I’ve just returned from a great weekend at FantasyCon 2022 in Heathrow. The team did a great job putting this event on and created an amazing programme. It was such a privilege to be a part of it.
Part of what makes the event special is meeting people with similar interests. I had a change to catch up with some people I’d not seen in person since before COVID and meet a bunch of people for the first time. Everyone is always so kind at these events and so generous with their time. It’s more than just writer’s networking; it’s writers with a genuine passion for what they do spreading their expertise, love, and enthusiasm, and it’s such a special environment to be a part of.
I arrived at the biggest hotel I’ve ever been in the Friday night and was immediately made to feel more than welcome. Exactly what I needed after a long day at work followed by a slightly slow journey – but is there any other kind when the M25 is involved?
What I Did
As part of the programme, I had three slots: moderating a panel on the evolution of vampires, a reading slot, and taking part in a panel on horror beyond the page.
Panel 1: Vampires and their Friends – The Evolution of Classic Horror Monsters – Saturday 12.00
I’ve got to be honest, I was nervous about this. I’d never moderated (or indeed, been on) a panel before this moment. There was a decent-sized crowd in the Angry Robot room, thirsty for vampire talk. I’d prepared some questions in advance, but had this nightmare scenario playing through my head of running dry within minutes. Especially as a couple of days before, I found that one of the participants was not going to make it.
Thankfully, my panellists were absolutely brilliant. Tina Rath brought a huge amount of academic knowledge to the panel, and Russel Smith’s enthusiasm for the creatures in their many guises made for a really informative session. The questions from the audience brought even more variety to our discussion, too. It’s a shame João didn’t get a chance to ask his question to get us talking about Blade. That would have been another interesting direction for us.
Reading – Sunday 10.00
The first session of the day with more than a few people were nursing hangovers! I’m grateful for the dedicated band that came out to listen to me, Laura Mauro, and Sue York tell some tales.
I went first. It was a relief to get the fake facial hair off after it was finished. I always have a great time reading from Guy Fawkes: Demon Hunter. There were some positive comments from the audience, which is always nice.
Laura’s Alice-in-Wonderland-inspired story was a joy. It was great also to hear the opening of Sue’s story. I’ll have a chance to follow up on it later, thankfully. It had a really interesting structure using a train to take us back in time.
Panel #2: Horror Beyond the Page
Moderated by Kit Power, and featuring Tina Rath, Tracy Fahey and Ashley Stokes alongside me. I’d say it’s more of a pleasure to be a guest than a moderator. The subject was very broad. There was some great discussion on what you could do in film that’s not possible on the page. The discussion of jump scares was particularly interesting. The hand-holding part of The Haunting of Hill House was a great example of what’s possible. Shirley Jackson really was an absolute master of the genre. Tina treated us to a song when we talked score, which was a special moment. I enjoyed the scope of the panel and had fun talking about the stage (from Woman in Black to Shakespeare) and video games. There were some great questions too. I really enjoyed thinking about what you could learn from your immersive haunted house experience and applying it back to writing. Build-up of tension. That’s it for me.
In summary, it was an amazing experience to be sitting in front of an audience talking about what I loved.
What I saw:
Friday
Role-play Panel Extra Event
Well, this was a fun start to events. 4 panellists given roles and powers picked at random from bits of paper scrawled by the audience, working through a role play in which they were summoned to close a hell mouth. It was a hose-sucking, Firby-wielding, flip-flop-swapping hoot.
Saturday
Panel #1 Writing for Anthologies – Saturday 10.00
Dan Coxon moderated this one with Sue York, E.M. Faulds and Andrew Hook his guests. It genuinely felt helpful. Dan’s questions were clearly geared to helping the audience with querying short stories. The mix of panellists – writers, readers, and editors – meant every perspective was considered. Really enjoyed it.
Launch #1 Black Shuck Books – Saturday 11.00
Having attended one of Steve Shaw’s launches before at ChillerCon, I was looking forward to this. It was a massively entertaining hour with loads of audience participation. The only trouble was I had to dash off to moderate a panel before I had a chance to pick up any books. Luckily, I caught up with Penny later in order to grab her new collection.
