Authors Adam Millard, Dave Jeffery and Steve Byrne will be made welcome at Drummonds Bar at The Swan with Two Nicks, 19 June 2013. They will form a panel to discuss with local writers and horror aficionados what horror writing is about and how the best writers approach it.

Steve Byrne is the author of ‘Phoenix’, a dark horror novel set during the Vietnam War. He’s had a number of short stories published – the latest will appear in the anthology ‘No Monsters Allowed’. Steve was born and bred in Wolverhampton. His parents soon feared that something wasn’t right. While the other kids were reading Enid Blyton, his head was buried in a copy of the latest James Herbert.

Dave Jeffery is perhaps best known for his zombie novel Necropolis Rising which has gone on to be a UK #1 Bestseller. His Young Adult work includes the critically acclaimed Beatrice Beecham Series, BBC: Headroom endorsed Finding Jericho and the 2012 Edge Hill Prize Long-listed Campfire Chillers short story collection. His short story Daddy Dearest features in the award-winning Holiday of the Dead anthology (this is Horror Awards, Best Anthology, 2012).

Adam Millard is the author of thirteen novels and more than a hundred short stories. Probably best known for his post-apocalyptic fiction, Adam also writes fantasy/horror for children. He created the character Peter Crombie, Teenage Zombie just so he had something decent to read to his son at bedtime. Adam also writes Bizarro fiction for several publishers, who enjoy his tales of flesh-eating clown-beetles and rabies-infected derrieres so much that they keep printing them. When he’s not writing about the nightmarish creatures battling for supremacy, Adam writes for ‘This Is Horror’, whose columnists include Shaun Hutson, Simon Bestwick and Simon Marshall-Jones.

Go along to hear what Adam, Dave and Steve have to tell us about successfully publishing their work. They will value your questions and give you insight to the world of horror and publication in the genre. Tickets are just £3 on the door. Keep up with www.facebook.com/42worcester for further information.

The event will begin with a host of activities in both cinema spaces, including reading and Q+A sessions with the three Guests of Honour – Ken MacLeod, Adam Roberts and Ian R MacLeod. The cinemas will also host a range of panels, including sessions looking at the world of independent publishing, how to write great short stories, science-fiction’s place in the mainstream, the comic and graphic novel scene and many more.

These panels and readings offer a great chance to find out more about science-fiction on the whole, and these will be running alongside a number of ‘kafeeklatsch’ sessions. These allow audience members the chance to join an informal chat with their favourite authors – a unique chance to ask the questions that you may have for some of the leading writers on the day.

The courtyard area will be hosting a booksales area, featuring a range of booksellers and independent presses. Already confirmed are Wolverhampton Waterstones, Pendragon Press, Screaming Dreams, Fringeworks, Aethernet Magazine and more, offering you the chance to pick up some incredible bargains!

The evening of the event brings a host of fun activities to wrap up the day, including the live raffle draw, with some incredible prizes to give away. There will also be the mass signing – giving you the perfect chance to get your books at home or new purchases on the day signed – as well as a science-fiction quiz to close, with more fantastic prizes to be won!

Finally, you’ll be able to enjoy the Futura ‘Area of Ale’, with a great range of local beers and ales available to try. Both this and the bar will be open until late, giving you the chance to relax socialise after the day’s events draw to a close.

Event organiser Alex Davis said: ‘I’m really excited by the schedule of this event, which offers a great range of activities from the serious and professional to the light-hearted and fun. With so much to choose from, anyone coming along to the event is bound to find plenty to attend!’

Tickets to Futura are £25 for the day, including access to all of the above activities throughout. To book, call Light House Box Office on 01902 716055 or visit http://light-house.co.uk/featured/2013/05/futura-sci-fi-convention/

We’re pleased to have two tickets to this fantastic event, worth £50, to give away to one lucky winner! We’re just looking for an answer to the following…

Guest of Honour Adam Roberts has been nominated for the Arthur C Clarke award three times. For your chance to win, simply name any one of the titles that have received a nomination.

Email your answer to us at competitions@britishfantasysociety.org with a subject line of “FUTURA COMPETITION”. The closing date is 5th June. One winner will be drawn at random from all correct entries.

In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in the areas of science fiction and fantasy in general, and within the fan communities themselves an interest in studying works in this domain more closely. We therefore intend the conference to be accessible to the well informed non-academic, whilst still remaining valuable for those within the field.

We welcome contributions from any field that intersects with science fiction or fantasy, including the following:

Attendance is free at these Ways into Writing one hour taster sessions. Attendees will need to bring a pen, paper, a board or notepad to lean on, plus their imagination. Allen’s workshops are practical – you will be writing within 5 minutes.

If you want to reserve a place or if you have any queries, such as how to get to the venue, please email Allen on allenashley-writer (at) hotmail.co.uk

Please put the name of the venue (e.g. Chipping Barnet) in the subject bar.

Workshops will run on:

Saturday 19 January 2013 from 10.30am to 11.30am at Chipping Barnet Library, Stapleton Road, Barnet EN5 4QT

Monday 4 February 2013 from 5pm to 6pm at the Bull Theatre, 68 High Street, BarnetEN5 5SJ

Tuesday 5 February 2013 from 12noon to 1pm at Finsbury Library, 245 St John Street, Islington, London EC1V 4NB

Tuesday 19 February 2013 from 2.30pm to 3.30pm at Central Library, 2 Fieldway Crescent, Islington, London N5 1PF.

ManMoth Productions

The year is – the future. Two complete strangers wake up on a tiny shuttle in the middle of deep space. Tyler (Cliff Chapman), a sarcastic, over-confident entrepreneur, finds himself trapped with Gary (Adam Joselyn), an insufferably chirpy conman. The Syndicate has sentenced them both to death – they have one hour before their shuttle plunges nose-first into the asteroid belt. Can they work together to survive? Are they doomed to irritate each other into oblivion? Or will they thwart an evil empire in time for tea and Deal or No Deal? (Yup, it’s still a thing).

The show runs from 11th-15th December, with a matinee performance on the Saturday. Tickets cost £9 and are available HERE or from the venue 30 minutes before each show starts.

Attendance is free at these Ways into Writing one hour sessions. It’s first come, first served but Allen expects to be able to fit in everyone who turns up. Attendees will need to bring a pen, paper, a board or notepad to lean on, plus their imagination. Allen’s workshops are practical – you will be writing within 5 minutes.

If you want to reserve a place or if you have any queries, such as how to get to the venue, please email Allen on allenashley-writer (at) hotmail (dot) co (dot) uk

Please put the name of the venue (e.g. All Saints) in the subject bar.

