Why Does Horror Matter?: A Podcast Featuring Me To Help You Understand the Appeal of Horror

This holiday week I am going to be talking about horror a bunch. Why? Well first of all it is a great escapist read and pretty much everyone reading this will have at least 1 day off this week for the 4th of July.

Second, this is the week my Horror Preview piece for the second half of 2019 will be published in Library Journal [more on that later this week]. That means many of you will be thinking about horror this week too when you read the piece.

[2.5- I also invited Gabino Iglesias to be a part of the LJ piece and he is part of #3 below]

Third, I spent much of my time at StokerCon 2019 [when I wasn't running Librarians' Day] tracking down authors and editors to ask them "Why Horror Matters" both for the LJ article [and there are some great quotes in that piece] and because I was asked to be on a live podcast taping/panel for Ladies of the Fright with the title of the episode being- "Why Does Horror Matter?" And that podcast recording went live late last week. And it is very good.

We had standing room only to record which was a little terrifying, but all of us on the panel were prepared and had great insight to share. Much of what we talked about will help you to understand the appeal of horror better. So listen and learn. Click here [or see below] to listen and see the full episode notes including information about the books and authors that were mentioned.

LOTF 38: "WHY DOES HORROR MATTER?" STOKER CON 2019 PANEL

It's difficult to put into words what a rewarding experience it was to host the panel "Why Does Horror Matter? An Exploration of the Relevance and—Dare We Say—Necessity of Horror in a Tumultuous World" featuring panelists Stephen Graham Jones, Kathryn E. McGee, Becky Spratford, and Gabino Iglesias this past May at Stoker Con 2019. It was incredibly rewarding and definitely one of the highlights of the con for us. This topic is one we've been thinking a lot about lately, but we had no idea if it was one that would resonate with others. We were pleasantly surprised to arrive at our panel room to find it was standing room only. Not only did we feel the podcast love, but we also felt that this is a topic that's heavy on many people's hearts. 

Our panelists added a richness and depth to the conversation that we could have never anticipated. Our panelist table was smaller than what was featured in some of the other rooms, but it added such a feeling of intimacy to our discussion that wouldn't have been captured otherwise. The subject matter has a tendency to become heavy and intense, but our panelists sprinkled in moments of humor and lightness to balance it all out. We're incredibly honored to share this conversation with you, and we hope it sparks continued ideas, inspiration, encouragement—and most of all, reckless hope. 

Show Notes

Panelist book recommendations:

• Her Body & Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
• Brook Bolander, Uncanny Magazine
  • "The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat"
  • "Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies"
• The Line That Held Us by David Joy
• Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi
• Severance by Ling Ma
• The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste
• Sisters of Slaughter, C.V. Hunt

Find Our Panelists:

• Stephen Graham Jones: Website | Twitter
• Kathryn E. McGee: Website | Twitter
• Becky Spratford: Website | Twitter
• Gabino Iglesias: Website | Twitter

Be sure to check out the Ladies of the Fright patreon!

Special thank you to our patrons: S.M., Bob, Eli, Nathan, Jessie, Michael, Emily, and Kev!