Tag Archives: science fiction

I’m a bit later with this report than intended, mostly because I had so much fun at Eastercon I was too exhausted to process it! This was my third Eastercon, and whilst last year’s was memorable for very personal reasons, this year was pretty good too. I’d been a bit doubtful about the location, as the  Continue Reading »

I now have my programme for EightSquared, the 64th Eastercon, so I hope I’ll see some of you at the following events: Friday, 7pm: Genre Get-Together – Fantasy (seems to be a big informal signing event) Friday, 9pm: Panel – Underground London Sunday, 2pm: Panel – The Changing Portrayal of Gender and Sexuality in SF  Continue Reading »

Last Saturday saw the return of BristolCon, the small but perfectly formed SF convention based in the city of the same name. It was my second year of attending, and though it’s a long way to go for a one-day convention, it’s well worth a visit. The programming is always excellent, managing to avoid the  Continue Reading »

A few days ago I flew out to Chicago for my first US convention, Chicon 7 (aka Worldcon 2012), the 70th World Science Fiction Convention. I was very excited about it, mainly because it was a chance to finally meet a whole bunch of writer friends from the other side of the Pond, as well  Continue Reading »

An unexpected post today, as I belatedly* received my Worldcon schedule this morning! Thursday 30th August 4.30-6pm  Signing Friday 31st August 9-10.30am Panel: Writing gender roles in science fiction 1.30-3pm Panel: “To Be” or not “To Be”: constructed languages in SF&F Saturday 1st September 10.30am-12pm Panel: Why I love my editor 6.30-7pm Reading So, a  Continue Reading »

This weekend I was at Olympus 2012, the 63rd annual convention of the British Science Fiction Association, affectionately known as Eastercon. Mostly I was there to promote my newly published novel The Alchemist of Souls, but thanks to guest of honour George R R Martin it turned into somewhat of a Game of Thrones fan-fest!  Continue Reading »

When some one says “science fiction convention”, what’s the image that springs to mind? TV celebrity guests, with fans queueing for autographs? People dressed as Imperial stormtroopers and random anime characters wandering the corridors? Crowds of geeks roaming around stalls piled high with t-shirts, paperbacks and Doctor Who action figures? The SFX Weekender is all  Continue Reading »

November winners Congratulations to Michelle and Lyn – I’ll be in touch! December giveaway So, we reach the last pair of books for this 2011 giveaway, and I’ve saved the best until last. How to Write Fantasy and Science Fiction, by Orson Scott Card (hardback) “This award-winning classic on the art and craft of writing  Continue Reading »

AltFiction is now in its fifth year and is rapidly establishing itself as one of the best conventions for anyone interested in fantasy, science fiction, horror, comics…basically everything that falls under the “speculative fiction” umbrella. 2011 was its first year as a two-day event, and my first attendance, and I wasn’t disappointed. The venue was  Continue Reading »

There’s been a lot of debate recently following an online survey asking readers for their “must read” SF list, the issue being that less that 10% of the suggested books were by women. Why, it was asked, the overwhelming bias? Various explanations – and solutions – to this woeful state of affairs were put forward.  Continue Reading »