Workshops will run on:

Monday 5 November 2012 from 11am to 12 noon at All Saints Arts Centre, 122 Oakleigh Road North, London N20 9EZ

Wednesday 14 November 2012 from 12.30pm to 1.30pm at Enfield Town Library, 66 Church Street, Enfield

Saturday 24 November 2012 from 1pm to 2pm at North Finchley Library, Ravensdale Avenue, North Finchley, N12 9HP

Saturday 19 January 2013 from 10.30am to 11.30am at Chipping Barnet Library, Stapleton Road, Barnet EN5 4QT

The Bride Stripped Bare and other grotesqueries

Dog Horn Publishing presents this Halloween production celebrating women writing the weird, the gruesome and the deadly, on November 1st, 8pm, at Apotheca, 17 Thomas Street, Manchester.

Young writers and performers from Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool will select their favourite stories from some of Dog Horn Publishing’s best dark fiction, and adapt them into a sensational theatrical experience which will re-imagine the book launch format.

Featuring work from:
Terror Scribes (ed. by Adam Lowe & Chris Kelso),
Cabala (ed. by Adam Lowe),
Bite Me, Robot Boy (ed. by Adam Lowe),
Women Writing the Weird (ed. by Deb Hoag),
and of course
The Bride Stripped Bare by Rachel Kendall.

Books will be on sale at special discounted rates, and Halloween cocktails will be available (two for £9).

For more info see the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/443175295725311/

If you are in Cardiff on October 31st (around 5pm) then please come to the Screaming Dreams office and Miss Ally will use her make-up magic to turn you into a zombie. We will then proceed into town and worry the locals! If you need directions or have any questions then please get in touch.

For more info, check out the Screaming Dreams website: http://www.screamingdreams.com

This event is on tonight, October 30th, and starts at 7pm. Tickets cost £5 and can be reserved by calling 023 9268 8037.

Ian Livingstone has been a leader in the interactive games industry for over 25 years. He co-founded the iconic Games Workshop, launched Dungeons & Dragons in Europe, edited White Dwarf magazine and in 2002 he received a BAFTA Special Award for his outstanding contribution to the interactive entertainment industry. With Steve Jackson, he wrote the first of the Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks which have sold over 16 million copies in 23 languages. He is the Creative Director of computer games company Eidos, the name behind the Tomb Raider games. He will be talking about his work and career.

Tickets cost £7.50/£5.50 (cons) and are available from the Arena Box Office – tel. 0114 256 5567, www.arenaticketshop.co.uk/offtheshelf, the Showroom Box Office – tel. 0114 275 7727, www.showroomworkstation.org.uk or in person from the Showroom Cinema Box Office.

Tickets on the door on the night subject to availability

It will be a chance for lovers of horror fiction to meet many authors of some of the best horror fiction available in the UK today. Friday evening will be an introduction and ‘Haunted Lowestoft’ talk presented by Ivan Bunn, the foremost expert of the supernatural in and around Lowestoft. Events for Saturday will include readings, panels and signings. We are also pleased to announce that Joseph D’Lacey will be launching his latest book of short stories ‘Splinters’ two days early at this event.

Lowestoft was the scene for the final book (Them or Us) in David Moody’s ‘Hater’ trilogy. As such, it was felt that Lowestoft, the most Easterly point in the UK, is perfect to host an event of this calibre.

Attending authors include; Adam Baker (Outpost, Juggernaut), Jasper Bark (Tomes of the Dead, Dead Air), Ivan Bunn (A Trial of Witches, Haunted Lowestoft), Henry Baker (Haunted Lowestoft), Simon Coleby (Art in 2000AD, DC & Games Workshop), Joseph D’Lacey (Meat, Splinters), Joseph Freeman (The Lost and the Lonely, Vermilion Dawn), Andrew Hook (And God created Zombies, Nitrospective), Paul S. Huggins (Zombies Ghosts a Psycho & a Fight), Iain McKinnon (Domain of the Dead, Remains of the Dead), Adam Millard (Only in Whispers, Dead West), David Moody (Autumn, Hater), Sean T Page (War against the Walking Dead, Metahorde) and Conrad Williams (One, Loss of Separation).

The event will be presented at the ‘The Aspire Centre’, Lowestoft’s premier conference facility, which is located at the Dene’s High School, Yarmouth Road. Start time on Saturday is 10am and Admission is FREE.

To keep up with the latest information please visit www.horrorintheeast.com

Philip Pullman will be talking about the book in conversation with Neil Gaiman on Monday 29 October 2012 at the Cambridge Theatre, London. Details and ticket booking HERE

All Hilton Hotels are unable to start selling rooms directly online until 12 months prior to the event, but they have agreed that we can open up our room block early via their Central Reservations telephone number.

Our venue is the Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel, Kings Road, East Sussex, Brighton, BN1 2FU, United Kingdom. The hotel has more than 330 bedrooms, of varying sizes and configurations. All have 24-hour room service, flat-screen TVs and on-demand movies. A limited number of Deluxe Rooms at the front of the hotel feature sea-views, some with balconies.

All rooms have high-speed Internet service, but you currently have to pay extra for this. However, there is free WiFi in the hotel’s Lounge, Restaurant, Business Centre and Lobby, and the great thing about Brighton is that most of the restaurants and bars also offer free WiFi, as do many other hotels within their public areas.

The dates of the convention are 31 October – 3 November 2013, but you are able to extend your reservation from 29 October through 5 November 2013 at the same rate by quoting our special group code. Attendees who are members of the Hilton HHonors® scheme will earn Points & Miles® for their stay.

Please go to http://www.wfc2013.org/hotelbooking01.html now for full information about our special room rates (which include a full Buffet Breakfast) and how to book. Cancellation of bookings must be made 6 weeks prior to the reserved dates, otherwise charges will be made by hotel.

For those looking for alternative accommodation or who are attending on a limited budget, there are plenty of other hotels in the immediate surroundings. You can find out more information at: www.visitbrighton.com/site/accommodation

After a year, the Attending Membership rate will be increased to £125.00 from 1 October 2012. If you are attending this year’s World Fantasy Convention in Canada, you can join after the Awards Banquet by paying the current rate in CASH (C$165.00 or US$170.000) at our Registration Desk.

The 23rd annual Paperback and Pulp Book Fair will be held on Sunday October 28th 2012, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm at The Park Plaza Hotel, 239 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EQ. Admission on the door only £3.00.

