press release for a program HWA is starting to share recommended titles in the horror genre for libraries and schools, including not just adult and YA but middle grade readers. This is what Monster Librarian has been aiming to do since we started in 2005! As a former children’s librarian in a public library and elementary school media specialist, I am especially excited to see books for elementary aged children finally getting respect and attention. I sat on an awards committee for a children’s choice award for years, listening to other school librarians talk about their disinterest and even dislike of horror and scary stories for children, defending it, and recommending it, before the founding of Monster Librarian, despite a constant demand for scary stories from kids of all ages.  Dylan, while working on his degree in library science and his internship in a public library, heard over and over how little librarians knew or cared to know about the horror genre. I wish he were still around to see the establishment of this program. It was his passion and his mission with this website to provide this kind of resource for librarians and readers of all ages, and I’m so glad to see it realized.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HWA ANNOUNCES SUMMER SCARES READING PROGRAM

Los Angeles, California, October 30, 2018

The Horror Writers Association (HWA), in partnership with United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Library Journal/School Library Journal, is launching a reading program that will provide libraries and schools with an annual list of recommended horror titles for adult, young adult (teen), and middle grade readers. This will introduce new authors and help librarians start conversations with readers extending beyond the books from each list and promote reading for years to come.

Award-winning author, Grady Hendrix, and a committee of four librarians will select three recommended fiction titles in each of reading levels, totaling nine Summer Scares selections each year. The goal of the program is to encourage a national conversation about the horror genre, across all age levels, at libraries all nationwide and ultimately attract more adults, teens, and children interested in reading. Official Summer Scares designated authors will also make themselves available at public and school libraries.

“Horror is one of those genres that is incredibly popular,” Grady Hendrix said. “But people may look at you funny when you say you like reading horror. We want to use this opportunity to showcase the best of what’s out there today. These stories won’t just scare readers, but they’ll make them laugh, make them cry, and make them cringe. There’s more to horror than just saying ‘boo’.”

The committee’s final selections will be announced on February 14, 2019— National Library Lover’s Day. Some or all the authors will appear on a panel to kickoff Summer Scares at Librarian’s Day during StokerCon® 2019, held on May 10, 2019 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Between the announcement of the titles and the kickoff event, the committee and its partners will publish lists of more suggested titles for further reading. Official Summer Scares podcasting partner, Ladies of the Fright Podcast, will also record episodes in conjunction with Summer Scares.

Look for more information coming soon in Library Journal, School Library Journal, and Book Riot, as well as from United for Libraries and at the HWA’s website: www.horror.org. For more information about Summer Scares, contact JG Faherty, HWA Library Committee Chair (libraries@horror.org), or Becky Spratford, HWA Secretary (bspratford@hotmail.com)

Summer Scares Committee Members:

Grady Hendrix is a best-selling author whose novels include Horrorstör, My Best Friend’s Exorcism – which he describes as “basically Beaches meets The Exorcist” — and most recently, We Sold Our Souls. He’s also the author of the Bram Stoker Award winning, Paperbacks from Hell, a history of the horror paperback boom of the ’70s and ’80s, and Mohawk, a horror movie about the War of 1812.

Becky Spratford is a library consultant and the author of, most recently, The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, second edition. She reviews horror for Booklist Magazine and runs the Readers’ Advisory Horror blog, RA for All: Horror. Becky is also a Library Trustee member of United for Libraries and is currently serving as Secretary for the Horror Writers’ Association.

Carolyn Ciesla is a library director and academic dean at Prairie State College in the Chicago suburbs. She has worked as a teen librarian and reference librarian, and reviews horror titles for Booklist Magazine. She’s currently enjoying providing all the scary books to her teen daughter, and revisiting a few along the way.

Kiera Parrott is the reviews director for Library Journal and School Library Journal, where she oversees the review of more than 14,000 titles annually. Before joining the Journals, Kiera was head of children’s services at Darien Library (CT), and began her career as a librarian at the New York Public Library. Kiera is a lifelong horror fan and loves nothing more than curling up with a blood-curdling read on a rainy day. You can find her on Twitter @libraryvoice.

Kelly Jensen is a former librarian who works as an Editor for Book Riot (bookriot.com), where she runs the weekly “What’s Up in YA?” young adult newsletter, the biweekly “Check Your Shelf” newsletter for librarians, and cohosts the “Hey YA” podcast about young adult literature Her books include (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation About Mental Health and Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World, both from Algonquin Young Readers. She’s also a well-known and long-time co-blogger at STACKED (stackedbooks.org). A life-long lover of all things scary, she finds herself eager to scream about horror reads for teens with those who love good thrills and chills.

For More Information Contact:

John W. Dennehy, Communications Director

Horror Writers Association

jdennehy@johnwdennehy.com

###