The Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) is a non-profit organisation formed unofficially in 2003 as an attempt to provide a unified voice and a sense of community for Australian writers of dark fiction. The idea for an organisation catering solely to the needs of Australian horror writers was proposed in late 2002 by Marty Young, a young writer and new resident to Australia. With the support of the online science-fiction forums Eidolon.net and the Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet, a number of other writers began to offer encouragement, as did agents for and editors of speculative fiction. The Southern Horror Yahoo group was set up in October 2002 to enable communication between writers, editors, agents, and fans of dark literature in Australia. As interest developed into action, a committee of eight people was formed to address the issues and ideas being raised, including the adoption of an official name and the development of a website.
The AHWA was given its official launch in Melbourne on 17 July 2005 during Continuum 3. On 5 August 2005, it became an incorporated body in the state of Victoria. On 7 June 2006, the association opened for official membership in both Australia and New Zealand. It also secured industry support through people and organisations such as Dark Animus, SpecFicMe!, Shocklines, Cemetery Dance magazine, Ellen Datlow (editor of the award-winning Year's Best Fantasy and Horror series), IDT Home Entertainment, and Icon Film Distribution. 2006 also saw the AHWA receive a government start-up grant for a new, professionally designed website, a task given to Andrew McKiernan of Kephra Design. The website was launched 31 October 2006 (in time for World Horror Day), and HorrorScope, the Australian dark-fiction blog run by Brimstone Press, came onboard as the AHWA's official news provider.
The AHWA has continued to meet the needs of Australian writers of horror, by offering opportunities for writers to develop their craft and see their work published. Some of the association's successes include their flash fiction and short story competition for unpublished stories (instigated in 2005) and the Australian Shadows award for Best Australian Horror (instigated in 2005 and expanded in 2009 to increase the award categories from one to three: Short Fiction, Long Fiction, and Edited Publications). On Halloween 2005, the Californian-based The Writing Show hosted the 14 Days of Halloween special, with members of the AHWA reading some of their stories with added sound effects, like the radio shows of old. In 2008, Midnight Echo, the magazine of the AHWA, was launched.
The following year, the AHWA led the genre author campaign (incorporating AHWA, Romance Writers of Australia, and Sisters in Crime Australia) against the Productivity Commission's recommendation to abolish Parallel Importation Restrictions (which require Australian editions of books to be produced and safeguard Australian territorial copyright). In conjunction with efforts by the Australian Society of Authors, the Australian Publishers Association, and many local authors, agents, and publishers, the campaign was a success and PIRs were retained. The AHWA has since established itself as the peak professional body for dark fiction in Australia. More projects are on their way, all with the aim of helping writers of this genre get their stories read by a wider audience and the genre itself to gain the recognition it deserves.
Source: 'About Us'
Australian Horror Writers Association website (Sighted 30/08/10)
