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Lady Ambrosia attended StokerCon 2026! Each day brought opportunities to attend different panels, hear author readings, and experience special events concerning all things horror. Sessions she attended included working with horror influencers, engaging your community, publishing and promoting your books, creating horror podcasts, writing horror from page to screen, and selling books. Guest speakers, moderators, and attendees included horror writers, film directors, literary agents, artists, and editors, including Rachel Harrison, Clay McLeod Chapman, Nat Cassidy, Grady Hendrix, John Shirley, Jamie Flannigan, Ellen Datlow, Christopher Golden, Brian Keene, and more! Members of the Ohio Chapter of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) represented with about twenty in attendance. Special events like the Tor Nightfire Happy Hour, the Final Frame Horror Short Film Competition, and the Bram Stoker Awards® and banquet were at the top of Ambrosia's "go to" list. During the banquet, Lady Ambrosia was especially pleased to meet illustrator and comic book artist Orion Zangara, author Beatka (Bee) Lake, and fellow Ohioan, author/editor Katherine Kerestman.
The Vendors room was packed full of books, art, and creative minds. Lady Ambrosia stopped at every table to speak with the authors and editors, and to learn about each publisher. There, she met horror writers Kent Priore, Joe Belcastro, Katherine Kerestman, Leanna Renee Heiber, Arwyn Sherman, Jeff Deck, and Erin Louis. She spoke with publishers and editors from CLASH Books, Creature Publishing, Falstaff Books, Grendel Press, Black Cat Publishing, Lanternfish Press, Raw Dog Screaming Press, Ruadán Books, Shortwave Publishing, SHP Comics, and Winding Road Stories. The George A. Romero Foundation and Ohio Chapter HWA were also there!
The Final Frame Horror Short Film Competition brought nine different films from around the world. Attendees could vote for their favorite. While all of the films were memorable, Ambrosia's favorite was the horror comedy CHÄIR. It won third place as well as the Audience Award. She also attended a special screening of the short film “Mourning Meal” by Jamal Hodge, an adaptation of the poem by the same name by Linda D. Addison.
The Bram Stoker Awards honored horror writers for their Superior Achievement in a variety of categories. Winners included: Tananarive Due (Short Non-fiction), Mike Mignola (Graphic Novel), Linda D. Addison & Jamal Hodge (Poetry), Becky Siegel Spratford (Long Non-fiction), Clay McLeod Chapman (YA Novel), Delilah S. Dawson (Middle Grade Novel), Michael Wehunt (First Novel), Ryan Coogler (Screenplay), RJ Joseph (Short Fiction), John Langan (Fiction Collection), Kristy Park Kulski (Anthology), Nathan Ballingrud & A.C. Wise (Long Fiction, tie), and Stephen Graham Jones (Novel). Special awards were also given to Eric. J. Guignard (Mentor of the Year), Bad Hand Books (Specialty Press Award), Sarah Read (The Karen Lansdale Silver Hammer Award), Jonathan Maberry & Lisa Morton (Lifetime Achievement Award), and Marc L. Abbott (The Richard Layman President’s Award). Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees. See you all next year!
WordWeaver’s Sanctum provides the means for you to sharpen your skills as a writer in the form of exercises, articles, dialogue, and workshops. Anathema’s Dungeon, a part of WordWeaver’s Sanctum, was born in the back room at Find Familiar Games where we host a weekly fantasy writer’s workshop using Dungeons and Dragons as a tool. We think the results have been spectacular. So much so, we were asked by FFG to be a part of FamiliarCon 2026 and 2027!
The Ambrosia Literary Agency made a guest appearance in May at FFG’s Familiar Con 2026 sponsoring an EPIC, high level Dungeons & Dragons (3.0 edition) Adventure, Anathema’s Dungeon: Where Evil Blooms.
Each player was provided with a sword and scroll to record their Adventures with an opportunity to submit their writings, poetry, or art from the perspective of their character to Ambrosia to be published online.
The Campaign was based on Lord Anathema's short story Deception.
Our base setting was Faerûn and the premise was a simple one, dripping with classic D&D nostalgia. Our heroes were suddenly contacted by messengers from the Church of Helm, asking that they come immediately, their presence being needed to avert an impending cataclysmic doom. In this case, there really was a nasty plot being hatched by Bane, an attempt to weaken the Dalelands and to spread the evil blooming in Cormanthor further South. His followers had stolen several of the ancient mythals that once protected Cormanthor. They corrupted the mythals and re-enchanted them to receive life energy from living sacrifices and to project dark energy directly into the Weave. Now, they were seeking powerful artifacts of the Dalelands to further their evil agenda. Naturally, this encroachment of evil could not be permitted and our heroes gladly accepted their challenges. The three parties of adventurers were magically transported from Helm’s fortress to the places where they were destined to live or die, fated to fail or succeed. The first party sought the Circlet of the Weave, the second sought the Crown of Aencar, and the third was responsible for destroying the corrupted mythals to keep the evil at bay and out of the Dalelands, at least for now. Though played over a three day period, the adventures occurred simultaneously by Dale-Reckoning. Bane was completely shut down in a matter of hours.
