5 Bram Stoker Award-Nominated Books to Add to Your TBR

I remember reading Patricia Lillie’s work for the first time way back in 2015 when the title story of her future collection was first published in Nightscript Volume 1. The tale has stuck with me ever since.

Her work blurs the line between horror and weird fiction, and I mean that in the best possible way. The Cuckoo Girls is a spellbinding collection, and it earned a nomination in its category back in 2020.

The literary world doesn’t tend to celebrate how amazing collections actually are, and if you’re going to start with a noteworthy one in the horror genre, then I recommend this one. Lillie truly knocks it out of the park with these fabulous female-centric stories.

Just be sure to leave a light on after you’re done reading them; you’re going to need it.   

The Lineup’s own Lisa Quigley is not only an awesome nonfiction editor, she’s also a supremely talented fiction writer in her own right. Her debut novel, The Forest, was nominated for Superior Achievement in a First Novel back in 2021, and it still lingers in my mind all these years later.

This novel was pitched as “The Lottery” meets Bird Box, and it’s fair to say if you’re a fan of either of those stories, then this one’s for you. It’s got everything: a sinister town, an unusual fall rite of passage, and a sympathetic protagonist suffering from postpartum depression who will stop at nothing to protect her child.

This is one very creepy and effective novel, and it most definitely belongs on your bookshelf right now.

 Another nominee for Superior Achievement in a First Novel, The Return announced the arrival of major talent Rachel Harrison.

You might be eager for Harrison’s upcoming book, So Thirsty, or you might have recently enjoyed her wonderfully weird novel, Black Sheep. But if you haven’t yet read it, then most definitely go back to the beginning of Harrison’s career with The Return.

When one of their friends goes missing and mysteriously reappears two years to the day later, three women do what any good friends would: they immediately get together with their returned friend, both to celebrate her miraculous homecoming as well as to get to the bottom of what happened to her in the first place. They soon realize they’ve gotten more than they bargained for with their impromptu reunion.

Needless to say, this story will get under your skin and stay there long after the last page.

There’s no one out there writing like S.P. Miskowski today. Her voice is truly one of a kind, and everyone should be reading her work.

Her fantastic novel, The Worst Is Yet to Come, was nominated for Superior Achievement in a Novel back in 2019, and let me tell you: it’s very much worth checking out if you haven’t already.

Released from Trepidatio Publishing, this strange and unnerving coming-of-age horror novel is set in Miskowski’s town of Skillute, and like all her work, it’s best to go in knowing as little as possible. That way, you get all the twists and turns as fresh as you can.

And after you’re done with The Worst Is Yet to Come, be sure to also pick up a copy of her other Stoker-nominated novel, I Wish I Was Like You, which has one of my very favorite covers of the last decade in horror.

Michelle Renee Lane is a horror author that absolutely should be on your radar. She’s been writing some of the most interesting fiction the genre has to offer, and by the looks of it, she’s not slowly down anytime soon.

As for where to start with her work, look no further than Invisible Chains. Nominated for Superior Achievement in a First Novel at the 2019 Bram Stoker Awards, the book follows a young Creole woman named Jacqueline who escapes her captivity in antebellum New Orleans with the help of a supernatural stranger.

From there, she delves into a strange and magical world that includes an array of monsters that aren’t ever quite what they seem. The book is every bit as incredible as that description sounds, so run to your nearest bookseller and pick up a copy of Invisible Chains immediately.