As usual, a wide range of leading UK dealers will be offering 1,000s of SF, Horror, Crime, TV and Film-related and Western paperbacks, pulp magazines, comics and more! Along with rare Penguins, Pans, ephemera and guides, for the first time they also plan to have some contemporary publishers selling new titles.

There will also be a signing session at 1:00 pm that will feature award-winning horror editor Stephen Jones (A Book of Horrors, Curious Warnings, The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror etc.), acclaimed artist Les Edwards (A Book of Horrors, Curious Warnings and The Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories etc.) and one of Britain’s finest fantasy authors, Adrian Cole (Madness Emerging, Moorstones and the Dream Lords trilogy etc.), with other guests to be announced.

Special guest at this event is Adam Nevill who was born in Birmingham in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. Adam’s biography paints a vivid picture of macabre influences, ranging from children’s television in the 1970s, through formative wanderings in the New Zealand bush and seminal horror movies on VHS in the 1980s. His history also shows his extensive devouring of notable horror novels. Amongst all of this is noted the way concepts and imagery lodged themselves firmly in Adam’s mind, giving him an abiding interest in the concepts of fear and horror.

Adam has subsequently authored four supernatural horror novels; Banquet for the Damned (nominated for the British Fantasy Society best novel), Apartment 16, The Ritual and Last Days, as well as contributing to the horror collection Dark Currents.

Adam is sure to give a fascinating talk and insight into his work and writings, and maybe sneak previews of forthcoming work…

The venue is just 5 minutes walk from New Street Station and handy for all bus routes. The meeting opens its doors at 7:30 p.m.

If you live anywhere in or around the West Midlands, the BSFG is the group for you! For further information, and a copy of their monthly newsletter, please email BHAMSFGROUP@YAHOO.CO.UK or check out their website: www.birminghamsfgroup.org.uk

Guy Adams is the author of the best-selling Rules of Modern Policing: 1973 Edition, a spoof police manual ‘written by’ DCI Gene Hunt of Life On Mars, of two sequels, and of subsequent alternative history and fantasy novels. Guy will be signing Sherlock Holmes: The Army of Doctor Moreau.

Samit Basu is one of the most talented and prolific young writers of today, with an existing and impressive profile in comics culture, science fiction and fantasy. Samit will be signing his debut novel Turbulence.

Joanne Reay is a film scriptwriter with an impressive list of credits: Against All Odds, The Murder Rooms, Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis and Station Jim for the BBC; the features Everybody Loves Sunshine (Sony), Cold and Dark, and Gallowwalker. Joanne will be signing Lo’Life Volume 1: Romeo Spikes.

Kim Newman is a London-based author and critic. He contributes to The Guardian, The Times, Sight & Sound and others, and makes frequent appearances on radio and TV. He’s won the Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, British Fantasy and British Science Fiction Awards and been nominated for the Hugo and World Fantasy Award. Kim will be signing Dracula Cha Cha Cha.

Danie Ware is Forbidden Planet’s publicist and event organiser. She has been immersed in the science fiction and fantasy community for the past decade and regularly appears on panels as an expert on genre marketing. Danie will be signing her debut novel Ecko: Rising.

The event will take place in the London Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, between 6pm and 7pm.

London was confirmed as the venue yesterday (2 September 2012) at the 2012 Worldcon, currently taking place in Chicago. The 2014 Worldcon will be the seventh to take place in the UK and the third in London; the capital previously hosted the event in 1957 and 1965.

Loncon 3 will take place in the ExCeL conference centre in London’s Docklands from 14-18 August 2014. The confirmed Guests of Honour cover the fields of fiction, comics, art, criticism, publishing and fandom: Iain M. Banks, John Clute, Malcolm Edwards, Chris Foss, Jeanne Gomoll, Robin Hobb and Bryan Talbot.

Worldcon joint chair Steve Cooper said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing the Worldcon back to London. We have fantastic guests and we’re building an exciting programme covering all aspects of science fiction and fantasy.

“It doesn’t matter what area of this wide-ranging genre you’re passionate about – classic or modern, film or television, comics or cosplay. We’ll have something to interest, inform and
entertain you.”

The Worldcon is held in a different city each year, and usually attracts around 5,000 science fiction and fantasy fans from across the globe. Highlights of the event include the Hugo Awards and the Masquerade, a spectacular live show showcasing fantasy and science fiction costumes. The programme has around a thousand individual items spread over five days,
with panels, talks, workshops, quizzes, films, videos, autograph sessions and more.

Alice Lawson, joint chair, said: “Loncon 3 will bring the best of science fiction and fantasy into the heart of London, and we plan to make it a fully inclusive, family-friendly experience that is safe and accessible to all.

“The 2012 Olympics and Paralympics demonstrated that London has outstanding facilities, infrastructure and volunteers, and we hope to attract a record-breaking number of fans. I’m
looking forward to welcoming them to London in 2014.”

For further information, check out the Loncon website: www.loncon3.org

Also, Samhain Horror presents its first UK event on 27 October 2012 with ‘Samhain Stories at Abney Park Cemetery’. The event, taking place in Stoke Newington, London, is free with a voluntary donation to Abney Park Cemetery on the gate. The evening will include a guided historical cemetery tour, live readings in the atmospheric Chapel from Samhain Horror authors Maynard Sims, Frazer Lee and Peter Mark May, and a book signing/meet and greet. The official Facebook event page can be found HERE

Tickets are available for just £3. Copies of both the first chapbook, Joe & Me by David Moody, and Thin Men with Yellow Faces by McMahon and Bestwick, will be available for the special price of £4 in Manchester for one night only. More information on the This Is Horror website HERE

John Barrowman

About the book:
“It starts with a series of unexplained events. Earth tremors across the globe. Women being driven insane by their heightened and scrambled senses. And the world is starting to notice – the Twitter trend is #realfemmefatales. Governments and scientists are bewildered and silent. The world needs Torchwood, but there’s not much of Torchwood left.

Captain Jack has tracked the problem to its source: a village in Peru, where he’s uncovered evidence of alien involvement. In Cardiff, Gwen Cooper has discovered something alien and somehow connected to Jack. If the world is to be restored, she has to warn him – but she’s quickly becoming a victim of the madness too…”

The books being launched are Lost Souls and Crossroads. Lost Souls includes twenty forgotten stories of loss and redemption. The tales have been carefully selected and introduced by Anne Perry and Jared Shurin and illustrated by Vincent Sammy. It is available as a limited edition of 100 numbered copies and as a Kindle eBook.

