THE DARK SIRE: ACCOLADES (Special Edition Issue, March 2021) | Page 3

Special Edition of TDS

On February 20 , 2021 , from 6-9pm ( EST ), we held the 1 st Annual TDS Creative Awards ceremony on Zoom . The TDS family came together to support each other and to celebrate the eventual winners of the evening . Collectively , the audience represented the U . S ., the U . K ., Australia , the Philippines , and Canada .
The evening began with the reminiscing of TDS and its journey , and why Feb . 20 is an official day of celebration . Special guests spoke on various topics and included : Zachary Shiffman , Dan Stout , Maude Washington , Rami Ungar , Kerry E . B . Black , and John Kiste .
The most memorable of the evening ’ s event , for me , was the reading and viewing of all the works up for an award . There is nothing like hearing a work being read by its creator !
Of course , the evening ended with the presentation of the awards , 13 in all : 3 non-TDS creative awards ; 4 TDS creative awards ; 4 audience choice awards ; 1 TDS cover art award ; and the coveted Dark Sire award . The highlight was when Richard Chizmar , himself , presented the TDS fiction award via video .
To commemorate the evening , I present to you this collection of awardwinning fiction , poetry , and art – the best of the best of not only TDS but of the horror community , as well . Enjoy !
Bre Stephens , Editor March 1 , 2021