Horror Book Mini-Fest

Ashland Library loves horror writers and they love mini-fests! They're excited to welcome this amazing slate of authors to the library - Clay McLeod Chapman, Eric LaRocca, Rory Power, Cat Scully, and moderator, Emily C. Hughes! It'll be a fascinating afternoon of fun with a panel discussion and book sales/signings!

Books will be available for purchase and signing. The authors are happy to sign books you bring from home but please limit it to 3 books per author. 

Admission:
FREE. Walk-ins are welcome but please pre-register so they know how many chairs to have out (and you'll receive reminders).

Schedule of events:

12:00 - 12:30pm - Book sale/signing
12:30 - 1:30pm - Discussion with Clay, Eric, Rory, and Cat; moderated by Emily C. Hughes. Topic TBA
1:30-2:00pm - Break/Book sale/signing (we'll have tea!)
2:00-2:45pm - Horror Jeopardy! With all 5 authors
2:45 - 3:30pm - Book sale/signing

Clay McLeod Chapman: Clay McLeod Chapman writes books, comic books, children’s books, as well as for film and television. His most recent books include What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters.

Eric LaRocca: Eric LaRocca (he/they) is a 2x Bram Stoker Award® finalist and Splatterpunk Award winner. Named by Esquire as one of the “Writers Shaping Horror’s Next Golden Age” and praised by Locus as “one of strongest and most unique voices in contemporary horror fiction,” LaRocca’s notable works include Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, Everything the Darkness Eats, The Trees Grew Because I Bled There: Collected Stories, and You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood. His upcoming novel, At Dark, I Become Loathsome, was published in January 2025. The book has already been optioned for film by The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus. He currently resides in Boston, MA with his partner.

Rory Power: Rory Power grew up in New England, where she lives and works as a story consultant for TV adaptation. She received a Masters in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia, and is the New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls, Burn Our Bodies Down, and In a Garden Burning Gold.

Cat Scully: Cat Scully is a queer author-illustrator, passionate about writing horror and dark fantasy for all ages. She is the author of the upcoming horror novel BELOW THE GRAND HOTEL (2025) and she is the author-illustrator of young adult horror series JENNIFER STRANGE (2020), which author Paul Tremblay called “a promising debut.” She’s best known for her intricate illustrations, including world maps for the BROOKLYN BRUJA series by Zoraida Cordova, KAGAN THE DAMNED by Jonathan Maberry, and GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE by Beth Revis. Her first picture book, THE MAYOR OF HALLOWEEN IS MISSING, was written by Emily S. Sullivan. When she’s not writing and illustrating books, Cat works in concept art and video game development. She was a developer on the title Romancelvania with part of the team that made Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite. Originally from Atlanta, GA, she now lives outside of Salem, MA with her partner, children, and myriad of pets.

Our moderator, Emily C. Hughes: Emily C. Hughes (she/her) wants to scare you. Formerly the editor of Unbound Worlds and TorNightfire.com, she writes about horror and curates a list of the year’s new scary books. Her first book, Horror For Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You’re Too Scared to Watch, is out now from Quirk Books. You can find her writing elsewhere in the New York Times, Vulture, Reactor Magazine, Electric Literature, Nightmare Magazine, Thrillist, and more. Emily lives in crunchy western Massachusetts with her husband and four idiot cats.