welcome authors!

We are delighted to showcase a diverse group of authors ranging in age from 17 to 80, some with multiple award winning publications under their belts, for others, this will be the first time seeing their work in print. Our talented authors stretch across the globe from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America bringing a unique perspective to their black cat stories and poems. 

After 20+ years traveling the world for the U.S. government, A.H. Plotts (she/her/ella) has a lot of scary stories to tell. A.H. is an active member of the HWA and her local writing community. She writes screenplays and makes short films, teaches writing workshops and designs horror-centric events for local libraries. Music, books, and food are some of her (many) other vices. Connect with her on IG: @ahplottsthecoast, on X and Bluesky: @ahplotts, and at her own website: www.ahplottsthecoast.com where she writes about life on the California coast. This is her first publication.

Anna and Tod write as A. Kristina Casasent. They serve the whims of their Newfoundland and Mini American Shepherd dogs, two cats, and Crested Gecko. Living in Texas, the couple works in the sciences by day and compose fiction by night.
They write across a selection of genres, usually with a slight touch of humor, including science-fiction, fantasy, and thriller/horror.
Anna has a PhD in biomedical sciences and a background as a bioinformatician. She is an avid dog (and cat) trainer and is the driving force behind A. Kristina Casasent.
Tod is a software developer and has worked in a variety of industries. Anna turned him into a writer, beyond authoring role-playing games.
More information about A. Kristina Casasent's writing can be found at https://casasent.blog.

Alexa Donley is a speculative fiction author living in Washington. When not writing, she can be found traveling to new places or walking in storms. Her first book, The House on the Rocks, is available now, as well as monthly short stories on Patreon. You can find her on www.alexadonley.com and on social media @alexadonleybooks.

Amelia Gorman lives in Eureka where she spends her free time exploring tidepools and redwoods with her dogs and foster dogs. Her fiction has appeared in Nightscript 6 and Cellar Door from Dark Peninsula Press. You can read some of her poetry in Vastarien, Utopia Science Fiction, and Strange Horizons. Her first chapbook, the Elgin-winning Field Guide to Invasive Species of Minnesota, is available from Interstellar Flight Press. Her microchapbook, The Worm Sonnets, is available from The Quarter Press. Find her online at www.ameliagorman.com.

Andrea L. Staum is the author of the Dragonchild Lore series, The Attic’s Secret, Rogue’s Kiss, and has contributed to several anthologies. In order to avoid the mundane, she creates worlds and destroys empires in her mind and eventually translates them to the page. She lives in south central Wisconsin with her husband, children, and their overlords…err…cats.

A. R. Bagne is a chronically ill literature student that can be found haunting the woods when not crocheting their way through class or trying to convince their roommate’s cat to form a pirate crew. They have no other published work, but have created an Instagram account in celebration of the possibility of being perceived @arbagne08.

Ash Fanglore (he/she/they) is an autistic queer originally from the moody Appalachian mountains but now residing in a small parish village in England with his husband, kitties Agatha Rose and Harrowhark, The Squirrel, and chow chow Xióng Tea.
In their free time, Ash runs D&D for teens at the local library, plays computer games, tries new foods, and tries to gain access to as many libraries as possible on the Libby app.
This is her first published piece, but you can still find more of Ash on their website https://ashfanglore.wordpress.com/ and instagram or twitter @ashfanglore

Ben Kardos is a dark fiction writer, musician and cat dad from Washington state. His stories have been published by Wicked Shadow Press, The Sirens Call, Psychotoxin Press, Carnage House, CultureCult Magazine, Otherwise Engaged Journal and others.
He also has several works available on godless.com.

He hosts the Youtube channel Reading Monstrosities, dedicated to the review and discussion of transgressive and horror literature.
Follow him on social media @reading_monstrosities.

Cailín Frankland (she/they) is a British-American writer and public health professional based in Baltimore, Maryland. An avid reader and horror aficionado, their work explores themes related to feminism, queerness, disability, chronic illness, neurodivergence, and intergenerational trauma. Their flash fiction will be featured in Flash Frog Literary Magazine's upcoming fourth annual "Flash Frogtober" collection, to be published in October 2024. They live with their spouse, two old lady cats, and a 70-pound pitbull affectionately known as Baby. You can find Cailín on X at @cailin_sm or contact them via email at cailinfrankland@gmail.com.

