It’s the Wednesday after Fantasycon and I am still exhausted. Neil and I had a fabulous time in one of our favourite cities.
We are getting very used to Clydebank and its modern silver bug buildings. The weather is often ‘driech’ and the wind makes the noise of screaming ghosts on the footbridge, but you do get sights like this.
This was our set up in the dealers’ room this year, complete with a brand new fantastical banner based on a time-lapse photo of an old tree against a starlit sky. The stars make rings that look like tree rings. I added books, crows and glitter!
We didn’t find out our little ghost lights up until we packed him away!
We had a smashing time at the convention, though we were very sad that our friends Ian and Helen from NewCon Press weren’t able to join us as planned. This meant no launch event for Geoff Ryman’s They’re Here, or Stewart Hotston’s The Next Enemy Shall Be the Last. They’re both excellent novels, so do get them while they’re hot! Also there was no Luna Press in the dealers’ room, as Francesca from Luna was a guest of honour, and so was too busy to run a stall. Luna did have a launch event though, including The Collective, an anthology of essays about anthologies, to which I (Donna) contributed a piece.
The Slab Press also had a launch for our newest anthology, Screams and Wails.
We gathered as many authors as we could into a very small room, which we then squeezed even more audience into. “I didn’t know launches could be that good!” said one audience member. “Best launch ever!” said another. How’s that for praise!
Left to right: Neil K Bond, Tiffani Angus, Benedict J Jones, Tom Johnstone, David Cartwright, Gregory Lawrence, Teika Marija Smits, and editor Donna Scott. Very metal authors!
If you missed the launch, don’t worry, you can buy Screams and Wails directly from us here or we will see you at Lichfield Book Extravaganza on 17th October, or Bristolcon on 24th October.
I also took part in a couple of panels on the Saturday: Why Join Writing Organisations with Farah Mendlesohn, Robin C.M. Duncan, Stewart Hotston and Juliet E. McKenna. Also, Death to AI, a rather provocatively named panel moderated by me, including the extremely knowledgeable insights of Geoff Ryman, Ruth E.J. Booth, C.L. McCartney and Stephen Cox. We had such a good discussion, we have promised to reprise it on an episode of The Good Book Life – so watch this space.
After a rather lovely banquet, the BFS Awards took place. Sadly, L.J. McMenemy didn’t win for “No One Knows the Old Ways Anymore and It Will Be the End of Everything” from Hiding Under the Leaves, but so many people came up to us to say they loved her story.
The highlight of the night for me was when Best Independent Press was announced and NewCon Press finally won, after its 15th nomination. We screamed and punched the air. Neil Williamson went to collect the award on Ian’s behalf, and he, NKB and I called him after together. It was very emotional!
Sunday had to be a bit more sedate after a night of celebrating, but we got to spend a final night in Glasgow with friends. We can heartily recommend a couple of excellent eateries in Glasgow – from our Friday night, Mother India may not offer a wide menu, but what they do serve is delicious. And on our final night we went to the Pig and Butterfly, offering robustly portioned classic British food, and a great ambience.
That’s my report for now… don’t forget to come and see us in Lichfield on Saturday!
…and we’ll be back in Glasgow for Eastercon 2027!
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