Crossroads features four new stories of the devil and his due – written by Christian Fox, Jenni Hill, Robert Sharp and Ian Whates. It is available as a Kindle eBook.

RSVP is not required, but details are on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/events/406298732762348/

The prolific fantasy and SF author, Simon R. Green, will be visiting the BSFG in September.  Simon has authored more than 40 books since 1988 spread over numerous well-received series (including Hawk & Fisher, Deathstalker, Nightside, and Secret Histories) as well as several stand alone novels.

Simon holds an MA in Modern English and American Literature from Leicester University, as well as holding a combined humanities degree. His career includes the novelisation of the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which has sold some 370,000 copies. Currently he has several manuscripts awaiting publication, and a number of work-in-progress books underway.

So why not come and meet him at the BSFG meeting? Simon is sure to give a fascinating talk and insight into his work and writings, and maybe sneak previews of those forthcoming books…

This meeting is on 14 September 2012 at the Briar Rose Hotel (on the first floor) on Bennett’s Hill, Birmingham The venue is just 5 minutes walk from New Street Station and handy for all bus routes. The meeting opens its doors at 7.30 pm.

If you live anywhere in or around the West Midlands, the BSFG may be the group for you! For further information please see the website HERE

The American scholar and internationally best-selling novelist will be visiting the UK to talk about her phenomenally popular books A Discovery of Witches and brand new sequel Shadow of Night. The first two epic volumes of The All Souls Trilogy – a sophisticated sequence full of magic, witches, vampires, demons and sweeping historical romance – have captured the imagination of millions of readers around the world. Waterstones Nottingham is delighted to announce an evening event with Deborah, here to answer questions on her work and discuss the research that goes into creating such a compelling world. This will be followed by a book signing.

The event takes place at Waterstones Nottingham,1-5 Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham, NG1 2GR (to book your tickets ring 0843 290 8525).

The festival pass allows full access to every screening and event from Friday 5 – Sunday 7 October 2012 at the Dancehouse Theatre, Oxford Road, Manchester (excluding the opening night gala on 4 October).

Also, the first three films have been announced. They premiere a new HD version of Frank Henenlotter’s 1982 low budget cult classic Basket Case, due for  release in late October 2012. Recently released nationwide in its home country to rave reviews, new Spanish horror comedy Attack of the Werewolves will get its English premiere at Grimm Up North. Last but by no means least they have the recently announced Cabal Cut of Clive Barker’s Nightbreed. Full details HERE.

Plus, there will be special guests to be announced later, Q&As, signings and much more. Keep an eye on the GrimmFest website for more information as it’s announced.

First, Stephen Baxter will be signing his new Doctor Who novel, The Wheel of Ice, on Sunday 19 August 2012 from 1.00 – 2.00 pm. The novel features the Second Doctor, along with companions Jamie and Zoe.

Then, in September, Brian Froud will be signing Trolls. Trolls, co-written/illustrated with Wendy Froud, is a book which “reveals the past, present and future of these magical creatures through images, tales, mythology and archaeology.”  “Brian’s images are deeply immersive, even cinematic at times; Trolls draws the viewer into the texture of the world and its stories with characters born of lichened rocks, twisted trees, rainbowed waterfalls and shadowy thickets.” This signing takes place on Thursday 13 September 2012 from 6.00 – 7.00 pm.

That same month, on Tuesday 25 September 2012 from 6.00 – 7.00 pm, Peter F. Hamilton will be signing Great North Road. About Great North Road: “In Newcastle-upon-Tyne, AD 2142, Detective Sidney Hurst attends a brutal murder scene. The victim is one of the wealthy North family clones – but none have been reported missing. And the crime’s most disturbing aspect is how the victim was killed. Twenty years ago, a North clone billionaire and his household were horrifically murdered in exactly the same manner, on the tropical planet of St Libra. But if the murderer is still at large, was Angela Tramelo wrongly convicted? In this stunning, standalone adventure, Peter F. Hamilton blends fast-paced narrative with vividly imagined future-worlds.”

It’s been a very long time since I last attended a convention of any sort, and if we discount the more commercial sort as typified by MCM Expo and other collectors’ fairs, the last major convention I attended specifically for readers and writers of genre fiction would have been Conspiracy ’87 in Brighton, nearly 25 years ago.

My memories of Conspiracy are vague, but I was a very young, ebullient 17-year old at the time, and filled with the boundless enthusiasm and naivety you could probably expect from somebody just discovering themselves. I was the editor of an RPG ‘zine at the time, and am ashamed to admit that my interests, hobbies, and everything else back then revolved categorically around my ego. Okay, some things never change, but… I do recall that the majority of my Conspiracy weekend was spent chasing Jim Burns, the artist, who was the Guest of Honour back then, or one of them at least.

If I remember correctly – and there are a lot of grey hairs and matter to plough through nowadays – there was a huge, spacious room full of Jim’s work on display, I had one of those Philips tape recorders the size of a small suitcase permanently attached to my shoulder, and spent a lot of my time hovering around the gallery trying to nab 5 minutes of conversation/interview time here and there. Suffice to say I never did get much out of Jimbo, and the majority of the weekend passed me by in a haze. I do also recall a brand new movie being showcased at the event, called The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension or something eerily similar, but that’s another story.

Anyway, back to the task at hand… Edge-Lit 2012 was the first genre convention I’ve attended in years, and it brought back some long-buried memories and personal admissions from way back then. I didn’t have a clue what to expect, there was no big need or desire to waste away my time hanging around hoping for the merest scrap of a sound bite from somebody who probably didn’t give a shit anyway, and there was no great expectancy or urgency for anything other than to go along and see what happened. I suspect this is how any newbie feels, and I have an even greater appreciation of how overwhelming it can sometimes be.

I arrived a little later than originally hoped, and on approaching the registration desk immediately bumped into Sarah Pinborough putting her badge on. I’ve been a fan of Sarah’s for a while, and until now had only really exchanged the odd Tweet with her, so it was a pleasant surprise to find she immediately recognised my @mangozoid tag. We chatted briefly, and then I had a quick nosey around the tiny dealers’ room, where I was fortunate enough to bump into Roy Gray behind the TTA Press stand – I published some of Roy’s stuff yonks ago, in Sierra Heaven (my fiction ‘zine from ’96-’98) , and it was a genuine delight to see him “in the flesh” so to speak. This was another highlight of my day, especially when Roy mentioned that Ian Sales was around somewhere (and I think Peter Tennant too, although I didn’t catch him at any point throughout the day) – both were authors I’d published in Sierra Heaven, and it dawned on me that there may well be many more such happy accidental meetings to come.

