To ameliorate the competitive nature of awards, the Stokers are given "for superior achievement,"
not for "best of the year," and the rules are deliberately designed to make ties fairly probable. The
first awards were presented in 1988 (for works published in 1987), and they have been presented every
year since. The award itself is an eight-inch replica of a fanciful haunted house, designed specifically
for HWA by sculptor Steven Kirk. The door of the house opens to reveal a brass plaque engraved with
the name of the winning work and its author.
The Stoker Awards, like the Oscars, are non-juried awards. Any work of Horror first published in the English
language may be considered for a Stoker during the year of its publication. The HWA membership at large
recommends worthy works for consideration. A preliminary ballot is compiled using a formula based on
recommendations. Two rounds of voting by our Active members determine first the finalists, and then the
winners.
Between 2001 and 2004, the awards were presented in twelve categories: Novel, First Novel,
Short Fiction, Long Fiction, Fiction Collection, Poetry Collection, Anthology, Nonfiction,
Illustrated Narrative, Screenplay, Work for Young Readers, and Alternative Forms. Beginning with
works published in 2005, however, the awards are given in eight categories: Novel, First Novel,
Short Fiction, Long Fiction, Fiction Collection, Poetry Collection, Anthology, and
Nonfiction. In addition, Lifetime Achievement Stokers are occasionally presented to individuals
whose entire body of work has substantially influenced Horror.
| 2007 Nominees for Works Published in 2006 |
| Novel (Nominee Bios) |
| Headstone City by Tom Piccirilli (Bantam) |
| Lisey's Story by Stephen King (Scribner) |
| Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry (Pinnacle) |
| Pressure by Jeff Strand (Earthling) |
| Prodigal Blues by Gary A. Braunbeck (Cemetery Dance) |
| First Novel (Nominee Bios) |
| Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry (Pinnacle) |
| The Keeper by Sarah Langan (William Morrow) |
| Bloodstone by Nate Kenyon (Five Star) |
| The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff (St. Martins) |
| Long Fiction (Nominee Bios) |
| Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge (Cemetery Dance) |
| Hallucigenia by Laird Barron (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction) |
| Mama's Boy by Fran Friel (Insidious Publications) |
| Bloodstained Oz by Christopher Golden and James A. Moore (Earthling Publications) |
| Clubland Heroes by Kim Newman (Retro Pulp Tales) |
| Short Story (Nominee Bios) |
| Tested by Lisa Morton (Cemetery Dance) |
| Balance by Gene O'Neill (Cemetery Dance) |
| Feeding the Dead Inside by Yvonne Navarro (Mondo Zombie) |
| FYI by Mort Castle (Masques V) |
| "31/10" by Stephen Volk (Dark Corners) |
| Anthology (Nominee Bios) |
| Aegri Somnia: The Apex Featured Writer Anthology edited by Jason Sizemore and Gill Ainsworth (Apex) |
| Mondo Zombie edited by John Skipp (Cemetery Dance) |
| Retro Pulp Tales edited by Joe Lansdale (Subterranean) |
| Alone on the Darkside edited by John Pelan (Roc) |
| Fiction Collection (Nominee Bios) |
| Destinations Unknown by Gary Braunbeck (Cemetery Dance) |
| American Morons by Glen Hirshberg (Earthling Publications) |
| The Commandments by Angeline Hawkes (Nocturne Press) |
| The Empire of Ice Cream by Jeffrey Ford (Golden Gryphon) |
| Basic Black: Tales of Appropriate Fear by Terry Dowling (Cemetery Dance) |
| Nonfiction (Nominee Bios) |
| Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die by Michael Largo (Harper) |
| Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth by Kim Paffenroth (Baylor Press) |
| Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished by Rocky Wood (Cemetery Dance) |
| Cinema Macabre edited by Mark Morris (PS Publishing) |
| Poetry Collection (Nominee Bios) |
| Shades Fantastic by Bruce Boston (Gromagon Press) |
| Valentine: Short Love Poems by Corrine de Winter (Black Arrow Press) |
| The Troublesome Amputee by John Edward Lawson (Raw Dog Screaming Press) |
| Songs of a Sorceress by Bobbi Sinha-Morey (Write Words, Inc.) |
| |
2006 Awards and Nominees for Works Published in 2005 ( denotes superior achievement) |
| Novel |
| Creepers by David Morrell (Tie) |
| Dread In The Beast by Charlee Jacob (Tie) |
| Keepers by Gary Braunbeck |
| November Mourns by Tom Piccirilli |
| First Novel |
| The Hides by Kealan Patrick Burke |
| Scarecrow Gods by Weston Ochse |
| Siren Promised by Alan M. Clark and Jeremy Robert Johnson |
| Long Fiction |
| "Best New Horror" by Joe Hill |
| "In The Midnight Museum" by Gary Braunbeck |
| "Some Zombie Contingency Plans" by Kelly Link |
| "The Things They Left Behind" by Stephen King |
| Short Story |
| "As Others See Us" by Mort Castle |
| "Haeckel's Tale" by Clive Barker |
| "Times Of Atonement" by Yvonne Navarro |
| "We Now Pause For Station Identification" by Gary Braunbeck |
| "Invisible" by Steve Rasnic Tem |
| Anthology |
| Corpse Blossoms edited by Julia and Rj Sevin |
| Dark Delicacies: Original Tales Of Terror and The Macabre edited by Del Howison and Jeff Gelb |
| Outsiders edited by Nancy Holder and Nancy Kilpatrick |
| Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth edited by Stephen Jones |
| Fiction Collection |
| Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk |
| Looking For Jake by China Miéville |
| Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link |
| Twentieth Century Ghosts by Joe Hill |
| Nonfiction |
| The Bradbury Chronicle by Sam Weller |
| Horror: Another 100 Best Books by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman |
| Morbid Curiosity #9 by Loren Rhoades |
| More Giants Of The Genre by Michael Mccarty |
| Why Buffy Matters: The Art Of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" by Rhonda Wilcox |
| Poetry Collection |
| Freakcidents by Michael A. Arnzen (Tie) |
| Seasons: A Series Of Poems Based On The Life And Death Of Edgar Allan Poe by Daniel Shields |
| The Shadow City by Gary W. Crawford |
| Sineater by Charlee Jacob (Tie) |
| Specialty Press |
| Necessary Evil Press |
| Richard Laymon President's Award |
| Lisa Morton |
| Lifetime Achievement |
| Peter Straub |
| |
