Ghouls, the 2025 Ghoulish Book Festival in San Antonio, TX is just over two weeks away, and we are exhausted & excited to finally reveal our programming for Friday March 14th & Saturday March 15th. If you haven’t already purchased a badge, you can do so HERE. Reminder: badges are only required for attending the panels, workshops, & live readings. The vendor room and Saturday Night Mass Author Signing will be available to the public.
Our venue is a three-floor building (basement, first floor, second floor). The vendor room and bar is located in the basement. Readings & workshops can be found on the first floor. Our panels, storytelling contest, and mass author signing will take place on the second floor.
Friday March 14th
10:00 | Registration for Badgeholders & Exclusive Shopping Time
Come collect your GBF badges and shop in the vendor room before we open to the public.
11:00-12:00 | One-Location Horror
So many books and movies in the horror genre truly excel when their characters are trapped in a single setting. Why is that? What about one-setting horror stories do we find so fascinating? Let’s explore!
Moderator: John Chambers
Panelists: Bob Pastorella, Chris Panatier, Paul Avery Tindol, Ryan C. Bradley
12:00 | Bookshop Opens to the Public / No Badge Necessary
12:00-12:30 | Reading: Paul Avery Tindol & John Baltisberger
12:30-1:30 Lunch
Seriously, go eat.
1:30-2:30 | “You Should Write a Book About My Life” and 10,000 Other Things Writers Are Sick of You Telling Them
A panel for writers to rant about their very hard lives, which will somehow be different from every other panel.
Moderator: Rebecca Rowland
Panelists: Abby Goldsmith, Josh Rountree, Richard Santos, Susan Snyder
2:30-3:30 | The Kaiju Panel
This is the panel where we talk about kaiju.
Moderator: John Baltisberger
Panelists: Rob Saucedo, Zach Chapman, Matt Blairstone, Juan Manuel Perez
2:30-3:30 Doodle Daze with Andrew Hilbert (workshop)
Doodle and unwind with Andrew Hilbert*. There are no expectations, nothing to learn, just you and a pen/pencil/crayon drawing whatever you want. It’s better than doom scrolling!
*Do not look him in the eyes.
3:30-4:00 | Reading: Chris Panatier & Ryan C. Bradley
4:00-5:00 | Intro to Indie Horror Publishing
What the heck is indie horror publishing? How does it work? Well, buddy, we’re gonna tell you.
Moderator: Justin Lutz
Panelists: Jess Hagemann, L. P. Hernandez, Lori Michelle Booth, Matt Blairstone
5:00-5:30 | Reading: Susan Snyder & J. W. Donley
5:30-6:30 | At the End of This Panel, One of Us Has to Die
Panelists spend the panel debating who among them should be killed at the end, and how.
Moderator: Chris Panatier
Panelists: Justin Lutz, Andrew Hilbert, John Wayne Comunale, Zach Chapman
5:30-6:30 Pretending to be Fairy Princesses 101 with John Baltisberger (workshop)
Are you interested in tabletop roleplaying games but the bar is too high? Do you love pissing off John and forcing him to “yes and . . . “ your inane bullshit? Do you wish with every fiber of your being you could be a fairy princess? If the answers to any of these questions is “Sure, I guess,” join John for this Roleplaying Game session where everyone will get to be the players in some D&D-y goodness.
6:30-7:30 Bookshop Closes & Dinner Break
You will have to wait until tomorrow to continue shopping. Please go eat something before you die. We will not be responsible for your corpse.
7:30-8:30 | The Spooky Spelling Bee
Horror authors attempt to spell scary words.
Moderator: Lori Michelle Booth
Panelists: Matt Brandenburg, Justin Lutz, Michel Tichy, Abby Goldsmith, Jess Hagemann, Ryan C. Bradley, Michael Allen Rose, Miguel Myers, Patrick Barb
8:30-9:00 | Reading: Bob Pastorella & John Wayne Comunale
9:30-11:30 | Curious Twins Paranormal Ghost Tour (TICKETS REQUIRED)
Everybody will meet out front on the sidewalk at 9:15pm for the ghost tour. Note: tickets are required for this event! Come explore the Riverwalk’s haunted history on this tour as we share about indigenous burial and life along the river, bizarre murders and executions, San Antonio’s red-light district, haunted bars and clubs as well as tragic floods that changed the course of our city’s history.
