Event Report – Edge-Lit 4
I’ve always enjoyed the Edge-Lit convention, and it’s spiritual predecessor Alt.fiction, for its mingling of fans, professionals and those in-between. My day was a blend of all three of those facets coming together, combining panel appearances, a workshop and a couple of book launches.
The panels were stimulating, although I must confess my addition to the Grimdark panel was a little short notice and I could have been better prepped for it. Nonetheless, gamely moderated by Adrian Tchaikovsky we managed to have a look at all that was grim and dark, including a discussion on whether A Song of Ice and Fire is actually grimdark (I contest that it is, even though it has high fantasy trappings such as dragons and kings and stuff), and a great question from the audience about whether it’s possible to write (and sell!) uplifting stories any more.
The second panel, on writing and selling short stories, was timely because it is a subject I have been looking into a lot more lately. I’ve really enjoyed working on some original short fiction this year. As was discussed by the panel (sponsored by Sharkpunk, nod to Jonathan Green whom I had a great chat with between engagements) short stories can be a nice complement to working on novel drafts, allowing you to excise a few ideas that have been nagging away, clearing the palate to concentrate on the larger work. It’s certainly an area I’m looking to do more with, perhaps even some self-publishing a bit further down the line if there seems to be an audience.
If you’re interested in writing and submitting short stories, I often share commissions and submissions opportunities I come across on Facebook and Twitter. This is also a great way to keep an eye out for upcoming publications that you might want to read!
Speaking of which, I did a short reading from Driver Not Found, at the launch of the We Can Improve You anthology. (You can also see an extract in this earlier blog post.) I’m reading my author copy at the moment and there are some very entertaining stories. Writing short fiction has rekindled my love of the form, and given how busy I am these days between work and family, it’s nice to digest my fiction in short, satisfying chunks.
And that’s probably why I ended up ordering a copy of Chip Shop Horrors at the Knightwatch Press launch, even though I was there as one of the author stable for Nice Day for a Picnic. I was also really tempted by Killer Bees from Outer Space, which I’ll probably order later.
I was sold on these two books on the basis of the author readings, which goes to show that it really can be worth the time and effort to a) do a reading if you’re an author and b) attend if you’re at an event. The same applies to The Electric, by Andrew David Barker, which I will pick up following his excellent reading at the Boo Books lunchtime launch. It’s as good as an extract for giving you a glimpse into the world and style, with the added bonus that it is literally in the author’s ‘voice’ which adds a particular spin on the words.
The workshop was also a great success it seems, and was well attended. It was aimed towards helping people collate and stretch their inspirations and ideas, combining them together to create unique worlds, characters and stories. It works very well as a group event, and I’ll try to turn it into a written form for a future blog post.
This year Edge.Lit is returning in the winter with Sledge.Lit. I hope to see you there.
