RA for All Road Show Visits: StokerCon Librarians' Day and a Big Announcement

Today is the day I have been planning for 10 months-- Librarians' Day at StokerCon!

I will have a full recap of the day with notes and of the entire Con next week, but in the meantime, below is our schedule of events for today. And here is the link to the resource page:

Session 1:

9am-10am: Even Immortals Have Their Beginnings: The Research and Writing of Dracul. Co-authors Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker reveal the story and images behind the research and writing of Dracul. This multimedia presentation contains Bram Stoker’s own notes, insight into the 101 missing pages from the Dracula manuscript, the recently discovered “sister edition” of Dracula in Iceland and Sweden, and Stoker family tales that function as a backdrop for the fictional plot.

Session 2:

10:15am-11:15am: Fandom Programs @ Your Library. Emily Vinci, a national expert at fandom programming in libraries, will lead a panel of experts, including local library workers, authors, and publishers as they share their secrets to providing programming for fandom communities, regardless of genre and across all age ranges. Confirmed to appear and share their experiences are Konrad Stump from the Springfield-Greene County Library District in Missouri and Rebecca Baumann from the Lilly Library and Indiana University.

Session 3:

11:30am-12:30pm: Introducing Summer Scares a horror reading program for libraries presented by the Horror Writers Association in partnership with United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Library Journal/School Library Journal. Join Summer Scares committee members Becky Spratford, Grady Hendrix, and Carolyn Ciesla as they introduce you to both the titles and some of the authors identified as official 2019 inaugural “Summer Scares Selections.”  Authors appearing: Stephen Graham Jones, Daniel Kraus, and Brian Keene

Session 4:

12:30pm- 2pm: LUNCH and Meet Gabino Iglesias. Please enjoy the buffet lunch included in your registration and take time to network with your colleagues and our panelists. Then at 1, join librarian, author, and 2017 HWA Mary Shelley Scholarship Recipient, A.E. Siraki as she interviews Gabino Iglesias, live on stage. Gabino is a critically acclaimed novelist and reviewer whose critical pieces have appeared in among other places, LitReactor, The LA Times, and NPR. They will talk about literary criticism and genre, the writing world from the perspective of marginalized authors, and more. This will be a frank and fun conversation you will not want to miss.

Session 5:

2:15pm-3:15pm: Podcasting 101. Join award winning Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror writer and editor, as well as podcaster (Eating the Fantastic), Scott Edelman, as he moderates a panel of those who have started their own successful podcasts. Joining Scott on this panel are Brian Keene from The Horror Show with Brian Keene and Lisa Quigley and Mackenzie Kiera the team behind Ladies of the Fright.

Session 6:

3:30pm-5:00pm: Small Publishers, Big Voices. Becky will moderate a panel of some of her favorite small presses whose books you should consider carrying in your libraries. This panel will present the upcoming titles for each publisher and highlight some of the authors. These presses may be small but they are attracting big name and award winning talent. If you are only ordering your horror from the “Big 5,” you are missing out.

• Grady Hendrix talking about his Paperbacks From Hell line debuting in 2019 from Valancourt Books.
• StokerCon 2019 Guest of Honor Josh Malerman and Erik Johnson talking about their collaboration
• StokerCon 2019 Guest of Honor Stephanie Wytovich and publisher Jennifer Barnes from Raw Dog Screaming Press.
• Publisher Christopher Payne and author Gwendolyn Kiste from JournalStone
• Editor Don D’Auria and author Jonathan Janz from Flame Tree Press 
• Editor Lesley Conner from Apex Publications

Also here is the link to the resource sheet we are compiling for anyone to access. We are still adding to it as links come in from presenters, so check back again next week. Already I have links to lists of upcoming books, author interviews, book discussion guides, and more.

But reset assured, each panel has resources that attendees can refer to when they go home and those of you access this only virtually can download. Click here.

My co-coordinator Emily and I will be taking pictures and writing recaps so whether or not you were able to join us, there will be something every one of my readers can take away from this event. There is a lot of horror learning to go around.

I also want to thank our generous sponsors for today's event: 

Click here for more info

Click here for more info

Finally, as a reward to those of you who made it to the end of this post, reading past the sponsors, I have some big news involving me and all of you. I have officially begun the process to write a brand new edition of my Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror. My publisher, ALA Editions, and I have worked out the basic terms. I will be signing the contract in June [at ALA Annual] at which time I will have more detailed information for everyone, but we are all hoping for a fast turn around on this one. But since I have worked with ALA Editions before, we have both agreed that it is okay for me to announce that this book will happen in advance of a signed contract.

Now sit back, relax, and let me bring some Horror RA continuing education directly to all of you.