The latest installment of the biennial Scottish SF convention, Satellite Six, kicks off a week tomorrow at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow. And the programme is out now! If you’re joining us over 25th to 27th May, here’s where you can find me.
SATURDAY
8:15pm – Shoreline of Infinity Event Horizon (Siduri)
“Join us for a blast of science fiction songs, stories and poetry featuring Ken MacLeod, Painted Ocean – and other exciting names to be revealed. Your host – the effervescent Andrew J. Wilson.”
While the full line-up has yet to be announced, I’ve got the go-ahead to reveal I’ll be joining Andrew J. Wilson and more for a special edition of the Edinburgh-based SF night.
SUNDAY
11:00am – Superhero writers (Siduri) Paul McAuley (GoH), Ruth EJ Booth, Neil Williamson (M), Christopher Nuttall, Dave Weaver, Cat Hellisen
“The double-life of sci-fi scribes with everyday jobs. Writers at different stages in their careers discuss how to balance writing and making ends meet.”
If you’ve ever wondered how to squeeze in writing alongside an academic career (I know I do), pop along to hear a group of writers from different walks of life chat about how to squeeze in a writing career alongside everyday life.
Outside of this, come say hi if you see me in the bar. Hope to see you there!
GIFCon is nearly over and done with for another year, so time for a wee update on upcoming things:
Firstly, Oliver Langmead and I will be giving a version of our workshop, ‘Discover New Worlds Through Creative Writing’ on 13th June at the Glasgow Science Festival. If you missed our Edinburgh International Science Festival and GIFCon events, this will be your last chance to catch our workshops for a wee while. So, get yourself registered for free tickets at the link below, and we’ll see you there! We kick off at 5:30pm on 13th June at 5 University Gardens, University of Glasgow.
Before that, I’ll be appearing at the Satellite 6 convention in Glasgow at the end of May. Until the programme is officially announced (and I’ll post more then), here’s where you can register for this year’s event.
As for 2019, I’ve been invited onto the Programming Committee for next year’s Eastercon, Ytterbium. With the delightful Frances Hardinge, John Scalzi, Sydney Padua, and DC as guests of honour, I’m really looking forward to working with Farah Mendlesohn and the team on next year’s event!
Finally, some fiction news. Towards the end of last year, I put in an application to do a creative doctorate, and I’m happy to say the department accepted me. So, this coming Autumn, I’ll be starting on the DFA in Creative Writing programme at the University of Glasgow. I’ll be working with Zoe Strachan, Dr Rob Maslen, and Dr Matt Barr on a long-form project about patriarchal theory, video-gaming, and Hamlet. I’ll be hoping to keep my hand in Fantastic academia and aiming to get a couple of papers published during the course. For now, I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into a larger fiction project and tackling some ideas that have been on my mind since my time as a raider a decade ago.
In the meantime, this Summer will be devoted to finishing my dissertation for the MLitt in Fantasy in Glasgow, moving house, and maybe finishing the odd short story. Best get back to that, then…!
…
Well, okay, before I go, here’s a few of my highlights from GIFCon, as captured on camera and reported by twitter (with huge thanks to Gabe Cohen, Taylor Driggers, Marita Arvaniti, Emma McMullan, and the wonderful Tex Thompson):
Following the There Be Dragons panel.
Oliver Langmead and I kicking off our GIFCon 2018 workshop
Workshoppers hard at work.
Workshoppers hard at work.
That’s who we are!
After the Escape in Japan panel.
Sherrif and newly-deputized social media person after introducing Tex’s keynote speech.
Me, Tex Thompson, and Dr Rob Maslen show our badges.
Day 2 @GIFConGLA and very excited for this morning’s workshop, Discovering New Worlds Through Writing, led by @RuthEJBooth and Oliver Langmead #GifCon18
The generous Arianne "Tex" Thompson (@tex_maam) kicks off her talk on the relationship between Westerns and Fantasy with the highest honour your social media bod has ever had! Thank you, Tex! #GIFCon18pic.twitter.com/oJioKpUDwl
My pleasure, ma'am – you are the can-do hero this town needs, and the only shotgun socializer standing between us and perdition! (And you just make me sound so GOOD, too!)
