The Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) is a

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that commenced in 2003 with the goal of providing a unified voice and sense of

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

for

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

writers of dark fiction ( horror and

dark fantasy Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense of horror and dr ...

) and to further the development of dark fiction in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

History

The AHWA built to some extent on the work of previous horror writers' associations in Australia such as the Sydney-based Gargoyle Club (1987–92)(see

Leigh Blackmore Leigh (David) Blackmore (born 1959) is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist, musician and proponent of post-left anarchy. He was the Australian representative for the Horror Writers of America (1994–95) and served as the se ...

) and the Melbourne-based Australian Horror Writers (1994-1998) (see

Bryce J. Stevens Bryce John Stevens (born 1957) is a horror writer, illustrator and editor. He grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand and moved to Sydney in the mid-1980s. From childhood he was fascinated with the supernatural and terrifying consequences of even ...

), which grew out of

Bloodsongs ''Bloodsongs'' magazine was created by Steve Proposch and Chris A. Masters in 1993 as a vehicle for original horror fiction. It was published by Bambada Press in Melbourne Australia from 1993 to 1997. ''The Melbourne University Press Encyclopaed ...

magazine (its president being

, and its newsletter/journal ''Severed Head'' having been edited first by Stevens, then Aaron Sterns). However, the AHWA was a far more ambitious effort, conceived by its founding committee as drawing together horror writers and fans nationwide in Australia. The AHWA was officially launched during the Continuum 3

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expres ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

on 17 July 2005 by

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

Richard Harland Richard Harland (born 15 January 1947 in Yorkshire) is an English fantasy and science fiction writer, living in New South Wales, Australia. He was born in 1947 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom and migrated to Australia in 1970. He has been an aca ...

The founding committee members were Dr Marty Young (President),

Kirstyn McDermott Kirstyn McDermott is an Australian writer of speculative fiction. Biography McDermott was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia on 31 October. She grew up in Woodberry, New South Wales and attended the University of Newcastle, Australi ...

(Vice President), Mick Piemontese (Secretary), Carl Schaller (Treasurer), James R Cain and

Angela Challis Brimstone Press was an Australian independent publisher of dark fiction ( horror and dark fantasy). Brimstone Press was established in 2004 by Angela Challis and Shane Jiraiya Cummings and was based in Western Australia. The first publication fr ...

In 2005, the AHWA established the

Australian Shadows Award The Australian Shadows Awards are annual literary awards established by the Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) in 2005 to honour the best published works of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian/New Zealand/Oceania resident ...

as an annual

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Ma ...

to honour the best published work of

horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...

written or edited by an Australian. The award was sponsored by Altair Australia Books in its first two years, through the donation of two statuettes created by dark fantasy artist Brom (supplied by The Franklin Mint). Other projects established by the AHWA include the Southern Horror Yahoo! Group mailing list for members, an annual

flash fiction Flash fiction is a fictional work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story; the 280-character story (also known as " twitterature"); ...

and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

competition (winning entries are published in ''Midnight Echo'' magazine), online chatrooms and forums, a Market Hive (markets database for current horror fiction markets), an annual

mentorship Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

programme, and ongoing story critiquing groups. Renowned Australian horror & ghost story anthologist James Doig has provided the AHWA website with a historical checklist of important Australian horror and fantasy works

The AHWA also maintains links with the

British Fantasy Society The British Fantasy Society (BFS) was founded in 1971 as the British Weird Fantasy Society, an offshoot of the British Science Fiction Association. The society is dedicated to promoting the best in the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. ...

and

Horror Writers of America The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of Horror and Dark fantasy writers. Overview HWA was formed in 1985 with ...

. The AHWA news service was amalgamated with

Brimstone Press Brimstone Press was an Australian independent publisher of dark fiction ( horror and dark fantasy). Brimstone Press was established in 2004 by Angela Challis and Shane Jiraiya Cummings and was based in Western Australia. The first publication from ...

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

and

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...

HorrorScope between March 2007 and Sept 2010. With AHWA news editor Talie Helene joining the HorrorScope editorial team, the combined serviced provided a single, streamlined source for Australian horror publishing news until early 2011.