Chris Opyr is a neurodivergent writer of horror and science fiction and is the author of the Wishing Shelf award-winning, psychological horror novella, Calling Mr. Nelson Pugh. Through their fiction, Chris explores issues of otherness, anxieties, and neurodivergence. After a brief career in television story-producing, they repented and returned to writing prose fiction. Currently, Chris lives in North Carolina with their wife, daughter, and a menagerie of obstinate animals, including their three cats, John, Margaret, and Mr. Cat. You can find Chris Opyr on X @cwhutton and on Instagram @chrisopyr.

Daniel Bulone (he/him) is a writer of speculative fiction and poetry.  He earned his MFA from San Jose State University, and is currently revising his thesis novel about memory, the American Dream, and the hollow Earth.  His most recent work can be found at Eye to the Telescope and The Encourager. 

Daniel Roop is a member of the Horror Writers Association and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize for his work in Will Work for Peace from Zeropanik Press. His speculative fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in publications including Flash Fiction Online, Dark Spores, Black Cat Tales, The Maul Magazine, and Appalachian Places. He is a seventh generation East Tennessean, and his favorite superhero is Kitty Pryde. 

Deborah H. Doolittle has lived in lots of different places, but now calls North Carolina home.  A Pushcart Prize nominee, she is the author of Floribunda, No Crazy Notions, That Echo, and Bogbound. When not editing BRILLIG: a micro lit mag, she is training for road races or practicing yoga.  

Donna Marie West is a Canadian educator, translator, author, and freelance editor. She has published some 500 drabbles, short stories, and non-fiction articles in a wide variety of Canadian and American magazines, web sites, and anthologies. She loves the unusual, unexplained, and mysterious, and often finds ways to weave these themes into her stories. 

A frequent contributor to Mystery Magazine, Edward Lodi has written more than 30 books, including six Cranberry Country Mysteries. His short fiction has appeared in anthologies published by Cemetery Dance, Murderous Ink, Main Street Rag, Superior Shores Press, and most recently Hungry Shadows Press and Black Widow Press. His story "Charnel House" was featured on Night Terrors Podcast. He is a member of the Short Mystery Fiction Society. He can be contacted at edwardlodi@hotmail.com.

Gerri Leen is an award-nominated poet from Northern Virginia who's into horse racing, tea, and collecting encaustic art and raku pottery. She has poetry published by The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Dark Matter, The HWA Poetry Showcase, Dreams & Nightmares and others and has just published her first poetry collection Unwilling: Poems of Horror and Darkness. Visit gerrileen.com to see what she's been up to or check at her Instagram @leengerri. 

Gregg Stewart (he/him) is an HWA author, award-winning songwriter, recording artist, touring musician, screenwriter, journalist, film composer, workshop leader, creativity consultant, and creative life enthusiast. His dark fiction tales have appeared in The Sirens Call, Crystal Lake Publishing's Patreon flash series, and the print anthologies Shallow Waters, Dead Letters: Tales of Epistolary Horror, and To Hell and Back (Hellbound Books UK). He has recorded and published over 100 songs, toured the US and Europe countless times, scored multiple indie films, and provided songs for a dozen film/tv soundtracks. His nonfiction book, "LET IT OUT: Unlocking Creativity to Access Authentic Expression" offers a practical guide to living a more creative life.

H. T. Martineau grew up reading fantasy stories and playing role-playing games, and she has translated that love into her YA fantasy saga, Tales of Ambergrove, which includes the Dragonwolf trilogy, the Hammer and Flame trilogy, and two Dungeons & Dragons companion books”so far. This is her first published short story. As a survivor of domestic violence who leaned on her cats as she healed, she wrote this story for survivors who've felt the comfort of a cat in their arms when they thought their world was ending. You can find H. T. Martineau at www.talesofambergrove.com and on social media @talesofambergrove.

