Award-Winning Psychological Horror Author • Screenwriter • Educator
I have been a psychological horror/supernatural suspense/always-in-your-head author for over 40 years – no, really, I have. I started really young.
I write novels, novellas, short stories, screenplays, essays, and the occasional poem. Over the years, my work has appeared in newspapers, anthologies, chapbooks, magazines, comic books – yeah, that was cool – and plenty of other places I never imagined when I first started telling stories.
And somewhere along the way, some pretty amazing things happened.
Writing, Awards & Recognition
I won the Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in Short Nonfiction for “Blacks in Film and Cultivated Bias,” as well as the Michael Knost Wings Award for my body of work.
My novel The Promise Keeper won the Golden Stake Award for Literature at the International Vampire Film and Arts Festival — and yes, the trophy is actually shaped like a stake. So very cool.
My screenwriting has taken me places I never expected, too. Among the honors I’ve received are:
- Three-time winner of Best Horror Screenplay at the NOVA International Film Festival
- Best Afrofuturism/Horror/Sci-Fi Screenplay at the Urban Media Makers Film Festival
- Best Psychological Horror Short Script at Hollywood Horrorfest
- Best Short Screenplay at the Indo-Global International Film Festival
- Best of Fest – which still makes me say, HOLY COW!
I’ve also had short stories win awards and have been nominated for the Elgin, Rhysling, and Ignyte Awards. My short story “The Ever After” appeared in the Bram Stoker Award® finalist anthology Sycorax’s Daughters.
Along the way, some of the publications I’ve contributed to – as well as some of my solo projects – have become bestsellers. I’ve also been recognized in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 15 and as one of the 100+ Black Women in Horror Fiction.
Not bad for somebody who just really loves telling stories.
Teaching, Leadership & the Writing Community
Writing has never been something I wanted to do in isolation. I love the community around storytelling almost as much as I love the stories themselves.
Over the years, I’ve edited anthologies – five so far! – run poetry contests, spoken on genre panels, interviewed fellow writers, worked with organizations dedicated to supporting writers and artists, and taught horror and creative writing at the post-secondary level.
I created an Introduction to Writing Horror course that I’ve had the pleasure of teaching at both university and community college levels.
In 2022, I was named Author Guest of Honor at the In Your Write Mind conference, which absolutely floored me.
And then I created a whole school.
Okay, technically an academy, but really, let’s not mince words.
The Speculative Fiction Academy brought together instructors and writers who are passionate about speculative storytelling, and I continue to be amazed by what its instructors brought to the table.
I’ve also served in leadership and mentoring roles throughout the writing community, including work with the Horror Writers Association, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, and Diverse Writers and Artists of Speculative Fiction. My professional memberships have also included organizations serving romance, mystery, thriller, and speculative poetry writers.
Why so many genres?
Because apparently dipping one toe into everything wasn’t enough.
Scholarship, Archives & Legacy
One of the things I value most about my career is having the opportunity to contribute not only fiction, but also to the scholarship and history surrounding horror.
My presentation “Blaxploitation, Black Gothic, and Black Agency in Horror” is archived by the Centre for the History of the Gothic at the University of Sheffield.
My work is also part of the University of Pittsburgh’s Horror Studies Collection, and I am archived in NightTide’s groundbreaking I AM HORROR project.
I wrote a textbook, too, y’all.
What can I say?
Writing is kinda my thing.
Beyond the Page
My love of storytelling has taken me into film and screenwriting as well.
I’m part of Madness and Writers: The Untold Truth. Maybe?, a project exploring writers, their creative processes, and the sometimes strange places our imaginations take us. I’m featured alongside an incredible group of writers, and I also serve as a screenwriter on the project.
That’s another sentence I never expected to be able to write about myself.
What Reviewers Are Saying
“Wood is a master world builder…”
— R. J. Joseph, author of Monstrous Domesticities
“Several months later, I’m still able to ‘see’ the visuals Wood conjured up in my mind; that’s potent!”
— Mother Horror
“L. Marie Wood continues to be a force in the world of horror with her unique writing style and her ability to spin a tale that will stay with you long after you have read the last sentence.”
— Midwest Book Review
Aww, shucks.
Why It Matters
Why is any of the above important?
Because it shows my passion and dedication to my craft — at least, I hope it does.
After more than four decades of writing, teaching, learning, experimenting, creating, and occasionally looking around in disbelief at where this career has taken me, that part hasn’t changed.
I am, and will always be, a storyteller.
