Here’s my Fantasycon schedule:
Friday afternoon – pub
Friday evening – pub and Thai meal
Friday night – heavy metal karaoke!
Saturday morning – breakfast (in pub)
Saturday 2:00 – panel (with a pint)
Saturday afternoon – book launches in the bar
Saturday evening – Indian meal
Cut to: Saturday evening (later) – British Fantasy Awards (with wine)
Saturday night – hotel bar
(possible sleep)
Sunday morning – hotel bar
Hope to see you there! I’ll be the bald one with a goatee …. that narrows it down. A bit.
Firstly, if you’re not a member, why not?
Secondly … go here to check out a huge number of writers now taking part in the new message board. Lots of great writers and great friends on there, and you’ll spend hours looking around and leaving messages.
September 15th, 2009 • Posted in
News |
It’s almost that time of year again, when a bunch of misfits and weirdos get together to talk until their mouths go dry, drink to try and prevent that from happening (indeed, drink the bar dry … it’s happened … I was there), then get up and eat inedible breakfast food (waiter, these aren’t sausages!), drink hot fluid laughingly called ‘tea’, move on from that crappy drink to the other hot fluid available in the hotel that’s called ‘coffee’ but most decidedly isn’t, and then that day and evening do it all again.
Ahh, Fantasycon, my favourite time of the year. Meeting friends I haven’t seen for, sometimes, a whole year. Talking lots. Drinking lots. Spending too much money on too many books that I haven’t got time enough to read.
Love it.
This year I’ll be on an 11am panel on Saturday morning (11am? Who do these people think we are???), talking about writing weekends. It’ll be fun, believe me. There’ll be pictures. Then after the banquet and award ceremony, I’m on a midnight panel on Saturday about apocalyptic fiction.
Now then. Let me explain something. A midnight panel is not a good idea at Fantasycon. Especially considering some of the people I’m on with, I think it’s the panel itself that could be apocalyptic. That’s right. Come along to our midnight panel, and witness the ened of the world as … well, probably as we know it.
I’m also up for a British Fantasy Award for THE REACH OF CHILDREN. Wish me luck!
Midnight panel. Christ.
August 1st, 2009 • Posted in
News |
The British Fantasy Society is proud to present the first in its series of exclusive, annual anthologies. Twenty writers — from seasoned award-winners to rising stars — offer twenty never before published tales.
Offering a broad sample of stories with imagination the only limit. Nearly three hundred, hard-bound pages, 100,000 words of the best in speculative fiction from:
JAMES BARCLAY, ALLYSON BIRD, ANDREW CARTMEL, MARK CHADBOURN, CHRISTOPHER FOWLER, GARY FRY, GARRY KILWORTH, TIM LEBBON, STEVE LOCKLEY, JULIET E. MCKENNA, GARY MCMAHON, MARK MORRIS, ADAM L. G. NEVILL, DANIEL O’MAHONY, SARAH PINBOROUGH, NICHOLAS ROYLE, ROBERT SHEARMAN, STEVE VOLK, KAARON WARREN and CONRAD WILLIAMS.
With an introductory essay from Gail Z. Martin
The only way to own a copy is by being a member of the British Fantasy Society, it is given away exclusively to members and will never appear for sale.
To sign up now — at only £30.00 a year for UK residents — please visit www.britishfantasysociety.org where you can pay by cheque or online via PayPal. Your membership also includes a £10 discount on the attendance rate for Fantasycon, our legendary, annual convention weekend as well as quarterly mailings of the society magazines Prism, Dark Horizons and New Horizons.
We hope to launch this exciting new anthology at FantasyCon 2009 – with many of the contributing authors gathered under one roof and available to sign copies of the book – how can you afford to miss the opportunity to own such a unique publication?
Utterly thrilled to see that THE REACH OF CHILDREN has been shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award. For those who don’t know, this was a novella that Humdrumming published (sort of) just before they went bust … resulting in only about 125 copies getting out there. It’s also an intensely personal piece of writing, and one of the best things I’ve written in years.
You really should nip along and vote: British Fantasy Awards . You can vote if you’re a member of the BFS, or if you attended Fantasycon last year, or if you’re registered to attend this year. And if you’re not registered yet, what the bloody hell are you waiting for? Fantasycon is a highlight of the year for me, meeting up with loads of old friends and drinking and chatting til the sun rises …. then drinking and chatting some more. Let’s hope the hotel gets their stocks in this year.
In other news … coming to the end of the third Hidden Cities book with Christopher Golden, currently titled TELL MY SORROWS TO THE STONES (thought that title might change). Exciting hardback news on this book soon.
Also, I’ve sold another big collection of short fiction and novellas … look for an announcement soon!
The last day for voting in the British Fantasy Awards is Sunday May 31st. If you’re eligible (a member of the BFS, attended Fantasycon last year, or are attending this year) you really should pop along and cast your vote. It’ll only take you five minutes, and it’s important to use your vote.
My novella THE REACH OF CHILDREN, is on the longlist for Best Novella. And speaking of REACH, a new publication has now been confirmed after its all-too-brief appearance from the late lamented Humdrumming. Watch this space for exciting news soon!
April 4th, 2009 • Posted in
News |
The long list for the British Fantasy Awards has been released, and I’m thrilled to see The Reach of Children on there. You can go here to see the full list and to vote.
In other news, yesterday I finished my new novel ECHO CITY FALLS in first draft. It’s the longest book I’ve ever written, and I’m sure it’ll remain that way even after rewrites and edits. So I’m giving myself the weekend off before plunging in to that …