Panel # 2 Folk Horror – Saturday 13.00
For some reason, they stuck this panel in one of the smaller rooms. It was very well attended though. Anna Smith Spark did a great job moderating a knowledgeable and interesting bunch – Steve Toase, Ellis Saxey, Paul M Feeney, Tracy Fahey and Caroline Hardaker. It was a fascinating discussion of what elements are needed in a folk horror story. There was a lot of exploration of whether certain titles belonged in the genre. Some of the questions from the audience were fantastic. Having attended Alex Davis’s folk horror day the week before, I felt this covered similar ideas, but remained really engaging. As I was listening, I started to take down a few more ideas for a folk horror story I plan to write some time in 2023.
Panel #3 Language of Horror – Saturday 14.00
A number of the panellists on this one had to drop out. Laura Mauro as moderator and Steve Shaw were the only original panel members who made it, but Pete Sutton, Aliya Whiteley, and Priya Sharma came in to join the discussion. Any fears the panel had that it wouldn’t work quickly went out of the window. Both Laura and Steve read different excerpts from pieces that had different modes of telling, some spare, some incredibly detailed. If kicked off the discussion that could have kept going for far longer. I was interested in the discussion on form and House of Leaves.
Reading – Saturday 15.00
The stupid room was locked and we couldn’t get in until Ashley Stokes was already a little way into his story. I soon got into the flow of it though. A very inventive tale, a sinister tale of revenge. I must check out his work. Ramsey Campbell was supposed to be reading during this slot, but he’d not been able to make it. Tracy Fahey read from her wonderful collection I Spit Myself Out. I’ve already read it, but the story captivated me all over again. It remains a favourite collection for me.
I then took a break for a bit, hanging out in the bar, chatting to people, which is part of the fun of these events. While the programme is always so full of interesting things, you need to have some time to mix with people.
Panel #4: History in SFFH – Saturday 18.00
I attended this panel because I’m writing Guy Fawkes: Demon Hunter, which has more than a little to do with history. The discussion was interesting, especially thinking about research black holes. The panel largely spoke of sci-fi and fantasy, though The Terror got a mention. I’d like to see this panel focused on horror. Let’s delve into Alma Katsu’s The Hunger!
British Fantasy Awards
It was really neat to be at an award ceremony, even if it did kick off much later than planned. Highlight was the excitement of Catriona Ward’s speech when she won best horror for The Last House on Needless Street. It really is a fabulous and inventive book, and a worthy winner.
Panel #5: Ghosts and When to Negotiate with the Monster
I stumbled into this one a little late after the awards. There was a fascinating discussion on where ghosts come from and what they want. I loved thinking about the difference between a ghost repeating a pattern, and one with some kind of duty or task.
After this event, I got talking to provider of cookies and The Lost Boys aficionado Katie Bruce. It was great to talk vampires, Lost Boys reunions, and wider horror from the Day of the Dead and Night of the dead events. There are a couple of films I really must watch following our chat including Rare Exports – a Finnish horror about an evil Santa and the fascinating short film, The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon. It was great for author and bladesmith J.C. Duncan to stop by for a chat. I got a great USB stick from him, the end shaped like a book, engraved with his name. Very cool freebie. It was one of those evening were we we chatting books, a couple of others joined us, and all of a sudden it was gone midnight.
Sunday:
As a had the reading and the panel I’ve already mentioned, there’s only one additional event to mention here, but what an event…
Launch #2 Sinister Horror Company 11.00
Dashed from my reading across to C.C. Adams launch for his new collection Misery and Other Lines. The reading was intriguing, and set the tone for the collection well. After came a quiz which was an inventive way to get the audience involved. A duvet cover featuring a partial London tube map was held aloft while C.C. asked questions. Team captains had to pin a clip to a tube station that corresponded with the answer to the question. Best question asked which station the American Werewolf chased one of his victims into. It was a really fun and engaging event. Very memorable The Sinister Horror Company are getting a reputation for putting on an awesome show. Given that their books are not only excellent in terms of content, the design and formatting is brilliant, too. I’ll be supporting their releases whenever I can.
I spent more time socialising after this until the panel I was on, after which I made my way home, tired, but thoroughly satisfied after an amazing weekend.
What I Bought
Of course, I came home with some new books I don’t have shelf-space for:
To finish, I want to reiterate my thanks to everyone that helped make this event such an enjoyable experience.