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What inspires a writer to craft a scary story? Why do authors choose to write in the horror genre? A panel of local horror authors will answer these questions and more.
Panelists include authors from the Horror Writers Association Chicago Chapter. Submit your questions with registration or bring them the night of the event!
PANELIST INFORMATION
Bryan Alaspa is a Chicago-based author who wrote his first short story in the third grade. He writes horror, thrillers, suspense and mysteries, and is the author of more than 60 books and novels. He is also the co-creator of a podcast called When the Night Comes Out that focuses on horror fiction.
Michael Fassbender is a part-time writer in the Chicago area. His highlights include “The Cold Girl” in Re-Haunts, “Miroir de Vaugnac” in Dark Divinations, “Schattenlenker’s Hidden Treasure” in The Nightside Codex, “The Lord of the Horizon Beckons” in The Nameless Songs of Zadok Allen and "Making the Connection" in Hallowed. He is an Affiliate-level member of the Horror Writers’ Association and he is active in its Chicago Chapter. More information can be found on his website, michaeltfassbender.com.
Christopher Hawkins is the multi-award-winning author of Downpour and Suburban Monsters. He is the former editor of the One Buck Horror anthology series and the co-chair of the Chicagoland chapter of the Horror Writers Association. When he's not writing, he spends his time exploring old cemeteries, lurking in museums, and searching for a decent cup of tea.
Peter O'Keefe is a Detroit native currently residing in Racine, Wisconsin. His first novel, Counted With the Dead—a horror/crime hybrid that reimagines the Frankenstein myth set in the
racial cauldron of late 90s Detroit—was published in June of this year. Peter's short story "By Their Works You Will Know Them" is part of the Bishop Rider Lives anthology from Down & Out Books. His short story "You Had Me At Hello" will appear in next Spring's Chthonic Matter Quarterly. In a previous life, Peter worked as a Hollywood screenwriter, optioned numerous original screenplays, and wrote TV movies for German networks. After a decade of alternating between script writing assignments and word processing temp jobs, he came to fully understand the expression "a square peg in a round hole" and returned to the Midwest. Since then, his narrative short films have been screened at a variety of film festivals and Peter's documentary about visual artists in the Midwest, Dreaming In Public, Making Art In the Real World was awarded a Chicago Regional Emmy. His short stories have appeared in various literary and online journals and his one-act play “Brotherhood of Man” was a finalist for the Humana Theatre Festival’s Heideman award. Peter's full-length play “The Algiers Motel” received staged readings at the Stage Left Ensemble Theatre and Chicago Dramatists, among others. Along the way, Peter has worked as a video writer/producer, commercial director, bartender, office temp, road worker, night janitor, postal clerk, loading dock worker, warehouse grunt, store clerk, busboy, parking attendant, zoo train conductor, video production assistant, copywriter, journalist, and grant writer.
Damian Serbu is an author of gay horror/speculative fiction. After over twenty years of teaching history at the collegiate level, he now writes full time. He lives in the Chicagoland area with his husband and two dogs. The dogs control his life, tell him what to write, and threaten to eat him in the middle of the night if he disobeys. He has published Witch in the Wind, The Bachmann Family Secret, and Santa Is a Vampire, as well as his vampire series, The Vampire’s Angel, The Vampire’s Quest, The Vampire’s Witch, The Vampire’s Protégé, and The Vampire’s War. Find him on Facebook, Blue Sky, Instagram, Threads, Twitter, or at www.DamianSerbu.com.
Chris Bevard has been a writer of horror and crime fiction for the better part of three decades. His work has appeared in numerous publications including Rag Shock, Rue Morgue, Cemetery Dance, and Penny Dreadful, and he is the author of Junkman and The Mystery of Lullabies, among others. He is also the writer and producer of the serialized horror podcast Cicatrix, Season 1 of which is available on all podcast platforms. His next novel will be released in early 2025.
