The Horror Writers Association (HWA) has announced this year’s scholarship and grant recipients for the Dark Poetry, Mary Shelley, and HWA Scholarships, and the Diversity Grants.

THE HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP

The Horror Writers Association Scholarship, open to all horror writers (HWA membership is not required), is worth $2500, which may be spent on approved writing education over the two years following the granting of the scholarship.

Catherine Yu

Catherine Yu writes dark speculative fiction. She was born in Nanjing and is now based in New York. She is the author of Direwood and Helga (Page Street). Her short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming from Baffling Magazine, Fantasy Magazine, and the Death in the Mouth anthology.

THE MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY SCHOLARSHIP

This scholarship, worth $2,500, is open to female horror writers. It may be spent on approved writing education over the two years following the granting of the scholarship.

Madeleine Pelletier

Madeleine Pelletier lives in an old farmhouse near Montreal, with three cats, six goats, and one grumpy old man. Her short fiction has most recently appeared at Short Edition, Globe Soup, and Through the Grinder Darkly: The Best of the 2k Terrors. Follow her @mad_pelletier (Twitter/X) and @madpelletier.bsky.social

THE DARK POETRY SCHOLARSHIP

The Dark Poetry Scholarship, first awarded in 2015, is designed to assist in the professional development of Horror and/or Dark Fantasy Poets. It is worth $1,250, which may be spent on approved writing education over the two years following the granting of the scholarship.

Ennis Rook Bashe

Ennis Rook Bashe is a two-time Elgin Award nominee, Rhysling Award finalist, TAP New York Writers’ Institute Queer Poetry Prize winner, and Lesfic Bard Award-winning poet and novelist whose work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Cricket, and Liminality Magazine. Their chapbook Beautiful Malady includes work nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Find more of their writing at https://linktr.ee/ennisrookbashe.

DIVERSITY GRANTS

The Diversity Grants are open to underrepresented, diverse people who have an interest in the horror writing genre, including, but not limited to writers, editors, reviewers, and library workers. The Diversity Grants have adopted the broadest definition of the word diversity to include, but not limited to, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabled, and neurodiverse. Each Grant is worth $500 and may be spent on approved expenses for a period of two (2) years following the awarding of the Grant. There are seven winners:

Amanda Helms (she/her) is a mixed-race Black/white writer whose short fiction has appeared in fine venues such as FIYAH, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Uncanny. A member of SFWA and HWA, she also serves as an editor for Diabolical Plots. When not reading, writing, or editing, she is likely chasing after her school-age child, daydreaming about embarking upon train journeys, or cooing over cute puppy pictures.Website: https://amandahelms.com

Somto Ihezue (he/him) is a Nigerian–Igbo writer, editor, and filmmaker. He is a Creative Writing MFA student at the University of Maryland, and an alumnus of Clarion West, Tin House, Voodoonauts, and Milford SF workshops. His works have appeared, or are forthcoming in Tor, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Uncanny, Strange Horizons, NIGHTMARE, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Podcastle, Escape Pod, PseudoPod, POETRY Magazine, Flash Fiction Online, Flame Tree Press, and others. His work has been shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award (Sydney J. Bounds Awards), the Nommo Awards, the Utopia Awards, and has equally been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the British Science Fiction Award. Website: https://somtoihezue.com/

Elis Montgomery(she/her)is a speculative fiction writer from Vancouver, Canada. She is a member of SFWA and Codex. When she’s not writing, she’s usually hanging upside down in an aerial arts class or a murky cave. Find her there or at https://elismontgomery.com.

A. W. Prihandita (she/her) is an Indonesian speculative fiction writer, college writing instructor and PhD candidate in rhetoric and composition, with scholarly (and personal) interests in decolonial and transnational writing. She splits her time between the US West Coast, where she currently teaches and studies, and Indonesia, where she grew up and where her home remains. She attended the Odyssey workshop in 2023 on their Fresh Voices Scholarship, and the Clarion workshop in 2024 on their Octavia Butler Scholarship. Her stories are published in Clarkesworld, Cast of Wonders, Ghoulish Tales, and khōréō magazine, among others.Website: https://awprihandita.carrd.co

Ayida Shonibar (she/they) writes dark and wistful speculative fiction about misfits, monsters, mischief-makers. Spanning genres and age categories, their short works appear in various publications. In horror, these include If There’s Anyone Left, Wilted Pages (Shortwave Publishing), Night of the Living Queers (Wednesday Books), Nature Futures, and Asian Ghost Short Stories. Regardless of premise, most of their storytelling draws on horror traditions in some aspect. You can find more information about their writing at https://ayidashonibar.com.

Tehnuka (she/they) is a Tamil tauiwi writer and volcanologist from Aotearoa New Zealand. She likes to find herself up volcanoes, down caves, and in unexpected places; everyone else, however, can find her online at www.tehnuka.dreamhosters.com.

Ash Vale (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, neurodivergent Canadian. They’re a big fan of cryptids, guts, and weird lil guys. Their work has been published in Heartlines Spec, Goblincore: An Anthology, and is forthcoming at Black Hare Press. You can find their newsletter and stories at https://linktr.ee/ashvale.