It's that time of year, or one of those times of year, when there's basically too much to blog about (1)

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.