Workshop: How to Scare Your Readers with Elizabeth Hand

“Keep the man on haunted ground, and he’ll haunt.” — Robert Bloch, author of Psycho.

Most fiction of the dark fantastic relies heavily on setting and atmosphere to generate suspense, tension, and good old-fashioned terror. In this workshop, we’ll discuss how setting and landscape impact fiction, then dive into some generative writing prompts and exercises. Attendees should come prepared to write (using tablet, laptop, or carbon-based media) and to share their work by reading aloud.

Elizabeth Hand is the bestselling author of 20 genre-spanning novels and five collections of short fiction and essays. Her work has received multiple Shirley Jackson, World Fantasy and Nebula Awards, among other honors, and several of her books have been New York Times and Washington Post Notable Books.