Best Australian Horror Writers
When it comes to horror, there are a handful of writer’s names who consistently come up - Stephen King, Clive Barker, Dean Koontz, Shirley Jackson, HP Lovecraft. With the exception of Clive Barker who is English, all of these authors are American. Does that mean there are no good horror writers from other countries? Absolutely not. There is a hotbed of talent in Australia right now when it comes to horror authors. Some people might even be pleasantly surprised that the majority of these are women. To help celebrate some of this homegrown Australian horror writing talent, here are some of the best Australian Horror Writers out there right now.
Image via IFWG Publishing Australia
Kaaron Warren is a seasoned horror writing pro with hundreds of short stories published, multi-award-winning novels, and a story behind her name that will make you smile. If you’re looking for somewhere to dive into Kaaron’s horror stories, a great place to start is her latest book Tide of Stone, which won both the Australian Shadows Award and Aurealis Award, plus was shortlisted for the Ditmar Award’s best novel. Kaaron began her word-slinging career in high school when she changed the spelling of her name because there were five other Karen’s in her year and she wanted to stand out. Her other writing has stood out ever since too. A great Australian horror writer.
Image via Murray’s Goodreads Page
Lee Murray is actually a Kiwi, but like all good things from New Zealand (Russel Crowe, Phar Lap and Lamingtons) I’m claiming her as Australian. So, AUSTRALIAN horror writer Lee Murray is yet another author doing wonderful work in all things dark fiction. Her military-horror series featuring Taine McKenna is fast-paced and action packed. There’s also the incredible Path of Ra books co-written with Dan Rabarts. Aside from being a talented writer, Murray is also a great editor. She worked on Tide of Stone with Kaaron Warren and has put together horror anthologies such as Breach and Hellhole.
Via AlanBaxterOnline.com by Nicole Wells
While we’re co-opting Australians, the next horror writer on the list is British-born, New South Wales-based Alan Baxter. Alan is the vice president of the Australasian Horror Writers Association, a multi Shadows-award winner and bonafide Kung Fu expert. If you’re wanting to dip into Alan’s work with a short story, check out Mephisto on Daily SciFi. Devouring Dark is a great novel to sink your teeth into as well. If pure Dark Fantasy tickles your fancy, then Baxter’s Alex Caine trilogy via HarperVoyager is definitely worth a look too.
Image via Infinitas Bookstore (infinitas.com.au)
Martin Livings is a West Australian horror writer who has been nominated for both the Ditmar and Aurealis Awards. His short stories are legend in the industry, with epic tales like Sparks, El Caballo Muerte and Stillegeist all being absolute rippers. His first novel Carnies won the Tin Duck for best novel by a West Australian writer. Well worth checking out if, like Austin Powers, Carnival Folk give you the willies.
Image by Kirstyn’s Wikipedia entry
Born on Halloween, it seems like Kirstyn McDermott was destined to be a horror author. Her novels Perfections and Madigan mine are both multi-award winners. She has been nominated for pretty much every major Australian horror writers honour over the last decade or more. She lives in a haunted house with a black cat. That last part might be made up, but make no mistake, Kirstyn McDermott is the real deal. Here’s just one quote about her dark brand of awesome: “McDermott’s characters are psychologically complex and precisely observed.” - The Melbourne Age.
Image via AngelaSlater.com by David Pollitt
Dr Angela Slatter writes across the full suite of speculative fiction including horror and fantasy. She has won a World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, a Ditmar, an Australian Shadows Award and six Aurealis Awards! Her short stories have featured in multiple Best Of anthologies like The Mammoth Book of New Horror, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, The Best Horror of the Year and The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror. If you struggle with English, her work has even been translated into Bulgarian, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Polish, French and Romanian. Check out her Verity Fassbinder series. It’s a cracker. Not quite horror, but bloody awesome.
If you’re interested in checking out some of Australia’s best Sci Fi and Fantasy authors, head here.