Lansdale to be World Horror Convention Grand Master
January 30th, 2007 by Alan Chudnow
World Horror Convention 2007 announced Thursday, January 25, that Joe R. Lansdale has been voted the winner of the 2007 Grand Master Award.
The number of votes cast this year by members of the convention was the highest in the history of the seventeen-year-old award. Previous Grand Masters included Robert Bloch, Stephen King and Dean R. Koontz.
Joe R. Lansdale is the author of more than thirty novels in all genres, including crime, western, horror and pulp adventure. He has also written scripts for comic books and animated television shows, and his novella Bubba Ho-Tep, about an aged Elvis Presley and black John F. Kennedy battling a soul-sucking mummy, was filmed by Don Coscarelli in 2002. His short story, “Incident On and Off a Mountain Road” was adapted as the first episode of the first season of TV’s Masters of Horror series.
Joe R. Lansdale has received six HWA Bram Stoker Awards, the British Fantasy Award, the MWA Edgar Award, the American Mystery Award, the Horror Critics Award, the “Shot in the Dark” International Crime Writer’s Award, the Booklist Editor’s Award and the Critic’s Choice Award.
For the first time in its seventeen-year history, The World Horror Convention is being held outside the United States. With a theme exploring “The Diversity of Horror”, World Horror Convention 2007 will take place over March 29-April 1 at the Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre, located in the heart of Toronto, Canada.
The 2007 Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Awards Presentation will be held at the convention on the Saturday evening. For details about how to purchase your tickets to this very special event, please consult the Stoker Banquet page.
[via SFWA]
Joe is a great guy and well-deserving of this award. He’s a good friend of another recent GM awardee, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (first woman to be GM), who was also given the Living Legend Award in Austin a few months ago.
Lin,
I have to read more Yarbro. I’ve been meaning to for some time but somehow the “to read” shelf is always full and I never seem to make a dent before another lot of books is added to the already groaning weight.
Not an unfamiliar situation to many I’m sure.
I know a number of people who are quite enamored with CQY’s vampire stories. I’m not a big vampire fan myself but I’m told Yarbro’s are a cut above.
I have read a number of her short stories over the years, mostly in the pulps but occasionally in anthologies. Each time I say” I’ve got to pick up one of her novels.” Perhaps I’ll slip her to the top of my “to buy” list. That way at least she’ll get on the shelf.