This event is like no other we have ever attended. We are excited to tell you about our experience at Dread Con 2024, the first Horror and dark fiction event, held on September 14 in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Eerie River, C. M. Forest, and the sponsorship of Rue Morgue brought this one of a kind, epic, and well organized event to life, which has been one of the highlights of our year. Whether you're a deep horror fan or a reader looking for a taste of new and unconventional books, Dread Con promises an unforgettable experience that will satisfy your literacy cravings.
Sinister Cupcakes as Influencers: An Unexpected Invitation.
Around August 2024, an invitation on Facebook was sent to Sinister Cupcakes' account from Kate DeJonge (Author) and Michelle River (founder of Eerie River Publishing), encouraging us to assist as influencers at Waterloo University to the first-ever Dark horror literature event held in Ontario, Canada. We were lucky enough to have been invited as influencers for the very first time at the first iteration of this event, with the guarantee of a unique time and a book fair that promised to be delightfully out of the ordinary! We were even more surprised when they gave us free VIP entrances. Michelle and Kate promised an impressive experience, which turned out even better than we could have imagined. For the first time, a company had invited us as influencers, so without any doubt, we accepted and booked a place in Waterloo to be there as early as possible.
Dread Con Begins. A Dark Literary Exploration.
On Saturday, September 14, at 11 a.m., we headed to the University of Waterloo, beginning a unique journey into the darkest corners of literary conventions. When we arrived, we were greeted with our VIP influencer badges and gift bags with lots of free books, souvenirs, and more from each vendor and author in attendance. We were amazed by the number of gifts, including our first copy of Rue Morgue Magazine; an anthology of original stories, "Obsessions" edited by Mark Leslie; "Daily Special," and "Human Sacrifice" by Felix I. D. Dimaro; and ebooks from several other authors. We also received buttons, stickers, magnets, mini cowboy hats, keychains, and so much more. We were beyond thankful for everything!
Panels and Authors:
Dread Con offered unique panels on diverse literature themes, showcasing top Canadian horror authors and publishers in a display of literary horror and dark fiction. Dread Con 2024 also included other activities like meet and greets, readings, and pitch seasons, which were great opportunities for new authors to present ideas for books.
We were able to attend almost all of the panels, starting with Andrew Pyper and Nick Cutter, who gave us a deep dive into the notion of "Incognito: Writing as you but as someone else," where they discussed themes such as rebranding names under different pen names, moderated by author Steve Stred. After that panel, we had to be pretty fast trying to get autographs from Andrew and Nick before running back to the Launch Party hosted by Eerie River Publishing. There, we learned about the new book from C.M. Forest, "The Roots Run Deep," where we were fortunate enough to hear a few pages from the book and had a question and answer session, followed by a gathering with a charcuterie board, coffee, and other snacks.
We then attended one of my favourite panels, run by author Mark Leslie, called "Real Horror: Pulling the weird and terrifying from real life" with authors Kodie Van Dusen, Chris Kuriata and Kate DeJong, where they discussed deep themes such as "Why Horror," "Horror Ethics," and "Horror Boundaries and Mental Health." We finished the panel sessions with "Bleak Histories" moderated by Rick Hipson with Ai Jiang, Tim McGregor, and C.M. Forest, reviewing folk horror through the ages and how it is viewed in today's society.
Horror Market and More:
We were astonished with the amount of authors we were able to chat and meet, and also grateful and amazed at how several of them surprised us by gifting us copies of their signed books, such as the amazing Kate DeJonge and her book "Nightmares,"; "Sacrifice of the Sister's Lot" by Chirs Kuriata; the incredible "Just Ducky" and "Feather Out of Time" by C.A. King (plus two beautiful duck glasses); "Addictive Reader" by Mark Leslie, and many more! The generosity blew us away!
As we toured the event's book market, we discovered numerous literary gems by local authors. These authors have become some of our favourites, like Tobin Elliott, whose book "Out for Blood" and its series had held me on the edge of my seat. I also had hoped to meet JP Solanki-Davie and her series "A Forest With No Trees," which I was lucky to get a signed copy of before leaving the event.
Besides the authors' booths, plenty of different vendors and artists with amazing creations gave the event an added eerie vibe. As with all the events we attend, it was delightful to meet Mary of The Clockwork Beetle table with their unique art, Phaedra Handmade, Spooky Sellables, Thundersnow Clay & Cards and many more with their spooky and gothic products.
Our time at Dread Con ended around 6 o'clock, which we honestly felt was crazy fast; between the panels, meet-and-greets, signings, and chatting with authors, we felt like those 7 hours were not enough time! Well, we could have stayed there all day! We got out of there with quite an extensive collection, and we can't wait to learn more and chat again with these authors at next year's edition. For now, they left us craving for more.
What Is Next? Dread Con 2025
Prepare to be captivated by panels with prestigious guests, interesting debates on Horror Literature, and a vast assortment of different authors and vendors at this new edition. The information for the next event has been released, so we will be there again waiting for you on Sept. 13, 2025 at the Holiday Inn in Burlington, On. You can look for more details by frequently checking their social media, and this link.
Horror Inspirations Coming Soon
Among the advantages we had by being chosen as influencers was having first-hand seats in the front row for the panels, in addition to our swag bag filled with badges, books and more. However, what I would say was the biggest advantage we had was being able to formulate a multitude of questions and ask them personally to each of the authors, so this is only the beginning. We will have the opportunity to share with you several interviews we had with the authors, and give you their very original and different points of view, so stay tuned for that!
We were there as influencers, but honestly, we felt like crazy fans with a unique opportunity to reach out to horror legends and get a bit into their heads to understand how much creativity can be produced by one person. A huge thanks to Dread Con and everyone who made this fantastic event unforgettable.
If you want to see what the event was like in person here our video showing part of our experience. For now, don't forget to see everything new with Sinister Cupcakes on our social networks! This was Dualia, and see you in the next blog :)
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