COP26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, kicks off in Glasgow on 31st October. To celebrate this and the Being Human Festival, the University of Glasgow’s College of Arts is hosting The Dear Green Bothy, a series of events on Creative and Critical responses to issues of Climate Change and Sustainability. And I’ll be there co-hosting a writing workshop with Oliver Langmead.
What an amazing time Flights of Foundry was! Fun panels with amazing creative minds, and the opportunity to share and discuss with a vibrant community across the world. I hope you had a grand time too if you went. But now the time has come to talk of other things**. Specifically June, and how to sign up for the splendid things I’m doing then.
This weekend, the debut run of Scotland’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival, CYMERA, kicks off in Edinburgh. If you’re planning on heading up, down, or over, here’s where you can catch me.
With Eastercon over, and term nearly done, you’d be forgiven for thinking I’d be taking a break from now until Dublin Worldcon this August. On the contrary: with CYMERA Festival, GIFCon 2019 and more on the way, it’s shaping up to be a busy summer. Whether you’re into fiction, fantastic academia, or fandom, here’s where you can find me over May and June – and where you can hear me before all that.
The 70th annual Eastercon, Ytterbium, has finally released its programme to the public! The Programme Committee for Ytterbium has been working their socks off to bring this year’s line-up to you, and we can’t wait to see you all over 19th – 22nd April at the Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow.
While I’m on Guest of Honour Helper duties this weekend, I will be taking a break for three panels. Click here for my full schedule on Grenadine, or check out the details below.
(15/04/19 – Now updated with the latest panel line-ups.)
Maps, Place, and Landscape in Fantasy
Saturday 2:00pm-3:00pm
Judith Mortimore [Mod], Ruth EJ Booth, John Clute, Frances Hardinge, Teresa Nielsen Hayden
I’m overjoyed to share a panel with not just Frances Hardinge and Teresa Nielsen Hayden, but John Clute, whose work in the Encyclopedia of Fantasy was instrumental in my Fantasy Masters thesis about Heroic Landscapes.
Beyond Studio Ghibli
Sunday 10:15am-11:15am
Ruth EJ Booth [Mod], Mad Elf, Jessica Meats, Sarah Ash, Zoe Burgess-Foreman
Like Studio Ghibli? Want to try other Anime but don’t know where to start? Bring your pens, paper, and preferences, as we’ll be easing you into Sunday with the best movies, great studios to watch out for, and more.
You can also click here find my full programme for the weekend.
I nearly forgot – there’s also this:
BSFA Awards Ceremony
Saturday 6:00pm-6:45pm
Ytterbium will also host the annual BSFA Awards, where my 2018 columns for Shoreline of Infinity are up for the Best Non-Fiction Award, to my utter delight! If you’re a voting member of the BSFA, you should have received the voting pack already, but if you’re attending Ytterbium, check the awards booklet in your registration pack to read some of my columns from 2018. If you enjoy them, please consider voting before midday on Eastercon Saturday. The results will be announced at the BSFA’s Official Awards Ceremony at 6pm on Saturday 20th April.
Talking of which, Ytterbium attendees will also have the chance to read my new column in the latest Shoreline of Infinity, if they drop by the stall in the Dealers Area! This issue features the first part of my new Noise and Sparks column on my visit to the Arctic Circle this winter, and how this experience has changed my perspective on writing goals. There are also stories from Cat Hellisen, Ken MacLeod, Eris Young, and the poetry of the inestimable Harry Josephine Giles. Click here for more on Issue 14.
Finally, if you’re in Scotland, don’t forget that Oliver Langmead and I are back at Edinburgh Science Festival this Saturday 13th April with our writing workshop ‘Discover New Worlds through Writing’. Whether you’re a beginner, returning to writing again, or you’d like to develop your SF worldbuilding skills, join us in exploring the solar system and beyond! The workshop kicks off at 2pm on Saturday 13th April at the Pleasance. Click here for tickets.
And if you’re planning on heading to CYMERA Festival in June, watch this space for more on that soon!