''Midnight Echo'' magazine

AHWA produces a regular print publication ''Midnight Echo'' (Oct 2008 - ). It is designed to showcase the best in Australian horror writing, though it also publishes work by non-Australian writers. The magazine began as a PDF publication with limited hardcopies being printed outside Australia. As from Issue 5, the hardcopy magazine is printed in Australia by

Black House Comics Black House Comics was an Australian independent comic book and graphic novel publisher. Publisher Baden Kirgan started the company in 2008 when he decided to create an "Australia Vertigo" comics arm within his commercially successful printing c ...

. The Executive Editor of ''Midnight Echo'' Issues 1-5 was Australian author Scott Wilson.

became Acting Executive Editor with Issue 5. Previous President Dr Marty Young returned to the AHWA as Executive Editor for ''Midnight Echo'' in Sept 2011 in time for the release of Issue 6. Marty Young launched the new Midnight Echo website in Oct 2011. Each issue is edited by a different editor or editorial team drawn from AHWA's membership. The Art Director for Issues 1-3 was David Schembri. On Issue 5 the Art team consisted of Juliet Bathory and David Schembri. Issue 5 was the first issue printed entirely in Australia. Colour cover artwork has featured on all issues from Issue 1 onwards. Issues 1 and 2 contained no poetry or colour internal artwork. Poetry was featured prominently alongside fiction in Issue 3, which was also the first issue to include a graphic novel (in black and white). Individual issues of ''Midnight Echo'' have been edited by * Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond (Issue 1, Oct 2008)) *

and

Shane Jiraiya Cummings Shane Jiraiya Cummings (born 24 April 1974) is an Australian horror and fantasy author and editor. He lives in Sydney with his partner Angela Challis. Cummings is best known as a short story writer. He has had more than 100 short stories publis ...

(Issue 2 (June 2009)) * Stephen Studach (see

The Australian Horror and Fantasy Magazine ''The Australian Horror and Fantasy Magazine'' (1984–86) was edited by (Michael) Barry Radburn and Stephen Studach. The first Australian semi-professional publication devoted to the weird and the macabre, it was published by Radburn's imprint D ...

) (Issue 3 (Nov 2009)) * Lee Battersby (Issue 4 (July 2010) *

(Issue 5, Feb 2011). *

David Conyers David Conyers (born 30 May 1971) is an Australian author. Conyers writes predominantly science fiction and Lovecraftian horror. Biography Convers was born in Sydney. Most of his childhood was spent in the Adelaide Hills, before moving to Me ...

, Jason Fischer and David Kernot (Issue 6, Nov 2011) * Daniel I Russell (Issue 7, May 2012) * Marty Young, Mark Farrugia, and Amanda J Spedding (Issue 8, November 2012) * GN Braun AKA Geoff Brown (Issue 9, May 2013)

AHWA officeholders

In Sept 2010 all committee positions of the AHWA were declared vacant and new officeholders were elected.

replaced Dr Marty Young as the organisation's second President and served in that role for the year 2010–2011. Horrorscope also ceased to be amalgamated with the AHWA. At the Oct 2011 AGM of the Association, writer Geoff Brown was elected as the AHWA's third President. At the November 2016 AGM, the Committee thanked Mark Smith-Briggs and Cameron Oliver for their outstanding contribution to the Committee over a number of years, and most recently as President and Treasurer, and to Porle Joen, outgoing Sinister Reads manager. 2017 AHWA Committee: * President: Brendon Meynell * Vice President: Greg Chapman * Secretary: James Doig * Treasurer: James Doig * Events and Membership Officer: Silvia Brown * General Officer: Anthony Ferguson * General Officer: Not filled at this time * General Officer: Not filled at this time * Midnight Echo Managing Editor: Shane J. Cummings * Mentorship Coordinator: Louise Zedda Sampson * Life Members - Angela Challis, Carl Schaller, Kirstyn McDermott, Marty Young * Honorary Members: James Cain, Kim Wilkins, Michael Piemontese, Rocky Wood, Paul Haines, Citte Christensen

References

External links

* * {{Official website, http://australasianhorror.com/midnight-echo/, Midnight Echo official website
Krasnostein, Alisa (August 2007). "2007 Snapshot Interview: Marty Young". ''Australian Specific In Focus''
Retrieved 9-9-2007. * Interview with Leigh Blackmore re AHW

http://hellnotes.com/ahwa-president-leigh-blakmore-interview?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ahwa-president-leigh-blakmore-interview] Australian writers' organisations Horror fiction organizations 2003 establishments in Australia Arts organizations established in 2003