I’ve been a bit quiet recently, but for a good reason at least – a few weeks ago I attended two fantasy and science fiction conventions in the UK. The first, Bristolcon, is a favourite I attend pretty much every year. This October, however, the stars aligned to put the World Fantasy Convention only a week later in Brighton. What’s more, this particular World Fantasy Con joined forces with Fantasy Con (an annual UK-based convention run by the the British Fantasy Society) in a sort of extra-large affair, so it seemed worth going to both.

If you’re getting confused by all the extremely similar con names, you’re not the first… a few times when drafting this post I accidentally wrote “Worldcon” instead of “World Fantasy Con”, which would be an entirely different con yet again.

Anyway, I wanted to share a few personal reflections and highlights from both conventions, but in this post I’ll just focus on Bristolcon to keep things short. I’m also not going to write extensively about everything I attended, because the mere thought is exhausting and because I didn’t take diligent enough notes, so I’ll simply pick out a few highlights that stayed with me.

Getting there

As in previous years, I caught the train from Germany to the UK. Many people raise their eyebrows at that, and yes, it does take longer than flying, about 7–8hrs total travel time from my starting station in Germany to London, and then an additional couple of hours if you want to get somewhere else in the south, e.g. Bristol or Brighton. But I enjoy the train journey so much more than flying, plus it saves CO2, so I do it anyway.

I use an interrail pass (there are passes for adults), which makes it less expensive than buying individual tickets, and has the added benefit that I can catch other trains during my trip and stay pretty flexible.

Bristolcon

Bristolcon is a small SFF convention with a cosy, welcoming vibe. Everything happens in the one hotel in Bristol, where most attendees and participants also stay. This has many upsides, though you do sometimes realise you haven’t left the hotel in two days, and need to emerge for some fresh air and sunlight before you go full vampire. This is the second year Bristolcon has been a two-day convention – it used to only be one – and the longer format works well.  

A personal milestone

I’ve been going to Bristolcon for about 6 years now, but this year was the first year I participated as a panellist. I was on two panels, and I was very, very nervous! I had pushed myself to sign up a few months before, reassured by the thought that the topics I’d expressed interest in might not even go ahead. Of course, as happens when you tempt fate, both of them did, which was equal parts exciting and terrifying.

Fortunately, the moderators got in touch beforehand with details about the questions they might ask, so I was able to prepare. In fact, I over-prepared and wrote down far more than I could possibly have ever said, so my next couple of blog posts will probably be about the topics of both panels.

One of the people who moderated is actually a good friend of mine – author and freelance editor T.O. Munro – so it felt reassuring to go into my first ever panel with a familiar face in the line up. The topic was Languages in speculative fiction and my co-panellists were Piotr Swietlik, Helen Claire Gould, and Nathan Taylor-Gray.

I love SFF stories that play with language and linguistics in interesting ways, and I tend to do this in my own writing, so the topic was right up my alley. The discussion ranged from invented fantasy languages, to different languages in general, to the use of language and linguistics in driving plots in fantasy and science fiction. I’ll save details for another post, but suffice to say, it was a great discussion, and once we got into the swing of things I did actually manage to relax and enjoy it.

Ironically the thing I was most worried about was introducing myself at the start, since I often feel uncomfortable talking about myself and my work (I much prefer talking about other people’s), and I kept imagining how embarrassing it would be if I screwed up saying my own name. Fortunately, I didn’t!

The second panel on Sunday was titled What’s in a name – a ro’se by any other name would smell as sweet, and having survived the first panel, I felt less nervous going into the second. Which was good, because crazily enough, I ended up sitting next to one of my favourite science fiction authors, Adrian Tchaikovsky, which was a real highlight – even if it made me a tad star struck. The other panellists were Penelope Hill and Piotr Swietlik, and the moderator was Kevlin Henney. The discussion felt like it could have kept going for three panels if time had allowed. I found it really interesting to hear how the other panellists go about choosing names for their fictional characters and places, and what their opinions were of the naming styles in everything from Star Wars to Lord of the Rings. But again, I’ll save the details for another post.

As is often the way with me, once I overcame the initial fear and “hurdle” of never having done something before, things got much easier, so I think I’ll be putting my hand up for panels at future cons too.

Indie and self-publishing in focus

I also attended a lot of other programme items, including an interview with one of the guests of honour, J.E. Hannaford, who was being interviewed by previous guest of honour Anna Smith Spark. It transpired that she is possibly the first ever self-published guest of honour at a UK SFF convention, so that was a nice milestone to be present for.

Bristolcon is generally great for celebrating self-published and indie authors, which was further highlighted by a panel I went to on Saturday evening about SPFBO (The Self Published Fantasy Blog-Off), a competition run once a year by author Mark Lawrence and judged by 10 volunteer SFF blogs.

I attended a SPFBO panel at Bristolcon last year too, even though I’ve never participated in the competition as either a judge or an entrant. I always enjoy the behind-the-scenes glimpse you get hearing from past and present judges, entrants, and finalists as they discuss what the competition is like to be part of both practically and emotionally. It also feels like there are new challenges for the competition to weather each year – for example, AI was a topic this time, given that previous issues with AI resulted in the discontinuation of the cover competition.

Other panels

I also watched some other really interesting panels over the weekend:

• SF as activism, about using SFF to influence people and bring change in the real world.
• Team Jacob and Team Nosferatu, about vampires, werewolves and zombies and whether they’ve been done to death or are still ripe sources of fictional enjoyment.
• What potions can’t heal, about the emotional, psychological, and physical trauma characters endure and what happens to them in terms of trauma recovery, PTSD, and other issues once the adventure is over.
• Lost cities and legends, about why we are repeatedly drawn to mythic sites and “lost” destinations like Atlantis, El Dorado and Shangri-La.
• Mainstream sell-out or cultural buy-in? about previously niche franchises and stories that gain mainstream appeal, how expectations change when something gains a broader audience, and what constitutes “selling out”.

Barcon, karaoke, and the dealer’s room

I did find time amidst all the panel-going to check out the dealer’s room and buy some books (I found myself tempted by some lovely hardcovers with sprayed edges, as well as a book by one of the other authors I was on a panel with, Penelope Hill, set at a con called Working Weekend). And of course, I chatted to people in the bar. Saturday evening ended with karaoke, which I watched, but was not brave enough to participate in. Maybe I’ll save that hurdle for next year…

Some people I normally see at Bristolcon couldn’t attend this year, either because life got in the way or because they were coming to World Fantasy Con the following weekend instead, which was a shame – but I still got to catch up with lots of friends, and also met a few new people.

A meet-up between the cons

I thought I would get more down time in the three ‘free’ days after Bristolcon, but of course I managed to fill those up too. On the Monday I met up with a group of writers from an online writing group (Shut Up & Write) that I have been joining, and sometimes hosting, for the past three years, which was lovely. There’s something about seeing people once a week over a long period of time, even if you only talk in brief online sessions and have never met in real life, where you still come to feel like old friends or colleagues… a feeling enhanced of course by the shared passion for writing.

A train journey with friends

On Tuesday I headed onward to World Fantasy Con, hopping on the train to Brighton with three friends. I often travel solo or with my husband on trains, but I’ve always envied those groups of friends I see sitting around tables in the train carriage having a grand old time chatting and laughing and eating snacks or drinking together as they head off to somewhere fun… so I finally got my wish!

As for what happened at World Fantasy Con, I’ll save that for another post.

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Do you attend conventions or writer’s festivals? If so, do you have a favourite? And have you ever been on a panel? Share your own experience in the comments.