Nightmare on George Street

October 30, 2019

The Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador’s 2019 Halloween Thriller/Horror Writing Contest is coming up soon!

Local writers put the quill to the quire, crafting up a spooky tale that would make HP Lovecraft have nightmares!

The eerie event will take place on Halloween Eve Oct 30th at The Black Sheep on George Street.

Contestants were welcome to submit flash fiction original material of any genre to a maximum of 1,000 words. Writing format was open to all: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, monologues, etc.

An educated and professional jury of writers, actors, and horror fanatics will adjudicate the submissions, creating a shortlist of the top five entries, to be announced at NL Horror Con on October 19th-20th.

Readings of the top five entries will be filmed by Mike Hickey of Fright Hype and Crypt TV. These filmed readings will be screened during the event. As a bonus prize, the top five authors will receive an MP4 copy of their filmed reading that can be used for promotion on social media platforms.

This year’s top six are (in alphabetical order):

Ryan Belbin
Jen Corrigan
Jon Dobbin
Brad Dunne
Natasha Glover
Josh Goudie

Thanks to Engen Books for joining us as sponsor this year, as well as Boca Tapas Bar, Resource Centre For The Arts, TVAL Skincare, Fogtown Barber & Shop, Lester’s Farm Market, Fred’s Records, Rocket Bakery & Fresh Food, Elaine’s Books, The Doghouse, Unicornio Studio, and Sci-Fi on the Rock for their donated prizes!

Judges:

Erin Mick is an actor and writer, currently pursuing a PhD in Cinema Studies at U of T, where she focusses her research on global contemporary horror film. She is the author of popular CreepyPasta stories (such as Top-Rated Pasta “The Space Above the Closet”), has been a co-host on Mike Hickey’s Fright Hype Podcast, has co-paneled horror conversations at Sci-Fi on the Rock, and has acted in some of Newfoundland’s growing base of horror film content (such as False Light, and Incredible Violence). She presented her most recent academic work in Vancouver this summer at the Film Studies Association of Canada’s annual conference: a paper titled, “‘They’ll hollow me out and eat my c**t on a plate’: Suspiria (2018), Feminine Rage, and the New Horror Renaissance.” She lives in Toronto with her dog, her many books, a growing DVD collection, and all her nightmares – an unconventional family, but one she is learning to love. Current horror read: Sealed by Naomi Booth. Last horror read: My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix. Favourite horror story: “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson are tied.

Mike Hickey is a filmmaker, podcaster, & presenter who loves writing scary things and hates writing about himself. He has hosted Fright Hype for Crypt TV since 2015 and will be emceeing the second annual NL Horror Con in October of 2019. He has also written, directed, & produced a number of Newfoundland based short horror films. The Grand Falls-Windsor native currently lives in St John’s with his wife, Maria, and their dog, Samhain (who responds to “Sam” and doesn’t respond to requests to stop pooping in the kitchen.)

Matthew LeDrew holds an Honours Degree in English from the Memorial University of Newfoundland with a minor in Anthropology, and studied Journalism at College of the North Atlantic in Stephenville, Newfoundland. He was honoured to be a jury member of the 2018 NLBA awards. He has written twenty novels for Engen Books: the ten book Coral Beach Casefiles series, The Long Road, Cinders, Sinister Intent, Faith, Family Values, Jacobi Street, Touch Your Nose, Infinity, The Tourniquet Reprisal, and Exodus of Angels the latter three of which with co-author Ellen Curtis.
He lives in St. Johns, Newfoundland.
Since 2007 he has traveled all over Canada promoting his work as well as teaching seminars on writing and publishing. He also helps young Newfoundland authors become published through Engen Books.

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