Panel: Poe's Influence on Lovecraft
Lovecraft famously referred to Edgar Allan Poe as both his “model” and his “God of Fiction” and the connection between Poe and Lovecraft's work is widely recognized. Panelists discuss how Poe's style and subject matter related to Lovecraft's more Gothic stories.
Screenwriter of 2023's Suitable Flesh, directed by Joe Lynch and based on H. P. Lovecraft's "The Thing on The Doorstep", Dennis Paoli achieved his greatest enduring cult popularity by penning the wickedly witty scripts for two superior 80s H.P. Lovecraft adaptations directed by noted horror genre icon Stuart Gordon: the terrific Re-Animator and its equally excellent follow-up From Beyond. Paoli and Gordon first crossed paths working for the experimental Organic Theater in Chicago. Besides those two films, Paoli has also written The Pit and the Pendulum, Castle Freak, Dagon and the Masters of Horror episodes "H.P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House" and "The Black Cat" for Gordon. Paoli has done several screenplays for prolific low-budget movie producer Charles Band: a segment of the horror anthology Pulse Pounders, Spellcaster, Meridian, and Ghoulies II. He collaborated with Larry Cohen and Nicholas St. John on the script for Abel Ferrara's supremely creepy and underrated sci-fi/horror winner Body Snatchers. In addition to those credits, Paoli wrote the gruesome The Dentist for Brian Yuzna. Outside of writing screenplays, Dennis Paoli has a regular day job as a Writing Instructor and Coordinator of the Hunter College Writing Center at Hunter College in New York. He's especially knowledgeable on Irish literature and has taught a course on Gothic fiction.
Carrie Dalby, a California native, has lived in Mobile, Alabama, since 1996. The summer of 2023 marked the release of her fifteenth book. She’s published several non-fiction articles in national and international magazines, served two terms as president of Mobile Writers Guild, worked as the Mobile area Local Liaison for SCBWI from 2012-2017, and helps coordinate the Mobile Literary Festival. When Carrie is not reading, writing, browsing bookstores/libraries, or homeschooling, she can often be found knitting or attending concerts.
Cody Goodfellow has written nine novels and five collections of short stories, and edits the hyperpulp zine Forbidden Futures, and has won three Wonderland Book Awards. His comics work has been featured in Mystery Meat, Creepy, Slow Death Zero and Skin Crawl. As an actor, he has appeared in numerous short films, TV shows, music videos by Anthrax and Beck, and a Days Inn commercial. He wrote, co-produced and scored the Lovecraftian hygiene films Baby Got Bass and Stay At Home Dad, which can be viewed on YouTube.
Tedd Walley is the creator of the graphic novel series Mathilda: The Forces of Evil vs. The 3rd Grade, and has written Horror movies and short stories. He is a Movie artist for Netflix’s Point Blank and CBS’ NCI: New Orleans, an Artist for The Misfits, Blowfly, Genitorturers, and Endless Night Vampire’s Ball. He is a two time NISOD award winner for college art education.