HWA Names Recipient of the Silver Hammer Award

LOS ANGELES - March 29, 2016 - EntSun -- The Horror Writers Association (HWA), the premier organization of writers and publishers of horror and dark fantasy, today announced Michael Knost as the recipient of this year's Silver Hammer Award.

Knost provides one of HWA's most beneficial opportunities to new members by chairing the organization's Mentorship Program, which matches newer writers with experienced pros for a year-long intensive training.

"Under Michael's guidance, the mentorship program has seen exponential growth," said Marge Simon, chair of HWA's Board of Trustees. "Thanks to Michael, our mentoring wait-list has been cleared, and we now have nearly 100 mentoring pairs."

The HWA periodically gives The Hammer Award (also known as the Silver Hammer Award) to an HWA volunteer who has worked diligently for the organization, often unsung and behind the scenes. The award was instituted in 1996, and is decided by a vote of HWA's Board. The award is so named because it represents the careful, steady, continuous work of building HWA's "house" -- the many institutional systems that keep the organization functioning on a day-to-day basis. The chrome hammer is also a satisfying allusion to The Beatles' song, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," a miniature horror story in itself.

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The award will be presented at HWA's inaugural StokerCon in Las Vegas, during the Bram Stoker Awards® ceremony on Saturday, May 14, 2016. Tickets to the banquet and the convention are on sale at www.stokercon2016.com. The awards presentation will also be live-streamed.

About Michael Knost

Knost is a Bram Stoker Award®-winning editor and author of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and supernatural thrillers. He has written in various genres and helmed several anthologies. His Writers Workshop of Horror won the 2009 Bram Stoker Award® in England for superior achievement in non-fiction. His critically acclaimed Writers Workshop of Science Fiction & Fantasy is an Amazon #1 bestseller. His novel Return of the Mothman was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award® for superior achievement in first novel.

About the Horror Writers Association

The Horror Writers Association is a nonprofit organization of writers and publishing professionals around the world, dedicated to promoting dark literature and the interests of those who write it. The HWA formed in 1985 with the help of many of the field's greats, including Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon, and Joe Lansdale. The HWA is home to the prestigious Bram Stoker Award® and the annual StokerCon horror convention.

For more on the Horror Writers Associations, please visit www.horror.org.