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Oh Horrors! by Dianna Sinovic

June 13, 2022 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as Dianna Sinovic, StockerCon, Writers conferences

I love attending writers’ conferences—big or small—I always come away with something. It might be a bit of craft, a new tool or resource, or new-found friends. Often, it’s all of the above. Time and budget allow me just a few conferences each year, and for the last two years, it’s been virtual-only.

Last month, I was in Denver to attend StokerCon, the national conference for the Horror Writers Association. It was not only a chance to mingle in person with attendees (including a fav author), but also to hang out with three friends who joined me there.

What I did I come away with? So much! The panel discussions were thought-provoking (What makes cosmic horror cosmic?) and/or just plain fun (a friend featured at an author reading). People-watching was fabulous, especially at the mass author signing, which put authors elbow to elbow at long, long tables. And there was ice cream . . .

Ellen Dartlow, Stephen Graham Jones, and Dianna Sinovic

I bought books—plenty of them—and kicked myself for not bringing an extra bag to stash them in. I bought raffle tickets for signed copies of several books. (Good thing I didn’t win, because where would I have put them?) And I signed up for a T-shirt drawing (and won!).

The conference ambience was enhanced by the setting, the Curtis Hotel in downtown Denver. Each floor is decorated with a different theme; the 13^th floor—yes, there is a 13^th—is dedicated to horror. Of course.

My regrets? There was so much excellent programming that I couldn’t fit in everything I wanted to see. And I got there a day too late to attend a pre-party at the Stanley Hotel, the location in Estes Park for The Shining.

StokerCon 2023, here I come!

Born and raised in the Midwest, Dianna Sinovic has also lived in three other quadrants of the U.S. She writes short stories and poetry, and is working on a full-length novel about a young woman in search of her long-lost brother.