Whatever else their concerns may be, horror authors care dearly about readers’ feelings. The genre is bigger than frightening tales, though; in fact, the presence (or absence) of fear is often the least interesting part of the story. Horror instead finds strength in what its many emotions teach us about ourselves, our cares, and what it means to live in this world together.
Plus, sometimes there’re witches.
Join in to learn about common horror priorities and how we editors can nurture authors’ works in this exciting and essential genre. This session is open to any curious professionals but is calibrated for developmental editors with little or no experience working on horror.
Attendees will gain a thorough understanding of the horror genre’s foundations, mechanics, and themes, and its overlap with neighboring genre traditions. With these learnings in place, the presentation will then discuss their safe and respectful application to professional practice.
Molly Cernik came from the desert, and part of her is still there. Since leaving, though, she has studied literature, literary craft, philosophy and emotion, and she earned an MA from New York University by talking in detail about how scary stories made her feel. She uses the things she learned to edit horror and sci-fi novels, and in so doing helps readers and writers alike find solace in terror. No matter how much she edits, she still gets the heebie-jeebies.