July arrived hot with fantastic news and announcements from HWA Oregon members (see below), and we participated in several events, including our monthly chapter meeting, book club, and a visit to Midslumber Media, a horror and dark romance book store in Portland, Oregon.
We also welcomed HWA Oregon member Amber Finnegan as our new Social Media Coordinator and Events Co-Coordinator. She is already designing graphics and announcements, posting on our Bluesky and Instagram accounts, and helping out with event planning, among other volunteer help. Thank you, Amber! Check out her website here: https://finneganeditorial.com/
At our July Chapter meeting, HWA Oregon member Colleen East gave a presentation about “Building Your Author/Artist Website,” with tips and inspiration she learned from Brittany Torres (www.torresfantasyart.com) at a talk at Norwescon 2025. She also provided other examples of author and artist websites with minimal but beautiful and informative designs that showcase their styles and work well.
HWA Oregon members also led workshops, hosted events, and participated in a Writers’ Fair at a local conference (see below.) Meanwhile, we’re preparing for upcoming events as pre-Halloween and Halloween season ramps up, including tabling opportunities to share our members’ dark literature with horror fans. Read on for more details!
If you would like to join or learn more about HWA Oregon, please contact us at oregonhwa@gmail.com and visit our website at https://oregonhorror.com/.
Virtual Book Club
We met at the end of July to discuss The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling, one of the books included in HWA’s 2025 Summer Scares Adult Selections. We enjoyed the slow burn and ramping tension of Starling’s science fiction and horror novel, and tried to decide if what the protagonist spelunker saw during her claustrophobic journey was real or not.
Next up, we’ll be reading Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca.
Member News
The well-attended hybrid 2025 Willamette Writers Conference was held July 30 through August 3, 2025, and it featured several HWA Oregon members leading workshops, hosting events, tabling, and attending.
J.B. Kish with Angela Yuriko Smith presented “So You Want to Write Horror” online at conference.
J.B. Kish and Erik Grove, along with poet and performer Emmett Wheatfall, offered a rousing in-person workshop on “Performing Your Work” at the same event. If you ever get a chance to watch J.B. and Erik perform their dark literature, you’re in for a treat.
Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito and Niyyah R. Haqq proudly presented the Young Willamette Writers at the conference who read their poetry and prose, including dark literature, to a packed room.
Other announcements and news shared by HWA Oregon members in July and August tell tales of writers and publishing professionals making personal and professional progress while getting their dark words out to the world.
Elle Mitchell, editor of Little Key Press, announced an open call for her next speculative and dark fiction anthology: Clocks.
Kate Boyes’s poem “A Wake of Vultures” was published in issue 57 (“Birds”) of Eye to the Telescope.
Kelsea Yu’s flash horror piece “Deliquescence” was published in issue 39 of The Deadlands and online.
Larina Warnock’s flash horror piece “While the Cat’s Away” was published by Short Editions in their story dispensers and online.