knotting threads

There have been a number of dangling threads I haven’t knotted off lately, so here are a few things I should mention.

First off, FantasyCon in Brighton at the end of last month was a fun and enjoyable convention. I love the city, and a wonderful crowd of people attended. The fire alarm in my hotel went off at 3.30am one morning, and after a late night in the bar this was not a fun wake-up call. I have never heard such a terrible din. My cognitive faculties weren’t the best, but the alarm seemed designed to disrupt any ability to think. I looked like a demented hobo as I clumped down the stairs, hands over my ears. We stood shivering outside for a while, as the party-goers in Brighton tottered past us in their skimpy outfits.

What could you do but laugh? The arrival of the fire truck led to a conversation about the Village People during which we realised there was no fireman in the group. A serious fetish omission.

Both panels on which I participated were great, with a lot of interesting discussion. In particular the Dangerous Fairy Folk was a lively and passionate conversation about the various mythologies regarding the F-Crowd (mentioning them directly by name is traditionally discouraged).

The banquet followed by the British Fantasy Awards on the Sunday was a stressful period for me. Since I’d been on the jury I knew the results in most of the categories. I was highly conscious of the talented people in the room who had been nominated but who were going to be disappointed. This information lay heavily on me, especially as I had been on the other side of this process earlier in the year when I attended the Eagle Awards in London. I was delighted for all the winners, and their joy and appreciation was a balm.

Here’s the full list of the winners of the British Fantasy Awards, 2012.

Recently I was at Octocon in Dublin, an annual convention I enjoy because of its intimacy and the people who attend. I had a great time at the event, despite being busy at panels throughout the convention. I was part of the jury for the Golden Blasters Short Film Awards, which is always interesting. There was a good selection of titles, all of which had their merits.

The jury had a thorough discussion, and we came to our decision after weighing all the options.

• The Silver Blaster (Audience Award) went to ‘Cryo’, written by Matthew Dabner and directed by Luke Doolan
• The Golden Blaster (Jury Award) went to ‘Shoreditch Slayer’, written and directed by Simon Levene
• The winner of the Best Short Script competition was ‘This Vehicle Has Been Checked For Sleeping Children’ by John Burdeaux

The Guests of Honour for Octocon 2013 were announced in the closing ceremony, and they are Richard K. Morgan and Gail Simone – which is a double dose of marvellous talent. A long line to buy tickets for next year’s convention manifested immediately after the news was announced.