Recaps of each day are available on our WordWeaver's Sanctum Substack.
Lady Ambrosia attended the Publishing Professionals Network Conference in Berkeley after receiving a scholarship to attend. She is so grateful to have had the opportunity to go and to learn from leading industry professionals while making new connections with, and learning from, fellow attendees. The PPN hosted a day of engaging workshops and networking opportunities. Jane Friedman was the keynote speaker and gave an insightful presentation on the publisher’s role in a rapidly evolving industry.
Not only was this Lady Ambrosia's first PPN conference, it was also her first time in California! Flying across country and observing the drastic changes in landscape was mindboggling. In a span of a few hours, she saw flat fields, rolling hills, snowy mountains, rocky mountains, green mountains, canyons, deserts, Vegas!, and the ocean. She's pretty sure she spotted the Grand Canyon, but has never been there in person. While it was a short trip, she found time to visit Jupiter (a wood-fired pizza spot and brewhouse) and Pegasus Books in downtown Berkeley to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day. At Pegasus, she found two vintage sequels to Edward Gorey's Amphigorey.
She also visited the Rosicrucian Research Library and Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose. The library had an impressive collection of books on esoteric practices and other related subjects. It was a dream library that she could have stayed in forever! The museum had a new Alchemy exhibition which she absolutely loved! It included an alchemist's workshop, a rendering of the Emerald Tablet, a print of the Ripley Scroll, and an instrument that generated the Pythagorean notes, or Music of the Spheres. A life-size AI robotic embodiment of the Egyptian god Thoth was a prominent attraction. You could ask it any question and it would give a response. What was her question you might ask?
Well, that really should be between her and the god of Wisdom and Knowledge . . . but below is a short video for your entertainment.
Lady Ambrosia enjoyed a short trip to NYC to attend the Denver Publishing Institute's (DPI) 50th year celebration, held at the Children's Book Council. There, she met with fellow DPI graduates and publishing professionals who have been involved with the DPI program over the years. Each attendee received a rubber ducky with sunglasses (compliments of Carl Webber) and a door prize. Apparently, according to her gift, Lady Ambrosia needs "More Coffee".
While in NYC, she experienced her first Broadway show at the Marquis Theater. It was the perfect initiation for the Lady, Stranger Things: The First Shadow! She ended up in the best seat in the house after having won a lottery ticket. She spent the evening on the edge of it.
No spoilers, but in brief, the play is set in 1959 Hawkins, Indiana, and follows the younger versions of Joyce, Hopper, and Creel as they navigate strange events, haunting visions, and several horrifying deaths. The actors were incredible and the special effects were insane. Some are inexplicable! The play was intense and dark with gory graphics and terrifying scenes including suspended bodies, Demogorgon's, and the Mind Flayer. Her Ladyship highly recommends that any fan of the Stranger Things Netflix series go and see this origin story of the Upside Down.
As a Potterhead, Lady Ambrosia also flew on her broomstick and ventured to the Harry Potter Shop, New York. In-store experiences included a Butterbeer bar with tasty treats, a magical flying broomstick, wands galore, and fun photo opportunities. Free tours were given each hour which included trivia about each of the movie artifacts on display in the store.
Always in search of her next meal, Lady Ambrosia's culinary adventures included lunch at Lillie's Victorian Establishment in Times Square and dinner at Carmine's. We are not sure how she managed it, but she ate the entire plate of cheese ravioli including a cannoli to top it off. 🤭
While not precisely Supernatural, HalloWeekends at Cedar Point have become engrained in Ohio’s horror history. We decided to honor the tradition and promote the majesty of horror by attending. We were not disappointed. While the haunted attractions were spooky and fun, we were lucky (or unlucky?) to participate in the new horror experience The Conjuring: Beyond Fear, an interactive experience in which we were paranormal investigators recruited by Ed and Lorain Warren. We were tasked with finding Annabelle and returning her to their artifact room. Chaos surrounded us as we faced off the demons of the Conjuring Universe that were unleashed from the cursed artifacts when Annabelle escaped. Lady Ambrosia was chosen by our group to carry Annabelle to distract the demons, while others in our party tracked down the artifacts to contain them. We braved demons flying and lurking around every corner, crawled on our hands and knees beneath the old farmhouse, and walked through halls of spinning crosses. It was a creepy, fun time.
It wasn’t just Annabelle that kept our hearts pounding. The new roller coaster, the Siren’s Curse, lured us to a rocky edge then tipped over and dropped us straight down into the murky and twisted depths below.
Every year we look forward to stepping back in time into a world of Magic, into a place where no true lover of fantasy can resist: the Ohio Renaissance Festival. It’s nice to occasionally eat your meat right off the bone in a room filled with men and women who are all armed to the teeth and mead sloshing everywhere. The spirits were so strong that Lady Ambrosia grew a pair of elf ears. It’s exactly like the settings described in many of our favorite fantasy novels, but most importantly it’s just a good time. We decided to head that way to see what shenanigans we could get ourselves into. It is an olde world market set up with entertainers and vendors with a nearby field for jousting. In this realm, one is sure to meet nobility, possibly even the Queen herself. If you find yourself feeling tense, there are an assortment of bows, knives, axes, and arrows that you may, for a cost, throw or fire. Just don't get yourself dragged to the dungeon or locked in the royal stocks.
