StokerCon 2026

This is the first time I'll be doing panels at StokerCon! For 2026, the horror convention is in Pittsburgh, June 4-June 7. I'm thrilled to be a part of their programming. I'll be reading from my debut, Jenny Will Eat You Now, and happy to buy a few folks a drink at the hotel bar.


Out of the Shadows: the Evolution of Horror into Everyday Life
Friday June 5, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Westmoreland

In the 20th century, horror moved out of the realm of antiquarians, mad scientists, old dark houses, and forgotten villages–and into the modern world! Richard Matheson pioneered the idea of the common man as a horror protagonist in I Am Legend and The Shrinking Man and decades later, Stephen King made the everyman central to the genre with characters such as Carrie White, Jack Torrance, Johnny Smith, Stu Redman, and others living ordinary lives invaded by horrors they never sought or contemplated. Ira Levin wrote about an ordinary young couple starting out in New York City in Rosemary’s Baby, and Joyce Carol Oates wrote about teenage murderer, Richard Everett, in Expensive People. What made this brand of horror so popular. How has it influenced the genre? Did it hold it back creatively or help expand interest to general readers?

Tom Deady (mod), Nat Cassidy, Gillian Daniels, Sephera Giron, John G. Hartness, Kevin Lucia

Author Readings

Saturday June 6, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT

Fayette

J.R. Blanes, Pauline Chow, Gillian Daniels

Sludging Through Doom: Heavy Metal and Horror History

Sunday June 7, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am

Westmoreland

Good horror disturbs and distorts reality with all the fuzz of a heavy metal guitar pedal. And metal music, for its part, has long drawn inspiration from the genre of the supernatural and occult. In "Sludging through Doom," panelists will explore how the horror genre has intersected with heavy metal music across time and how horror writers continue to derive inspiration from the scary music genre, banging their heads as they bang stories out on their keyboards.

Michael Arnzen (mod), John Collins, Brian Cummings, Edward J. Flora, Gillian Daniels, Jo Kaplan

 

Love in the Time of Galleys

Please enjoy this very kind newsletter update, Falling In Love with a Book, from my literary agent, Jenna Satterthwaite. I certainly did! Jenna recounts finding my book, now known as Jenny Will Eat You Now, in her slush pile during Christmas. Once I signed with her, she sold it about two weeks after it went out on submission. She also helped me get a film coagent.

Jenna's a powerhouse agent. I'm so happy she found me. 

Want to read the book yourself? For those who are signed up for NetGalley, good news! You can grab an early copy here. 

JENNY WILL EAT YOU NOW! Or, at least, in September 2026!

She's here, she's hungry, and she's available for pre-order wherever you get your books, audiobooks, and ebooks! Hope everyone enjoys (and survives) their time with Jenny this coming September!

Look at this cover! Gallery Books including designer Kelli McAdams knocked this out of the park. I'm so happy with how it turned out!

Again, please pre-order and I certainly recommend supporting your local bookstore!  

Boskone: Now With(out) Censorship!

Instead of four program items for this upcoming Boskone, I'm happy to say I'll now be on five! I volunteered to be on the Censorship & How to Fight It panel. In not just our current national moment, but every moment, this is an important subject. I hope I can do it justice as a panelist.

Censorship & How to Fight It Harbor III Program Panel Sun 11:30 AM Duration: 01:00  

For the first time in ages, our government has spoken out in favor of censorship.  Has that impacted your writing (or reading or viewing)?  What are some of the effective ways to counter censorship?

Michael A. Ventrella (mod), Kevin McLaughlin,  Melinda M. Snodgrass, Gillian Daniels

Boskone 2026: Body Horror, Garbage, and Poetry!

This year, I'm on four programming items for Boskone, February 13-15, 2026! Do swing by if you like body horror, garbage (first drafts), poetry, or all of the above.

Body Horror in Fiction & Media Harbor III Fri 7:00 PM Duration: 01:00  

Body horror gets under your skin. Is it being embodied as inherently upsetting? How can body horror portray liberating transformation/acceptance of that horror?  The term "body horror" didn't seem common in public until 2024--how long has it really been around?

Justin C. Key, Bracken MacLeod, Gillian Daniels, Rebecca Rowland, RJ Taylor, Nicholas Kaufmann


How to Keep Writing When Your First Draft Is Garbage Harbor III Sat 1:00 PM Duration: 01:00  

Sometimes you write a draft that either you (or your writers' group) decides it's no good.  So what do you do?  Do you trash the draft?  Do you start something new?  Or do you decide to revise again?  How do you decide?

Charles Oberndorf, Christine Taylor-Butler, Jeanne Cavelos, Lyndsay Ely, Gillian Daniels


Reading: Gillian Daniels Independence Sat 4:00 PM Duration: 00:25


Poetry Slam Carlton Sun 1:00 PM Duration: 01:00  

Listen to poetry from some of Boskone's writers.

Romie Stott, Rob Cameron, Gillian Daniels, Courtney Floyd, Theodora Goss, Michael McAfee, Julia Rios

Arisia 2026

Arisia 2026 is upon us! This weekend, you can find me on programming. As a note, "Harvard Square," "Kendall Square," and "Porter Square" refers to conference rooms in the hotel, not the actual squares in the Greater Boston area.

I'm looking forward to seeing folks this weekend. Please say "hi!" I'd love to talk about the novel process and everything that goes with it.

Saturday, January 17, 2026

Ask The Toastmaster: House of Toast
3:00 PM
Harvard Square

Gillian Daniels (moderator), Joseph Andelman, Lyndsay Ely, Sam Smith

It's Arisia's favorite snack party, the House of Toast! How did this delicious event come to be? Hear from the Toastmaster General and his assistants and get all your sticky, crumbly questions answered. Toast not included.


1% Nightmares
4:15 PM
Kendall Square

Gillian Daniels (moderator), Kid Coraller, Moriko

The wealth inequality in the United States continues to expand ever year, with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Like many other social issues, the horror genre has commented on this matter. From The People Under the Stairs to Ready or Not, the affluent aren't meant to be envied but feared. Panelists will discuss how scary pop culture has critiqued the ultra wealthy.


Saturday Readings
5:30 PM
Kendall Square

Andrea Hairston, BH Pierce, Gillian Daniels, Greer Gilman, Katie Hallahan



Sunday, January 18, 2026


Beasts In Books: Mythological, Cryptid, and More
4:15 PM
Porter Square A

Gillian Daniels (moderator), Kevin Turausky, Liz "Khaaaaaan" Salazar, Siobhan Flanagan

Creatures that are magical, mysterious, and creepy abound in speculative fiction. Find out how the representation of these beings has changed over time and with an increasing awareness of nonhuman animals' intellectual, social, and emotional capacities.


The Twisted History of Body Horror
8:00 PM
Porter Square A

Gillian Daniels (moderator), Kristina Spinney, Timothy Luz

Between the recent critical and financial successes of The Substance and Together, body horror is having a moment. But if one looks further back, this subgenre where bodies undergo disturbing changes is nothing new. From Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to The Fly to The Ugly Stepsister, our panel will break down body horror over time, and why it is having a resurgence now.