CRAFTING HORROR 2025

Welcome to the first workshop in our Craft series: a growing library of half day courses designed to deliver craft tools in snack sized portions for busy writers!

WHAT IS CRAFTING HORROR?

Crafting Horror is a half day virtual workshop perfect both for writers looking to hone their horror story skills, and for those interested in incorporating horror elements in other genre fiction. On September 20, attendees will learn from our amazing instructors about cornerstone pieces of the genre and leave feeling equipped to write wicked words with the perseverance comparable to any Final Girl. The workshop consists of a trio of classes and a themed panel. Classes will cover horror 101, writing horror for younger audiences, and creating atmosphere. The panel will focus on developing essential horror elements on the page, as well as address attendee questions.

FACULTY

  • Crafting Horror Hannah Whitten

    HANNAH WHITTEN

    INSTRUCTOR AND PANELIST

    COURSE: SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE: ATMOSPHERE IN HORROR

    HANNAH WHITTEN has been writing to amuse herself since she could hold a pen, and sometime in high school, figured out that what amused her might also amuse others. Her books have been international bestsellers and translated into multiple languages. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, watching horror movies, or chasing after her feral children. She lives in Tennessee with her family, two dogs who think they run the house, and a cat who actually does.

  • Crafting Horror Katherine Arden

    KATHERINE ARDEN

    INSTRUCTOR AND PANELIST

    COURSE: WRITING HORROR FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES

    KATHERINE ARDEN is the New York Times Bestselling author of books for adults and children, including The Winternight Trilogy, The Small Spaces Quartet, The Warm Hands of Ghosts. She lives in Vermont.

  • Crafting Horror Taylor Grothe

    TAYLOR GROTHE

    INSTRUCTOR AND PANELIST

    COURSE: HORROR 101: TROPES, THEMES, AND ATMOSPHERE

    TAYLOR GROTHE is a writer of adult and young adult horror, horror romance, and dark fantasy. They hold a nonfiction MFA from Fairfield University, acted as the graduate Assistant Managing Editor of Brevity, and their short works can be found in esteemed publications such as Brevity’s craft blog, Haven Speculative, and Shortwave Magazine. They are a scholar of medieval literature and Nordic Saga. Taylor lives with two cats, two kids, and their spouse, in SW Connecticut.

CONTENT

COURSES:

Horror 101: Tropes, Themes and Atmosphere with Taylor Grothe

Something is wrong here: Atmosphere in Horror with Hannah Whitten

Writing Horror for young audiences with Katherine Arden

PANEL: Hocus-pocus horror focus

The panel will explore the supernatural vs. the familiar as a gateway to developing essential horror elements on the page, as well as address attendee questions.

HOSTS

  • COURTNEY SHACK

    HOST

    Courtney Shack spends her time reading and writing about darkness, swoon-worthy heroes, scorching kisses, and magical lands. You can hear her gabbing about all of this and more on STORYBEAST, a podcast she co-hosts about the transformative power of story. Currently, she is working on her Empire of Wolves series in the company of her beloved canine, Sweet P, and patient husband in southern Virginia. She loves snacks, a sexy villain, and has likely had too much coffee. She’s represented by Kimberly Brower at Park Fine & Brower.

  • GHABIBA WESTON

    HOST

    Ghabiba Weston is a South African novelist, scriptwriter, and poet. She has a PhD in neuroscience but the most interesting thing she uses her brain for is dreaming up fantastical tales full of wicked characters and invented snacks. You can find her co-hosting the STORYBEAST podcast, hiking with her pup Zuko, or not find her at all because she's probably Hiding From PeopleTM.

SCHOLARSHIPS

At Storybeast, the pillars of our organization include creativity, inclusivity, and respect. With this in mind, we are happy to offer a number of full scholarships to writers.

We have two types of scholarships available with multiple spots for each:

1) for BIPOC writers, and

2) for any writer with a financial barrier.

The deadline for application for scholarships for Crafting Horror is Monday, September 1st at 11:59 PM EST. Recipients will be notified by September 7th of their award.

  • The workshop is open to all writers at any stage of their career. Whether you’re just thinking about starting to write in the genre, or have ten books out in the ether already, there’s something for everyone! Our faculty are utter geniuses and have an excellent line up of course content and a panel planned for you.

  • Nope! The full event will be recorded and the recordings made available for 60 days after the workshop takes place.

  • Absolutely. Accessibility, fairness and equal opportunity are important to us and we want to make sure every writer has access to resources regardless of income barriers. Apply here.

  • Our question box will be available throughout the workshop, with special time set aside during the panel to answer attendee questions.

  • You can receive a 75% refund until September 1st, 2025.

    No refunds will be issued from September 2nd, 2025 onwards.

  • Absolutely! Please contact us at beasts@storybeastinc.com for your preferred payment method.

  • Please contact us at beasts@storybeastinc.com.

FAQs