Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Rondo Hatton Winners, Bram Stoker Nominees Announced

Today was a big day in the world of horror-related awards. The winners of the 7th Annual Rondo Hatton Awards--doled out by the venerable Classic Horror Film Board and voted on by thousands of online fans worldwide--were officially announced. And as if that wasn't enough, the Horror Writers Association officially released the list of finalists for the 22nd Annual Bram Stoker Awards, the Holy Grail of horror writing.

Now, just to get it out of the way, yes, The Vault of Horror did score an Honorable Mention in the Rondos' brand-new Best Horror Blog category. Thanks to everyone who voted, I'm honored by your opinion of this web-filled corner of the horror blogosphere. The Rondos are a very big deal, and even getting an Honorable Mention really blows my mind.

As for the rest of the awards, here were some of the other winners:


For the complete list of winners and runners-up, check out the Rondo Hatton Awards official website.

And now, the Stoker nominees:

Superior Achievement in a Novel

Coffin Country
by Gary Braunbeck (Leisure Books)
The Reach by Nate Kenyon (Leisure Books)
Duma Key by Stephen King (Scribner)
Johnny Gruesome by Gregory Lamberson (Bad Moon Books/Medallion Press)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel

Midnight on Mourn Street by Christopher Conlon (Earthling Publications)
The Gentling Box by Lisa Mannetti (Dark Hart Press)
Monster Behind the Wheel by Michael McCarty and Mark McLaughlin (Delirium Books)
The Suicide Collectors by David Oppegaard (St. Martin's Press)
Frozen Blood by Joel A. Sutherland (Lachesis Publishing)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction

The Shallow End of the Pool by Adam-Troy Castro (Creeping Hemlock Press)
Miranda by John R. Little (Bad Moon Books)
Redemption Roadshow by Weston Ochse (Burning Effigy Press)
The Confessions of St. Zach by Gene O'Neill (Bad Moon Books)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction

"Petrified" by Scott Edelman (Desolate Souls)
"The Lost" by Sarah Langan (Cemetery Dance Publications)
"The Dude Who Collected Lovecraft" by Nick Mamatas and Tim Pratt (Chizine)
"Evidence of Love in a Case of Abandonment" by M. Rickert (Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
"Turtle" by Lee Thomas (Doorways)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology

Like a Chinese Tattoo , edited by Bill Breedlove (Dark Arts Books)
Horror Library, Vol. 3, edited by R.J. Cavender (Cutting Block Press)
Beneath the Surface, edited by Tim Deal (Shroud Publishing)
Unspeakable Horror, edited by Vince A. Liaguno and Chad Helder (Dark Scribe Press)

Superior Achievement in a Collection

The Number 121 to Pennsylvania by Kealan Patrick Burke (Cemetery Dance Publications)
Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales by Fran Friel (Apex Publications)
Just After Sunset by Stephen King (Scribner)
Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters by John Langan (Prime Books)
Gleefully Macabre Tales by Jeff Strand (Delirium Books)

Superior Achievement in Nonfiction

Cheap Scares by Gregory Lamberson (McFarland)
Zombie CSU by Jonathan Maberry (Citadel Press)
A Hallowe'en Anthology by Lisa Morton (McFarland)
The Book of Lists: Horror by Amy Wallace, Del Howison and Scott Bradley (HarperCollins)

Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection

The Nightmare Collection by Bruce Boston (Dark Regions Press)
The Phantom World by Gary William Crawford (Sam's Dot Publishing)
Virgin of the Apocalypse by Corrine De Winter (Sam's Dot Publishing)
Attack of the Two-Headed Poetry Monster by Mark McLaughlin and Michael McCarty (Skullvines Press)


Major league congrats to my colleagues Chad Helder and Vince Liaguno for their nomination in the Anthology category. The League of Tana Tea Drinkers is really taking the horror world by storm these days!