Saturday March 15th
10:00 | Bookshop Opens to the Public / No Badge Necessary
10:00-11:00 | Kickstarter? I Hardly Know Her!
Tips & tricks to running a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Moderator: Zach Chapman
Panelists: Matt Blairstone, Alex Woodroe, John Baltisberger
11:00-11:30 | Reading: Abby Goldsmith & Michael Tichy
11:30-12:30 Decorate your own coffin with Lori Booth (workshop)
We all need one. Why not make yours as unique as you?
11:30-12:30 | The Art of Monsterfucking
Look, let’s face it. Monsters are hot, and we want to have sex with them. Sometimes we have to settle for writing about having sex with them. This is a panel about monsterfucking. (18+ Attendees Only!)
Moderator: Susan Snyder
Panelists: John Baltisberger, Michael Louis Dixon, Abby Goldsmith
12:30-1:30 | The Horror Collectors’ Guide to Collecting
Panelists share what horror-themed collections they have, and offer advice on maintaining your own collections. Movies, books, teeth—you name it, baby!
Moderator: Miguel Myers
Panelists: Michael Louis Dixon, Patrick Barb, Rob Saucedo
1:30-2:00 | Lunch Break
Put some food in your face.
2:00-2:30 | Reading: John Chambers & Richard Santos
2:30-3:30 | GHOULMASTER
Panelists attempt to perform live tasks to appease the Ghoulmaster. Alex Horne please don’t sue us.
Moderator: Max Booth III
Panelists: Miguel Myers, Bob Pastorella, Matthew Jackson, Michael Allen Rose
3:00-4:00 Doom Metal Yoga with Taylor Fox (workshop)
Doom Yoga is for ghouls who like heavy music, chill vibes, and connecting to their selves physically and mentally. These contrasting yet harmonious elements invite space for exploring deeper themes like fear, resistance, and the broad spectrum of our human experience. This practice promises to be equal parts relaxing and dynamic, and is for all folks who want to move their body, breathe, and be in community.
3:30-4:30 | Creating Art During the Apocalypse
Oh no, everything sucks! How are we supposed to continue being creative when it feels like the world is ending? How do we promote anything when every social media platform is owned by a bootlicking fascist? What’s the point of doing anything anymore? Welcome to your Ghoulish therapy session.
Moderator: Matt Brandenburg
Panelists: Matthew Jackson, Patrick Barb, Josh Rountree, Richard Santos
4:30-5:00 | Reading: Juan Manual Perez & Justin Lutz
5:00-6:00 | Mystery Panel!
Panelists and audience members will have no idea what this panel is until it starts. Cowards don’t apply.
Moderator: Max Booth III
Panelists: Bob Pastorella, Alex Woodroe, John Wayne Comunale, Michael Tichy
6:00-7:00 | Bookstore Closes & Dinner Break
Our vendor room has closed, but do not be sad, because now it’s time to stuff your spooky little mouths with some supper.
7:00-8:00 | Ghoulish Book Festival Clipshow Finale
Is this the last GBF? Who knows! Maybe! To celebrate, we look back at previous years and discuss memorable incidents.
Moderator: Ryan C. Bradley
Panelists: Matt Brandenburg, Michael Allen Rose, Andrew Hilbert, L.P. Hernandez
8:00-8:30 | Reading: Rob Saucedo & Max Booth III
8:30-10:00 | Mass Author Signing and Ak’chamel performance
Free to the public! No badge required! Live Music!
Upstairs, in our ballroom (the panel room) a certifiable buttload of horror writers will be selling and signing their books for anyone cool enough to cross their paths. Writers such as . . .
Josh Rountree, Richard Santos, Michael Allen Rose, Chris Panatier, Bob Pastorella, Susan Snyder, Michael Louis Dixon, Juan Manuel Perez, Zach Chapman, Ronald Malfi, J.W. Donley, John Baltisberger, Andrew Hilbert, Patrick Barb, L. P. Hernandez, Paul Avery Tindol, John Wayne Comunale, Abby Goldsmith, John Chambers, Justin Lutz, Miguel Myers and Max Booth III.
10:00-11:00 | The Annual Ghoulish Book Festival Spooky Campfire Storyteller’s Horror Storytelling Contest™ (2025)
Featuring spooky readings from . . .
