The Old Events Buzz...

Hi Everyone,

Apologies for lack of posting lately - busy lately on a number of fronts, but determined to make up for it with a jam-packed post today.

We're approaching a busy run of events, with plenty going on for both Alt.Fiction and my own devices between now and the end of June and indeed on into July. Personally we've got an author event with Adam Creed taking place in Derby on the 25th May, and with three weeks to go things are taking shape nicely. On top of that I've got a busy teaching schedule, which has really been one of the unexpected bonuses of going freelance. So far I've been teaching at QUAD (a venue I have enthused about many times before) and this year will eventually see me taking 8 separate courses, including four of my current From idea to Publication run, 2 of the new First Steps as an Author and a third course that I can't divulge just yet. I've been thoroughly enjoying that side of things so far, and hopefully will have the opportunity to take those courses elsewhere based on their success in Derby.

Alt.Fiction will be busying up nicely too, with next week seeing the first events of our Summer Series at Lincoln Book Festival. It's been great working with Sharon and everyone else involved, and their seems to be a fantastic energy and framework about the whole festival. The media in Lincoln are well behind it, and there are some absolutely great authors taking apart. Makes me nostalgic for Derby's Festival of Words, for those with reasonably long memories...

Our first event will be The World of Comics, which I'll be chairing with a two-person panel of publisher Terry Martin and artist Neil Roberts. I'll be staying in Lincoln overnight ready for the next day, when Trudi Canavan will be visiting the city. I' really excited about that one, as it'll be Alt.Fiction's first overseas author. Trudi has quickly built a reputation as a huge name in the field, and I'm sure this'll be a great event. Finally we're involved in the Children's Fest on the 14th May, with authors Alex Bell and Cathy Brett. Alex has attended Alt.Fiction before, and Cathy has just been selected for the Richard and Judy Children's Book Club, so looking forward to that one too.

The weekend following will see the Spring Writing Weekend, which has a very limited time available to book your residential space. We'll also be selling day rates right up to the event, so whether you'd like to join us for the whole event or just swing by for a day it should be excellent. Simon Clark and Tony Ballantyne are both great writers who both run strong workshops, and I'm really pleased with the range of activities over the weekend as well.

Into June, I'm again really chuffed to be hosting Iain M Banks at Leicester Phoenix - Iain was at Alt.Fiction back in 2007 and was a fantastic closing slot, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in action again. And who of course could forget the pinnacle of it all, Alt.Fiction 2011, at Derby's very own QUAD arts venue. It's our first weekend, which will be a big (and exciting) change to proceedings, and the author line-up is really strong as well. If you're serious about you writing and reading in the field, I'd say Alt.Fiction is definitely an event you should attend.

So you can expect lots of updates, reports, news and tidbits to follow over the next month or two as things take place. Should be a great time to be involved, although I might need the whole of July off (I wish...)

All the event details are up at http://altfiction.co.uk/theprogramme, or of course just email me at bfsalex@hotmail.co.uk for more info.

Cheers!

Alex