About / Honors
- Daughters of Block Island, winner of the Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in a First Novel
- The Daughters of Block Island, nominated for the Shirley Jackson Awards for Best Novel.
- "Through the Looking Glass and Straight into Hell," from Orphans of Bliss: Tales of Addiction Horror (Wicked Run Press), nominated for the 2022 Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction.
- We Are Providence: Tales of Horror from the Ocean State (Weird House Press), nominated for the 2022 Aurealis Award for Best Anthology.
- Mentioned in The Best Horror of the Year Volume 11, edited by Ellen Datlow, Summation: 2018, Collections: Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked
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Indie Horror Book Award for Best Debut Collection, 2018:
Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked - Best-Of Anthologies: Year's Best Hardcore Horror, Volume 2
Read more via Comet Press, or at Corner Bar Magazine, where "The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell" was originally published, or listen at Horror Hill, Chilling Tales for Dark Nights / The Simply Scary Podcast Network - The Haberdasher's Monster Mash Slash Fiction 4th Annual Halloween Writing Contest, 2017
Read more at The Haberdasher, or at C.S.E. Cooney's website, where "The Goblin's Abettor" was originally published - Best in Genre, Thriller/Horror, wordhaus' 2016 Trick or Treat Fall Story Contest
- Dave Simms offers a stunning review of The Daughters of Block Island for Cemetery Dance: "The gothic horror novel just received a massive shot of adrenaline to its bleak-but-beautiful-heart...a stunning novel that arrives in the final month of the year, just in time for the calendar's longest nights of darkness. In this debut novel, Carmen doesn't attempt to top the classics; instead, she subverts them in a unique manner. She embraces the tropes that made the subgenre what it is and forges an enthralling tale of two sisters, a strange town, and a cast of characters that would make the masters proud...If this is any indication of what Christa Carmen can bring into the world, readers will be smiling under candlelight for years to come. An exceptional new talent has arrived."
- KIRKUS REVIEWS calls The Daughters of Block Island, "Great fun for readers who've done their background reading and want to try a Gothic Plus."
- Of The Daughters of Block Island, Dead Headspace's Brennan LaFaro writes, "What a fine line Christa Carmen has to walk with this book, and how masterfully she walks it… a layered tale that borders on cozy, while never quite allowing the reader to settle in too comfortably...Here lies mystery and secrets, and I was here for it."
Events
Jul 19, 2025
Time: 8 pm
Shirley Jackson Awards
The 2024 Shirley Jackson Awards will be presented in-person at Readercon 34, Conference on Imaginative Literature, in Burlington, Massachusetts
More
Time: 8 pm
Shirley Jackson Awards
The 2024 Shirley Jackson Awards will be presented in-person at Readercon 34, Conference on Imaginative Literature, in Burlington, Massachusetts
More
Jul 21, 2025
Time: 6 pm
Author Talk with Christa Carmen, Somerset Public Library
Join Rhode Island novelist and Bram Stoker award-winning writer Christa Carmen as she discusses her writing process and novels, including The Daughters of Block Island and Beneath the Poet's House. Carmen writes in the "thriller" and "gothic horror" genres, and her books will be available for purchase and signing. This program is free and open to everyone. No registration is required.
More
Time: 6 pm
Author Talk with Christa Carmen, Somerset Public Library
Join Rhode Island novelist and Bram Stoker award-winning writer Christa Carmen as she discusses her writing process and novels, including The Daughters of Block Island and Beneath the Poet's House. Carmen writes in the "thriller" and "gothic horror" genres, and her books will be available for purchase and signing. This program is free and open to everyone. No registration is required.
More
Sep 07, 2025
Dark Arts Festival
Held at the Rhode Island School of Design, Canal Walk, and the Providence Market Square, this all inclusive festival will have over 100 artists, filmmakers, and authors. Also included are world premier films, paranormal investigating presentation, and drag shows. Special guest, sideshows, oddities, and more to be announced…. The show is 100% accessible with handicap parking. Sunday Providence parking is free.
More
Dark Arts Festival
Held at the Rhode Island School of Design, Canal Walk, and the Providence Market Square, this all inclusive festival will have over 100 artists, filmmakers, and authors. Also included are world premier films, paranormal investigating presentation, and drag shows. Special guest, sideshows, oddities, and more to be announced…. The show is 100% accessible with handicap parking. Sunday Providence parking is free.
More