Bram Stoker Awards

Table of Contents
Background to the Award. Award Winners. Resources.

I.  Background to the Award.

 

The Bram Stoker Awards are annually presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA). Established in 1987, the Stoker Award honors books for "superior achievement," instead of "the best," novels of the year (Horror Writers Association, Bram Stoker Awards). The first award presented in 1988 to the superior horror novel was a tie between Stephen King's Misery and Robert R. McCammon's Swan Song. Stephen King has been a finalist 28 times and of those 28 times has won eight. The awards have been named in honor of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. Unlike many awards, any horror work that has been written within the calendar year is eligible to win a Stoker. Although, the HWA suggests that in order to have a better chance to win, authors should widely publicize their works (Horror Writers Association, Bram Stoker Awards). All of the horror works that are eligible for nomination can be placed in eight different categories. The number of categories dropped in 2005 from 12 to the eight that are currently being awarded. These eight categories are: novel, first novel, short fiction, long fiction, fiction collection, poetry, anthology, and finally nonfiction. HWA members vote twice to decide the finalists and the winners. The winners will then be announced at the HWA annual conference in June. As pictured, the award given to the winners is a haunted house. Standing 8 inches high, the front door opens to reveal a brass plaque. The plaque is engraved with the winning author's name and the title of the book (Horror Writers Association, Bram Stoker Awards). Below is a list of winners from the Best Novel and Nonfiction categories.

 

---

II.  Award Winners.

 

 2007:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • The Missing  by Sarah Langan

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • The Cryptopedia: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange & Downright Bizarre by Jonathan Maberry & David F. Kramer

     

 2006:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Lisey's Story by Stephen King

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Die by Michael Largo

  • Hell on Earth by Kim Paffenroth

 

 2005:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Creepers by David Morrell

  • Dread in the Beast by Charlee Jacob

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Horror: Another 100 Best Books by Stephen Jones & Kim Newman

 

 2004:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • In the Night Room by Peter Straub

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Hellnotes edited by Judi Rohrig

 

 2003:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • lost boy lost girl by Peter Straub

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • The Mothers and Fathers Italian Association by Thomas F. Monteleone

 

 2002:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • The Night Class by Tom Piccirilli

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Ramsey Campbell, Probably by Ramsey Campbell

 

 2001:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • American Gods by Neil Gaiman

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Jobs in Hell edited by Brian Keene

 

 2000:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • The Traveling Vampire Show by Richard Laymon

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • On Writing by Stephen King

 

 1999:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Mr. X by Peter Straub

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • DarkEcho edited by Paula Guran

 

 1998:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Bag of Bones, by Stephen King

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • DarkEcho Newsletter, Vol. 5, #1-50 by Paula Guran, ed.

 

 1997:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Children of the Dusk by Janet Berliner & George Guthridge

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Dark Thoughts: On Writing by Stanley Wiater

 

 1996:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • The Green Mile by Stephen King

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • H.P. Lovecraft: A Life by S.T. Joshi

 

 1995:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • The Supernatural Index by Michael Ashley & William Contento

 

 1994:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Dead in the Water by Nancy Holder

 

• Fiction Award:

  • The Early Fears by Robert Bloch

 

 1993:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • The Throat by Peter Straub

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Once Around the Bloch by Robert Bloch

 

 1992:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Blood of the Lamb by Thomas F. Monteleone

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Cut! Horror Writers on Horror Film by Christopher Golden

 

 1991:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Clive Barker's Shadows of Eden by Stephen Jones

 

 1990:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Mine by Robert R. McCammon

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Dark Dreamers by Stanley Wiater

 

 1989:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Harlan Ellison's Watching by Harlan Ellison

  • Horror: The 100 Best Books by Stephen Jones & Kim Newman

 

 1988:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

 

• Fiction Award:

  • Charles Beaumont: Selected Stories by Charles Beaumont

 

 1987:

 

• Best Novel Award

  • Misery by Stephen King

  • Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon

 

• Nonfiction Award:

  • Mary Shelley by Muriel Spark

  

 (List adapted from Bram Stoker Awards, Previous Winners)

 

---

 

III.  Resources.

 

Bram Stoker Awards. (2008). About the Awards. Retrieved on April 28, 2008 from http://www.horror.org/stokers.htm

 

Bram Stoker Awards. (2008). Past Winners and Nominees. Retrieved on April 28, 2008 from

http://www.horror.org/stokerwinnom.htm

 

Horror Writers Association. (2008). Homepage. Retrieved on April 28, 2008 from http://www.horror.org/

  

Categories: Library Book Awards