Interzone – noise and sparks

BSFA 2018 Awards and Edinburgh Science Festival Workshop

If you’re in the Edinburgh area, attending Eastercon: Ytterbium, or a member of the BSFA, I’ve got news for you:

First of all, I’m thrilled that my Noise and Sparks columns for Shoreline of Infinity have been shortlisted for the BSFA Awards 2018 in the Best Non-fiction category!

Joining me in this category are the Sleeps with Monsters (Tor.com) and Time Pieces (Interzone) columns by Liz Bourke and Nina Allan respectively, Adam Roberts’ latest book Publishing the Science Fiction Canon: The Case of Scientific Romance (Free online from Cambridge University Press until 22nd February), and Aliette de Bodard’s lauded article on the Intellectus Speculativus blog, ‘On motherhood and erasure: people-shaped holes, hollow characters and the illusion of impossible adventures’. The full shortlist really is incredibly strong this year, so if you’re looking for great short stories, novels, art or non-fiction that you may have missed last year, I really do recommend checking those out.

The results will be announced at the 2019 Eastercon, Ytterbium, which takes place at the Park Inn Heathrow, London, over 19th – 22nd April. For more details, including how to vote for BSFA and Eastercon members, head to https://bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-2018-awards-voting-form/.

And here’s news for Scottish pals: the Edinburgh Science Festival has just released details of this year’s programme – and I’m delighted that Oliver Langmead and I will be back with ‘Discover New Worlds Through Creative Writing’!

Last year’s attendees found our popular workshop “brilliantly creative… very comfortable and relaxed”, “thought-provoking” and “inspiring”, so do join us in exploring the galaxy and building new worlds from 2pm on Saturday 13th April at the Pleasance.

This event is ticketed, so make sure you register online now at https://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/event-details/discover-new-worlds-through-creative-writing or click here for more ways to book.

For more details of this year’s Edinburgh Science Festival programme, check out the full brochure at https://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/.

Eastercon: Satellite 4 – Scheduled Orbit

It’s almost Easter, so it’s almost Eastercon! The BSFA’s annual convention has moved to Glasgow, and I’ll be making my programme debut this year. As I mentioned yesterday, I’m doing my first ever book signing, when La Femme launches at the Newcon Press / PS Publishing party on the Friday.

That’s not all. I’ll be crossing another first off my list this year, when I appear on two of Eastercon’s convention panels. One of these is right before the signing on the Friday evening. So, if you fancy two hours of back-to-back Booth – and an encore on Sunday – come along, hear me waffle, and I’ll scribble all over your books. Any books, really. Magazines too. Notebooks. Toaster Ovens. Small potted palms. Treasure Maps to hoards of Mexican gold…

Here’s what I’ll be up to: