Unshelve Your Collection Using a Writers Conference - StokerCon 2026 Wrap Up

StokerCon is the premier horror and dark literature writers conference in the United States. Part of the convention is the presentation of the Bram Stoker Awards with categories including superior achievement in a novel and superior achievement in long non-fiction. The Horror Writers Association presents the conference but you don't have to be a member to attend. 

One of the highlights of the conference is Librarians Day which anyone with a ticket to the convention can attend. For more details and resources from Librarians Day, please visit Becky Spratford's blog. She is the co-chair of Librarians Day and secretary of the Horror Writers Association. 

The panels this year, just like very year, are very helpful and planned by librarians who work in libraries. The skills and information learned could be transferred to many genres and subject areas. Attendees learned about programming and upcoming titles while also attending a brainstorm session. Every year, I have the honor of interviewing the Guests of Honor, introducing library workers to authors who are shaping the future as well as those who have created works vital to the history of horror. This year the Guests of Honor included : 

Rachel Harrison (Author of Play Nice and Cackle)

Linda D. Addison (Award Winning Poet and author)

Billy Martin (Author of Exquisite Corpse)

John Shirley (Acclaimed cyberpunk/horror author)

James Tynion IV (Eisner Award-winning horror comic writer)

Ann VanderMeer (Editor and anthologist)

The librarians who purchased a ticket for Librarians Day were also able to attend the Mass Author Signing which grants you time to purchase book and get them signed from a huge number of authors. This is a great way to discover horror works that you may not have known about. They also could browse the dealers room which included small press publishers. If your library doesn't allow you to purchase titles directly from publishers, this is a good time to start that conversation. With the shake up of library purchasing, many of us are processing items in house. Finally, they were able to attend one of the highlights of the convention, the Final Frame short film festival. The winner this year, Scissors, was amazing. 

I've attended librarians day events for romance and mystery writers, The HWA's is the best of them, with programming and speakers who are focused on libraries and library workers. 

StokerCon is a great weekend with the Halloween People and I hope to see all of you there next year!

Upcoming - Collection Development Crash Course from ALA eLearning

 In September 2026, I will be joining three colleagues to teach a four part crash course in collection development. The four parts are: 

• Developing the Youth Collection with Julie Jurgens: Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific

• Developing the Adult Fiction Collection with Lila Denning: Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific

• Developing the Adult Nonfiction Collection with Stephanie Sendaula: Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific

• Weeding Popular Materials Collections with Karen Toonen: Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific

We will cover the basics of genres, where you can find information about titles, how to find diverse titles including those by independently or self-published authors, and more. It's a course that I always enjoy teaching. The other three instructors are passionate and experts in collection development. 

Whether you are a seasoned acquisitions librarian or just want to learn more about the topic, I encourage you to register! You can find out more here. 

Five Book Display Basics To Help Start Your Unshelving Project

 This is a very brief presentation that I prepared for a smaller group of librarians.  It covers five best practices that I think every library worker should have in mind while they work on their book displays or online lists. 

I do have a more detailed version of book displays basics available for presentation. Please reach out if you are interested in starting to unshelve your collection. 

Unshelve your collection with Pride!

 It's June and time for displays for Pride to be placed in libraries and on library social media. There will be plenty of online lists and posts with titles by LGBTQ+ authors. Don't forget to check the Lambda Awards and the Stonewall Book Awards for ideas. While you are assembling books for your displays and lists, watch that you are including as much of the LGBTQ+ community as possible. You can use the various flags to identify books that focus on a particular community to help those patrons who are not ready to ask for help. Creating lists and bookmarks with suggested titles that patrons can access online or pick up is another way to support LGBTQ+ members of your community. 

History and biographies are popular in displays for any cultural heritage or awareness month but don't forget cooking, fiction, poetry, art, and films. Make your the titles you select as broad and possible and expansive. Remember, as I frequently say, your patrons are as curious as you are so don't sell them short. 

Here are some lists to get you started: 

Penguin Random House - The Ultimate LGBTQ+ Book List

Reddit - Book rec for pride month? 

Brooklyn Public Library - Pride Month Books for Adults

Hamilton East Public Library - A Reading List for Pride Month

Goodreads - Listopia > LGBTQIA+ books to read during pride month!!

UCF Libraries - LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

Always be planning how you will unshelve your collection

I have mentioned Novel Suspects, a newsletter from Hachette Book Group, before on my blog. Their lists are great starter ideas for book displays and online posts. Recently, they featured a list they called "Psychological Thrillers Featuring Couples Gone Wrong." While this is a display that could go up at any time, I would keep this idea on my list for February as an "anti-Valentine's Day" display. It would also work for Sweetest Day on the third Saturday in October. 

Planning ahead will make changing out your displays much easier and will avoid a panic if you can't immediately brainstorm ideas. Keep a calendar for every month and write down the ideas that you and the rest of your staff come up with all year. This will give you more options along with the holiday and programming linked displays that you likely set up. 

Passive readers advisory is an important part of your collection marketing plan. Retail stores plan their displays and marketing in advance and so should your library. 

StokerCon 2026

 From Wednesday through Sunday, I will be attending StokerCon in Pittsburgh.  This annual celebration of horror and dark literature culminates with the Bram Stoker Awards which are presented on Saturday night. It is livestreamed on YouTube so you can watch from home. 

The past nominees and award winners are great for featuring on a horror themed display or list. The awards have become increasing diverse and do feature many smaller press titles. 

I will do a wrap up post early next week with my thoughts and reflections as well as the top takeaways for promoting your collection. 

Unshelve your collection with help from RA for All and the New York Times

 Don't be afraid to grab ideas for promoting your collection from anywhere and anyone. Recently, readers advisory expert Becky Spratford featured the New York Times's Summer Reading Bucket List on her blog. She does include a gift link in her post so go there first to read it. Becky explains why this recent shift in the Times's book coverage is so welcome. I recommend that you read her blog every day for news, commentary and great readers advisory ideas. 

This bucket list is a great summer book display or online post for your library. You can do a ten week series and feature one idea a week with recommendations. Another idea would be to feature staff suggestions for the various entries and to mix up the entries since they are not in a particular order. 

Adult summer reading programs are sometimes overshadowed by youth programs and this list from the Times is an easy way to up your collection promotion while giving adults something fun to do!