Seattle chapter HWA makes a splash at WorldCon

HWA Seattle member Clay Vermulm interviews HWA Seattle member Sadie Hartmann at the book launch for her new title, Feral & Hysterical

---

Also representing the Pacific Northwest were Oregon horror authors/HWA members Remy Nakamura, Wendy Wagner, and Katherine Quevedo.

---

From early tabulations at this year's WorldCon, which took place at the Washington State Convention Center August 13-17, the horror academic track in the con's programming had a strong showing with 4.5/5-star ratings from those in attendance.

The Seattle chapter of the HWA made a nice showing at numerous events, including discussion panels, book launches, readings, and table talks. Much credit goes to programming coordinator Clay Vermulm for his volunteer seat on the programming board for WorldCon; he was able to schedule some strong topics and equally strong panelists.

Topics at this year's WorldCon of interest to the horror community included:

Queer Fear	The Promises and Perils of Utopian Fiction	Isn't it Romantic? Horror and Romance in Movies
Wonder and Dread: Cosmic Horror in the 21st Century	Why are Villains Queer-Coded?	Exploring Disability and Autonomy in Horror
Researching the Occult and the Paranormal	Why You Wearing Riot Gear? Politics in Horror	Techn0-Fear
Reanimate This!	Realism as it Relates to Fear	How Haunting: Local Ghost Stories and Places
Was the Book Better Though? Horror Novels That Made Great Movies	Isolation Horror: When You Are on the Food Chain	Best of the Bad
Dash of Dread	The Importance of Queer Horror	Podcasting Folklore
Where Are All the Boogeywomen?*	Size Matters... Or Does it?	What the Hell is "Weird Horror"?
Spooky Scary Story Hour	Steam and Blood: Effective Sex for Dark Fiction	Spaceships and Sasquatch: An Evergreen Setting for SFF

Other Seattle HWA members actively engaged in WorldCon programming this year include Sadie Hartmann, Evan J. Peterson, Gordon B. White, Jennifer Brozek, Emily Smiley, and Tamara Kaye Sellman. Also in attendance to show their support for the horror community and take advantage of all the wonderful programming included Seattle chapter members Erik Keevan, Genesee Rickel, Kerri-Leigh Grady, and Perla Caballero.

*This panel discussion is based on the essay "Where Are All the Boogeyladies?" written by Seattle HWA chapter member M. Leigh and published on this blog for the "Horror Inherent" series in April 2024.