WIHM 2026: Meet Briana Cox

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you contribute to the horror genre.
I am a writer based in Nashville, Tennessee. I've been working as a speculative fiction-- mostly horror-- screenwriter for many years and have my debut horror novel, INDIGENT, releasing this March! As for the content of my work, I gravitate towards psychological horror, body horror, and surreal horror with diverse casts of characters. 

What drew you to the horror genre?
I have been interested in horror since I was a child. Like many people, my intro to the genre was through Stephen King -- both the books and his television miniseries adaptations for IT and Salem's Lot. As an artist and consumer of art, I've always been drawn to macabre, surreal, and darker themes and imagery. I love horror for the extreme empathy it facilitates between the audience and the characters experiencing the horror, as well as the cathartic factor of being able to see fears and anxieties that are often taboo to talk about directly given space, given form and voice in a genre that not only allows for acknowledgement of the taboo but expects it.
 
If you could recommend one creation of horror that everyone should consume, whether that be a book, podcast, movie, art, etc., what would you recommend?

I will always enthusiastically recommend a short horror game called Anatomy, independently produced by game developer Kitty Horrorshow. It is a perfect example, to me, of what "horror" can do and how horror is all a matter of framing. Anatomy is a simple walking simulator game that takes about an hour to play. You play as an unnamed character walking around a basic, empty suburban house collecting cassette tapes about how various different rooms in a house can be seen as a metaphor for a part of the human body. Almost nothing happens. But the framing provided by the tapes, the discussion of a bedroom or closet or kitchen as something that exists in the same space as so many horrific ideas, makes it supremely unsettling. Find it: https://kittyhorrorshow.itch.io/anatomy  

When folks look back at the Women in Horror movement of today’s day and age, what do you think the defining characteristic will be?
I think women in horror will be remembered for the fresh voice they bring to old horror tropes. In a genre that relies on empathy, framing, and new lenses to find the horror in situations that were once deemed "normal" the point of view of women is integral. So many traditional horror tropes relied on women-as-written-and-understood-by-men to function and to derive their scares. With more and more women taking the reigns of our story back, new horror and overlooked over can finally be delved into. 

Who are some women in horror you think more people should discover?
If you are looking for more excellent horror, I love to suggest authors who exist at the intersection of multiple marginalization. Queer women, racialized women. Etc. Check out Tananarive Due, L Marie Wood, Eden Royce, Kailee Pedersen, Helen Oyeyemi, Monica Ojeda, V Castro, and Tiffany Morris when you get the chance! 

Where can folks find you these days?
You can find me giving many, many book (and sometimes film) recommendations on Threads and Instagram at @pedroparo2. I also do the occasional literary, film, and cultural criticism post on my Ko-Fi. For more information about me, my work, and where to find me, you can check out my website brianancoxwriter.com. You can also find me at the Licensed 2 Thrill horror/thriller book event in Nashville and the Horror on the Mississippi event this year, both in October

https://linktr.ee/briana.n.cox