Tag: Workshop

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Events Workshop

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/.

Cover image by Joshua Smythe

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/.


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Academic Academic Events Workshop

GIFCon 2018 schedule

Next Thursday 26th and Friday 27th April, we’ll be running our second annual Glasgow International Fantasy Conversations event, GIFCon 2018. Keynote speakers include acclaimed celtic studies and children’s literature scholar Dr Dimitra Fimi, author of the Children of the Damned series, Arianne “Tex” Thompson, SF and metafictions scholar Dr Will Slocombe, and Victorian Studies Professor Dr Alice Jenkins — plus we have creative writing workshops, and more than 50 papers across two days. It’s been a lot of hard work for the committee over the last few months, but we’re really looking forward to bringing this wonderful programme to you!

Aside from running about getting content for our social media updates, I’ll also be giving a paper and running a creative writing workshop.

Here’s where you can find me at GIFCon 2018:

Thursday 26 April 2018

4:45pm – 6:00pm (University Gardens 5, room 101)
Panel 8: There Be Dragons: Maps, Architecture, and Worldbuilding in Fantasy – Siddharth Pandey, Christopher Lynch Becherer, Lena Abraham, Ruth Booth (chair)

I’ll be chairing what promises to be a fascinating discussion about secondary worlds and the notion of creation and the constructed realities of space and map-making.

Friday 27 April 2018

8:30am – 10:00am (University Gardens 4, room 202)
Workshop 1: Discovering New Worlds Through Writing – Oliver Langmead and Ruth EJ Booth

If you missed our workshop at Edinburgh International Science Festival, Oliver Langmead and I will be presenting a special Fantasy version at this year’s GIFCon. Bring pens, paper, and a good whack of imagination, as we explore worlds beyond the portal.

10:15am – 11:30am (University Gardens 5, room 101)
Panel 11: Escape in Japan – Hannah Greenblott, Miguel Cesar, Ruth Booth Monica Vazquez (chair)
[…]
3) Ruth Booth: Growing-up in the Time of No-Face: Escapism, Illusion, and Identity in Spirited Away.

In this paper, I’ll be examining how Spirited Away confounds the division between fantasy and reality in children’s narratives through its use of magic, identity, and the consequences of actions. Join me for an exploration of escapism in one of my favourite Studio Ghibli films!

For details of the rest of the programme, head to https://gifcon.org/programme-2018/.

GIFCon 2018 is now sold out, but you can join the waiting list by clicking here.

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Academic Academic Events Book Launch Book Launch Conventions Eastercon Edinburgh International Science Festival Events From Glasgow to Saturn Readings Shoreline of Infinity

March/April ’18: BFS Open Night, Edinburgh International Science Festival, FGTS 40 Launch and more!

Readings, a workshop and more – here are my official plans for March and April.

March 15th – BFS Open Night (Waterstones Argyle Street, 6:30pm)

My next reading will be part of the British Fantasy Society’s Glasgow Open Night on 15th March. Joining host Shona Kinsella (Ashael Rising, Mirnya’s Oath), Neil Williamson (The Moon King, Secret Language), and I (other stuff) will be R. J. Barker, author of Age of Assassins, and we’ll all be reading and chatting about fantastic things for your entertainment. The night kicks off at 6:30pm on 15th March at Waterstones Argyle Street, Glasgow. For more details, see the Waterstones event page or Facebook event page.

If you can’t make this, I’ll also be doing a warm-up reading as part of the MLitt in Fantasy Reading Party on 7th March at DRAM! If you’re interested in attending this, please let me know and I’ll pass on the details.

March 30th – April 1st – Eastercon: Follycon (Harrogate)

More on this soon! Click here for details of my full schedule!

April 5th – From Glasgow to Saturn: Issue 40 Launch (The Raven, 6pm)

From Glasgow to Saturn will be holding a launch party for issue 40 at The Raven in Glasgow on 5th April. We’ll be hosting readings from some of this issue’s authors and poets, plus music, an open mic, and the infamous FGTS raffle. This is the first issue for which I’ve been an editor, so I’d love to see you there.

Update: Click here for the facebook event page!

April 7th – Workshop at Edinburgh International Science Festival (Summerhall, 2pm)

Edinburgh area writers, I’ll be joining Oliver Langmead (Dark Star, Metronome) for ‘Discovering New Worlds Through Writing: A Creative Writing Workshop’ as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival on 7th April. We’ll be taking you through exercises on exploring the galaxy, new worlds, and what it takes to get there – and this will be the first workshop I’ve given! Be warned this event will be limited availability, so best pick your ticket up sooner rather than later. The workshop runs from 2pm – 4pm on 7th April at the Anatomy Lecture Theatre, Summerhall. Click here to buy tickets.

April 26th – 27th – GIFCon 2018 (University of Glasgow)

Finally, GIFCon 2018 takes place over 26th – 27th April at the University of Glasgow. If you’ve submitted an abstract to the event, you should be hearing from us soon, but in the meantime, please keep an eye on our twitter, facebook, and instagram accounts, and on our website for announcements of details of how to register.

Hope to see you at one of these!

In the meantime, Shoreline of Infinity have uploaded video footage from February’s Event Horizon — where Hal Duncan, Neil Williamson and I staged a GSFWC invasion — to their facebook page. You’ll find us starting at about 1 hour 13 minutes in.