The Horror Writers Association announced the winners of the 2011 Bram Stoker Awards™ at its annual awards banquet last weekend. This year’s presentation was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the World Horror Convention, and marks the 25th Anniversary of the awards.
Twelve new bronze haunted-house statuettes were handed over to the writers responsible for creating superior works of horror last year. This year’s winners are:
Superior Achievement in a Novel
Flesh Eaters by Joe McKinney (Pinnacle Books)
Superior Achievement in a First Novel
Isis Unbound by Allyson Bird (Dark Regions Press)
Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel (tie)
The Screaming Season by Nancy Holder (Razorbill)
Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel
Neonomicon by Alan Moore (Avatar Press)
Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
“The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine” by Peter Straub (Conjunctions: 56)
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
“Herman Wouk Is Still Alive” by Stephen King (The Atlantic Magazine, May 2011)
Superior Achievement in a Screenplay
American Horror Story, episode #12: “Afterbirth” by Jessica Sharzer (20th Century Fox Television)
Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection
The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares by Joyce Carol Oates (Mysterious Press)
Superior Achievement in an Anthology
Demons: Encounters with the Devil and his Minions, Fallen Angels and the Possessed edited by John Skipp (Black Dog and Leventhal)
Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction
Stephen King: A Literary Companion by Rocky Wood (McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers)
Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection
How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend by Linda Addison (Necon Ebooks)
The HWA, in conjunction with the Bram Stoker Family Estate and the Rosenbach Museum & Library, also presented the special one-time only Vampire Novel of the Century Award to:
Richard Matheson for his modern classic I Am Legend
In addition, HWA presented its annual Lifetime Achievement Awards and its Specialty Press Awards.
The Specialty Press Awards went to Derrick Hussey of Hippocampus Press and Roy Robbins of Bad Moon Books.
The Silver Hammer Award, for outstanding service to HWA, was voted by the organization’s board of trustees to Guy Anthony DeMarco.
The President’s Richard Laymon Service Award was given to HWA co-founder Karen Lansdale.
Works can be recommended by any member of the HWA. Juries in each category also compile their top picks, and members with Active status then vote works from both the member recommendations and the jury selections onto a preliminary ballot. From there the field is narrowed to the final ballot and Active members choose the winners from that. The award is named for Bram Stoker, best known as the author of Dracula. The trophy, which resembles a miniature haunted house, was designed by author Harlan Ellison and sculptor Steven Kirk.
Samhain Publishing served as the Platinum Sponsor for the event.
