The ghouls are back in town! After darkness falls, accomplished local authors emerge in BARN's Great Room to read their chilling stories as you treat yourself to yummy treats, wine, and dark 'n' stormy cocktails. You can even come in costume — if you dare.

Authors

In addition to the winner of our Dark and Stormy Night Short-Story Contest, we're excited to have these brilliant authors:  

Luciano Marano

Luciano is an award-winning writer, journalist, and photographer, author of the werewolf novella trilogy "The Ambush Moon Cycle" and numerous works of short fiction, which have appeared in anthologies such as Year’s Best Hardcore Horror and The Best New Weird Horror, as well as Nightscript, Pseudopod and Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. A former staff reporter at both the Bainbridge Review and Port Townsend Leader, he was twice named a Feature Writer of the Year by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.  A U.S. Navy veteran originally from Pennsylvania, he now lives on Bainbridge Island.  

Leslie Lutz

Leslie is the author of "Fractured Tide," a young-adult survival story about an ill-fated scuba diving trip that strands the protagonist on a time-bending island off the Florida Keys (HarperCollins/Blink 2020) and Darkness," a young-adult horror novel about a teenage psychic who comes into possession of a haunted safe (Holiday House 2024). Her poetry and short fiction have appeared in various journals, including Typishly, The Lyric, Raintown Review, and Orca Literary Journal. Leslie lives in Poulsbo, and when she’s not writing, you can find her watching B-horror movies, scuba diving, or taking care of chickens.

Stephanie Kallos

Stephanie spent 20 years in the theatre as an actor and teacher before coming out of the closet as a writer. Author of the novels "Broken for You," "Sing Them Home," "Language Arts," and (forthcoming in 2026) "Monarch's Row," Stephanie lives on Echo Lake in Shoreline, Washington.

Garth Stein

Garth is the author of the internationally bestselling novel "The Art of Racing in the Rain," which has sold more than six million copies and was adapted into a major motion picture. His other works include "Raven Stole the Moon," "How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets," and "A Sudden Light." He is also the co-creator, with artist Matthew Southworth, of the graphic novel series "The Cloven." Born and raised in Seattle, Stein draws deeply on the Pacific Northwest's landscapes and cultures in his storytelling, blending emotional depth, myth, and satire.

Martha Brockenbrough

Martha has worked as a journalist, a teacher, the editor of MSN.com, and a question writer for Cranium and Trivial Pursuit. She is program director at the University of San Francisco MFA in Writing for Young Readers. A lifelong Seattle resident, Martha has written two books for adults and 24 books for young readers.

Kirby Larsen

Kirby is afraid of many things, unlike her great-grandmother, who braved wolves and sub-zero temps to prove up on a homestead claim in Montana, inspiring the Newbery Honor book "Hattie Big Sky"; and unlike her daughter, who bravely lives with Crohn's disease and is the inspiration for their recent collaboration, "Gut Reaction." She is especially afraid of reading scary stories. But, thanks to Lynn Brunelle's hand-holding, she is no longer afraid of writing them.

Lynn Brunelle

Lynn (our esteemed MC) is a four-time Emmy Award-winning writer for "Bill Nye the Science Guy," and a best-selling author of over 60 titles, including 2025 Robert Sibert Medal winner "Life After Whale" and Washington Book Award finalist "Haiku Ew!" She has given TED Talks, spoken at the UN about STEAM education, and written for Sesame Street, National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, Disney, Scholastic, Random House, Penguin, Chronicle, Workman, ABC TV, NBC, NPR, and PBS.