Hello Darkness, My Old Friend: The Enduring Appeal of Horror
Description
Join us for this live virtual panel discussion, and be sure to check out our full list of sessions for this year's event at: FictionFest.ca/events
Lineup
Mark Leslie
Mark Leslie writes horror, true ghost stories, urban fantasy, and thrillers, a passion he has pursued for more than 40 years. His first short story was published in 1992—the same year he started working as a bookseller. The author of more than thirty books, he is best known for the humorous Canadian Werewolf urban fantasy series follows that Michael Andrews, a Canadian mystery writer trying to survive Manhattan while turning into a grey wolf every full moon; the newest installment, Once Bitten (2026), tells his origin story. Mark's darker side appears in the horror novel I, Death, the short story collection One Hand Screaming, and paranormal non-fiction titles that include Haunted Hamilton, Spooky Sudbury, Macabre Montreal, Creepy Capital, and more, which dig into real Canadian hauntings. He lives in Waterloo, Ontario, where he can usually be found behind the keyboard or wandering, awestruck, through bookstores.
Dianna Gunn
Dianna Gunn is a freelance writer by day and a fantasy author by night. Her dark fantasy novel, Moonshadow’s Guardian, was released in November 2018 and followed with Moonshadow’s Champion in 2024, completing the Moonshadow Rising Duology. Gunn’s shorter fiction has appeared in Broken Olive Branches, Tiny Frontiers, Tiny Dungeons, and the award-winning Nothing Without Us, Too. She also published many of her own flash fiction pieces in Killer Debt: An Anthology of Murder, as well as publishing others’ stories in Choices: An Anthology of Reproductive Horror. In 2026, Gunn returned to long-form fiction with the release of her first gothic horror novel, Woman of Sorrow and Blood. With this project completed, she plans to return to fantasy next, writing a new series in the world of Moonshadow.
Felix I.D. Dimaro
Born in Nigeria, raised in Toronto, Felix I.D. Dimaro is an author of dark, allegorical, psychological fiction, often centering around morality, mental health, societal conditions, the environment, or the real-life issues he has experienced. He has released eleven books to date, including the apocalyptic thrillers, “Black Bloom: A Story of Survival” and "2222", as well as the Killer Cat Thrillers, “Humane Sacrifice: The Story of the Aztec Killer" and "In the Darkness, Eyes and Teeth”. When not writing, Dimaro is usually reading, watching sports, or running even though no one is chasing him. You can read his latest release, Neon Apocalypse, a serialized novella, for free at thingsthatkeepmeupatnight.com.
Frank Paul Beghin
Frank Paul Beghin, a University of Toronto graduate and married father of two, became an avid reader of fiction early in his childhood. As a young boy, he devoured comic books (much to the chagrin of his parents, but bless them for letting a child's passion for reading grow), and he reveled in the comics' extraordinary worlds. When he got older, the books that interested him the most were novels that dealt with fantasy or the supernatural. Being imaginative, it wasn't long before Frank started to make up his own stories. His tales of fantasy and horror have appeared in both anthologies and ezines Frank's debut novel, "Sweet Creatures: A Trilogy of Terror," was released in early June of 2025 and was published by DarkWinter Press.
HOSTED BY: Steve Hugh Westenra
Steve is a trans author of fantasy, science fiction, and horror (basically, if it’s weird he writes it). He's also a book reviewer, a SFINCS and SPFBO judge, and runs the Trans Reading Group discord. He grew up on the eldritch shores of Newfoundland, Canada, and currently lives and works in (the slightly less eldritch) Montreal. He holds advanced degrees in Russian Literature, Medieval Studies, and Religious Studies. His current academic work focuses on marginalized reclamations of monstrous figures. He has taught the History of Satan; Religion and its Monsters; and Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion. Steve is passionate about queerness, Late Antiquity, and spiders.
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