Why I Love Horror is Going To Be a Book

Today this announcement dropped on Publishers Marketplace:

That's right, after almost ten years of Why I Love Horror guest posts on RA for All Horror, I am now taking the concept to Saga Press (a division of S&S) thanks to my agent, Lane Heymont and my personal favorite Horror editor, Joe Monti.

This book will have all new essays by a Who's Who of Horror authors from the generation AFTER Stephen King.

Here is an edited version of my scope of project note I wrote up for the authors to read as I was asking them to join and that we shared with publishers (along with a TOC of committed authors).

Why I Love Horror and Why You Should Too

By Becky Siegel Spratford

When I wrote the second edition of my Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, one of the things I realized I had to include was an ongoing update. Even back in 2010, I could see a whole new generation of Horror authors beginning to emerge from the ashes of the Leisure Books implosion, young voices who had come up reading Stepehn King had entered a literary atmosphere where Horror was not a dirty word anymore. I knew that if I was going to strike out on my own (without a co-author this time) and stake my claim as the library world’s expert in Horror, I had to live up to the challenge and make sure that I was giving library workers a reference source that would not become obsolete the second it was published. 

Building off the immense success of my Readers’ Advisory training blog (RA for All), which was already showing up in library textbooks, I launched it’s “evil twin,” RA for All: Horror with the tagline, “The online home of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, an ALA Editions publication.” Since 2010, I have used this space to become the go-to Horror resource for all library workers in the English speaking world. 

Almost immediately, I began running and editing a series of posts throughout October entitled “31 Days of Horror.” This meant I had to create or solicit 31 unique posts for an entire month, while also running the RA for All blog 5 days a week. Clearly, I needed some help. I began soliciting friends and colleagues to help by asking them for guest posts.

However, in 2017, I tried something new. I began an invite only series, inviting authors to write me a post with the prompt, “Why I Love Horror.” I give them no further direction other than a word limit (1,500 for the blog) and encouragement for them to share why they love this genre as a fan and creator. 

What began very small has turned into a much heralded series with over 125 posts and counting. Authors eagerly await my invitations each year as I send them out in July and August, library workers celebrate the access they have received into the minds of authors, and I have been invited to curate larger conversations around this “Why I Love Horror” framework for libraries and publishers. The number of invited authors and posts has grown exponentially, and by 2023, my 31 Days of Horror blog series became more of a “Why I Love Horror” series that happened to post over the course of 31 Days.

Concurrent with the series growing and expanding, I became the Horror Review Columnist for Library Journal and a Horror reviewer for Booklist. I have been credited with being the first person to read, review, and give a star to some of the most critically acclaimed books of the last 10 years. From Cabin at the End of the World to The Only Good Indians to The Devil Takes You Home and most recently, I was the first professional to review The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, proclaiming it a “masterpiece.”

I share these stories, not to brag, but because I have a unique insight into the genre and a close connection to its authors. I celebrate their importance in the literary landscape every single day, and people listen to me. However, I think it is time to bring that unique insight and my celebratory tone to a larger audience.

I am currently working on a book which would replicate the “Why of Love Horror” series but on a much larger stage. I am in the process of inviting the authors listed in the attachment to write me an essay of 2,-000 4,000 words or less with the prompt, “Why I Love Horror.” I am going to encourage them to use their voice and experience to craft a piece that feels right to them. Please note, I am committed to a TOC that is diverse in every way, both in the author’s identities but also in the type of Horror they write.

The ultimate goal of this nonfiction anthology is two fold. First, to bring the very best authors of 21st Century Horror to readers in a whole new way, allowing the authors to share their passion for Horror with fans or even introduce themselves to new readers. Second, to provide a “primer” for the general reading public, similar to what I have offered to library workers in my 3 previous books, as I will introduce each author’s works and overall appeal to readers, include a “start with” title (chosen by me as the expert) . I will also set up their essay to come. This is the work I have done for years and to much acclaim. Now, I am simply bringing this information directly to readers.

I will post the full TOC once I have all of the essays. But I do want to say, I originally had more and Monti asked me to trim it down, which was hard. However, the authors who got deleted from the final proposal were so gracious, and who knows, off the book does well, maybe we will have a second go round and those authors will be the first asked back.

And before I close this post out, I want to thank Cynthia Pelayo, an author who has become a dear friend (our entire families are friends) for connecting me with Lane Heymont. I know Lane has been so good to her, but no having been on Team Lane as a client, I cannot stress enough what a great supporter he is of his authors. Thank you Lane.

This will be a journey over the next 18 months, and I cannot wait to share it with all of you.