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Worldcon 75
I’ll be attending the 75th World Science Fiction Convention in Helsinki, Finland from 9-13 August 2017, which is the first time a WorldCon has taken place in a Nordic country. It looks like it’s going to be a terrific event with a huge array of programming items. It will be my first time visiting Finland, and in a bonus coincidence, a new Moomin Museum has opened in Tampere. Here is my schedule for the event: Wednesday, 9 Aug, 2017 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Messukeskus, 206 ‘Coffee, Pie and Murder: 25 Years Later’ The cult television show Twin Peaks makes its return in 2017. Is this a good idea,…
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Animate Europe Awards ceremony and exhibition
I’ll be attending, and speaking, at the Animate Europe International Comics Competition 2017 Award Ceremony on 11 July at the Belgium Comic Strip Centre in Brussels, where the overall winner of the competition will be announced. It’s been a pleasure to serve on this jury and read a wide variety of ideas on how to ‘Re-Animate Europe’. It was a tough job to whittle it down to the seven finalists, but here they are: Jordana Globerman (UK): “My Uncle’s Dream” Stefan Haller (Switzerland): “Back to the Grass Roots” Štepánka Jislová (Czech Republic): “How to Save the World” Noelle Kröger (Germany): “There’s a Way” Magdalena Kaszuba (Germany): “Spaziergang durch Europa/ A…
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Talking vegetarianism
I don’t talk about it terribly much, but I’ve been a vegetarian for twenty years at this point. Recently, I was invited onto The Culinary Muse radio show on Kinvara FM, hosted by Anna O’Donnell, to chat about vegetarianism, as well as playing some themed music on the subject. You can listen to it online now. It was a fun show, but I always enjoy doing radio.
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Walk on the Weird Side
My short story ‘Impossible to Feign’ will appear in the Walk on the Weird Side anthology, edited by Joe Pulver. Cover art by Nick Gucker. This is an unthemed, charity anthology of weird fiction and verse, with all proceeds to benefit NecronomiCon-Providence where it will be launched.
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Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me midnight movie monograph
I’m happy to reveal that I’ve written a Midnight Movie Monograph for Electric Dreamhouse Press, an imprint of PS Publishing, a series curated by editor Neil Snowdon with a focus on critical reactions to cult films. I’ll be looking at the iconic film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With me, written by David Lynch and Robert Engels, and directed by David Lynch. The book is now available to pre-order and will be published in June. The cover art is also by Neil Snowdon. The release of the book is well timed since the first four episodes of the new season of the TV series Twin Peaks – written by David Lynch…
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We Are The Martians – The Legacy of Nigel Kneale
After a change of publishers I’m delighted to say that the We Are The Martians – The Legacy of Nigel Kneale, edited by Neil Snowdon, is now available for pre-order from PS Publishing. It is due to be published next month. This is a collection of essays and observations about the film and TV work by the incredibly influential and ground-breaking British screenwriter, Nigel Kneale. Here’s the Table of Contents for this terrific anthology, which will be a must for anyone who was a fan of Kneale’s work. CONTENTS Foreword – Mark Gatiss Introduction – Neil Snowdon King Of Hauntology – Mark Chadbourn The Literary Kneale – Tim Lucas The…
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Shirley Jackson nomination for Dr. Caligari
I was super pleased to hear that the anthology, The Madness of Dr. Caligari, has been nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award for Best Edited Anthology, which is a huge acknowledgement of the work by editor Joe Pulver and the publisher Fedogan and Bremer. My short story ‘ A Rebellious House’ appeared in the book. It’s wonderful to be part of such a fascinating project. Here’s the table of contents: Ramsey Campbell – The Words Between Damien Angelica Walters – Take a Walk in the Night, My Love Rhys Hughes – Confessions of a Medicated Lurker Robert Levy – Conversion Maura McHugh – A Rebellious House David Nickle – The…
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Outside anthology
I’m delighted to be part of the Outside comic book anthology, published by Ash Pure Press, which launched today in Topics Berlin in Berlin. My short story is called ‘Colours’ and is drawn and coloured by British artist John Riordan. Here’s a shot of the first page. And here’s an image of the Table of Contents page, you can see see all the contributors: It’s a beautiful book with a fantastic array of interesting and different comic book styles, so it’s a huge pleasure to be among their number. Thanks to editors Amir Naaman and Doron Hamburger for including me, and for producing such a fantastic anthology.
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The Power of Superheroes
I’ll be part of a panel discussing ‘The Power of Superheroes‘ at the Galway International Arts Festival, at 4pm on 22 July in the O’Donoghue Theatre in NUIG. My fellow panellists are Barry W Fitzgerald, Author of Secrets of Superhero Science and Comic Artists and Declan Shalvey, an acclaimed comic book artist for Marvel comics (and other publishers). Our moderator is Theatre Producer Jen Coppinger. We’re part of the First Thoughts track of talks at the GIAF, which also includes the fantastic cartooning legend Tom Tomorrow. His talk, Cartoon Power, is on earlier on the same day, so it’s a terrific twofer for anyone interested in sequential art.
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Respectable Horror
I’ve a story called ‘Spooky Girl’ in the next anthology by Fox Spirit, called Respectable Horror, which is edited by K.A. Laity. The cover, by Stephanie Johnson, has just been revealed and it’s a corker. The ToC is: The Astartic Arcanum – Carol Borden The Well Wisher – Matthew Pegg The Little Beast – Octavia Cade The Holy Hour – Chloë Yates A Framework – Richard Barber Malefactor – Austin Waller The Estate of Edward Moorehouse – Ian Burdon Spooky Girl – Maura McHugh Full Tote Gods – Damien White A Splash of Crimson – Catherine Lundoff Where Demons Don’t Tread – Suzanne Willis The Recovery – Edward Gauvin Running…
