About
Sumiko Saulson, Award-Winning Horror Author
Biography
Awards and Distinctions:
Awards:
2022 – Bram Stoker Finalist for The Rat King: A Book of Dark Poetry in the Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection category
2021 – Ladies in Horror Fiction Reader’s Choice Award for Within Me Without Me: A Book of Dark Prose and Poetry
2021 – Richard Laymon Presidents’ Award for Service (Bram Stoker Special Award)
2018 – (July) Afrosurrealist Writers Award for the short story “A Balm of Brackish Water”
2017 (May) – Mixy Award2017 – (October) Sixth Place, HorrorAddicts Next Great Horror Writer Contest
2017 – (November) First Place, Berkeley City College Reframing the Other Essay Contest for “When We First Become Other”
2018 – (June) Second Place in the San Mateo County Fair Literary Best Blog Contest
2018 – (June) Second Place in the San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Songwriting Contest
2016 – (June) Third Place in the San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Best Blog Contest
2016 – (June) Second Place in the San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Short Shory Contest
2013 – (February) Official Women in Horror Month ambassador for Black Women in Horror interview series
Amazon Ranking:
2018 – (February) #1 Horror Anthology on Amazon for “Black Magic Women: Scary Tales by Scary Sisters”
2017 – (August) Amazon Top 1000 Horror Authors (Rank: 738)
2015 – (March) Amazon Best-Selling Author in the Horror Comedy category for “Warmth”
Grants:
2021 – Ladies in Horror Fiction Grant Award
2020 – Horror Writers Association Diversity Grant Award
2018 – (October) Ara Jo Memorial Zinemaker’s Award for Tale of An Iconoclast” The Carolyn Saulson Story
2016 – (May) HWA StokerCon Scholarship from Hell First Place Winner
2001 – STAND Grant for First Time Directors (Film Arts Foundation)
Collections/Anthologies I’ve Been In
2023 – “The Ballad of Faerie Garcia,” short story, In Trouble (Omnium Gatherum) edited by EF Schraeder and Elaine Schleiffer
2023 – “Dwayne’s Baby Daddy,” short story, Blerdrotica 2: Couple’s Therapy edited Penelope Flynn
2023 – “A Confusion of the Gods,” short story, Blackened Roots edited by Nicole Givens Kurtz and Tonia Ransom
2022 – “Centered and Seen,” essay, Came From The Closet (Feminist Press) edited by Joe Vallese
2022 – “Wolf and Girl,” featured artist, The Horror Zine Magazine: Fall 2022 13th Anniversary Edition, edited by Jeani Rector
2021 – “With December Comes Elune,” poem. Infections Hope: Poems of Hope and Resilience from the Pandemic, edited by Silvia Canton Rondoni
2020 – “Shades of Domesticity” Horror Writers Association Poetry Showcase VII
2020 – “The Kraken,” poem, Siren’s Call Magazine Summer 2020
2020 – “Under the Water,” poem, Siren’s Call Magazine Summer 2020
2020 – “Tapestry of Sentiment and Sunset” short story, Wickedly Abled: Sci-Fi. Horror and Dark Fantasy by Disabled Authors (Iconoclast Productions) edited by Sumiko Saulson and Emily Flummox
2020 – “Asi’s Horror and Delight,” short story, Slay: Tales of the Vampire Noir (Mocha Memoirs) edited by Nicole Givens Kurtz
2019 – ” In Technicolor: A Roundtable on the Future of Diversity in Speculative Fiction
Sumiko Saulson, Award-Winning Horror Author
Biography
Awards and Distinctions:
2013 – (February) Official Women in Horror Month ambassador
2015 – (March) Amazon Best-Selling Author in the Horror Comedy category for “Warmth”
2016 – (May) HWA StokerCon Scholarship from Hell First Place Winner
2016 – (June) Third Place in the San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Best Blog Contest
2016 – (June) Second Place in the San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Short Shory Contest
2017 (May) – Mixy Award
2017 – (August) Amazon Top 1000 Horror Authors (Rank: 738)
2017 – (October) Sixth Place, HorrorAddicts Next Great Horror Writer Contest
2017 – (November) First Place, Berkeley City College Reframing the Other Essay Contest
2018 – (June) Second Place in the San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Songwriting Contest
2018 – (June) Second Place in the San Mateo County Fair Literary Best Blog Contest
2018 – (July) Afrosurrealist Workshop Short Story Award
2018 – (October) Ara Jo Memorial Zinemaker’s Award for Tale of An Iconoclast” The Carolyn Saulson Story