I left Roy, promising to return a little later, and made my way down to the cafe/bar for a cuppa – it was about 11.20am at this point. The first thing I noticed was Rod Rees at an adjoining table, around the same time I also saw his name in the schedule of events, attached to a reading with Andrew Hook, and scheduled for 11am – the temptation to ask why he wasn’t there was overwhelming, but I resisted. In retrospect, I think a number of the early events were poorly attended, and this was to prove a recurrent theme throughout the day.

As I sat in my little corner of the world and watched all the established literati gathered in pockets throughout the room, I went through the planned events for the day, trying to decide which ones I wanted to attend and which would have to be passed over. Is this how things were at all conventions, I wondered? Various streams of programming going on and having to choose between them all whilst still ensuring an appropriate amount of respect was shown to the bar? It felt like being at school all over again, minus the bar time of course.

To his credit, Alex Davis (the chief organiser) had put together a varied collection of readings, panels, and discussions, as well as an assortment of practical workshops, almost all of which looked appealing. All the panels and events were free, but due to limited space in the Digital Studio the workshops required pre-booking. I must confess to registering for a couple of the workshops but never actually attending them – earnest apologies if anyone missed out because of this, and I promise to be more prudent next time. There were a couple of events and screenings scheduled for the evening, including two Lovecraftian movies – my only gripe about the evening programme was that the H.P. Lovecraft panel clashed with the Edge-Lit Quiz, but that’s by-the-by.

I’ve never done the quiz thing before, and must confess that together with the raffle (more of which later), this was by far the most fun-fuelled part of the day, so much so that I would encourage anyone, newbie or otherwise, to get involved: it’s a great way to meet others, and if you don’t have a team there are usually plenty of people who will happily accommodate another member (space permitting), and the good-natured banter made for plenty of laughs and jeers along the way. My own opinion is that the quiz is a very social event, and should be earmarked and sold as such: the more the merrier as far as I’m concerned, thus my slight disappointment that it clashed with the Lovecraft panel mentioned above.

The first panel I attended, at 12pm, saw Lee Harris (Angry Robot) leading an involved discussion with Sarah Pinborough (author), John Jarrold (agent), and Christian Dunn (publisher, Black Library) on the whys and wherefores of publishing today. The general consensus seemed to be that self-publishing was bad, agents were still relevant, breaking into writing was very tough, and Waterstones were going down the pan. It was involved, a little personal, and interesting, and a number of varied avenues were explored. All in all, I felt it was a success, although perhaps with nothing majorly earth-shattering coming out; although we did learn that finding your book on the “3 for 2″ table at Waterstones was not a bad thing and probably cost your publisher a lot of money to place you there, despite the general opinion that these books are there for clearance purposes because the shop can’t shift them!

After this panel I joined Sarah and Lee down at the bar, together with several others. It was a delight to meet Emma Newman, and Anne Lyle too, both members of the Angry Robot stable. Anne showed off a dazzling necklace that looked suspiciously like a not-so-angry robot, something I initially thought may have formed part and parcel of an Angry Robot contract but alas ’twas not to be. I also took the opportunity to try Catherine Hill’s flavoured fudge, samples of which were offered to all and sundry: there was Chilli, Cinnamon, Lavender, and Ginger to choose from, and I tried them all save the Ginger, and very nice they were too, especially the Lavender. Time flew by, and I was soon making tracks, heading for my next panel, this one on the subject of Breaking into Writing – you’re sensing a theme here, I can tell…

Lee Harris stepped in for Marc Gascoigne to moderate this panel, and also present were Anne Lyle, Rod Rees, and Gaie Sebold. There followed some extensive discussion about how each individual author had “broke through”, and it soon transpired that Rod Rees held similar views to many, namely that there’s no money in short stories, and that whether they admit it or not, the majority of authors are “chasing the rainbow” (my phrase): just a small part of the success achieved by the likes of Stephen King, J. K. Rowling, etc. will set up any writer for life, making it a viable, defining career choice. Of course, this kind of success is hard to come by, and can be totally unpredictable, as evidenced by the recent Fifty Shades.. phenomenon (and to all intents and purposes, these are not even well-written books). Once again it was made abundantly clear that self-publishing wasn’t a viable choice for many, although it does have its uses when it comes to older works, and also that breaking into writing was definitely not for the faint-hearted, requiring a lot of hard graft and no small amount of patience. This proved to be another all-round entertaining discussion, and although Gaie is a new name to me (she wrote Babylon Steel), it is abundantly clear that she has worked very hard to be where she is today, and I tip my hat to her, wishing her every success in the future.

I made another brief sojourn into the bar after this, swiftly followed by a short sit-down while I demolished my packed lunch and caught up with emails.

At 4pm I attended another panel, this one entitled Does Fantasy Need Archetypes?, and this time moderated by Mark Yon (who later proved to be a useful person to have on your quiz team). Gaie Sebold and Anne Lyle joined him, together with M.D. Lachlan (of Wolfsangel and Fenrir fame) and Adrian Tchaikovsky. Stereotypes, archetypes, and fantasy tropes were bandied about in an appropriately Wimbledon-esque manner, and although I remain unconvinced the question in the title was resolved, the general consensus seemed to be that archetypes are a necessary aspect of any fiction if it’s to stand a chance of being picked up and widely read by others.

Following the archetype panel, I took the opportunity to quickly nip out into the tiny dealers’ room and grab a few things, as well as catch up with Roy again on the TTA Press stand. I bought a few bits and bobs and then hurried back for the Ray Bradbury Retrospective, something I’d been looking forward to for most of the day.

Mark Yon played moderator again, with Christopher Fowler, Emma Newman, Graham Joyce, and Sarah Pinborough also in attendance. All proved to be huge fans of Bradbury, although Graham felt a little at odds with some of the others because he lamented Ray’s perceived lack of productivity after 1960 – it’s fair to say that Bradbury’s more recent work was heavily media-biased, encompassing film, TV and digital media I believe. It was obvious that Ray Bradbury had touched the lives of all the panelists in some shape or form: Emma Newman confessed to having a good old cry when she heard about his death, and it was abundantly clear that Christopher Fowler was a massive fan of Ray’s work. The other recurrent topic under discussion was whether Ray Bradbury was cut out for novel writing, with Graham in particular advocating that Bradbury should have stuck to what he did best, namely short, wham-pow stories that are well-written, edgy, and challenging the establishment. All in all, nobody could be faulted here, and it was a suitably gratifying send off in my opinion, with Sarah saying quite rightly that Ray Bradbury strutted his stuff, had a great innings, and can put his feet up and enjoy the rest after everything he did to bring this heavily disparaged genre to the attention of many.

