A Book of Tongues Author Gemma Files Nominated for Bram Stoker Award

A Book of Tongues author Gemma Files has been officially nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel.

“It’s been a phenomenal experience working with Gemma,” says CZP co-owner Sandra Kasturi. “She’s really reworking the genre and pushing a lot of boundaries, and it’s great to see the horror community taking note of it.”

Files’ work has been gathering quite a volume of acclaim and notoriety since publication, for its convention-bending prose, as well as the romantic relationship between its male leads—all set against American Civil War-era Arizona and New Mexico. The first of its kind and deemed a “Weird Western,” A Book of Tongues won a Black Quill award earlier this year, and has also been featured in such publications as Publishers Weekly, Locus Magazine and Fangoria.

Each year, the Horror Writer’s Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement, named in honour of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work, Dracula. The Stoker Awards were instituted immediately after the organization’s incorporation in 1987.

The Stoker Awards are non-juried awards. The Horror Writers Association member community recommends worthy works for consideration, after which a preliminary ballot is compiled based on these recommendations. Two rounds of voting by active members will determine the first finalists, then the winners, which are announced during the award presentation following the annual HWA gala banquet and conference in June.