Patrick Barb, L. P. Hernandez, Justin Lutz, Ryan C. Bradley, Rob Saucedo, Michael Allen Rose, Michael Louis Dixon, and John Baltisberger
FESTIVAL VENDORS
GHOULISH BOOKS ~ ANDREW HILBERT ~ ABBY GOLDSMITH ~ CHRIS PANATIER ~ FIGHTING CHUPACABRAS PRESS ~ ELFORD ALLEY ~ HOUSE OF BLOOD ~ INTERSTELLAR FLIGHT PRESS ~ JOHN CHAMBERS ~ JOHN WAYNE COMUNALE ~ JUSTIN LUTZ ~ LAST GIRLS CLUB ~ LESLY JULIEN ~ L.P. HERNANDEZ (SOBELO BOOKS) ~ MADNESS HEART PRESS ~ MIGUEL MYERS ~ PATRICK BARB ~ PAUL AVERY TINDOL ~ ROB SAUCEDO ~ RYAN C. BRADLEY ~ SUGAR CLOUDS GOURMET COTTON CANDY ~ TENEBROUS PRESS
LIVE MUSIC FROM AK’CHAMEL
Ak’chamel will be playing spooky live music during the mass author signing. Attendance available for both badgeholders and non-badgeholders!
The mysterious collective Ak’chamel has built a solid reputation as an evocative stage project. Wearing nightmarish costumes and engaging in strange hallucinatory rituals… Their singular sound comprising desert-scorched psychedelia, post-apocalyptic shamanism, and lo-fi ritual-folk is as unique as the physical theater of their live performances.
FESTIVAL SPONSORS
A huge thank-you to our wonderful ghoulish sponsors this year…
Dead Sky Publishing
Cemetery Gates Media
Curious Corvid Publishing
Larry Hinkle
Little Ghosts Books
Madness Heart Games
Madness Heart Press
Pallbearer Press
Plus! A thank-you to our kick-ass volunteers: Zach Chapman, Andrew Hilbert, Miguel Myers, Taylor Fox, John Baltisberger, and Mark Scioneaux.
GHOULISH DISCORD
Click HERE to join the Ghoulish Discord. Most festival updates will be posted here before anywhere else.
ADDRESS/LOCATIONS
As a reminder, the Ghoulish Book Festival will be at the Hermann Sons Home Association Building at 525 S. St. Marys, San Antonio, TX. The vendor room will be in the basement next to the bar. The live readings & craft events will take place on the first floor. The panels, mass author signing, and spooky campfire storytelling contest will occur on the top floor in the ballroom.
HOURS
On Friday, the festival begins at 10am (panels and badge-holder vendor room access). The vendor room opens to the general public (badge or no badge) at 12pm. The vendor room closes at 6pm. The festival’s other activities end at 9pm, followed by the ghost tour at 9:30pm. On Saturday, everything kicks off again at 10am. The vendor room closes at 6pm. The other activities conclude at 11pm.
PARKING
There is NO PARKING available at the festival building on Friday, but there are nearby affordable lots you can use. On Saturday, you will be able to park behind the LEFT-HAND BUILDING (where our festival is occurring) but make sure to find either myself (Max) or Lori or the bartender to scan a QR code so you don’t get a ticket.
FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE
Click HERE to keep track of the event via the Facebook Event Page.
ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY
Ghoulish Book Festival is dedicated to providing a harassment-free convention experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of convention attendees in any form. Attendees violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the convention without a refund at the discretion of the festival staff. We also reserve the right to refuse admission from known harassers.
Reporting harassment: If you witness or experience any form of harassment while attending Ghoulish Book Festival, please email us at ghoulishbookfest@gmail.com. All staff members will also be clearly visible by their badges and clothing.
COVID
While current Bexar County regulations prohibit mask and vaccine mandates, we strongly encourage attendees to be fully vaccinated and wear a mask while at the festival. Note: county regulations may change by the time of the festival, so please check back for updates. A HEPA filter will be running in the vendor room. A limited amount of KN95s will be available at our check-in area.
CONTACT
Email ghoulishbookfest@gmail.com with any questions and we will try to respond as quickly as we can. We also recommending subscribing to our FREE NEWSLETTER to avoid missing any other important updates.