2025 Splatterpunk Award Nominees

For Immediate Release:

In 2017, bestselling authors Wrath James White and Brian Keene founded the Splatterpunk Awards. The awards honor superior achievement in the literary sub-genres of Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror fiction, and are presented for the categories of Novel, Novella, Short Story, Collection, and Anthology. In addition, White and Keene also created the J. F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring individuals who, like Gonzalez, have made a significant impact on the Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror fields.

We are pleased to announce the 2025 Splatterpunk Award nominees, for works published in 2024. The winners will be announced, and the awards will be presented at KillerCon 2025, taking place August 1st through August 3rd in Austin, Texas. The nominees are as follows:

BEST NOVEL

-- Benjamin by Aron Beauregard and Shane McKenzie (Bad Dream Books)

-- This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer (Quirk Books)

-- American Rapture by C. J. Leede (Tor Nightfire)

-- The Home by Judith Sonnet (Madness Heart Press)*

-- The Old Lady by Kristopher Triana (Bad Dream Books)

BEST NOVELLA

-- A Life of Crime by Aron Beauregard (Bad Dream Books)

-- Master of Bodies by Robert Essig (Infected Voices Publishing)

-- Living Death Race: Beauty & the Brains by John Everson (The Evil Cookie Publishing)

-- Nipping Them In the Bud by Edward Lee (Deadite Press)

-- For The Better by Daniel J. Volpe (Bad Dream Books)

BEST SHORT STORY

-- “The Old College” by Aron Beauregard (from Fear of Clowns) (Kangas Kahn Publishing)

-- “Genital Grinder 2.5” by Ryan Harding (from Y’all Ain’t Right) (The Evil Cookie Publishing)

-- “Together Forever” by C.V. Hunt (from The Obituaries #6: Red Romance) (Bad Dream Books)

-- “Fulfillment” by Sidney Shiv (from Where Devils Dance) (Independently Published)

-- “Baby, I’d Die 4 U” by Kristopher Triana (from The Obituaries #6: Red Romance) (Bad Dream Books)

BEST COLLECTION

-- This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances by Eric LaRocca (Titan Books)

-- Gold and Gore by Candace Nola (Uncomfortably Dark)

-- Every Night In The Bone Orchard by Judith Sonnet (Independently Published)

-- Sucking Chest Wound and Other Horrors by Daniel J. Volpe (Bad Dream Books)

-- Wrecks & Violets by Mehitobel Wilson (Cimarron Street Books)

BEST ANTHOLOGY

-- Dethfest Confessions: The Devil’s Playlist edited by Mark Tullius and Lyndsey Smith (Vincere Press)

-- The Obituaries #6: Red Romance (Bad Dream Books)

-- Shocking Sojourns edited by Sidney Shiv (Independently published)

-- Splatology 2.0 edited by Sidney Shiv and Chisto Healy (Unveiling Nightmares)

-- Y’all Ain’t Right edited by K Trap Jones (The Evil Cookie Publishing)

J. F. GONZALEZ LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD**

-- Joe R. Lansdale

-- Lucy Taylor

* During the verification process, the organizers failed to realize that The Home by Judith Sonnet was a January 2025 release rather than a December 2024 release. (The book had received fan recommendations for 2024). Per the rules, we have disqualified it for 2024. It will still be eligible for next year’s ballot, and all recommendations will carry over. Brian Keene takes full responsibility for this oversight.

**The previous J. F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are (in order) David J. Schow, David G. Barnett, Edward Lee, John Skipp, Clive Barker, Monica J. O’Rourke, Brian Keene, Wrath James White, Craig Spector, and Ray Garton.