2020 – Horror Writers Association Diversity Grant Award
2021 – Ladies in Horror Fiction Grant Award
2021 – Richard Laymon Presidents’ Award for Service (Bram Stoker Special Award)
Collections/Anthologies/Magazines I’ve Been In
2023 – “The Ballad of Faerie Garcia,” short story, In Trouble (Omnium Gatherum) edited by EF Schraeder and Elaine Schleiffer
2023 – “Dwayne’s Baby Daddy,” short story, Blerdrotica 2: Couple’s Therapy edited Penelope Flynn
2023 – “A Confusion of the Gods,” short story, Blackened Roots edited by Nicole Givens Kurtz and Tonia Ransom
2022 – “Centered and Seen,” essay, Came From The Closet (Feminist Press) edited by Joe Vallese
2022 – “Wolf and Girl,” featured artist, The Horror Zine Magazine: Fall 2022 13th Anniversary Edition, edited by Jeani Rector
2022 – “Generations of the Imaginarium,” poem, Of Horror and Hope: Mental Health Reflections by Members, edited by the HWA Wellness Committee
2021 – “On Darkest Night of Faerie Bright,” Horror Writers Association Poetry Showcase VIII, edited by Stephanie M. Wytovich
2021 – “With December Comes Elune,” poem. Infections Hope: Poems of Hope and Resilience from the Pandemic, edited by Silvia Canton Rondoni
2020 – “Shades of Domesticity” Horror Writers Association Poetry Showcase VII edited by Stephanie M. Wytovich
2020 – “The Kraken,” poem, Siren’s Call Magazine Summer 2020
2020 – “Under the Water,” poem, Siren’s Call Magazine Summer 2020
2020 – “From SideKick to Romantic Lead: Rise of the Strong Black Woman” essay, Fourth Wave Feminism in Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Valerie Estelle Frankel
2020 – “Tapestry of Sentiment and Sunset” short story, Wickedly Abled: Sci-Fi. Horror and Dark Fantasy by Disabled Authors (Iconoclast Productions) edited by Sumiko Saulson and Emily Flummox
2020 – “Asi’s Horror and Delight,” short story, Slay: Tales of the Vampire Noir (Mocha Memoirs) edited by Nicole Givens Kurtz
2019 – ” In Technicolor: A Roundtable on the Future of Diversity in Speculative Fiction,” interview, Strange Horizons 23, Interviewees: Linda D. Addison, Crystal Connor, Rain Graves, Eileen Gunn, Greg Herren, Maria Nieto and Nisi Shawl, Interviewers: Sumiko Saulson and Tristissima, edited by Vanessa Rose Phin
2019 – “Unheard Music from the Dank Underground,” Tales for the Camp Fire: A Charity Anthology Benefitting Wildfire Relief (Tomes & Coffee Press) edited by Loren Rhoads
2019 – The Mysterious State of We-Ness from “Scierogenous II: An Anthology of Erotic Science Fiction and Fantasy”
2019 – “The Distance from We-Ness to I-Ness” From “Scierogenous II: An Anthology of Erotic Science Fiction and Fantasy”
2018 – “My Life As A Young Urban Fiction Writer,” memoir, Carry the Light: Winning Stories, Poems and Essays from the San Mateo County Fair, Vol 7
2018 – “Tango of a Telltale Heart,” short story, Black Magic Women: Terrifying Tales by Scary Sisters (Mocha Memoirs Press) edited by Sumiko Saulson
2018 – “The Symbiont Revolution” From “Scierogenous II: An Anthology of Erotic Science Fiction and Fantasy”
2018 – “A Balm of Brackish Water” Afrosurrealist Writers Workshop/ProArts Dedication
2018 – “The Ride of Herne and Hespeth,” Siren’s Call Magazine, February 2018
2016 “Character Flaws,” flash fiction, Carry the Light: Winning Stories, Poems and Essays from the San Mateo County Fair, Vol 5 edited by Lisa Meltzer Penn and Bardi Rosman Koodrin
2016 “Agrippa,” short story, Carry the Light: Winning Stories, Poems and Essays from the San Mateo County Fair, Vol 5 edited by Lisa Meltzer Penn and Bardi Rosman Koodrin
2016 “Dead Horse Summer,” memoir, Carry the Light: Winning Stories, Poems and Essays from the San Mateo County Fair, Vol 5 edited by Lisa Meltzer Penn and Bardi Rosman Koodrin
2016, “Enclosures,” short story, Tales from the Lake, Vol. 3 (Crystal Lake Publishing), Monique Snyman
2017 – “Clockwork Valentine Clockwork Wonderland, Horror Addicts
2017 – “The Honeymoon Suite: Jacob’s Reunion,” short story, Forever Vacancy: A Colors in Darkness anthology (Colors in Darkness) edited by Mya Lairis, Kenya Moss-Dyme, and Eden Royce
2015 – “HorrorAddicts Guide to Cats,” essay, HorrorAddicts Guide to Life (HorrorAddicts), edited by David Watson
2015 – “Sweetness.” short story, Babes and Beasts: Tales of Lusty Shifters (Bloody Kisses Press) edited by Cinsearae S.
