Full Throttle anthology leads list of 2026 Splatterpunk Awards nominations

Full Throttle, an Extreme Horror anthology published by Uncomfortably Dark Horror, led the list of nominees for the 2026 Splatterpunk Awards, according to an announcement January 10 on KillerConATX.com.

Edited by Candace Nola, Full Throttle received noms for Best Anthology, and two of its tales were nominated for Best Short Story — “And She Was Made of Glass” by Lucas Milliron and “Executive Decision” by Christine Morgan.

Nola’s Violent Nights was also nominated for Best Collection, and Morgan was named a recipient of the J.F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award. Nola now has eight nominations (and two wins) since her first nom in 2022, and Morgan hit double digits with 10 nominations (and one win) since the first awards were presented in 2018.

Full Throttle was not the only anthology with multiple short story nominations. The bestselling anthology The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand featured two nominated tales — “The Tripps” by Wrath James White and “Wrong Fucking Place, Wrong Fucking Time” by C. Robert Cargill.

Many of the nominees on the 2026 list are familiar names and past award winners, including Eric LaRocca, Kristopher Triana, Aron Beauregard, Daniel J. Volpe, and Bryan Smith. The list also features well-established authors like Stephen Graham Jones, Wrath James White, Hailey Piper, Joe R. Lansdale, and John Skipp. First-time nominees include Sisters of Slaughter Melissa Lason and Michelle Garza, Mary SanGiovanni, Lucas Milliron, C.M. Guidroz, and C. Robert Cargill.

Works published in 2025 were eligible for the 2026 Splatterpunk Awards. Founded by authors Wrath James White and Brian Keene in 2017, the Splatterpunk Awards honor superior achievement in Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror fiction in the five categories of Novel, Novella, Short Story, Collection, and Anthology. Winners will be announced during KillerCon 2026, which is scheduled from Nov. 6-8 in Austin, Texas.

In addition to the 2026 Splatterpunk Awards, organizers will also present the J.F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award to Christine Morgan and Ryan Harding for their significant impact on Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror fiction. Previous recipients of the award are David J. Schow, David G. Barnett, Edward Lee, John Skipp, Clive Barker, Monica J. O’Rourke, Brian Keene, Wrath James White, Craig Spector, Ray Garton, Joe R. Lansdale, and Lucy Taylor.

Here is the list of 2026 Splatterpunk Awards nominees. Visit KilleConATX.com for the complete press release.

BEST NOVEL

At Dark, I Become Loathsome by Eric LaRocca

Janitors vs. The Living Dead by Sisters of Slaughter Melissa Lason and Michelle Garza

Music To Sacrifice Virgins To by Kristopher Triana

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

The Home by Judith Sonnet

BEST NOVELLA

Disco Rice by Robert Essig

Playground 2: Child of Divorce by Aron Beauregard

Runts by Daniel J. Volpe

Strange Stones by Edward Lee and Mary SanGiovanni

The Freakshow: Rebirth In Drayton Falls by Bryan Smith

BEST SHORT STORY

“And She Was Made of Glass” by Lucas Milliron from Full Throttle

“Executive Decision” by Christine Morgan from Full Throttle

“Red Womb” by C.M. Guidroz

“The Tripps” by Wrath James White from The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand

“Wrong Fucking Place, Wrong Fucking Time” by C. Robert Cargill from The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand

BEST COLLECTION

Let Not Your Sorrow Die by Bracken Macleod

Teenage Girls Can Be Demons by Hailey Piper

The Essential Horror of Joe R. Lansdale by Joe R. Lansdale

This Is Splatterpunk: The John Skipp Primer by John Skipp

Violent Nights by Candace Nola

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Choices: An Anthology of Reproductive Horror edited by Dianna Gunn

Full Throttle edited by Candace Nola

Splatterpunk’s She Dotted Her Eyes edited by Jack Bantry

Stories From the Motel Sick edited by Michael Allen Rose

The Rack II: More Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks edited by Tom Deady

For the list of every winner and nominee since the first Splatterpunk Awards in 2018, click HERE.