World Horror Convention Held in England This Year

royalalbionhotelThe World Horror Convention, first instituted in 1991, is finally leaving North America and being held across the pond. This year’s convention will be held March 25-28 at the Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton, Sussex.

Horror has often been a reflection of the challenges being faced by authors and society. In fact, Mary Shelley herself once said, I believe, that the monster in her tale Frankenstein was a metaphor for the novel itself. The annual World Horror Convention offers a a venue for serious fans and entertainers to discuss the history and trends that have influenced horror, from the “rise and fall of movie horror” to the craft of writing stories that scare readers while they comment on society.

Sponsored by the World Horror Society, the event features diverse programming:

  • Author readings,
  • Open mic poetry,
  • Lectures,
  • Expert panels,

And, of course, the vendor’s room and even the grand party.

Guests of Honor (GOH) this year include:

tanithlee Author Guest of Honor:
Tanith Lee
Author of more than 70 novels, 250 short stories, a children’s picture book and many poems. Most of her work is in science fiction, fantasy and horror.
davidcase Author Guest of Honor:
David Case
His acclaimed collection The Cell: Three Tales of Horror appeared in 1969, and included the classic werewolf novella of the title.
Editor’s Note: Is it just me, or does he kind of look like Robin Williams?
lesedwards Artist Guest of Honor:
Les Edwards
Les Edwards has been a professional illustrator for over 35 years. He is best known for the huge number of book jackets he has produced in the Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror genres; the latter sometimes being known as his “Red Period”.
davecarson Artist Guest of Honor:
Dave Carson
Once he first discovered the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, he was hooked for life and has since become one of the genre’s most acclaimed and respected illustrators of the author’s work.
hughlamb Editor Guest of Honor:
Hugh Lamb
One of Britain’s most acclaimed anthologists of ghosts and gaslight terrors, he is renowned for unearthing many obscure tales by Victorian and Edwardian writers.
jamesherbert Special Guest of Honor:
James Herbert
Created the modern mass-market horror genre with the publication of his first ground-breaking novel, The Rats, in 1974 (for the record, Stephen King’s Carrie was published a few months later).
jofletcher Mistress of Ceremonies:
Jo Fletcher
An editor, writer, poet and journalist, who has written for and edited countless horror and fantasy anthologies
ingridpitt Special Media Guest:
Ingrid Pitt
Best known to horror film fans as Hammer Film’s “Queen of Horror”.

For more information about the World Horror Convention, visit these websites:

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About the author

As The Genre Traveler, Carma Spence loves to view the world through Genre-Coloured glasses. In other words, she sees the world through a lens of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, where trash cans can be Daleks in disguise and neighborhood forests can harbor faeries and sprites. Magic realism is real! Or at least you can choose to see the world that way to add to the fun and awe of life.