Big April
Over the weekend I've been struggling with a very visceral form of anxiety. Racing heart, churning stomach, the works. It's probably because next week I'll be going to Olympus 2012 (affectionately known as Eastercon) and then to Alt.Fiction, then I'll be on the radio in Bristol and then I'll be having my first ever Waterstones signing for 20 Years Later after that.
In short, April seems to be some sort of nexus point in the space-time continuum for author events. So as some of you might be going to one of those events, I thought I'd let you know what time I'll be reading and on panels.
Olympus 2012
Friday 1pm
A reading from "20 Years Later"
Saturday 8pm "Publishing outside the box"
Blurb: It's increasingly easy to fund and publish work outside the traditional models of publishing, from print on demand and selling ebooks through Amazon to alternative funding models like Peerbackers and Kickstarter. How can you make your non-traditional publishing models work? What distinguishes a succesful Kickstarter campaign from one which never gets off the ground? What are the benefits to readers and authors of these new opportunities, and what are the pitfalls?
Monday 1pm "Dystopian YA"
Blurb: Is dystopian fiction for young adults a new trend, or one we've only just noticed? Does YA fiction tend towards dystopia and why? Is it easier to write YA if you get rid of the adults? Do they show a positive worldview, of how the next generation will fix what the previous one has broken? Is the dystopian YA fiction undercut by a need for a hopeful ending?
I'm thrilled to have a chance to read and to be on those panels, Cory Doctorow is on the latter panel too, and I am feeling rather intimidated by that fact…
Alt.Fiction
The following week is Alt.Fiction in Leicester. (14th & 15th April)
http://altfiction.co.uk/
14th April:
11am: Panel: Not Another F*cking Elf (about tropes in fiction)
12pm: Panel: New Writers
1pm: Flash fic reading
Blimey, that's an intense three hours! There are single day tickets for £20 as well as tickets for the whole weekend.
Upcoming radio fun
The radio appearance will be online eventually, so I'll post that up afterwards. Did I point you guys towards the interview recorded at the SFX Weekender? You can hear what I sound like when very nervous at the start, then I relax as the interview goes on. There's a surprise appearance of a Dalek and a Wookie too.
20 Years Later signing
Then there's the signing event at Waterstones Bristol Galleries. I'll be there between 11am and 3pm, if you can come, or if you know people in the area who love books and can tell them about it, I'd be immensely grateful. Needless to say I am really quite nervous about it! All the location details are here on Eventbrite or here on Facebook, whichever you prefer.
Looking ahead
Edge-Lit – Saturday 14th July
I will be at the Edge-Lit fiction event at QUAD Derby. I don't have any panel details yet, I'll let you know when I do. http://www.derbyquad.co.uk/edgelit
Miscellarium 11th and 12th August
This is a new cross-genre event in Sunderland on the 11th and 12th August. I'm there as a guest author, more details to follow. http://www.miscellarium.co.uk/
Worldcon August 30-September 3, 2012
This is in Chicago! I still can't quite believe I'm going, but I have booked the flights and everything. Will any of you lovely people be there? https://chicon.org/
Bristolcon October 20th, 2012
I went to Bristolcon last year and it is a wonderful event, small and friendly. http://www.bristolcon.org/
