Looking forward to seeing what she’s got for us next. Jessica Guess knocked it out of the haunted amusement park with Cirque Berserk, and I’ve loved her short fiction too. Hailey Piper is basically the queen of indie horror right now, so go pick up anything by Piper if you haven’t yet. Laurel Hightower’s Whispers in the Dark and Crossroads were fantastic, and her short fiction packs a punch. Red Lagoe: All of them! There are so many. Just brilliant character work.īindia Persaud: Recently, I’ve enjoyed two short story collections: Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties and Julia Armfield’s Salt Slow. I loved the psychological depth and complexity of the relationship. Russell walks the razor’s edge in this story. Vanessa’s teenage and adult points of view show how her perspective has changed as their affair comes to light amid the #metoo movement. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell is about a young girl who becomes her professor’s Lolita. A witty female protag, and existential crisis, debauchery in a foreign land, and doomed lovers. Lost Girls and Love Hotels by Catherine Hanrahan. Nutting commits to her depraved character with the same relentlessness as Brett Easton Ellis wrote Patrick Bateman. My favorite books may not be purebred horror, but they have dark psychological themes. If you haven’t read these, I strongly recommend them!Ĭhrista Wojciechowski: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a treat for classic gothic lit fans. These aren’t considered horror novels necessarily, but the ideas in these books, set in a dystopian time, are so frightening! They are quite a lesson in unfolding the story slowly and with tension.

The poems these women write make me want to read even more horror poetry! I recently read The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. I also started reading more horror poetry by authors such as Linda Addison, Stephanie Wytovich, and Strangehouse’s very own Sara Tantlinger.

I like them because they write strong women characters who figure out how to survive. Recent authors include Gwendolyn Kiste, Sarah Pinborough, Elizabeth Massie, Alma Katsu, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Sarah Waters, Toni Morrison, and Cynthia Pelayo, to name a few. The latest books I’ve read by women have been amazing.

It’s a special time for women in this genre and I can’t wait to see where it goes. Bush: I have been happy to see so many published novels, poems, and short stories written by women.

Nightmare Magazine is such an awesome labor of love. I slush read for them. And her new book, The Deer Kings, is great. Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito: I’ve loved reading the Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women. Growing up, I didn’t see myself represented in that much American horror. Things are changing and I’m really enjoying reading horror from diverse storytelling perspectives.Īnd, I love Wendy Wagner.

Matryoshka by Penny Jones