So last week ushered in a very big surprise when both my short story, “The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt from Lucy Westenra’s Diary)” and my short nonfiction article, “Magic, Madness, and Women Who Creep: The Power of Individuality in the Work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman” made it on the 2019 Bram Stoker Awards Preliminary Ballot.

Seriously. WHAT?!

Now as always, it’s important to note that this is NOT a nomination. Voting on the final ballot opens tomorrow, and the official nominees will be announced next month. But to have two works appear on the preliminary ballot is such an incredible honor, and I’m still stunned just writing this post.

Because I don’t want to keep blathering on (yes, I know you’ve all heard plenty about this from me already on social media), here’s a bit about each work that’s on the preliminary ballot, and then I’ll wrap this up.

In the short fiction category, my story “The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt from Lucy Westenra’s Diary)” first appeared in Nightmare Magazine in November and is available to read for free online. It’s a retelling of Dracula from Lucy’s perspective, and it’s been called “a wonderful and subversive take on the classic story” by Curious Fictions and “a story that knows exactly what it is about, intricately framed and wonderfully complex” by Quick Sip Reviews.

As for short nonfiction, “Magic, Madness, and Women Who Creep: The Power of Individuality in the Work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman” was first published in March 2019 in Vastarien. This piece focuses on three of Gilman’s most famous short stories–“When I Was a Witch,” “The Giant Wistaria,” and of course “The Yellow Wallpaper”–and reflects on their themes of freedom, individuality, and so-called madness.

The iMailer newsletter from HWA went out earlier this week, which included links to both my works, but if you missed that email, then it’s worth repeating: if you’re an Active or Lifetime member and would like to read either my short story or my short nonfiction article, please email me at gwendolyn@gwendolynkiste.com, and I would be thrilled to send you copies of them!

Once again, so many huge congratulations to everyone on the preliminary ballot. It was another wonderful year for horror, and the fantastic authors and works on the ballot reflect that! I’m so thrilled and humbled to be among so many awesome friends and colleagues! Good luck to all!

Happy reading!