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Horror fiction fans are used to being disgusted, but the hate-filled words of one of the genre’s leading writers have left many feeling truly sickened this week.
On Tuesday, the Horror Writers Association (HWA) announced that it had decided to expel Thomas F. Monteleone, 76, from its membership and ban him from future events run by the organization. Monteleone, who has written dozens of novels and edited the popular Borderlands horror anthology series since the 1980s, had previously been honored with multiple prestigious Bram Stoker Awards from the HWA, including with one of its 2016 Lifetime Achievement Awards.
But a statement from the group condemned Monteleone’s “recent words and actions” adding that the HWA’s trustees do not “condone hate speech in any way, shape, or form.” “We stand in support of our members’ right to feel safe, welcome, and above all else, respected,” the statement continued, adding that the ban on Monteleone had been made “in accordance with our anti-harassment policies.”