Autumn is well upon us, with its burnt orange leaves, chilly evenings and the promise of pumpkin-spiced lattes offering a warm hug as the nights draw in. But it’s also the season of the spooky, where shadows stretch a little longer, fog lingers, and curling up with a horror novel feels less like a pastime and more like a ritual, getting you into the mood for Halloween...
When I received an email from Waterstones Nottingham inviting me along to their Women in Horror Weekend, I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to enjoy the spooky season. The whole weekend was a celebration of women who haunt the page, women who write monsters, who are monsters, or who subvert the well-worn trope of the powerless female victim. These authors carve out a space for women with agency, who fight back, take control, and reclaim the narrative, some in more grisly ways than others.
Across the weekend, the panels reflected this beautifully, each one offering its own diverse, rich, and subversive conversation.
One of my favourite discussions came from the Deadly Women panel, which explored why women are often more drawn to writing female killers. The idea that female killers are seen as “less threatening” than their male counterparts, not because they aren’t dangerous, but because they are often written as intellectually dangerous and far more multifaceted. They cannot rely on brute strength, so their violence becomes strategic, careful, and intentional. What shocked me most was learning that female killers statistically take far longer to catch than male killers, and are often underestimated and overlooked, adding an all-new chilling layer to the already dark characters I encountered over the weekend.
Other panels delved into horror in the home (turning the place meant to feel safest into a place of fear), the queer gothic, femgore, and so much more. There were also in-depth author conversations, signing opportunities, and the chance to discover so many new novels!
But the weekend wasn’t just panels and author conversations. Attendees could also opt into a goodie bag featuring some signature spooky bath bombs from lush, which are perfect for getting you into the mood for some late-night horror reading! Saturday morning opened with a bath bomb making workshop, courtesy of Lush, where you could craft your own Pushkin Pumpkin (a charming little nod to Pushkin Press Publishing). And Sunday closed with an interactive screening of the 1963 supernatural horror The Haunting, perhaps not the most relaxing end to the weekend, but certainly a memorable one.
The event has certainly left me with a newfound appreciation of the horror women are creating today, bold, visceral, funny, unsettling, and deeply human, highlighting the female condition in unique, gripping and at times relatable ways. I even managed to snag myself a few signed copies at the event, which I cannot wait to dive into over the rest of autumn.
Waterstones hosts bookish events regularly, from book signings to author talks and more. Whether you’re a well-seasoned book lover or simply book-curious, their events are always worth keeping in mind if you want to discover something new.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?