Horror Tree’s Women In Horror Month 2025 Recommendations

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Horror Tree’s Women In Horror Month 2025 Recommendations

March is Women In Horror Month! An international drive to celebrate, recognise, and feature the horror work of the underrepresented. Horror Tree has such women, passionate about horror, and we wish to direct your attention to our recommendations in the horror indie community. Who should you be reading? Who should you follow online and encourage to keep going? Here are our recommendations:

Recommendations by Corinne Pollard:

Gosh there’s so many! It feels like such an impossible task when there’s so much talent!

 

  1. Catherine McCarthy is a Welsh author of dark fiction. She was one of the first women I heard of when I entered the indie horror community. From cosmic horror to dark fairytales, McCarthy has such a range of horror, and her characters, plot and settings are always compelling. I highly recommend her latest, The House at the End of Lacelean Street, and if you wish to sample her writing before committing to being a lifetime fan, her short story, Host, was recently published by Haven Speculative.
  2. Robin Knabel is a horror author and owner of Inky Bones Press, an indie publishing company. She also served as a co-founder and editor of Unsettling Reads, an indie publisher and book review blog. Robin is a hard-working one-woman machine. She published as Inky Bones Press last year not 1, not 2, but 6 anthologies! I was lucky enough to be included (and yes, I admit I thought 6 anthologies was mad!) and she was such a supportive editor. Her influence continues into 2025 with her newsletter which includes flash competitions. Keep your eye on her!

 

Corinne Pollard is a disabled UK horror writer and poet, published with Black Hare Press, Carnage House Publishing, Inky Bones Press, Graveside Press, Three Cousins Publishing, The Ravens Quoth Press, Raven Tale Publishing, A Coup of Owls Press, and The Stygian Lepus. Corinne writes reviews and the weekly newsletter for The Horror Tree. Aside from writing, Corinne enjoys metal music, visiting graveyards, and shopping for books to read.

 

Recommendations by Melody E. McIntyre:

For Women in Horror Month, I decided to highlight two female small press owners. Both are lovely people. They write their own work, but also do the tireless work of running small presses dedicated to horror, which gives more writers more opportunities for publication.

 

  1. Lene MacLeod, Founder and Editor of Frost Zone Stories – Lene MacLeod is a Canadian writer who has been writing off and on for more than four decades. She has studied creative writing, editing, and short story writing, and received an honours certificate from a school of design and visual arts. Under the name M. M. MacLeod, she edited the collection, Handmade Horror Stories, a collection of horror stories based on hobbies. She has recently launched Frost Zone Zine, a zine dedicated to quiet horror. For her own writing, she has published several short stories, including a collection called Fringes of Grey. Lene MacLeod’s website: https://www.lenemacleod.com/ Frost Zone Stories website: https://www.frostzonestories.com/
  2. Antonia Rachel Ward, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Ghost Orchid Press – Antonia Rachel Ward is based out of Cambridgeshire, UK. In January 2021, she founded Ghost Orchid Press, which publishes horror, Gothic, and supernatural fiction. Since its inception, Ghost Orchid Press has expanded from anthologies to novels and has published such titles as Dark Woods, Deep Water by Jelena Dunato and Winter’s Harvest by Ionna Papadopoulou. A writer herself, Ward has penned two novellas, a novel, and a poetry book, with more on the way. Antonia Rachel Ward’s website: https://antoniarachelward.com/ Ghost Orchid Press website: https://ghostorchidpress.com/

 

Melody E. McIntyre lives in Ontario, Canada and writes short, speculative fiction that has been published by several small presses. Her debut collection, Thin Slices: A Collection of Horror Flash Fiction, came out January 12, 2025. 

Melody is also an avid reviewer who writes reviews on her own blog and for Ginger Nuts of Horror. She is a regular contributor at The Horror Tree where she writes reviews, articles, and manages the Indie Bookshelf page. 

Melody is a member of Sisters in Crime and the secretary for the Ontario chapter of the Horror Writers Association. She earned her Master of Arts studying Ancient Greek and Roman Studies and often infuses her work with elements of Greek mythology. 

 

Recommendations by Lauren McMenemy:

Whenever I’m asked for my favourite X, or to recommend Y, or anything like that, my mind goes blank. What if I forget someone important? (Which I inevitably do.) What if I say a name I don’t actually mean? What if I just blurt out the first thing that comes to my head?! 

With that context in mind, here’s a few women writing the dark stuff who are awesome humans so I heartily recommend checking out their wares.

  1. Hit the Nefarious Bat Press website and partake of their goodness. The Bats specialise in mainly woman-identifying writers who work in those cross-genre spaces that struggle to find a home. Plus, it’s run by two amazing women, TC Parker and Shauna McEleney. I’ve currently got an ARC of their next release, Phengaris by Anna Orridge, and it is magnificent. Out in May!
  2. If you’re into dark folklore-based fantasy, seek out Alexandra Beaumont‘s books. We recently published a drabble by her, too, but her latest book, Dissonance of Bird Song – inspired by Cornish folklore – has been getting lots of top marks and nominations. 
  3. Big praise for V. Castro who’s leaning heavily into spicy horror lately! Her writing is always fantastic, but seek out Immortal Pleasures, which has an ancient Aztec vampire roaming the modern world in search of vengeance and love. 
  4. I saw Eliza Clark speak at an event last year and she was so damn funny. Her collection, She’s Always Hungry, is one for those seeking body horror and illicit desires. 
  5. Of course, we cannot forget our own Queen Stephanie Ellis, who flies the flag so wonderfully for the women over 50 in our community! 

Lauren McMenemy is Editor-in-Chief of Trembling With Fear, the section of Horror Tree dedicated to free fiction. She edits the weekly edition – published every Sunday – and leads a team of assistant editors in charge of serials, unholy trinities, and four special themed editions every year.

 

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