This weekend I’m going to be heading to Chester for the latest instalment of Fantasycon. As always there is a programme full of panels, talks and other events on all subjects relating to the fantastical genres. I had a wee look at it over the weekend, actually, and marked out a few things that I want to see – friend’s book launch, another friend’s book launch, friend’s panel, friend’s reading, friend’s reading, another friend’s reading…
So, you’ll notice, what Fantasycon basically means to me is the chance to hang out with friends and celebrate their work. I’m sure I’ve mention on here before (but am too lazy to check my own archives) that I absolutely love hearing authors read their work. And a convention like Fantasycon, which skews to dark fantasy, the supernatural and the weird, represents the opportunity to discover an absolute treasure trove of unique and wonderful writers reading their work.
Of course, I’m doing a few things too to earn my keep. If you’re of a mind, you can find me on two panels over the weekend – Putting the Science in Science Fiction (Friday, 5.30pm) and Corporate History in Speculative Fiction (Saturday, 11.00am) – so pop along if that looks like your bag.
And I’m doing a reading of my own at midday on Sunday, in a Slipstream slot along with the fearsomely talented Helen Marshall and Malcolm Devlin. The story I’m hoping to read has just been completed and I hope will leave the audience with an aftertaste of lingering and indifinable unsettlement, as all the best slipstream stories should.
The piece is called, “Bunting.” Pop along, if you dare.
ayeahmur 