Joanie Brittingham (she/they) is a writer and soprano living in New York City. Brittingham is the Associate Editor for Classical Singer Magazine, the author of Practicing for Singers, and has contributed to many classical music textbooks. Brittingham's writing has been described as "breathless comedy" and having "real wit" (New York Classical Review). Brittingham is the librettist for the opera Serial Killers and the City, which premiered with Experiments in Opera, and will be a part of New Wave Opera's Night of the Living Opera. On Instagram and TikTok: @joaniebrittingham.

John Russell is a member of The Authors Guild and the Academy of American Poets.  He has authored three multi-award-winning nonfiction books on the paranormal, all of which are available at all booksellers online:  Riding with Ghosts, Angels, and the Spirits of the Dead; A Knock in the Attic; and 20 Ways to Increase Your Psychic Abilities, which was the #1 best seller on Amazon in Ghosts & Hauntings, and it was also a bestseller at Barnes & Noble, hitting the Top 100 Bestselling Books list.  He's completed writing his fourth nonfiction book on the paranormal (to be published in 2024), The Crying Tree and the Magic Rock.  In addition to being an award-winning author John is an internationally known psychic and paranormal investigator.

Jordan King-Lacroix is a Jewish writer from the Blue Mountains, just outside Sydney, Australia. His first book, the non-fiction Ugly: A Bikie's Life, was published by Penguin-Random House in 2021, and his short story, "The Last Chosen", in the Jewish Futures anthology (Fantastic Books, 2023), was well-received by critics. When not writing, he can be seen gigging around Sydney in his punk band, The Limited. 

Kelly Matsuura is an avid short story writer, with a focus on fantasy, horror, and literary fiction.
She is the Creator of Insignia Stories (Asian fantasy anthologies) and has had stories published with Black Hare Press, Iron Fairie Publishing, Wolfsinger Press, The Sirens Call Ezine, and many more.
Kelly lives in Nagoya, Japan with her geeky husband. She loves traveling, knitting, cooking, and of course, reading.
You can find her at https://blackwingsandwhitepaper.wordpress.com

Ken Hueler teaches kung fu in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he also co-chairs the local Horror Writers Association chapter. His work has appeared in Weirdbook, The Sirens Call, Weekly Mystery Magazine, Andromeda Spaceways, and anthologies such as "The Cozy Cosmic" and "Tales for the Camp Fire". He is an assistant editor at Space & Time magazine and, with Frances Lu Pai Ippolito, co-edited the game fiction anthology "Winding Paths: A Playable Reading Experience". You can learn more at: kenhueler.wordpress.com.

Linda Neuer is from Miami, Florida. Recently, some of her poems have been published in Penumbric, NewMyths, BFS Horizons, Abyss & Apex, Quantum Poetry Magazine, Sangam, Lily, and Astropoetica. She is inspired by the protection of all felines, including Florida panthers.  And she hopes for the imminent revival of Tasmanian Tigers.

Loren Rhoads is the author of almost thirty stories about Alondra DeCourval. Those stories have appeared in Best New Horror, Strange California, Occult Detective magazine, Weirdbook, and others, including Loren's short story collection Unsafe Words. She is the author or co-author of five novels, including the As Above, So Below duology about a succubus who falls in love with an angel. Loren lives in San Francisco with Nocturne and Amulet, only one of which is a black cat. Her latest book is the nonfiction guide 222 Cemeteries to See Before You Die. Follow Loren's adventures or learn more about her work at lorenrhoads.com. 

Mary A. Turzillo won a Nebula award ("Mars Is no Place for Children" 1999) and two Elgin awards (SWEET POISON, with Marge Simon, 2014, and LOVERS & KILLERS, 2012, solo.)  Her novel MARS GIRLS (Apex) features two young Martian women rescuing themselves from Face-on-Mars crazies.  She and her husband, author Geoff Landis, live in Ohio with two orange goof-balls that own every lap they find.  The cat in "The Vermin" is based on our Siamese who once defeated a rat almost as big as she was.  Mary's purrfectly delicious story collection COSMIC CATS & FANTASTIC FURBALLS appeared in 2022 from WordFire.  She is working on a novel called A MARS CAT & HIS BOY.