The Edge-Lit Raffle was originally scheduled for 6pm, with the illustrious Sarah Pinborough and Lee Harris paired for hosting duties – a last minute flurry of ticket-selling meant that things got off to a late start, although it’s fair to say that attendance figures were relatively low so there was always going to be a good chance of coming away from the raffle with something at least, whether or not it was something you actually wanted. Of course, at the time I never realised just how entertaining a combination Sarah Pinborough plus wine would prove to be, and to her credit (and Lee’s) it made the entire event very special indeed: I have seen acts at London’s Comedy Store get less uproarious laughter, and am now given to understand that the pair of them were chosen for just this reason. Hugely entertaining, laugh out loud funny, and a memorable experience for all concerned: Sarah’s irresistible charm and outrageous quips were worthy of a much larger audience, and Lee’s cutting remarks pure gold at times. My thanks to the pair of them for a job well done.

There were 28 lots in all I believe, the majority comprised of signed books and assorted selections of books, and there was also the chance to win a residential writing weekend worth £150 in there too. I am delighted and more than a tad embarrassed to admit that I won the residential weekend, and not only did this make the whole day well worth the entry fee but this made my entire weekend, and probably my whole month for that matter: I look forward to taking up this opportunity with gusto, and would like to thank Alex Davis once again for giving me the chance to be a part of it.

With the bedlam of the raffle behind us, there were a couple of hours set aside for an evening dinner break of sorts, and I took advantage of this by settling down in the bar, where I fortuitously bumped into Ian Sales. As mentioned previously, I published some of Ian’s earlier work many years ago, and took the opportunity to bend his ear about various scientific aspects of a novel I’m working on. We were soon joined by Roy Gray and spent a good few hours chattering away – between the three of us, several drinks were had, and a myriad of topics covered. We embarked on a grand shimmy down the memory lane drainpipe, covering everything from Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds music extravaganza to Rick Wakeman’s Journey To The Centre of the Earth, and my erstwhile laser disc collection even got a look-in. I’ll take this opportunity to say “Thank you” to both for their indulgence, and look forward to the next time.

Finally, the Edge-Lit Quiz kicked off at 9pm, and having found myself devoid of prospective team members, I took a wander up there anyway, hoping to see if there were any fellow lost souls looking for a team. There were indeed several options available, and I eventually plumped for the team comprising Kevin Redfern, Hayley Ogilvy, and another young lady whose name I’m afraid I can’t recall. The young lady in question had to leave very early on however, but I was fortunate to catch Roy loitering around, and motioned for him to join us. I think our team name was something along the lines of Wookie Space Hamsters, and Kevin Redfern quickly proved to be a dab hand at these quiz thingies: it’s fair to say that he answered the majority of questions for our team, and amassed a small horde of the spot prizes on offer too: these were periodically thrown in the mix by Quizmaster General, Mr Alex Davis Esq. and the first to shout out the answer would nab the prize – Kevin bagged nearly all of them.

We were all in good spirits, and halfway through the quiz Alex ensured that all participants got the opportunity to come up and take something from the prize table, indeed “No-one leaves empty handed” seemed to be the motto of the day, and jolly grateful we all were too. The quiz finally wound up circa 10.30pm, and I was quietly confident we must have done pretty well given Kevin’s vast font of genre knowledge, although when it came to exchanging papers for scoring it was also readily apparent that the Red Shirts Rule! team also had an ace up their sleeve, in the guise of Mark Yon, Panel Moderator Extraordinaire and Genre Encylopaedia in Residence. We knew it was going to be a close-run thing, and sure enough, the Red Shirts team won by just 1.5pts (or 1.25pts if you count the 0.25 they gave us for getting “of” correct in one of our answers). And so the Red Shirts won, and given they were the volunteers and helpers for this year’s Edge-Lit event, their winning prize of free tickets to next year’s Edge-Lit automatically saw Alex Davis devoid of helpers for next year’s event! Volunteers may apply directly to Alex on…

All told, ’twas a great evening, and we retired to the bar downstairs to lick our wounds and reflect on the day’s events. Conscious of the 2 hour drive ahead of me to return to York, I still stayed ’til just before midnight chatting amiably to anyone who’d listen… Finally, I couldn’t help but notice there were pockets of established literati gathered throughout the bar, just as there had been that morning, only this time I moved a little more confidently through them, saying my goodbyes and farewells to all and sundry, and finally turning my back on that little corner of the world which, frankly, had given me so many fond memories in such a short space of time.

So this is how things are at conventions, I wondered… Let’s hope so. See you in Brighton, at FantasyCon 2012, hopefully. And massive thanks to Alex Davis for organising such a cracking, intimate event. I am already heartily looking forward to next year’s Edge-Lit.

— @mangozoid (R.A. Bardy)

With so much going on, and so much choice to be had, tickets are fantastic value at £20 – £25 for the whole day. You can book online at the QUAD webpage  or from the QUAD Box Office at 01332 290606.

For more information on these productions for Nunkie Theatre Company, or for enquiries about private performances, please contact Robert Lloyd Parry on roblloydparry [at] hotmail [dot] com.

Visit Robert’s website for a complete schedule of performances.

Robert has kindly offered BFS members a 15% discount on any DVDs or CDs bought from the site. Please contact him direct at the email address above to take advantage of this offer.

Photo (c) Tristram Kenton

• 1pm:  Meet, greet and quench your thirst…
• 2pm:  Peter Mark May will be arriving with copies of Alt-Zombie. Peter has also graciously agreed to donate one complete set of Hersham Horror Books to the raffle.
• 3pm:  Stephen Jones and Les Edwards will officially sign copies of Curious Warnings: The Great Ghost Stories of M.R. James from Jo Fletcher Books.
• 4pm:  Sara Jayne Townsend will be signing copies of her collection Soul Screams from  Stumar Press. Sara has also donated a copy of Soul Screams to the raffle.
• 5pm:  Raffle draw…tickets will be a pound per strip or one FREE strip with every purchase…get your mind out of the gutter and your pockets lined with GOLD.

Above all have fun! It’s getting increasingly harder to find a suitable venue that does not require huge amounts of cash up front to hold these unique events, where you can socialise with publishers, authors and, most importantly, fans of fantasy, horror and SF. Donations for the raffle are welcome on the day, but please be aware that donating a dog-eared paperback may well result in public ridicule.

