WexWorlds 2010

From the 26th – 28th November I’ll be a guest at WexWorlds, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction Festival in Wexford, Ireland.

A .pdf of the programme is available for download, and it looks like it’s going to be a weekend packed with lots of fun events – WexWorlds is primarily focused on young people, but there will be plenty for older people to enjoy as well. It’s ideal for households of adults and children who love science fiction and fantasy literature, television and cinema.

I’ll be involved in the following events:

Whites Hotel: Saturday 13.00-13.50
Recommendations of the best Sci-Fi and Fantasy books of 2010
I’ll be moderating the discussion with Oisín McGann, C.E. Murphy and Herbie Brennan about what books we’re currently reading and what we recommend.

Whites Hotel: Saturday 16.00-16.50
21st Century Career – breaking into 2000 AD and other comics
Michael Carroll leads a discussion with Paul J Holden, Nick Roche and I about our experiences of the comic book industry, and why we like the medium so much.

WAC: Saturday 18.30
Movie Shorts by Gerard Lough
A selection of movie shorts, including Gerard Lough’s award-winning ‘Boogeyman’ based on a Stephen King story, as well as ‘Ubermensch’, ‘The Scanner’, ‘The Stolen Wings’ and ‘Astronomers Sun’. ‘The Stolen Wings’ was all shot on location in Wexford, featuring local Actors Michael Parle and Natashe O’Brien. Michael is also in ‘Boogeyman’ and ‘The Scanner’, and both actors will be along to introduce the films they took part in. I’ll be introducing ‘Ubermensch’ and John Vaughan will introduce ‘Astronomers Sun’.

Whites Hotel: Sunday 14.00-14.50
Myth and Folklore in Modern Fiction
Join Herbie Brennan, C.E. Murphy, Oisín McGann, Ruth Long and I in a conversation about the uses and popularity of mythic themes in Fantasy.

Last year I was supposed to attend the inaugural festival, but in the weeks before the festival the West of Ireland experienced the worst rainfall and flooding for a century, and on the opening day of the festival there wasn’t a single passable route out of Galway county. My local road flooded out completely and I was forced to leave my house and stay with a relative for a couple of days. It was was one of the low-points of winter 2009 for me.

The reports I heard of last year’s festival were excellent, so I’m very much looking forward to attending this year’s festival.