BOOK TALKS
Presented by Boston Horror Society
and Copper Dog Books
Join more than a dozen horror authors for readings, Q&As, and book signings at Die With Your Boots On on April 27 - 28, May 4.
ALYSSA ALESSI
Alyssa Alessi is a writer of middle grade, young adult and short stories all inspired by the unsettling macabre aesthetic of New England. As a child she was on a constant hunt for ghosts, vampires, and her own powers as a witch. When she couldn’t find them, she settled for writing them into existence. You can find her hiking any trail in the Northeast said to be haunted, roaming old cemeteries with a camera in hand, or thrift shopping anywhere antiques are sold. She resides in Boston, MA with her husband, three children and their mini dachshund.
Die With Your Boots On • Saturday, May 4
CHRISTA CARMEN
Christa Carmen is the two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of The Daughters of Block Island, Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked, and the forthcoming Beneath the Poet’s House. Additional work can be found in Vastarien, Nightmare, Orphans of Bliss, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror, and the Stoker-nominated anthologies, Not All Monsters and The Streaming of Hill House. She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Boston College, and an MFA from the University of Southern Maine. Christa lives in Rhode Island with her husband, daughter, bloodhound-golden retriever mix, and six chickens.
Die With Your Boots On • Sunday, April 28
KAYLA COTTINGHAM
Kayla Cottingham (they/she) is a former librarian and New York Times bestselling author of sapphic horror and fantasy novels. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, Kayla lives in Boston where they love to go hiking in the woods, play RPGs, and snuggle on the couch with their ridiculously large black cat, Squid.
Die With Your Boots On • Sunday, April 28
SARA FARIZAN
Sara Farizan (she/her) is the award-winning author of the young adult novels Dead Flip, Here to Stay, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel, and the Lambda Literary award winning If You Could Be Mine, which was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time. She has short stories in the anthologies Out of Our League, Night of the Living Queers, Fresh Ink, All Out, The Radical Element, Hungry Hearts, Come On In, and Fools in Love. She also writes middle grade books like the DC comics graphic novel, My Buddy Killer Croc and Opportunity Knocks from Scholastic. She lives in Massachusetts, she loves horror-comedy films like Gremlins, and is a giant fraidy cat but has immense love of monsters.
Die With Your Boots On • Saturday, April 27
CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN
Christopher Golden is the New York Times bestselling author of such novels as The House of Last Resort, All Hallows, Road of Bones, and the Stoker Award-winning Ararat, among many others. Golden co-created (with Mike Mignola) the fan favorite comic book series Baltimore and Joe Golem: Occult Detective. He has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and the online animated series Ghosts of Albion (with Amber Benson). His work has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award, the Eisner Award, and multiple Shirley Jackson Awards. He has been nominated eleven times in eight different categories for the Bram Stoker Award, and has won twice. In 2023, Golden and Amber Benson co-wrote and co-directed the Audible Original podcast Slayers: A Buffyverse Story. Please visit him at http://www.christophergolden.com
Die With Your Boots On • Saturday, April 28
BRACKEN MACLEOD
Bracken MacLeod is the Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Award
nominated author of the novels, Mountain Home, Come to Dust, Stranded, and Closing Costs. He’s also published two collections of short fiction, 13 Views of the Suicide Woods and White Knight and Other Pawns. Before devoting himself to full time writing, he worked as a civil and criminal litigator, a university philosophy instructor, and a martial arts teacher. He lives in the MetroWest area with his wife and son, where he is at work on his next novel.
Die With Your Boots On • Saturday, April 27
ERRICK NUNNALLY
Errick Nunnally was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, he served one tour in the Marine Corps before deciding art school would be a safer—and more natural—pursuit. He is permanently distracted by art, comics, science fiction, history, and horror. Trained as a graphic designer, he has earned a black belt in Krav Maga/Muay Thai kickboxing after dark, and first prize in one hamburger contest. Errick’s writing includes: the novels, BLOOD FOR THE SUN, ALL THE DEAD MEN, and LIGHTNING WEARS A RED CAPE; a comic strip collection, LOST IN TRANSITION; and a short novel THE QUEEN OF SATURN AND THE PRINCE IN EXILE, due out in 2025 from upstart publisher Clash Books. The following are some magazines and anthologies that he has appeared in: Galaxy’s Edge; Fiyah Literary Magazine; Lamplight; and Nightlight, a Black Horror Podcast. Eventually, Errick came to his senses and moved to Rhode Island with his two lovely children and one beautiful wife. Visit erricknunnally.us to see more of his work.
Die With Your Boots On • Saturday, April 27
JW OCKER
J.W. Ocker is a national-bestselling, award-winning author of macabre travelogues, spooky kid’s books, and horror novels. His nonfictions books include The New England Grimpendium and The New York Grimpendium (both Lowell Thomas Award winners), Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe (Edgar Award winner), A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts, and Cursed Objects: Strange But True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items. His novels for kids include Death and Douglas, The Smashed Man of Dread End, and The Black Slide.
