The Australian Horror Writers Association AGM is taking place on September 9 in Melbourne. AHWA members should be well and truly aware of this, and all the requisite details will be in the members section of the AHWA website.

As most of you are aware, I am the AHWA Vice President. I will be standing for re-election, as will founding President Marty Young. However, a few of the committee positions will be available, so I’d urge any AHWA members to consider putting their hand up to help steer this dark, dark ship. Serving on the committee is, at times, demanding but also extremely rewarding.

If any AHWA members need someone to nominate on their behalf, just contact me (either comment on this post or send me an email – check the bar to the right for the address).

I believe the opportunity to nominate people for committee positions (and to send in crucial proxy voting forms) closes on September 2, so get your hussle on, folks!

I’m currently working on an Australian dark fiction year-in-review summary and recommended reading list for HorrorScope (with help from some friends). Tangentially arising from this process and offered without much comment, here is my list of Aussie dark fiction writers (in alpha order) who I think will make a splash in 2009:

Short story writers

• Peter M. Ball
• Deborah Biancotti
• Matthew Chrulew
• David Conyers
• Felicity Dowker
• Jason Fischer
• Paul Haines
• Kirstyn McDermott
• Andrew McKiernan
• Marty Young

Novellists

• Nathan Burrage
• Richard Harland
• Deborah Kalin

These lists are entirely subjective, limited exclusively to these authors’ work in dark fantasy and horror (i.e. I have not taken into account some fine Aussie SF & F writers because they’re not dark enough), and are based on what I know of these authors, their current development, and the work they may have due for release next year. And of course, there are plenty of other Aussies out there who will consistently output high quality work, but they know who they are!

Also, I don’t know if the following writers will hit it big in 2009, but they’re on my ‘ones to watch’ list:

• Joanne Anderton
• Craig Bezant
• Jason Crowe
• Gary Kemble
• Miranda Siemienowicz
• Mark Smith-Briggs
• Trost

Scratching an itch…

Who are the dozen best Aussie horror writers at the moment?

All comments welcome.