The Horror Writers Association's 2009 Stoker Awards weekend will be held in Burbank, California, June 12th - 14th. The annual event - sometimes held in conjunction with World Horror Convention - is held in a different city each year. John R. Little, whose Miranda has been nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in Long Fiction, and Lisa Morton, whose A Halowe'en Anthology has been nominated for Superior Achievement in Nonfiction, organized the weekend (read our author interview with John, review of Miranda, author interview with Lisa, and review of A Halowe'en Anthology).

The Stoker Awards weekend begins with a mass signing at Dark Delicacies on Thursday evening, with opening ceremonies conducted by emcee Jeff Strand on Friday at noon. The conference features special guests, panel discussions, workshops, readings, signings and numerous parties. How can you possibly go wrong with the great Richard Matheson as a GOH? The main course, of course, is the Stokers banquet, where the Bram Stoker Awards are handed out to authors in several categories.

HWA president Deborah Leblanc had this to say about the impressive job that John and Lisa have done together so far:

"HWA is extremely fortunate to have such dedicated volunteers, like John Little and Lisa Morton. Their dedication, hard work, and commitment to making this the best Stoker weekend ever has caused it become just that. The Best Stoker Event Ever! They've single handedly put together an exquisite lineup of panels, workshops, and industry/genre leaders. Anyone in attendance will undoubtedly leave this event far richer in knowledge, networking contacts, and market potential for their work than when they arrived! "

And now, your 2009 Stoker Awards weekend organizers:


Lisa and John, first of all, congratulations on your recent Bram Stoker Award nominations, which weren't announced until well after the two of you had already volunteered to organize this HWA/Stokers weekend.


John R. Little: Thanks, Greg! It's really a huge honor and I couldn't be happier to be nominated, especially given the high quality of the other works in my category.

Lisa Morton: First of all - thank you for noticing that! And congrats on your own well-deserved double-header.


(Thanks!) The million dollar question is, why DID you volunteer to organize this event?


John R. Little: I was the organizer last year, when the Stokers were part of the World Horror Convention. The Stoker portion of that was quite small, and when we talked about a standalone event this year, I was still pumped from last year and decided I wanted to see if I could pull off such a large convention. Thank God, Lisa jumped in too. I could never have done it without her. I actually feel very privileged to have been allowed to be one of the organizers. It's been a ridiculous amount of work, but I feel it's a way to give something back to the horror community.

Lisa Morton: I should probably never admit to this in public, but...it's fun. It's like producing a low-budget feature - you work hard for a long time on all these disparate things, making all these deals along the way, then you watch it come together and hopefully it all works. And I get to work with John Little, who happens to be one of my favorite people on earth.


The conference really features a stellar lineup of special guests - Richard Matheson, Richard Christian Matheson, John Farris, Mick Garris, Gary Braunbeck, David Hartwell, Harry O. Morris, F. Paul Wilson, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro... and Jeff Strand returning as Stoker Awards MC. How difficult has it been to assemble this roster?


Lisa Morton: I'm glad other people like the lineup, because I'm certainly proud of it. It really hasn't been that difficult to pull off, and it's been a pleasure and an honor dealing with these wonderful people.

John R. Little: Some guests were easier to arrange than others. What surprised me is how enthusiastic many of these folks are and how fabulous it's been to work with them on the arrangements. I think they're all top-notch people who will really make the weekend something to remember.


What does Burbank offer Stokers attendees that past Stokers conference locations haven't?


Lisa Morton: Being in the heart of the film industry, we're able to offer more film opportunities, including pitch sessions, access to major screenwriters, and some surprise giveaway stuff (!). We're close to Dark Delicacies, which makes for both a better weekend and easy programming for us. Plus we can offer convenient travel, a fantastic hotel at a fantastic rate, and all the rest of the cool stuff in SoCal.

John R. Little: Several of the guests are local so it was great to be able to get, for example, Richard Matheson and Mick Garris to attend. We have connections with the film industry, so some writers are having pitch sessions with well-known Hollywood producers during the weekend. Who knows what might happen? Of course, with L.A. being such a large city, we're able to attract a wide variety of guests from around the country. The event is much larger than we may have been able to pull off in a different city. In addition to writers, we've attracted many editors and agents to the weekend.

One other thing is that we're very close to many other attractions, so many of our attendees are adding a few days to their trip to enjoy a very nice holiday.


What is the greatest challenge when it comes to programming the panels?


Lisa Morton: Time conflicts! But I think we've finally worked it all out. In fact just today I was going over our schedule, and I kept looking at things thinking, Damn, finally a convention full of stuff I'd love to go to, and I probably won't be able to go to any of it!

John R. Little: We have a lot of events happening simultaneously (panels, readings, signing, pitch sessions, parties, kaffeeklatsches, and workshops). Some of the people we wanted to sit on a panel ended up having conflicts with other events, so the mixing and matching of people and times ended up being quite a challenge.


I know you're both going to be insanely busy running around that weekend, but what are you each looking forward to the most between that Thursday and Sunday?


Lisa Morton: Seeing old friends and meeting new ones. And since one of the perks of being the local organizer is that I don't have to fly, I'm looking forward to spending way too much money in the dealer's room.

John R. Little: I'm most looking forward to seeing people leave on the Sunday with big smiles on their faces. Other than that, I'd have to say the Stoker Banquet and awards presentation. It's really the centerpiece of the weekend, and I can't wait for that.


Thank you both for your hard work and dedication!


John Little: Thanks, Greg! See you there!

Lisa Morton: Thank you, Greg. And good luck come June 13th.

Deborah Leblanc concluded, "From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Lisa and John for your endless hours of work, your total selflessness, and for creating this magnificent event! You two are quite the powerhouse! "