Two weeks. All it took was two weeks since a pro-AI newsletter went out to members of the Horror Writers Association, from a trustee, for discourse to stir up once again.
If you know me, you already know my strict, anti-AI stance, especially when it comes to the arts. I made a ten minute video vehemently denouncing AI on TikTok just weeks before this newsletter came out. So, I will cut directly to the most recent matter involving the HWA, because this manages to be even worse.
Today, I learned that an individual, the sole candidate for the presidency of the Horror Writers Association, has allegations of sexual misconduct against him. This individual has since made a short blog post about accountability. After reading his words, I have come to this conclusion: he must step aside and not continue his candidacy for the Horror Writers Association’s Presidency.
My initial reaction to this was to get on camera, full tilt, and record another ten minute video expressing my outrage, off-the-cuff. However, after hearing others talk about it, I have decided to take a more thoughtful approach as well (at least for now, a video rant can happen later).
My biggest takeaway (at least at the time of writing this) is asking the question: What is the HWA? Is it ONLY the place where horror writers flock, hoping to promote their work, linking up with an agent and eventually being nominated for a shiny award? On the surface, maybe it is that. But as writers, I know that we’re not ones to stop our investigations at the surface level. In my view, the most important feature of such an organization is to be the apparatus which actively protects the community. If the HWA fails to protect its community by allowing problematic individuals to assume a leadership role, then it has effectively run its course as a functional organization.
The community consists of the writers, the editors, the readers, the artists, the booksellers, the librarians, and all of the amazing people in between. These are the people the HWA is supposed to keep safe. Allegations of this nature are unacceptable in every way shape and form. If this individual is allowed to continue his candidacy, that sends a clear message. The wrong message. And it makes the community less safe.
I became a supporting member of the HWA almost four years ago. I have paid dues to this org. I started because I thought it would give myself, as an indie, a step toward professionalism in this industry. But where is the professionalism and accountability from the top? How are the ones who are supposed to set the example for the entire Association going to hold everyone else accountable?
It would be extremely privileged of me if I just put my head down and silently kept writing my books, showing up to StokerCon every year, and observed each and every new discourse unfold from a distance and say “Oh wow, I can’t believe it. That’s wild!” to myself, and then carry on. But I won’t do that. We can’t afford to do that. Instead, I am weighing the reality that my annual dues might be going to a place which hasn’t earned it.
Doing the right thing involves more than just removing a problematic individual from their post every time something new of this nature comes out. We all witnessed the discourse after the AI newsletter. There were folks calling the HWA ‘woke’ and other nonsense typical with the pro-AI crowd. The reality is, those folks are the loudest, but they aren’t the majority. There will always be bad actors.
If the heartbeat of this community organizes behind something post-HWA, there will be bad actors there too. Unfortunately, it is inevitable. But it’s up to those with a voice to push back. Urgently. It will always be our responsibility to hold those accountable, regardless of which form the org takes. That responsibility will never go away. It applies today, making sure unsuitable individuals don’t retain positions of power in spaces meant to keep communities safe. And it applies moving forward, because as long as there is a community, the responsibility of keeping its members safe will be our obligation. If you have a voice. You must use it.
There is a clear overlap of those who are quick to call anyone with a shred of decency ‘woke’, and those who allow bad actors inside the spaces we care about, making them less safe.
In terms of what could possibly exist beyond the HWA, I know this: This community is not only whichever Association, Organization, or Cooperative with board members and an annual awards ceremony. The community always has been and always will be the writers, the editors, the readers, the artists, the booksellers, the librarians – the true heartbeat. It’s the people who make this a living, breathing entity which is far more powerful than any organization collecting dues could ever be.