Previous BFS open events have included:

• Awards Showcases – Brian Aldiss, Joe Abercrombie to name but a few…
• Poe edited by Ellen Datlow (Solaris)
• Tim Powers Secret Histories (PS Publishing)
• Sam Stone (Murky Depths) + Torchwood panel and launch with Guy Adams, Mark Morris, Sarah Pinborough (BBC Books)
• Lauren Beukes – Zoo City (Angry Robot) – Reading / Talk / Launch
• Mike Lancaster – 0.4 (Egmont) – Young Adult SF – Launch
• Joe Hill – Special Guest + Brian Stableford – The Womb of Time (Perilous Press) UK Launch
• Where Are We Going? edited by Allen Ashley (Eibonvale Press) – authors included Allen Ashley, Joel Lane, Douglas Thompson, Marion Pitman, Terry Grimwood, Jet McDonald, Andrew Kirby, Gary Budgen and cover artists David Rix.

E-mail Martin Roberts  (events [at] britishfantasysociety [dot] org) for more information!

Brian has written in almost every genre, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical and humorous fiction, as well as non-fiction and poetry. Among his many acclaimed novels are Non-Stop, The Primal Urge, Hothouse, Greybeard, Earthworks, An Age (aka Cryptozoic!), Report on Probability A, Barefoot in the Head, Frankenstein Unbound (filmed by Roger Corman in 1990), The Malacia Tapestry, Brothers of the Head, Moreau’s Other Island, The Helliconia Trilogy (Helliconia Spring, Helliconia Summer and Helliconia Winter), Dracula Unbound, Jocasta, Walcot and Finches of Mars.

A multiple winner of the Hugo, Nebula, British Science Fiction and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards, Brian Aldiss was named Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2000. On 11 June 2005 he was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to literature in H.M. Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honours list.

“Of course I am radiant to be asked as a Special Guest to the World Fantasy Con,” says Brian, “particularly since it is to be held in Brighton – do our overseas guests know what a gorgeous place Brighton is?”

Brian Aldiss joins previously announced Author Guests of Honour Richard Matheson and Richard Christian Matheson, Artist Guest of Honour Alan Lee, Special Guest Tessa Farmer and Master of Ceremonies China Mieville, in the picturesque and vibrant seaside town of Brighton, on the south coast of England, over the weekend of 31 October – 3 November 2013.

Although the convention is still more than a year away there are already more than 500 registered memberships! Please be aware that there is a firm limit on the number of Attending Members, so once the convention is sold out there will be no more memberships available. Remember, the 2012 World Fantasy Convention in San Diego sold out eight months prior to the event, so the sooner you join, the sooner you are guaranteed a place. Plus the membership rate will increase at regular intervals as the convention approaches.

Check the website for information on how to join.

If you want to become part of the day’s celebrations email Martin Roberts, BFS Events Organiser, at events [at] britishfantasysociety [dot] org

Keep an eye on Facebook and on the main BFS website and forum for updates!

Subscriptions to the Premium Chapbooks Series are now available. For information please visit the This Is Horror website HERE

Ramsey – who is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award winner -  will be participating in all aspects of the convention, including an in-depth interview, panel discussions, a mass signing, and presenting during the Bram Stoker Awards Banquet.

See the website HERE for further details.

“We will be schlocking and rolling you with some of the most outrageous horror and fantasy ever committed to celluloid. Fans of schlocky horror should look out for an ultra rare print of 70′s Grindhouse classic I Drink Your Blood, our Troma triple-bill, and our Saturday night special guest Harley Cokeliss talking about his career in the genre alongside a screening of the Roger Corman-produced Battletruck. Cokeliss’ career in the genre has spanned decades and features second unit directorial duties on The Empire Strikes Back.

We’ll also be proving that sisters are certainly doing it for themselves with screenings celebrating women in the genre including Grace Jones’ classic Vamp, saucy sci-fi opus Barbarella and the soon-to-be-remade Red Sonja. We will also peek behind the scenes of Hammer with Renée Glynne, script supervisor on many of the studio’s classics including The Quatermass Xperiment which will screen alongside her interview.

One of FFW’s trademarks is its love of genre retro and we have recruited guest curator, Hammer film historian, writer and publisher, Robert Simpson to programme a unique and premiere-packed Hammer strand. We are also proud to present a FFW first – a not-to-be-missed, 3-strip widescreen Cinerama presentation of The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. While TV Heaven will be going timelord-tastic with a Doctor Who takeover celebrating every Doctor across one weekend.

FFW also teams up with Leeds International Film Festival’s Fanomenon for an evening of giallo including a rare screening of an archive 35mm print of Four Flies On Grey Velvet and an onstage interview with new heir to the giallo crown Andreas Marschall, followed by a screening of his new films Masks.”

For further programming details and to buy tickets visit the website HERE

The convention will be held at the historic Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Membership sales will begin in the second half of 2012, as will voting for the WHC Grandmaster Award. Guests of Honour will be announced in due course.

For further details as they arise visit the website HERE

He is seeking a photograph of the frontage of the Imperial Hotel in Birmingham. The hotel hosted several SF and fantasy events before it was demolished, including some early FantasyCons. Here, from the archive, is a page detailing the 1959 Eastercon held at that venue. Rob would love to be able to add a photo of the hotel frontage to this page.

If you can assist by providing a photograph of the frontage of the Imperial Hotel, please contact Peter Coleborn at pkcoleborn [at] gmail [dot] com. Please do not send the photograph in the first instance but simply contact Peter explaining what photo(s) you have.

The great-granddaughter of the influential Welsh fantasy writer, she works with sculptural installation, stop-motion animation and drawing to explore the fantastical world of a species of insect-sized malevolent skeletal fairies that have existed since the late 1990s. Not unsurprisingly, the artist acknowledges that her great-grandfather’s fiction has been an important influence upon her own work.

Tessa Farmer studied Fine Art at The University of Oxford, and in 2007, she was artist in residence at London’s The Natural History Museum. Her solo exhibitions in 2011 include “Nymphidia” at London’s Danielle Arnaud Contemporary Art Gallery, and “ISAM: Control Over Nature”, a collaboration with DJ and producer Amon Tobin, at the city’s Crypt Gallery.

“I am delighted to have been invited to attend the World Fantasy Convention in 2013,” she says, “and for the opportunity to show my work alongside inspirational and influential artists and writers. I am looking forward to celebrating the anniversary of Arthur Machen’s birth amongst equally inspirational enthusiasts. (What I really mean is that the evil fairies are excited about parasitising all these great minds . . . I think they are in for a treat!)”

