WiHM 2023: Why Not Female Horror Authors?
Why Not Female Horror Authors?
by: L. Marie Wood
Horror fiction… authors in the genre have never been taken seriously… not in the mainstream and not with any real longevity. Over the centuries, only a few horror authors stand out in memory. These authors – Poe, King, Lovecraft – brought fresh ideas to the table; they made people look at horror in a new light. Stephen King, above all, brought commercial validity to a genre that had previously been regarded as pulp, influencing writers in other genres to incorporate the supernatural in their prose and have no qualms about saying so… ok, less qualms. As such, Stephen King is synonymous with horror and is, more often than not, the only contemporary horror author that mainstream readers can name. Largely, other authors in the horror genre go unread by the mainstream community, if they are recognized at all. Female horror authors suffer a worse fate. They remain unknown, in large part, to mainstream readership as well to the indie horror community. While a small few break out, many produce work known only to niche markets.
Interesting, when you consider the origins of the genre itself.