2014 – “Ashes and Coffee,” short story, Death’s Cafe (Mocha Memoirs) edited by Eden Royce
2013 – “The Birthday Present,” short story, Wicked Women Writers (HorrorAddicts.net)
Contact Info
My email address is sumikoska at yahoo.com
My Twitter is @sumikoska
My Instagram is @sumikosaulson
My Tik-Tok is @sumikoska
My Facebook author page is https://www.facebook.com/authorsumikosaulson
2019 – “Unheard Music from the Dank Underground,” Tales for the Camp Fire: A Charity Anthology Benefitting Wildfire Relief (Tomes & Coffee Press) edited by Loren Rhoads
2019 – The Mysterious State of We-Ness from “Scierogenous II: An Anthology of Erotic Science Fiction and Fantasy”
2019 – “The Distance from We-Ness to I-Ness” From “Scierogenous II: An Anthology of Erotic Science Fiction and Fantasy”
2018 – “The Symbiont Revolution” From “Scierogenous II: An Anthology of Erotic Science Fiction and Fantasy”
2018 – “A Balm of Brackish Water” Afrosurrealist Writers Workshop/ProArts Dedication
2018 – “The Ride of Herne and Hespeth,” Siren’s Call Magazine, February 2018
2017 – “Clockwork Valentine Clockwork Wonderland, Horror Addicts
2017 – “The Honeymoon Suite: Jacob’s Reunion,” short story, Forever Vacancy: A Colors in Darkness anthology (Colors in Darkness) edited by Mya Lairis, Kenya Moss-Dyme, and Eden Royce
2020 – “From SideKick to Romantic Lead: Rise of the Strong Black Woman” essay, Fourth Wave Feminism in Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Valerie Estelle Frankel
2014 – “Ashes and Coffee,” short story, Death’s Cafe (Mocha Memoirs) edited by Eden Royce
2014 – “Sweetness.” short story, Babes and Beasts: Tales of Lusty Shifters (Bloody Kisses Press) edited by Cinsearae S.
Contact Info
My email address is sumikoska at yahoo.com
My Twitter is @sumikoska
My Instagram is @sumikosaulson
My Tik-Tok is @sumikoska
My Facebook author page is https://www.facebook.com/authorsumikosaulson
Sumiko Saulson 
I got your message on my email about wanting to interview me about my books. I don’t have horror or vampire books. Does that matter? Mine are sci-fi and fantasy.
That’s great! Actually, Jody was telling me about your books – she’d introduced you to me as a sci-fi writer who writes books with kick-ass heroines. I was very interested in the fact that your stories have strong female protagonists – I know you don’t write horror or supernatural fiction. Sci-Fi and Fantasy are related genres, and I would love to interview you.
Sorry it took so long to reply- my computer got a horrible virus and I lost all capabilities. Trying slowly to get back online. I would love to have you talk to me. I am trying hard to get my books promoted- it’s difficult. How do you do the interviews? Phone? Email? Whichever way works best for you is great! I look forward to hearing from you. Email me to let me know how and when- llandra@netzero.net
I interview via email, and you can expect an email from me shortly. I am very sorry to hear about your computer virus and I hope you didn’t lose any writing – that’s a writer’s nightmare.
Ms Saulson – there is an egregious error of fact in one of the women in horror you have just published, with a false claim about a Bram Stoker Award nomination. I would like to provide you with the information privately so you can make a correction, please.
Rocky Wood president@horror.org
President – Horror Writers Association
(Proprietor of the Bram Stoker Awards®)
Okay well my email is sumikoska@yahoo.com – let me know what the error is and I will happily correct it.
[…] on my part; I flat out didn’t know about most of them. Which makes me truly grateful to Sumiko Saulson for putting this one […]
Thank you! I also have a giveaway for a copy of the print edition going on, on my Facebook page. There will be one going up on Goodreads soon.
I am loving your short story anthology so far (“Agrippa” is amazing!) I must get a signed copy of the paperback when I’m done! 😉
Awesome! You can get a signed paperback from me for $10 + shipping.
There is a comic book based on the short story “Agrippa,” and you can read it for free online as a eBook here…
http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Agrippa/
HI, MISSED YOUR EASTMONT LECTURES…..
ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY PERHAPS IN THE FUTURE?
I would like to talk with you please.
I am going to see if I can do another class series down there in a couple of months, please do tell the library you are interested, thanks!
Hey,
I have been trying to find websites about black women in horror and came across yours. Plus, I listened to one of your short stories on a podcast, which was thrilling. I just started a blog titled, Spooks. If you get a chance, check it out at blackhorrorreviews.blogspot.com.
Thanks,
Tracie
I would be happy to check out your blog! Thank you for doing the work of drawing attention to black horror!
Thanks for checking me out. It means a lot coming from you!!
Sure! Keep up the great work.