September 5, 2026: BELMONT LIT FEST!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Belmont Bookshop’s Second Annual Literary Festival! The VIP Meet and Mingle on Friday night was a blast, and it was great getting to talk shop with so many modern horror legends.

A HUGE massive shoutout to the staff and volunteers from the Belmont Bookshop, who were so welcoming and who made this entire event so special!

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Saturday’s highlights included Mona Awad’s Closing Keynote (in conversation with Lovell Holder) and two fantastic panels—“Haunting Faces, Haunted Places” featuring Nat Cassidy, W.H. Chizmar, Tanya Pell, Brian McAuley, and Richard Chizmar; and “Darker Shades of Literature” featuring Philip Fracassi, Cassandra Khaw, Keith Rosson, Kyle Winkler, and Chuck Wendig.

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I attended as a fan and seriously can’t thank the featured authors—most of whom I was meeting for the first time—enough for being so gracious with their time. The panels and chats, advice and discussions meant so much, and I can’t tell you how humbling and inspirational it was to share those small moments.

As usual with events like this, there’s always more I wish I had done, but the entire weekend was incredibly fulfilling, and Belmont, NC was a beautiful place to spend it!

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Now, returning home to the coast and after some much-needed rest, it’s back to the page once again, chiseling away at this new novel that is shaping up nicely…but more on that later :)

-HB

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