What is Horror? What frightens you? What really happens to the body when something frightens you?'

Explore writing techniques that drive fear and tension into your reader’s heart, create horror and suspense on the page, and discover how being scared affects the body and mind. We will look at the horror genre, the physical effects of fear, and specific writing techniques.

Bringing that knowledge into your writing makes the fear realistic, passing it on to the reader. Dig deep into the monsters, final girls or vampires of horror fiction, unleash disturbing sensations, and unsettling locations.

Moira Hodgkinson Biography

Moira Hodgkinson has been a practising witch for over forty years, developing her magical path through both solitary and coven practice. She has written feature articles for mind body spirit magazines and is the author of four non-fiction books on witchcraft and related subjects. Her six novels include contemporary pagan fiction, the Katy Hunter series for teen witches, paranormal fantasy, and horror. Her short stories have been published in five anthologies and she is in her final year of an MA in Creative Writing. Moira lives on the edge of Sherwood Forest with her family and a tribe of cats.

Julie (Jae) Malone Biography

Julie (author name Jae) has been writing for over 20 years, and has recently released her 15th book. Since becoming an author Julie has spent two decades encouraging and supporting aspiring authors of all ages. She has organised book and arts festivals, Meet the Author events, and annual creative writing competitions for children and adults. She is also a regular guest on local TV and radio, presents creative writing workshops for adults and children, for schools and community groups, and is an experienced public speaker. In addition, for the last three and half years, she has been the Organiser of the Society of Authors East Midlands Group.

Both Moira and Julie have been members of the East Midlands Society of Authors for many years, and are both on the organising committee of the Nottingham Book Festival 2026.

Description supplied by the event organiser.