Reading a newsletter from Writers Victoria, and discovered the forthcoming workshop by Australian author Katya de Becerra on writing horror. Titled “Our Monsters, Our Selves: Writing Horror that Resonates”, the workshop explores horror “as a mirror to identity, trauma and transformation”.
Also reading an interview with Katya and discovered the following quote:
“Good horror offers a terrific premise and plenty of scary imagery, but great horror lulls you into a false sense of normalcy before catching you off guard. It’s also important to be aware of horror tropes and genre expectations — it is our job as horror writers to subvert cliches and turn stale tropes on their heads…”
“Horror is probably the most misunderstood of genres… Horror makes for an excellent canvas to test out experimental ideas and approaches to craft, whether it’s by rethinking old tropes in new ways or reimagining what familiar ghosts and monsters can mean in today’s increasingly unstable and complicated world.”
I have acquired a digital copy of Katya’s 2023 novel When Ghosts Call Us Home, which won the 2023 Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel and the 2023 Australasian Horror Writers Association – Shadows Award for Best Novel. Both of the book’s covers are beautiful. Can’t wait to start reading!
Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音 