I take great pleasure in announcing something that I’ve been working on for quite some time now. As a way to continue giving back to the horror community and recognize talent, I am implementing the annual Home Grown Horror Awards. I know these don’t have the prestige of a Stoker Award, but I’m just hoping to give some recognition to the hard working and talented authors that I’ve had the pleasure of reading this year. Before I get into the awards, I’ll go over some details.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for the Home Grown Horror Awards, a work simply must have been read and reviewed by Home Grown Horror during the applicable calendar year. That’s it. It can have been published at any point, so long as it crossed my desk this year. I do not take specific award consideration requests. Anything that I review will be officially in the running. There are no entrance fees or process at all. Works that I review will be considered whether a review was solicited by the author or publisher or not.

What are the categories?

This year, there are no categories. Simply a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner. A work of any length can be considered. This year I have a novella, a single-author collection, and a short novel. In future years, I do hope to add categories such as Novel, Novella, Collection, etc. It will all depend on the reception of this year’s awards, and next year’s participation.

What do the winners get?

All three winners will be presented with a small plaque as a token of my respect and admiration, should they chose to accept it. In addition to this, winners will be given permission to use their respective Home Grown Horror Awards winner logo, and will be able to proudly call themselves winners. Hopefully I will be able to add more value to the winner package in future years.

The 2019 Home Grown Horror Award Winners

3rd Place- Sean McDonough’s The Class Reunion

Sean McDonough takes us back to school with his fourth novel, The Class Reunion. I powered through this book in practically one sitting. I could not put it down. It is everything I’ve come to know and love about McDonough’s writing. If you are looking for a character driven slasher blood-bath, you’ve come to the right place. Click here for the full review

2nd Place- Matthew V. Brockmeyer’s Under Rotting Sky

Under Rotting Sky: Stories is Matthew V. Brockmeyer’s debut collection of short, dark fiction. With an emphasis on dark. These stories are shockingly disturbing and brutal. I legitimately cannot recommend this book without giving that warning upfront. That being said, I absolutely loved this collection, and highly recommend it. Brockmeyer has no qualms whatsoever about crossing every line imaginable, and he does so with brutal bluntness. These stories make you feel. They hurt the soul and make you question the decency of the human race. If you aren’t afraid to be taken to some dark, bleak and terrifying places, this is the collection for you. Click here for the full review

1st Place- Mike Duke’s CRAWL

Reviewer’s Note: This was one of the first reviews I ever wrote, and as such it’s a bit on the short side. If I re-wrote it today, I’d have a lot more to say. Despite the short review, this one solidly earned 1st Place for 2019

I am not particularly afraid of caves, or insects, or anything of that nature. Or, at least, I wasn’t until I read Crawl. Never before has a written work produced such a visceral reaction for me. The things that Mike Duke puts these characters through are truly, skin-crawlingly horrific. Click here for the full review

I would like to thank everyone who has submitted work for review. You’ve made the first few months of running this website very successful and amazing. I haven’t yet come across a story that I didn’t enjoy. I appreciate everyone who has checked out my reviews, and hope that you keep coming back for more. This started as a small passion project for me. While it’s still very small, it has grown far beyond my initial expectations. With your continued support, I hope to keep expanding in 2020. My goal will always be to provide exposure and spotlight talented authors within the community. I will never charge for the reviews that I write or for any publicity I help provide. However, there are costs associated with running this site. If you would like to help support this passion project, please check out the Donations Page. Either way, I hope you enjoy what I do here. I sure do. You keep writing, I’ll keep reviewing.

Sincerely,

Will Blosser

Winner of the Home Grown Horror Awards 2019 3rd Place!

Vickie Fields returns to her small hometown for Christmas, eager to reunite with the two best friends she parted ways with after graduating high school several years back. After some catching up, her best friend Bridget drops the news that she’s been seeing someone new– Chris, who tormented both girls back in their school days. Vickie reluctantly agrees to go along with Bridget to meet up with Chris and his old group of friends, each of whom also gave Vickie and Bridget a hard time in school. The group is having a party in their old abandoned elementary school, and are quickly snowed in by a blizzard. Of course, things go terribly wrong as they realize that they aren’t alone in the school.

McDonough has an established knack for building believable characters and developing their relationships throughout the story. Once again, he hits a home run on that front with The Class Reunion. He is able to effectively switched between the inner voice of several characters who have vastly different backgrounds, motivations, and personalities. As is his way, we gain more insight into each character as the story progresses. The result is an evolving understanding of their changing relationships, leading us to truly feel each bloody, violent death.

On the subject of bloody, violent deaths, McDonough does not hold back. Though I wouldn’t consider this to be even approaching extreme horror, the violence perfectly captures the campy, bloody mess that is a slasher flick. The unfortunate party-goers are subjected to a ruthlessly efficient murder machine, who kills with a cold, calculated detatchment far more terrifying than any amount of rage. The scenes in which we see through the killer’s eyes were easily my favorite parts to read. The motivations behind the mysterious killer, the mythos that is alluded to throughout the novel are purely fascinating. I would love to read more about the dark forces driving the killer.

Despite knowing from the beginning who our killer is, McDonough builds the tension and terror with expertise. A relatively short novel, the first half of the book is buildup, and the entire last half is a chain reaction of explosive slasher goodness. Once the real action starts, our heroes are on the run for their lives until the last drop of blood is spilled. Speaking of that last drop of blood, the ending does not disappoint. I guarantee you won’t have guessed just how this ends. McDonough keeps you guessing literally until the last page.

From Sean McDonough, I have come to expect powerful, character driven story combined with over-the-top slasher action, and The Class Reunion absolutely delivers. We really get to know his characters, feel like we grew up with them, before we watch them die one by bloody one. The antagonist is uniquely brutal, providing buckets of blood for his dark cause. The masterful buildup, explosive action and powerful ending make this a book you won’t want to miss.

You can purchase a copy on Amazon for $1.99 (Kindle) or $10.99 (paperback).

Tag: sean mcdonough

1st Annual Home Grown Horror Awards