Meredith Gladwell is a blogger and writer of poetry, short fiction and spiritual non-fiction. Her non-fiction work has appeared in Sage Woman Magazine. The culture, land and history of her native North Carolina inspire her work and her life. Meredith lives in Durham with her husband, son and, of course, cat. She is currently working on her first novel. 

Nico Martinez Nocito (they/them) writes speculative poetry and fiction, often with a queer and feminist bent. They spend their free time running, acting in local theater productions, and posting about fantastic MG and YA books on their blog, Rapunzel Reads. Find their work in the fairytale anthology Grimm Retold, or learn more about them and their writing on Instagram @nicowritesbooks!

Paul A. Freeman is an English language teacher. He is the author of Rumours of Ophir, a crime novel which was taught at 'O' level in Zimbabwean high schools and has been translated into German.
In addition to having two novels, a children's book and an 18,000-word narrative poem (Robin Hood and Friar Tuck: Zombie Killers!) commercially published, Paul is the author of scores of published short stories, poems and articles.
He is a member of the Society of Authors and of the Crime Writers' Association, and has appeared several times in the CWA's annual anthology.
He resides and works in Mauritania.

Richard Lau is an award-winning writer who is published in magazines, newspapers, and anthologies, as well as in the high-tech industry and online. His stories have recently appeared in Sci Phi Journal and The Last Line Journal. Two of his stories will be appearing in Carpe Noctem (Tyche Books) and Sinister Century: Capture (Disturb Ink Books). You can find more of his publications at: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?289945

S. Michael Wilson (he/him) is a poet and author currently based out of Texas, where he works as a tech support specialist in the medical device industry. He is the editor of the book Monster Rally and the author of the book Performed by Lugosi. His poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, including Shriek Freak Quarterly, Uncle John's Flush Fiction, and Butcher Knives and Body Counts. He was also the First Prize Winner of the 2016 Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest for his poem Dick Candles. When in between writing projects, he can be found co-hosting the film review podcast/vodcast Moviesucktastic with his childhood friend Joey. You can find him at livingseveredhead.com or Moviesucktastic.com.

S.S.N. Smith (she/her) is a fiction and romantic-comedy writer living in Eastern Washington with her wife and three dogs. She currently serves as a vehicle mechanic in the United States Air Force. She received her B.A. in Humanities and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies with a focus on literary arts. Her passion for writing started when she was a child when her mother had her scribble down the long stories she told, even before she could write. In her free time, if she is not with her family, you can find a guitar in her hands, either jamming or making repairs. 

Scott Urban has had fiction, poetry, and reviews published throughout numerous print and electronic outlets. Recent work has appeared in EXQUISITE DEATH, THE HORROR ZINE, MIDNIGHT TALES, BINDWEED, and FALLING STAR. With Martin H. Greenberg, he co-edited the DAW anthology THE CONSPIRACY FILES. His early fiction is collected as BLOODY SHOW, available through Amazon's Kindle Store. A former public school teacher and administrator, he now writes full-time in southeastern Ohio. He's pictured here with Inky, the farm mouser (thankfully not Garbo, although Inky sometimes does bring presents to the back door). 

Sumiko Saulson is the Elgin Award and Bram Stoker Nominated author of The Rat King: A Book of Dark Poetry (Dooky Zines), Winner of the Ladies of Horror Readers Choice Award for the collection Within Me Without Me (Dooky Zines), and the Afrosurrealist Writers Award for “Balm of Brackish Water”. Their horror romance Somnalia: The Metamorphoses of Flynn Keahi (sequel to Happiness and Other Diseases) is available on Mocha Memoirs Press, find their horror comic collection Ghost Cat is Best Cat, The Drain Monster, and Other Tales of Terror on Dooky Zines, and find Sumiko @sumikoska on most socials, @sumikosaulson on Instagram and at www.SumikoSaulson.com.

William Shaw is a writer from Sheffield, currently living in the USA. His writing has appeared in Strange Horizons, The Georgia Review, Daily Science Fiction, and Doctor Who Magazine. He has a healthy respect for all cats, black ones especially. You can find his website at https://williamshawwriter.wordpress.com and his Bluesky at @williamshaw.bsky.social.