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In celebration of National Library Lover’s Day and Friday the 13th, the Horror Writers Association (HWA), in partnership with Booklist, Book Riot, iREAD, and NoveList®, a division of EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO), is delighted to announce the eighth annual Summer Scares reading list, which includes titles selected by a panel of authors and library workers and is designed to promote Horror as a great reading option for all ages, during any time of the year.
This year, Summer Scares welcomes New York TImes Bestselling author Jennifer McMahon as the 2026 spokesperson.
“We need horror now more than ever. Stories to unsettle us, to make us question what we think we know, to show us how to confront the darkness and come out the other side,” said McMahon. “Stories that we will put down and feel changed by. This collection of books chosen by the Summer Scares committee perfectly showcases the true diversity of horror today, and is more evidence that we are at the peak of a horror renaissance. These are books to get lost in, books to share with others in your life, books to talk about and ponder over. So come along, take my hand and prepare to step into the darkness with me this summer. Yes, there’s plenty of scary stuff in these books. But there’s also a whole lot of hope. Oh, and don’t close your eyes — you don’t want to miss a thing along the way.”
Every year, three titles are selected in each of three categories: Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade. For 2026 those selected titles are:
Adult Selections:
The Fright Stuff
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Young Adult Selections:
- Our Shadows Have Claws edited by Yamile Saied Méndez & Amparo Ortiz (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2022)
Middle Grade Selections:
Summer Scares aims to introduce Horror titles to school and public library workers so they can start conversations with readers that extend beyond the books on each list and promote reading for years to come. In addition to the annual list of recommended titles, the Summer Scares Programming Guide—free for any library to access—is back with the tools libraries need to connect with their patrons.
“The 2026 guide, developed and designed by the HWA Libraries team, is the library worker’s roadmap to providing exciting and meaningful experiences for their communities through Summer Scares, whether they’re putting up book displays, leading discussion groups, developing events, or orchestrating an entire Summer Scares program series,” states Konrad Stump, co-creator of the programming guide. “With select titles aligned with iREAD’s 2026 theme (Plant a Seed, Read), the guide makes it easy for libraries across the world to incorporate Summer Scares into their summer reading programs and engage patrons of all ages in the horror genre.”
The guide will be available beginning March 1, 2026 on the Summer Scares Resource page.
Along with the guide, the Summer Scares committee will work with both the recommended list authors and Horror authors from all over the country to provide free programming to libraries. Any library looking to host horror-themed events anytime of year is encouraged to email [email protected] to get started.
Booklist is helping to kick off Summer Scares 2026 in March with a series of three free webinars with this year’s featured authors in conversation with committee members:
- Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 2pm Eastern, featuring our Middle-Grade authors and moderated by Julia Smith
- Monday, March 23, 2026, at 2pm Eastern, featuring our Young Adult authors and moderated by Kelly Jensen
- Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 2pm Eastern, featuring our Adult authors and moderated by Jennifer McMahon
Each webinar lasts one hour. Anyone may register to participate for free at https://www.booklistonline.com/webinars. Recordings will be available for on-demand viewing after the live events at https://www.booklistonline.com/webinars-archive.
All are welcome to join the Summer Scares committee and featured authors at the HWA’s Librarians’ Day, taking place in person on Friday, June 5, 2026 in Pittsburg, PA as part of StokerConⓇ. Please visit https://www.stokercon.com/ for more information.
The HWA is a non-profit organization of writers and publishing professionals and the oldest organization dedicated to the Horror/Dark Fiction genre. One of the HWA’s missions is to foster an appreciation of reading through extensive programming and partnerships with libraries, schools, and literacy-based organizations.
The 2026 Summer Scares program committee consists of author Jennifer McMahon, HWA Library Committee Co-Chairs Becky Spratford and Konrad Stump, as well as academic library director and ILA President Carolyn Ciesla, Book Riot Senior Editor and YA specialist Kelly Jensen, Booklist Senior Editor and Middle Grade specialist Julia Smith, and Manager of Reader Content and Services at NoveList Yaika Sabat.
For more information about the Summer Scares reading program, including committee member bios and how to obtain promotional materials and schedule events with the authors/committee members, please visit the Summer Scares Resource Page or email HWA Library Committee Co-Chairs Becky Spratford and Konrad Stump at [email protected].
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