The Imaginarium Convention is honored to announce the finalists for the 2023 Michael Knost Wings Award! The winner will announced live during the Awards Banquet held on Saturday, July 15th, as part of our 10th Anniversary celebration!
Making its debut in 2022, the Michael Knost Wings Award focuses on authors of speculative and/or dark fiction, specifically authors who are up-and-coming . . . or those who have been around a while but do not get the recognition they deserve.
The Michael Knost Wings Award reflects the enthusiastic dedication and support of the writing community given by the person that this award is named after: Michael Knost.
Michael Knost is the 2015 recipient of the Horror Writers Association’s Silver Hammer Award for his work as the organization’s mentorship chair. Michael is also a two-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, and is known for his mentoring, writing classes, and bestselling works.
Nominees/finalists are chosen by a committee of editors and authors, and Michael Knost selects the award recipient from those names.
This year’s nominees/finalists are (in alphabetical order):
• John F. Allen
• Anton Cancre
• Elizabeth Donald
• Sandy Lender
• Tommy B. Smith
The winner of the Michael Knost Wings Awards will be named during the Imaginarium Awards Banquet on Saturday, July 15th, at the Holiday Inn Louisville East, 1325 S Hurstbourne Pkwy, Louisville, KY 40222.
About Michael Knost
Michael Knost is a Bram Stoker Award®-winning editor and author of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and supernatural thrillers. He has written in various genres and helmed dozens of anthologies. His Writers Workshop of Horror won the 2009 Bram Stoker Award® in England for superior achievement in non-fiction. His Writers Workshop of Horror 2 recently won the 2021 Bram Stoker Award® in Denver for the same category.
His critically acclaimed Writers Workshop of Science Fiction & Fantasy is an Amazon #1 bestseller. Return of the Mothman, Barbers and Beauties, and Author’s Guide to Marketing with Teeth were all finalists for the Bram Stoker Award®.
Michael received the Horror Writers Association’s Silver Hammer Award in 2015 for his work as the organization’s mentorship chair, and was recently awarded the 2021 Mentor of the Year from the organization. He also received the prestigious J.U.G. (Just Uncommonly Good) Award from West Virginia Writer’s Inc.
His Return of the Mothman novel has recently been filmed as a movie adaption. He has taught writing classes and workshops at several colleges, conventions, online, and currently resides in Chapmanville, West Virginia with his wife, daughter, and a zombie goldfish.