Ocker is also the creator of OTIS: Odd Things I've Seen (oddthingsiveseen.com), where he chronicles his visits to thousands of oddities of culture, art, nature, and history across the country and world with photos, articles, and through Odd Things I've Seen: The Podcast. His work has appeared on or in CNN.com, The Atlantic, Rue Morgue, the Boston Globe, The Guardian, TIME, and other places people stick writing. Ocker is from Maryland but has lived in New Hampshire for more than a decade.
Die With Your Boots On • Saturday, May 4
BRANDON PERRAS-SANCHEZ
Brandon Perras-Sanchez is a writer, musician, filmmaker and actor who is inspired by 80s horror, folklore, mythology, metal and noise rock. He grew up in the woods of Vermont but now resides in Providence, RI. He is currently working on future horror projects such as the full length film Saint Drogo and a second book/screenplay recessive NATURE.
Brandon is part of the production company Monster Makeup who brought you the gory, campy, Drag Queen cult classic Death Drop Gorgeous and music videos for Providence noise rock weirdos Anxious Wave.
Die With Your Boots On • Saturday, May 4
CATHERINE SCULLY
Cat Scully is a spooky southerner from Atlanta, GA who now lives outside of Salem, MA. She is the author of the upcoming adult horror novel BELOW THE GRAND HOTEL and the author-illustrator of YA horror series, JENNIFER STRANGE (2020). As an illustrator, she's best known for her world maps in the BROOKLYN BRUJAS series by Zoraida Cordova and GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE by Beth Revis. Her first picture book, THE MAYOR OF HALLOWEEN IS MISSING (2021), was written by Emily S. Sullivan. When she’s not writing and illustrating books, Cat works in video game development and is an artist-in-residence at Porter Mill Studios in Beverly, MA where she designs clothing, accessories, and home decor for her shop Haints and Hollows.
Die With Your Boots On • Saturday, May 4
KATHERINE SILVA
Katherine Silva is an ace Maine horror author, a connoisseur of coffee, and victim of cat shenanigans. Her favorite flavors of the genre mix grief and existentialism which she combines with her love of the New England wilderness in her works. She is a two-time Maine Literary Award finalist for speculative fiction and a member of the Horror Writers of Maine, The Horror Writers Association, and New England Horror Writers Association. Katherine is also editor-in-chief of Strange Wilds Press and Dark Taiga Creative Writing Consultations. Her most recent book, Undead Folk, releases May 1st. You can find out all about her work at katherinesilvaauthor.com
Die With Your Boots On • Saturday, May 4
ROB SMALES
When asked what he does, Rob Smales tends to answer “I write words.” When feeling particularly full of himself, he may go so far as “I write the words that occur to me at the time.” Groupings of these words, referred to as stories, have appeared in nearly four dozen publications and anthologies, been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes, won a couple of readers’ choice awards, and appeared three times in Ellen Datlow’s honorable mentions list regarding her Best Horror Of the Year anthologies.
His most recent works include the novellas LaundryLegs and Spearfinger, and he hails from Salem, Massachusetts, where you can bet he's currently writing something either funny or scary, but probably dark.
He likes the dark.
Die With Your Boots On • Sunday, April 28
ALEXANDRA WEST
Alex’s work has appeared in The Toronto Star, Rue Morgue, Famous Monsters of Filmland, and Shock Till You Drop. Her writing has also been published in The Supernatural Cinema of Guillermo del Toro: Critical Essays, Art of the Title and Offscreen Film Journal. She has lectured on theatre and film in Canada and the US. Her books Films of New French Extremity: Visceral Horror and National Identity (2016), and The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle: Final Girls and New Hollywood Formula (2018) are available via McFarland. Alex has co-hosted the Faculty of Horror podcast with Andrea Subissati since its inception 2012.
Die With Your Boots On • Saturday, April 27
TRISHA WOOLRIDGE
Trisha J. Wooldridge (child-friendly T.J. Wooldridge) is an award-winning pan-genre, pan-media chaos word witch. Find her in the Shirley Jackson Award-winning The Twisted Book of Shadows; several HWA Poetry Showcase volumes; all the NEHW anthologies (that she didn’t edit); and various anthologies and literary journals. Her current projects include The 27 Kingdoms epic fantasy series; Where Monsters Pray, a dark speculative fiction collection; and curating an anthology or two. She spends mystical “free time” with a very patient Husband-of-Awesome; a tiny witch and large witcher kitty pair; a rescued bay gelding; and a matronly calico mare. www.anovelfriend.com
Die With Your Boots On • Sunday, April 28