Tessa Farmer joins previously announced Author Guests of Honour Richard Matheson and Richard Christian Matheson, Artist Guest of Honour Alan Lee, and Master of Ceremonies China Mieville, in the picturesque and vibrant seaside town of Brighton, on the south coast of England, over the weekend of 31 October – 3 November 2013. For further information and how to book please see the website HERE

To keep up to date with announcements and information please see the website HERE

The festival, run by Writing East Midlands, provides an opportunity for readers and writers to hear from their favourite authors, find out more about the world of publishing and learn more about the writing process, while networking with agents, publishers and other writers. There will be author readings, panel discussions, writing workshops, and much more.

To book a day ticket on either the Saturday or Sunday, or to book for the whole weekend, and to book a place on any of the workshops, visit the website HERE

Bob is the author of several books about J.R.R.Tolkien, including The Roots of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, Tolkien’s Oxford, The Pitkin Guide to Tolkien and Tolkien and the Peril of War. Bob’s presentations always give a fascinating insight into Tolkien’s experiences, as well as suggesting possible inspirations that would later turn up in Middle-Earth.

The meeting is on 13 April 2012 at the Briar Rose Hotel on Bennett’s Hill, Birmingham; this venue is just 5 minutes walk from New Street Station and handy for all bus routes. The meeting opens its doors at 7:30 pm.

The group itself has many members of all ages, and between them the membership has an enormous wealth of knowledge of literary SF, as well as film, television, etc. If you want to know about a particular author or book, the BSFG may be able to help you! Just let them know you are a first timer when you turn up and any member will be happy to introduce you to the committee and make you feel as welcome as we can…

If you live anywhere in or around the West Midlands, the BSFG is the group for you! For further information, and a copy of our monthly newsletter, please email: BHAMSFGROUP@YAHOO.CO.UK

There are many more leading names to be announced for the event, with the first two Guests of Honour for the 2012 event confirmed as Christopher Fowler and Geoff Ryman.

Christopher Fowler is a multiple award-winning author with thirty novels and twelve short story collections to his name. He is best-known for his Bryant and May mystery novels, with his most recent title in the series being Bryant and May and the Memory of Blood. Christopher has also written a number of successful thrillers, as well as the highly succesful graphic novel Menz Insana. His other credits include creating the War of the Worlds video game for Paramount, as well as running a successful film marketing company and writing for TV and film stars such as Kenneth Williams, Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan, Leslie Neilsen and the stars of Monty Python.

Geoff Ryman is an acclaimed author of science-fiction and fantasy, with his most recent title, The King’s Last Song, drawing stellar reviews. Other leading titles include Was…, Lust and Air, with his novels having claimed a host of awards including the British Science Fiction Award, World Fantasy Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award, The Philip K. Dick Award and many more. He is also a lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester University.

Edge-Lit runs from 10am – midnight on Saturday 14 July 2012, with tickets just £25, including access to all activities on the day. For more information, and to book your tickets, visit the website HERE

42 was started by Glenn and Angela James in 2011, to provide a platform for writers, musicians, and performers interested in genre subjects to find their audience and a voice.  It has grown significantly in the last year, and branches of 42 will be starting in Birmingham, Newcastle-Under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent.  With the event’s first birthday coming up, the significance of its opening month can be revealed.

In looking forward when 42 was established, March was chosen as in that month in 2012, it will be 90 years since the premiere of the first full-length film adaption of Dracula: The legendary German film Nosferatu by F. W. Murnau.

Nosferatu, the most Gothic and chilling vampire film ever made, will be the event’s theme for the evening, and the organisers invite contributors to embrace the dark theme in their works for the night.

42’s organisers have formed a strong bond with the Worcestershire Film Festival (now in their inaugural year), and headed by founder Simon Munn, the Film Festival will be contributing to the Nosferatu evening in style.

Contributors on the evening will include the renowned Gothic Diva Suz Winspear, Raine Evans, Fergus McGonigal, Damon Lord, Darren Farley, John Taylor, Joseph O’Donnell, and continues with the fine serial of Michael R. Brush.

The anniversary meeting will be held on Wednesday 28 March 2012 in the Lunar Bar above the Swan with Two Nicks public house in central Worcester.  Tickets are £3.00 and available on the door.  Further information HERE

The festival takes place at Snibston Discovery Park, Coalville, Leicestershire, over the weekend of 18 – 20 May 2012. It features well-known guests, author readings, panel discussions and workshops, and you can be there for free. This competition is open to both BFS members AND non-members, but entries from BFS members will count as TWO entries to the competition, giving members more chance of winning.

All you have to do to be in with the chance (or two chances!) of winning tickets is to answer the following easy question:

Who are the three Guests of Honour at the Discover Festival?
(HINT: The answer can be found at the Festival website HERE)

Email your answer to news@britishfantasysociety.org with the subject line DISCOVER COMPETITION, by midnight UK time on Friday 16 March 2012. Please give your name, and indicate whether you are a BFS member or non-member (if you know your membership number this would be useful too, but if you don’t know it, don’t worry as we can check this).

One lucky winner will then be randomly drawn, notified and sent their tickets as soon as possible thereafter. Remember, if you’re a BFS member you only need to email once and your entry will be counted TWICE, giving you more chance of winning. But if you haven’t yet decided to join the BFS you can still enter the competition (you might like to think about joining too though – which you can do HERE). BFS committee members are, of course, excluded from entering the competition.

Watch out for further MEMBER-ONLY competitions coming soon too!

Christopher Priest

Christopher’s writing career spans an enormous breadth of subjects, published over a 40 year period (his first novel, Indoctrinaire, was published in 1970). The BSFG is very lucky to host to such a well respected author and Christopher’s talk is likely to give fascinating insights into his creative process.

The meeting is on 9 March 2012 at the Briar Rose Hotel on Bennett’s Hill, Birmingham; this venue is just 5 minutes walk from New Street Station and handy for all bus routes. The meeting opens its doors at 7:30 p.m.

The group itself has many members of all ages, and between them the membership has an enormous wealth of knowledge of literary SF, as well as films, television, etc. If you want to know about a particular author or book, the BSFG is likely to be able to help you! Just let us know you are a first timer when you turn up and any member will be happy to introduce you to the committee and make you feel as welcome as we can…

If you live anywhere in or around the West Midlands, the BSFG is the group for you! For further information, and a copy of our monthly newsletter, please email:            bhamsfgroup [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk