12pm Friday 3rd February at SFX, I'm doing

"Elf Preservation: without magic and monsters, it's not fantasy. Is it?"

Expect me to get my Peake on unless someone beats me to it.

UPDATE: I will also be signing at the Forbidden Planet Stand at 2pm on Saturday alongside Stephen Baxter — so come for him if not for me . If you grab me with books to sign at any other point I will be happy to do so, but you may need to bring your own pen.

There are some nice other panels at SFX that I intend to catch as audience. I particularly note a panel on World Building vs Character Building Saturday at 4pm, and the somewhat ambitious "WHO IS THE BEST PERSON IN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY EVER" which is on at 10am Saturday. Depending on how Friday night went, if you bring some alka-seltzer, that person could be you.

At Alt Fiction later in April I'm down for "Diversity in Fantasy"  with Mark Newton, Anne Lyle and Jenni Hill (12–1 Sunday) (1) and also, to my immense delight, "Not another F*cking Elf" with Adam Lowe, Jenni Hill and Paul Cornell (11–12 Saturday), and I know it's only January, but that has just about made my year I think. Also full supporting programme, and a good looking one at that.

UPDATE: On the subject of Paul, he has kindly asked me to guest post on his blog today, and you can find musings on SFX and the series in general here.

On another note, if anyone out there is after a signed copy of any of my books but, for example, has never been in the same country as I have, or similar, ebay seller Koontz & the Gang (link is to Ebay store) currently has all the book in stock, signed, lined and dated and, I think, on sale for normal cover price.

(1) At this distance, all subject to change of course.

Secondly… (dramatic chord) … I have started the second chapter of book 10 today! I was under the delusion that it was the first chapter when I wrote it, but have had second thoughts since. The last book in the series promises to be somewhat nerve-wracking to write. Y'know, no pressure…

I have had sight of a draft alt fiction schedule. I'm down for "untitled fantasy panel". Kind of hard to research that topic, but watch this space.

Lastly, an article in today's Metro (3) that provoked some bewilderment. "Dust off that novel, new app could make you a best seller." This is Apple's "Author" app, and my real beef with the article was the discrepancy between what the headline seemed to promise and the subsequent proud reportage, stated in such a way as to imply that this is the app's primary source of authorial gold dust: "It allows users to drag a word file into the programme, which automatically lays it out with the appropriate chapters and headings." I mean, thank God! Because where the chapter headings go is always the part of the writing process that really causes me difficulties.

Apparently it's all very multimedia, allowing easy inserts for videos (4) and things, and anything you make with it will only be marketable via Apple's own iBookstore/iTunes outlets, which promises controversy.

(1) Yes, I get my information on when my own books are being released from Amazon. This is the world we live in.

(2) On second thoughts I'm not entirely sure what that means. Just accost me instead.

(3) If you're wondering, it's a free newspaper randomly distributed about the UK's public transport network. It has Nemi in it.

(4) This seems to be an alarming attempt to up the ante, especially for epic fantasy. Am I supposed to be collaborating with Peter Jackson on my next one or something? (5)

(5) If you're reading this, Mr Jackson, seriously it would be an honour

I will shortly have a crack at another post on computer games, this time with the spotlight on role-playing (or lack of same), but currently research is, er, taking up all my time.

For now, just a quick update.

The various projects that I previously mentioned I was contributing to are now all up for grabs, being:

Vivisepulture, edited by Andy Remic and Wayne Simmons, from Anarchy, wherein lurks my story "Pipework".

What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been, edited by Storm Constantine, from Immanion, wherein is my article "Can I Keep Him?" and the story "The Indecipherables" which I've co-written with renowned author Justina Robson.

Horror for the Holidays, edited by Scott David Aniolowski, from Miskatonic River Press, wherein can be found my Lovecraftian opus, "Season of Sacrifice and Resurrection".

Furthermore I have a few dates for the 2012 diary even now:

- I will be at the SFX Weekender on 3–4 February doing I know not what, but I'll be there. The previous two have been fairly phenomenal multi-media events with extremely congenial company, so I'm looking forward to this one.

- I have been asked to guest at this year's Picocon (at, I think, Imperial College, London or thereabouts) on 18th February, at which I will also be doing Stuff.

- I've signed up for Alt Fiction 2012 on 14–15 April — this is not at Derby like the last few, but has migrated to Leicester for the convenience of the denizens thereof, or some such reason.

- I certainly intend to be at Fantasycon 2012, given the fun last time (3)

(1) Leaving aside the New Age types who have rather galloped ahead of the pack in declaring the end of the world, scholarly debate suggests there is no actual evidence that the Mayan calendar portends anything apocalyptic at all (from the wretchedly sparse material available). It seems just as likely that they were all marking their great great… grandchildrens' diaries for a particularly good party (2)

(2) Which in turn suggests that the Mayan culture was built on absurdly extended forward thinking and a careful attention to scheduling, and possibly the Spanish dealt them such a blow just because they failed to call ahead and book their invasion.

(3) Journey back through The Country that Public Transport Forgot notwithstanding.

As well as joining Adam Nevill and Mark Charan Newton at Forbidden Planet on the 15th October, 1-2pm, I shall be in Reading the day before at the Waterstones Bookshop (the one on Broad Street as usual) on the evening of that Friday from 6-8pm. Do come along, spread the word, etc.

Further signings in Oxford, Leeds and possibly elsewhere (maybe Birmingham, as I'm swinging by there — may just sign stock though) — let you know as I have the info.

As against that, the Derby Thing vaguely mooted for 5th November has been unmooted owing to author unavailability, and looks likely to be some time early next year — the only info I have for this is that it should be a Tor authors' event — so may be me, Mark Newton, Peter F Hamilton, Paul Cornell, China Mieville and pals. Or none of the above. No idea.

Now, to far more important business. As previously promised, Roderick Easton, occasional poster here, has taken Hemesh Alles' maps and put them together for a complete picture of the world of the Insect-kinden (or at least those parts of it we've seen in the series), which, with great thanks to Mr Easton, I hereby present:

If your browser's like mine you may need to click on it to see it fully.

The Lowlands is really small! Look at it, can you believe the entire first book takes place in that tiny plot of land?

Also, I'm kind of waiting for my father, who teaches Geology at the OU, to tear me off a strip for where the mountains are, or something. But hey…

Anyway, Fantasycon — great fun all round. Reading went well (having Joe Abercrombie and Tom Lloyd in the audience was somewhat nerve-racking). The panel "trends in fantasy" went extremely well — the best I've been on — me, Joe and Tom being kept ruthlessly on message by Juliet McKenna — this is the second panel I've been on with Juliet moderating, and she is extremely good at it. And she can kick your ass. No really.

Other than that, I finally got to meet Stephen Hunt, author of The Court of the Air and sequels. I missed him at SFX this year, and he's one of my favourite authors to read, plus the creator of one of the hands down most original secondary worlds currently in play. I also got to meet my new editor at Tor, Bella Pagan, who's just made/is making the move over from Orbit.

Fantasycon is also something of a bonanza for publishers, and there was a profusion of book launches from small presses — including Solaris, PS Publishing, and notably the launch of the new Jo Fletcher Books imprint which, according to what Jo was saying in the publishers and agents' panel, is currently looking to build on its fantasy list. I feel honour-bound to point this out as I did consume a fair quantity of free wine at the launch party.

And Brian Aldiss — interviewed by Christopher Priest who, in any other company would be the one being interviewed. Listening to Mr Aldiss talk about a life remarkably full of incident, both humorous and tragic, made me wonder, should the world ever miscarry sufficiently to put me in a similar position, if I would have anything remotely as worthwhile to say.

Next up — Forbidden Planet signing 5th October, possibly with an associated stop in Oxford or Reading, but not sure yet.

First of all, Signings and Events for the near and moderate future now include:

This weekend (30th September-1st October) Fantasycon, Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton. Complete programme here and rather like Alt Fiction earlier on, there's plenty of stuff I simply want to be in the audience for. However, as a gentle reminder:

Friday — mass signing of the authors, 8pm, Regency Lounge

Saturday — "Trends in Fantasy Fiction" panel, 10am, Russell Room

Saturday — My reading slot is at 2pm, room 134 of the hotel — please do come to the reading if you can! I can promise prose the like of which nobody has ever heard. Seriously (2).

However, there are some other shenanigans on the horizon, not least of which is:

Forbidden Planet joint signing at the, er, Forbidden Planet bookshop in London, Saturday 15th October where I will be sitting alongside Adam Nevill and Mark Charan Newton. This is 1-2pm, and it's the first time I've actually got a signing slot in those August halls (3). London, baby! (4)

Some other signings also around that date that have yet to be sorted out but it looks likely that I will be in Reading or Oxford on that Friday 14th October, details to follow very shortly. There should also be a Leeds Waterstones date and one at the Leeds Travelling Man also.

Also, there will be some manner of Alt Fiction offshoot get together on 5th November but that one's still being put together, so if I give you any details I'll… ah, damn. Oh well. Forget I said anything. Probably Derby Quad again, as a venue, given how very supportive Derby is being.

Finally, I have been confirmed for SFX next February, no idea what I'm doing. It's in North Wales.

(The new covers previously posted here were sent on to me bona fide as stuff to put up, but Alan Brooks, the artist, has asked that I take them down as they were unfinished work, not intended for final display, so should have these for you at some later date, but not now).

Finally, one reader of this site, the very diligent Roderick Easton, has produced a Unified Map of the Insect-kinden Lands based on the various maps previously posted up, but frankly that deserves a post of its own to showcase it.

(1) and if you look at the gaps between posts you'll surely agree those times ain't too frequent.

(2) offer lasts until the end of the reading, when your having heard it will invalidate this warranty. Terms and conditions may apply. Art-assisted flight can go up as well as down.

(3) Unless you count the time when I basically invented one without telling FP.

(4) A Friends reference, just to show how up to the minute I am.

For the news, very briefly:

Rebis, one of my all-time favourite publishers, have picked up the rights to the Polish translation of Heirs of the Blade.

And the Barnes and Noble "First in Fantasy" article on Empire in Black and Gold can be found here and very nice it is too.

And I've just written my first stab at the back cover blurb for The Air War despite the fact that nobody at Tor has actually read it, so I could have written anything, you hear me? Anything! It could be complete cobblers, and they'll never know! Muahahahaha. Etcetera. Anyway, I'm told that's for flogging the series around the Frankfurt Book Fair, so crossed fingers for some more translation news soon.

And last, Fantasycon, at the end of this month. I will be:

8pm Friday — signing books along with a large number of other authors.

10am Saturday — Panel — Trends in Fantasy Fiction, Russell Room (1)

2pm Saturday — Reading slot, Room 134 Royal Albion Hotel. Not sure what I'll read, and (assuming I have an actual audience) will probably give people the choice of a short story or a section from the Air War or, conceivably, both if time allows.

(1) I assume it's in a location called the Russell Room. Alternatively, Russell Room will be chairing the panel.

Firstly, I will be at Fantasycon 2011 this year (1) and I've been asked to sit on a panel on Trends in Fantasy Fiction, 10am Saturday. I will hopefully be essaying a reading too, as the five people who came to the last one at Alt Fiction seemed to enjoy it (2). Reading, if it goes ahead, will either be the section of The Air War or a new short story.

Secondly, cheap kindling!  In that there is an Amazon offer for the Kindle version of Empire in Black and Gold that can be found here. Ideal present for someone who hasn't read it, might like it, and has a Kindle thingie.

Finally, and most momentously…

NEW COVER ART

Although mentioning the above in the header probably killed that as a surprise reveal, the earlier Shadows of the Apt volumes are getting something of a remodel. The new editions will be trade paperback format (to fit with the the upcoming release of Heirs of the Blade and feature completely new art by Alan Brooks. So far designs for Empire and Dragonfly are in the pipeline:

The new editions should be out around March 2012.

And finally finally finally, and just so I've not been blowing my own trumpet for the whole post, I have just finished reading Dan Abnett's recent novel Embedded, and good lord it is good. Go get yourself a copy if you haven't already.

(1) because being at Fantasycon 2011 any other year would be stupid.

(2) In all fairness that was about how many the room sat.

It's well worth keeping an eye on the Un:bound website where I think the various podcasts are going to be hosted, when they've hacked them into a recognisable format. For myself I caught the Steampunk and acquitted myself reasonably well in Genre Classics and Mythology (1) but there were a host I didn't get to see that I want to catch — military SF. shared worlds, genre vs mainstream and so on.

I won't give a blow by blow here, but one unanticipated side effect of the weekend was that I ended up with a prodigious list of new authors and books to try, so I thought I would pitch a quick rundown of my discoveries and rediscoveries because why not? I'm going to try and link everyone's blogs, too, because that's the done thing (at least according to the relevant panel I attended). Preps to my peeps. Or whatever the hell. I'm hip.

Dan Abnett isn't exactly a discovery, given that he must rate as one of the most prolific writers in history (40 books in 24 years, plus a continuous comics output!) but he does get overlooked because he's best known for tie-in work, such as Dr Who and Warhammer 40k (2) and this often gets dismissed for not being 'serious writing' (3). We got a reading of the start of his Triumff, as a result of which I now own it, along with his new book, Embedded, which promises to be just as good. This is also an example of the excellent titles that Angry Robot are putting out these days.

I ran into Adam Christopher in the Steampunk podcast — his Empire State is coming in December this year, also from Angry Robot, and has gone on my want list — he seems to be something of a doyenne of Facebucket and Twitter as well, and had a lot of interesting things to say on the Publicising your Writing panel.

As he brought it up in the panel, and as I literally finished the last few pages on the train on the way to Alt Fiction, I should say that Cherie Priest's Boneshaker is also a damn good read. I'm also cheating by plugging Tony Ballantyne because I read his Blood and Iron a while ago, but I went to his reading and he did read a concise and elegant story about ants from Nature magazine (6). At the same time (7) Rod Rees gave us an excerpt from his Demi Monde: Winter which I now also own. In fact going back to the hotel on the Saturday ventured into hernia territory with the sheer weight of books I picked up.

Readings, incidentally, are always tricky. They tend to lose out against panels and the like, which are necessarily running at the same time, and all but the most fan-mobbed authors will always turn up wondering if anyone will show at all. Alt Fiction managed to make two good calls here: firstly, giving the readings a small room, so that even a modest turnout became a decent crowd, and secondly by pairing authors, so that nobody ended up absolutely on their own (8).

After the publishing panel, at which my own editor, the elusive Julie Crisp (9), failed to show owing to illness, the next round of readings were Ian Whates, reading from his new City of Hope and Despair (sequel to last year's City of Dreams and Nightmares) as well as a 10 second alliterative short story. Ian is somehow keeping up not only that fantasy series, but a science fiction series as well (The Noise Within/The Noise Revealed) and editing about a thousand anthologies. I sit here with my full time job and family and World of Warcraft account and wonder how he fits it all in. Ian was paired with Colin Harvey who gave us a slice of the bleak near-future of Damage Time. It is getting a little concerning, on a global level, that all the near future stuff I read nowadays is quite so plausibly bleak. Perhaps all those environmentalists have a point, hmm?

The reading I did with Gav Thorpe was pleasantly attended, for my part mostly because I wouldn't shut up about it to everyone I ran into earlier in the day. In the end, I read the Mantis/Empire fight from Salute the Dark and then a semi-comic short story entitled 'Rapture', for its first proper airing ever. Gav himself read a suitably brutal piece from The Crown of the Blood.

Finally for the Saturday (and yes, there was something even later than Gav and my graveyard shift reading spot), I ended up as part of a collective effort on Down Memory late, with Pete Crowther, Paul Cornell and everyone else in the audience, as everyone dusted off their rose-tinted spectacles to give three genre classics apiece — which quickly turned into those books we most remembered from childhood. I think I had actually read over half the titles mentioned, which surprised me — the biggest gap being the hardcore vintage SF end of things. My own maundlin darlings were Wolfe's Soldier of the Mists, Wynne Jones' Power of Three and Paul Biegel's The Seven-Times Search.

After a late night drinking, arguing about Robert E. Howard and, I think, having Stephen Deas propose an all-author RPG session (10) I did manage to crawl out of bed for "A Writer's Life" panel the next morning, and perhaps the set of baggy, red-veined eyes that met the audience told them more about the writers' life than anyone wanted to know — unless it was Gav Thorpe demonstrating the fine art of deadlines by pitching up late.

After that, I caught Paul Cornell reading a section from his upcoming book Cops and Monsters, coming out next year from Tor, which he places in the metropolitan-police-procedural-urban-fantasy genre, which he and Ben Aaronovitch have fenced out between them (11). Sharing that slot was Rob Shearman, whose book Everyone's Just So So Special is not actually available yet, so more fool me for not grabbing a copy when I had the chance. However, and having heard a great many very fine readers over the weekend (not least Mr Cornell who had to follow him), I take my hat off to Rob for a piece not only masterfully written, but read to within an inch of its life, from comedy to tragedy, with the audience held in the palm of his hand. Seriously, and without hyperbole, if you get the chance to hear Shearman read, do it!

And home, after that, obviously.

(1) remarkably in the latter case as I was a late shoe-in and had done zero prep. However K.A. Laity brought up the Kalevala right at the start which led me to Michael Scott Rohan's Winter of the World series (still a favourite of mine) and after that I never looked back.

(2) Understatement of the month. I've had a friend eulogise to me on the subject for the best part of an hour explaining how Mr A is basically the patron saint of Warhammer 40k continuity.

(3) There is no rule that says a tie-in book must be a bad book (4). However, the curse of the franchise must lead to certain marketing types who have the attitude that "they'll buy it/watch it/wear it just because it has an X logo on it", where X is any established brand you care to name. That there are some very poor tie-in books out there is likely due, by my best guess, to this sort of thinking, which holds that the actual quality of the book will not notably affect its saleability — any dross will do (5). There are some very good tie-in books out there, it's just incumbent on the readership to show that they appreciate the quality, rather than just the label.

(4) And I'm not just saying that in case someone should ask me to write one, although on an unrelated note I am very, very available for Dr Who work…

(5) Coincidentally the title of the new reality TV talent show.

(6) All right, it wasn't about ants. It involved ants. Filtered through my obsessions, however, anything even vaguely related to ants becomes "about ants".

(7) Immediately after, rather. It wasn't like duelling pianos or anything.

(8) Unless the other writer doesn't show. That would be a new low.

(9) Well now she's the elusive Julie Crisp

(10) This is possibly the geekiest version of the invitation only high-stakes poker game I ever heard. My reaction was "Hell yes!"

(11) Although if we expand the geography I reckon you could fit Jim Butcher in there. Having read most of the Dresden Files series and also Ben's two novels, DC Peter Grant and PI Harry Dresden would probably have a lot to talk about over a pint.

-        11am-12pm Saturday 25^th in Cinema 2 – I’m on the panel “Has Fantasy Moved Past Tolkien”, which sounds vaguely as though Professor T is meandering slowly down the freezer aisle at Tescos with a queue of fantasy authors backing up behind him trying to get to the ice cream. Barring serious scientific developments, the professor himself won’t be there, although I suspect that, were he able to make his opinions known, he would be mortified if we hadn’t covered some ground since Rings was published. I’m joined in this by Graham McNeill, Gav Thorpe, MD Lachlan and Juliet McKenna

-        9-10pm Saturday 25^th – Reading, along with Gav Thorpe. Yes, I know, late night slot, so for those not staying overnight it’s asking a bit , but: I’ve not done a reading for a while, and I’m currently still up in the air about what to read. My favourite past bit is the Empire/Mantis fight from Salute the Dark but it’s more traditional to read something new. Obviously I’ve got Heirs of the Blade due October, so a piece from that would be appropriate, but then again, you’ll get that book fairly soon, so why tease(2)? As an alternative, and as I’m sufficiently ahead of myself, I may instead wheel out a sneak preview of The Air War, book 8, for the first time ever, so hopefully that’s an incentive. This is taking place in the Participation Space.

-        10-11am Sunday 26^th I’m doing a panel on The Writer’s Life. I have taken this in the general. If I’m supposed to be talking about the life of any specific writer I may be a bit screwed. This is in the Cafe Bar, so if you happen to be hungry or thirsty at around this time you may end up attending whether you want to or not. I’m teaming up for this one with Conrad Williams, Sarah Pinborough, Keith Brooke and Gav Thorpe (who by this time will probably be sick of the sight of me).

-        11-12am Sunday, I will be doing a (somewhat out of breath, given the above) podcast on Genre Classics, and whilst this sounds something like the SFX panel from earlier in the year, I do not in any way guarantee that I won’t decide that my favourite classics are entirely different this time round. I’m on this one with Peter Crowther and Dan Abnett.

-        Finally, 2-3pm Sunday, another podcast on Using Mythology in Writing, along with KA Laity and Mark Chadbourn. I’m not sure how much of a spectator sport these podcasts are, but presumably they’ll all be recorded, available online, all that jazz.

Quite beside all that, frankly, the entire event schedule is a phenomenal range of people and topics – Dan Abnett and Alistair Reynolds as guest speakers, and a veritable horde of other Names from the industry – both writers (looking forward to catching up with Paul Cornell, Mark Charan-Newton (3) and Ian Whates, particularly) and indeed editors – quite a selection of workshops, panels and podcasts specifically to do with publishing and getting published.

I set out below the footnotes the entire weekend schedule – do come along. For myself, when I’m not actually doing something, I plan to be in the audience most of the time. It’s good stuff.

(1)  I think I’ve said this before, but as a Larper, “podcast” just sounds like the equivalent of a “pod shot”, just with a thrown weapon involved.

(2)  Also, I’ve just disposed of the final proofs on this book, and as any author will tell you, this is basically the time when you just never want to see the damn thing ever again, because every one of its 200,000+ words is etched on the inside of your skull by that point.

(3)  Whose City of Ruin I have just finished, and enjoyed immensely.

Alt.Fiction Schedule

Please note, the schedule is subject to change, and no refunds will be given in case of alterations to the programme or speakers being unable to attend for any reason. Attendees will be notified of any changes to the schedule at the event.

CINEMA ONE

SATURDAY

10am-11am: The Digital Revolution (Panel)

Lee Harris, Damien Walter, Helen Marshall, Cheryl Morgan

11am-12pm: The Infamous Horror Panel

Sarah Pinborough, Mark Morris, Conrad Williams, Adam Nevill

12pm-1pm: Guest of Honour Slot 1

Dan Abnett

1pm-2pm: LUNCH BREAK

2pm-3pm: Scriptwriting Panel

Mark Chadbourn, Robert Shearman, Paul Finch, Jonathan L Howard, Stephen Volk

3pm-4pm: Guest of Honour Slot 2

Alastair Reynolds

4pm-5pm: The World of Publishing (Panel)

John Jarrold, Lee Harris, Julie Crisp, Jon Weir, David Thomas Moore

5pm-6pm: Writing (and Reading) BBC Books (Panel)

Sarah Pinborough, Mark Morris, Robert Shearman, Steve Tribe, Paul Finch, Una McCormack, Guy Adams, James Goss

6pm-7pm: Alt.Ficion Raffle

Run by Sarah Pinborough and Guy Adams

7pm-8pm: DINNER BREAK

8pm-9:30pm: The Cat People (70 minutes)

A screening of Val Lewton's classic 1942 horror

9:50pm-11pm: Curse of the Cat People (73 minutes)

A screening of the disturbing 1944 sequel to The Cat People

12pm-1:30am: Hobo with a Shotgun (86 minutes)

EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW SCREENING

A screening of the grindhouse feature starring Rutger Hauer, one month before its UK release

SUNDAY

2pm-3pm: Ghost Story Screening

Late Night Story – Tom Baker reads 'The Photograph' by Nigel Kneale

Dead of Night – The Exorcism, directed by Don Taylor

3pm-4pm: The Value of Literary Awards

Tom Hunter, Mark Yon, Cheryl Morgan

4pm-5pm: What Next for the Genre?

Conrad Williams, Mark Newton, Dan Abnett, Alastair Reynolds

CINEMA TWO

SATURDAY

10am-11am: Devil's Advocate – Is There Anywhere New for Science Fiction to Go?

Alastair Reynolds, Tony Ballantyne, Ian Whates, John Jarrold

11am-12pm: Devil's Advocate – Has Fantasy Moved Past Tolkien?

Adrian Tchaikovsky, Graham McNeill, Gav Thorpe, MD Lachlan, Juliet McKenna

12pm-1pm: Ghost Story Screening

A Ghost Story for Christmas – 'The Signalman' by Charles Dickens

Introduced by Stephen Volk

1pm-2pm: LUNCH BREAK

2pm-3pm: Devil's Advocate – Is the Ghost Story Dead?

Mark Morris, Adam Nevill, Conrad Williams, Paul Kane

THE BOX

SATURDAY

10am-7pm: Booksales

Murky Depths, Interzone/TTA Press, British Fantasy Society, Alt.Fiction

7pm-8pm: DINNER BREAK

8pm-9pm: Audio Books (Panel)

James Goss, Christian Dunn, Dan Abnett

9pm-10pm: Writing for Young Adults (Panel)

Stephen Deas, William Hussey, Keith Brooke, Chris Wooding

10pm-11pm: Memory Lane – Your Favourite Genre Books (Panel)

Paul Cornell, Peter Crowther, Mark Morris, Juliet McKenna

SUNDAY

2pm-3pm: Comics Panel (Panel)

Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill, Pat Kelleher, Paul Cornell

3pm-4pm: Reading

Robert Shearman and Paul Cornell

4pm-5pm: Publicising Yourself and Your Writing (Panel)

Jon Weir, Marc Gascoigne, Tom Hunter, Adam Christopher, Jenni Hill

MEETING ROOM

SATURDAY

10am-11am: Workshop

Rod Rees – The All-Important First Page

11am-12pm: Workshop

Tony Ballantyne – How to Make Your Writing Boring

12pm-1pm: Workshop

Kim Lakin-Smith – Fleshing the Bones – Dark Fantasy and Characterisation

1pm-2pm: LUNCH BREAK

2pm-3pm: Workshop

MD Lachlan – Start Your Fantasy Novel – Six Principles for Success

3pm-4pm: Workshop

Colin Harvey – Creating a Science Fictional Setting

4pm-5pm: Workshop

Graham Joyce – Writing Sharp Dialogue

5pm-6pm: Workshop

Graham McNeill?

SUNDAY

10am-11am: Workshop

Paul Finch – Prose to Screenplay

11am-12pm: Workshop

Juliet McKenna – Every Word Must Count

12pm-1pm: Workshop

Dan Abnett – Shooty Death Kill in Space 101

1pm-2pm: LUNCH BREAK

2pm-3pm: Workshop

Jonathan L Howard

3pm-4pm: Workshop

Paul Kane/Marie O'Regan – Setting and Location in Genre Fiction

MAC SUITE

SATURDAY

10am-11am: Military Science Fiction (Podcast)

Gavin Smith, Graham McNeill, Gav Thorpe

11am-12pm: The Editors (Podcast)

Marc Gascoigne, Helen Marshall, Steve Tribe, Julie Crisp

12pm-1pm: Breaking into Writing (Podcast)

Rod Rees, Guy Haley, Colin Harvey, Pat Kelleher

1pm-2pm: LUNCH BREAK

2pm-3pm: Steampunk (Podcast)

Kim Lakin-Smith, Adam Christopher, Jennifer Williams

3pm-4pm: Editing an Anthology (Podcast)

Christian Dunn, Marie O'Regan, Ian Whates

4pm-5pm: Tie-in Fiction and Shared Worlds (Podcast)

Pat Kelleher, Dan Abnett, Guy Adams, Guy Haley

5pm-6pm: Young Adult Writing (Podcast)

Chris Wooding, Stephen Deas, William Hussey

6pm-7pm: Writers in the East Midlands (Podcast)

William Hussey, Gavin Smith, Freda Warrington

SUNDAY

10am-11am: Is the Genre Just for Boys? (Podcast)

Mark Newton, Graham McNeill, Jenni Hill, Jennifer Williams

11am-12pm: Genre Classics (Podcast)

Peter Crowther, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Dan Abnett

12pm-1pm: Has Genre Conquered Mainstream? (Podcast)

Ian Whates, Damien Walter, Paul Kane, Jon Weir, Paul Cornell

1pm-2pm: LUNCH BREAK

2pm-3pm: Using Mythology in Writing (Podcast)

KA Laity, Mark Chadbourn, Adrian Tchaikovsky

3pm-4pm: How Not to Get Published (Podcast)

Helen Marshall, Marc Gascoigne, Jenni Hill

4pm-5pm: Genre Non-Fiction (Podcast)

KA Laity, Paul Kane, Damien Walter

PARTICIPATION SPACE

SATURDAY

10am-11am: Reading

Kim Lakin-Smith and KA Laity

11am-12pm: Reading

Jonathan L Howard and Adam Christopher

12pm-1pm: Reading

Peter Crowther and Graham Joyce

1pm-2pm: LUNCH BREAK

2pm-3pm: Reading

Una McCormack and James Goss

3pm-4pm: Reading

Tony Ballantyne and Rod Rees

4pm-5pm: Reading

Mark Chadbourn and Juliet McKenna

5pm-6pm: Reading

Ian Whates and Colin Harvey

6pm-7pm: Reading

Mark Morris and Paul Kane

7pm-8pm: DINNER BREAK

8pm-9pm: Reading

Chris Wooding and Stephen Deas

9pm-10pm: Reading

Gav Thorpe and Adrian Tchaikovsky

10pm-11pm: Reading

Conrad Williams and Sarah Pinborough

SUNDAY

2pm-3pm: Reading

Keith Brooke and Alastair Reynolds

3pm-4pm: Reading

Pat Kelleher and Graham McNeill? (4)

4pm-5pm: Reading

Marie O'Regan and Adam Nevill

CAFE BAR

SUNDAY

10am-11am: The Writers' Life (Panel)

Conrad Williams, Sarah Pinborough, Keith Brooke, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Gav Thorpe

11am-12pm: Who Reads the Genre and Why? (Panel)

Damien Walter, Jon Weir, David Thomas Moore, Paul Cornell

(4)    I’m not sure whether this indicates Graham McNeill isn’t quite confirmed for the reading, or whether the author of the schedule is particularly surprised and/or enthusiastic about it.