About Horror Scope
Horror Scope is Australia's most enduring horror webzine: a platform for dark fiction literature, film criticism, and the community that keeps Australian horror alive.
How Horror Scope began
Horror Scope launched in 2005 as a Brimstone Press publication under the editorial direction of Shane Jiraiya Cummings. Brimstone Press and Cummings founded Horror Scope to create a serious critical home for Australian horror at a time when the genre was producing some of its most ambitious work. The webzine filled a genuine gap: coverage that took dark fiction and horror cinema as seriously as their practitioners did.
Horror Scope has published without interruption since that launch, building a record that few Australian literary webzines can match. Horror Scope covers horror fiction from debut short story collections to established novelists, and horror film from international studio releases to independent Australian productions that rarely reach mainstream outlets.
That breadth, combined with consistent editorial standards, is what earned Horror Scope two Ditmar Awards, the Australian speculative fiction community's highest recognition for excellence in the field.
Dark Fiction Coverage
Horror Scope reviews short story anthologies, novellas, debut collections, and novels from Australian and international dark fiction authors. Horror Scope applies the same critical rigour to a chapbook as it does to a Bram Stoker-nominated novel.
Film Criticism
Horror Scope covers horror cinema from every angle: festival premieres, streaming releases, and overlooked Australian productions that deserve a wider audience. Horror Scope brings an Australian perspective to an international genre.
Community News
As the official news partner of the Australian Horror Writers Association, Horror Scope publishes award announcements, submission calls, author interviews, and industry updates that keep the Australian horror community informed and connected.
What do two Ditmar Awards mean?
The Ditmar Awards are voted on by members of the Australian science fiction and fantasy community at the national convention each year. Horror Scope has earned two Ditmar Awards, a measure of the trust and respect the speculative fiction community places in the webzine's coverage and criticism.
The awards are not a marketing claim. They are votes cast by writers, editors, and readers who know the field. For Horror Scope, two Ditmars confirm that the editorial approach Brimstone Press and Shane Jiraiya Cummings built in 2005 has maintained genuine relevance across more than two decades of Australian dark fiction.
Two Ditmar Awards
Voted by the Australian speculative fiction community
The Australian Horror Writers Association
Horror Scope serves as the official news partner for the Australian Horror Writers Association, the peak body for horror and dark fiction writers across Australia. The AHWA supports writers at every stage of their careers, from first publication to award-winning careers in genre fiction.
Horror Scope publishes AHWA award announcements, submission calls, event listings, and membership news. Horror Scope connects the association's members with readers and the wider Australian literary community, providing a public-facing editorial presence that extends the AHWA's reach.
The partnership reflects a shared commitment: that Australian horror deserves the same serious attention as any other literary tradition, and that a dedicated community makes better writing possible.
Shane Jiraiya Cummings
Shane Jiraiya Cummings co-founded Horror Scope with Brimstone Press in 2005. Cummings is an editor and writer whose work in Australian dark fiction spans more than two decades. Horror Scope reflects Cummings's conviction that Australian horror has a voice, a history, and a future worth documenting in depth.
Cummings has shaped Horror Scope into the community hub it is today: a publication that covers the full spectrum of Australian dark fiction with critical seriousness and genuine enthusiasm for the genre.
"Horror Scope exists because Australian horror deserves a serious, dedicated platform."
Explore Horror Scope
Horror Scope publishes dark fiction reviews, film criticism, and Australian horror community news. Start with the reviews.
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