We enjoyed the experience and can only say long live the ORF and long live the Queen. HAZZAH!
We cannot possibly express in a few words how much we enjoyed attending the Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy event. Nor can we heap enough praise upon the highly talented performers who made the event such a great success. The troupe consisted of only seven people and still they were always attentive and easily satisfied a packed house of 150 guests, seemingly without effort!
The event consisted of many complimentary achievements, the first being the atmosphere. A dimly lit room with chairs awaited us, all in a semi-circle and facing an eerily unsettling stage that was pure Goth and pure Poe. Lovely ladies in Gothic attire were serving drinks to guests on arrival, heightening the sense of immersive adventure.
The MC was absolutely masterful, blending dark humor with many interesting, and disturbing, historical facts about Poe. His performance certainly integral to the telling of the tales and only made the experience richer.
After the drinks were distilled, bottled, transported, and distributed, the MC introduced the first interpretive narrator, and actor of great skill who performed his version of “The Tell-Tale Heart” as we sipped a story themed, Speakeasy type drink called “The Pale Blue Eye"
We can only say that we were impressed and that we had never before heard “The Tell-Tale Heart” uttered with such a chilling and macabre tone. We were instantly enthralled.
Over the course of 90 minutes, we enjoyed performance renditions of “The Black Cat”, paired with a drink called “Edgar's Twisted Brandy Milk Punch”, both of which were wonderful. “The Black Cat” was followed by an equally impressive combination of “The Raven” and a black drink called “The Nevermore”. Just as we were convinced it couldn't be better, another talented performer gave an excellent, enjoyable interpretive narrative of “The Masque of the Red Death”! The accompanying cocktail, “Cocktail of the Red Death”, was among the best.
Upon completion of the event, Lady Ambrosia was able to secure short interviews with several of the performers, which we have included in the video.
To share in the experience, go to www.edgarallanpoebar.com and find a show near you! Follow us for more dark adventures. Thanks to everyone for such a great production.👏
The Ambrosia Literary Agency was honored to be one of the partners in the 2025 Ohioana Book Festival and we are proud to have participated. The event was held at the State Library of Ohio and the Ohioana Library, two amazing libraries connected by a single corridor. Congratulations to both on a very successful event and we are looking forward to 2026.
We met many talented people at the Ohioana Book Festival and made some new friends. Among those we met are a few who deserve special mention. First, we want to express what a true joy and pleasure it was to meet Mr. Roger Jerome of Saint Albans UK, author of Dickens in Ohio: The Neglected Story. Mr. Jerome is a man devoted to the arts, an accomplished actor, professor, author and speaker. He made an impression on us and we wish him well. Ambrosia will always be here for Mr. Roger Jerome,… every bloody step!
We were also fortunate enough to meet Ryan Burley, State Library of Ohio's Director of Library Operations, and Mandy Knapp, Executive Director/State Librarian of Ohio. They were friendly and knowledgeable, with a tangible love for the written word. They allowed us to tour the rare and private books collection, and it was magnificent beyond words. Rather than try, we've included some pictures in the gallery below.
Finally, we have to send respect to D.M. Guay, author of The 24/7 Demon Mart series, who was at the festival representing the Ohio Chapter of the Horror Writers Association. It was great to meet a fellow horror fan.
We really appreciate everyone who helped make this such a great event and Ambrosia looks forward to seeing everyone next year!
Ambrosia was fortunate enough to attend a Harry Potter themed Wizarding Yule Ball at the beautiful Landoll's Castle in the Mohican area of North Central Ohio. It was an evening devoted to appreciating some of our favorite Harry Potter novels and characters, as well as meeting many like-minded Potter-heads! We Solemnly Swear we were up to no good! We want to thank Landoll's for holding the event and for supporting the literary contributions of J.K. Rowling, who created not just a fantastical series, but spawned a movement.
If you want to be truly Horror-fied, attend a Stoker-Con! The atmosphere is electric! Every aspect of the Horror industry is represented and discussed by seasoned professionals. It is an unparalleled opportunity to network, meet others who live and breath horror, and make connections. There are chances to pitch your manuscript to agents and editors, face to face, something that rarely occurs in this industry. For lots of fun and the possibility of making meaningful friendships and contacts, Stoker-Con simply cannot be beat. Our favorite moments were meeting author Catriona Ward, the Howl Society, and attending the Bram Stoker Awards® Banquet.
Being the real deal, we not only seek scary manuscripts but also scary places! This was our most recent adventure exploring the famously Haunted Moonville Tunnel and Lookout Rock in Hocking Hills, Ohio. We decided to go on Halloween (Samhain) when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. We are happy to report that the Moonville Tunnel is creepy as Hell and that the spirits seem to thrive there! We managed to capture some EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) that we need to get posted! The Truth is OUT THERE! And yes, you will notice Lord Anathema has a black eye in these photographs . . . a result of previous adventures.
-The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe