Monday 25 September 2017

My FantasyCon Schedule (and great weekends past!)

I thoroughly enjoy the FantasyCon experience (I've written reports for most of them) from my first in September 2000 in Birmingham up to last years bash at Scarborough.  Back at my first, I went in knowing about three people but by the time I left I knew a load more and most of those friendships are still going strong.  This year, it's in Peterborough, I'm once again going along with Sue Moorcroft (it's the closest venue to us so far) and I'm really looking forward to it.  Unlike last year (and the fantastic Hersham Horror Books launch party, which I was part of with my novella The Factory), I don't have anything being launched but I am on a panel and here's my schedule for the weekend.
Hersham Horror Books novella launch, Scarborough 2016
from left - Phil Sloman, Stephen Bacon, me, James Everington

Panels
Saturday 30th September
Horror: Mastery and Apprenticeship - 10am, Panel Room 1
Helen Armfield (mod)
(panel) Ramsey Campbell, Phil Sloman, Mark West, Nina Allan, James Everington

A lot of my friends are on various panels over the weekend so I'll be attending plenty of them

Launches in the Broadway Suite
Saturday 11am: Newcon Press (Ian Whates)
Tanith By Choice, edited by Ian Whates
Visionary Tongue edited by Storm Constantine
& Newcon Press Novellas Slipcase Set

Saturday 4pm: Hersham Horror Novellas (Peter Mark May)
Perfect Darkness, Perfect Silence by Richard Farren Barber
Monstrous by Charlotte Bond
Bury Them Deep by Marie O' Regan

I'll definitely be at these two but also trying to fit in as many more as I possibly can.


There's also the disco of course, 8pm on Friday night (again, I'm not sure why it's shifted from Saturday) and I plan to hit that dancefloor (as part of the regular Rhythm Crew*) and boogie through until we're thrown out!
(*the Rhythm Crew is a fluid bunch but stalwarts are Phil Sloman, James Everington, Peter Mark May, Steven Chapman, Carrie Buchanan and Vix Kirkpatrick)


The full Fantasycon 2017 programme can be found here.

And here are some wonderful memories (click on the location & date for my event report) of FantasyCon's past, great times shared with great friends...

Walsall 2005
from left (front) Marie O'Regan, Matthew Holness, Gail-Nina Anderson
(back) me, Rob Rowntree, Lisa Negus, David Price, Paul Kane
Nottingham 2008
from left - me, Simon Bestwick, Gary McMahon
Nottingham 2010
from left - Gary McMahon (hiding behind an ARC for his novel Pretty Little Dead Things), Shaun Hamilton (obscured), Stephen Bacon (the first time I met him face-to-face), Simon Marshall-Jones, me, David Price, Simon Kurt Unsworth
Brighton 2011
from left - Stuart Young, David Price, Terry Grimwood, me
At the Alt-Dead launch, from left - Stuart Hughes, me, Dave Jeffery, Steve Lockley (obscured) and Stuart Young.  Peter Mark May is on the right (picture by Selina Lock)
The fantastic FCon Disco
from left - me, Peter Mark may, Laurel Sills, Lee Harris, Paul Melhuish, Rob Spalding (closest to camera)
In the dealer room with Selina Lock, me, Richard Farren Barber, Stuart Young
At the Hauntings launch, me and Alison Littlewood mess about, Paul Kane and Adrian Tchaikovsky act professional.  Stuart Young looks on, wondering if he's made a sound investment...
from left - Stephen Volk, Gardner Goldsmith, Paul Finch, me
from left - Steven Chapman, Neil Bond (displaying his autographs from Joe Hill), me, Ruth Booth
In the dealer room (again), since Drive had just been launched (and I was recovering from my heart attack)
from left - Steven Chapman, Phil Sloman, Jim Mcleod, me, Sue Moorcroft, Neil Williams, Christopher Teague
Sue's great idea for a group shot
from left of the middle bottom - me, Steven Chapman, Neil Williams, Sue Moorcroft, Stephen Bacon, John Travis, Terry Grimwood, James Everington, Steve Harris
At the disco with my boogie brothers - from left - Peter Mark May, me, Phil Sloman, Steven Chapman
(blurry image because my phone had been in my pocket and the lens got a bit misted up!)
Gathering in the convention centre to say our goodbyes on Sunday morning
from left - Paul Woodward, Phil Sloman, Gavin Williams (kneeling), me, Alison Littlewood, Jim Mcleod, James Everington
In the bar, on arrival - from left - John Gilbert, Sue Moorcroft, Neil Williams, James Everington, Priya Sharma, Phil Sloman, me, Lisa Childs, Ross Warren, Wayne Parkin, Cate Gardner
The Pizza posse (some of us doing jazz hands for some weird reason - photo by Sue)
Lisa, me, Laura Mauro (obscured), Ross, Phil, Gary Couzens, Peter Mark May, Wayne (obscured), James, Richard Farren Barber, Steve
The FantasyCon Boyband publicity shoot went well - Richard, Steve, me, Wayne.
In the bar with Alison Littlewood, Gary Fry and Gary McMahon - sarcasm not pictured

There'll be a full report next week (as always) but, if you're there and see me, make sure to say hello!

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