Monday, 20 June 2011

Alt.Fiction workshops

Hi Guys,

Busy busy this week - just wanted to pop on to confirm the subjects of all the workshops taking part at Alt.Fiction. These are free with your pass, but you'll need to go and collect a free ticket from the QUAD box office, just because numbers are limited.

A whole host of interesting topics here, I'm sure you'll agree, so no doubt these will be really useful and informative!

Thanks a lot

Alex


SATURDAY

10am-11am: Workshop
Rod Rees – The All-Important First Page

11am-12pm: Workshop
Tony Ballantyne – How to Make Your Writing Boring

12pm-1pm: Workshop
Kim Lakin-Smith – Fleshing the Bones – Dark Fantasy and Characterisation

1pm-2pm: LUNCH BREAK

2pm-3pm: Workshop
MD Lachlan – A Novel in an Hour

3pm-4pm: Workshop
Colin Harvey – Creating a Science Fictional Setting

4pm-5pm: Workshop
Graham Joyce – Writing Sharp Dialogue

5pm-6pm: Workshop
Graham McNeill – Writing Battle Scenes

SUNDAY

10am-11am: Workshop
Paul Finch – Prose to Screenplay

11am-12pm: Workshop
Juliet McKenna – Every Word Must Count

12pm-1pm: Workshop
Dan Abnett – Shooty Death Kill in Space 101

1pm-2pm: LUNCH BREAK

2pm-3pm: Workshop
Jonathan L Howard – Getting a Novel Finished

3pm-4pm: Workshop
Paul Kane/Marie O'Regan – Setting and Location in Genre Fiction

Thursday, 16 June 2011

Alt.Fiction raffle - the full list...

Hi Guys,

I've hinted in a number of place at some of the great prizes we have available in our raffle at Alt.Fiction, and with tickets at just £1 a strip you can be in with a chance of winning something pretty special for next to nothing.

So I thought I'd put out the full list so far, with the potential of more prizes to be confirmed yet... some awesome signed stuff and limited editions up for grabs!

LOT 1
Signed copy of City of Ruin, signed by Mark Charan Newton
Donated by Tor UK

LOT 2
Signed copy of The Evolutionary Void, signed by Peter F Hamilton
Donated by Tor UK

LOT 3
Signed copy of Wolfsangel, signed by MD Lachlan
Donated by Gollancz

LOT 4
Signed copy of Black Country, signed by Joel Lane
Donated by Nightjar Press

LOT 5
Signed copy of God Killers, signed by Liam Sharp
Donated by Liam Sharp

LOT 6
Signed copy of God Killers, signed by Liam Sharp
Donated by Liam Sharp

LOT 7
Signed copy of God Killers, signed by Liam Sharp
Donated by Liam Sharp

LOT 8
Selection of signed titles by Gav Thorpe
Donated by Gav Thorpe

LOT 9
Signed, limited edition copy of Embedded by Dan Abnett
Donated by Angry Robot

LOT 10
The entire Angry Robot library of 2011
Donated by Angry Robot

LOT 11
Signed copy of Horns by Joe Hill
Donated by Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan

LOT 12
Signed copy of Surface Detail by Iain M Banks
Donated by Alt.Fiction

LOT 13
Cory Rowena Daniels' trilogy, King Rolen's Kin, with signed nameplates
Donated by Solaris Books

LOT 14
Signed hardback copy of Embassytown by China Mieville
Donated by Tor UK

LOT 15
Signed hardback copy of Embassytown by China Mieville
Donated by Tor UK

LOT 16
Signed hardback copy of Embassytown by China Mieville
Donated by Tor UK

LOT 17
Signed copy of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Donated by Headline

LOT 18
Signed, first edition of Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Donated by Headline

LOT 19
Set of signed Gollancz titles
Donated by Gollancz

LOT 20
Signed copy of The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie, with limited edition t-shirt
Donated by Gollancz

LOT 21
Signed copy of Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris, with limited edition t-shirt
Donated by Gollancz

CLOSING LOTS
Prizes TBC from PS Publishing

So hopefully we'll see you there, and you'll be a winner!

Thanks a lot

Alex

Friday, 10 June 2011

Authors on Alt.Fiction

Hi Guys,

It's the Friday of what has been an extremely busy week, and there's no end to the work in sight just yet - I'll be running a Writers Development Day over at the South Holland Centre in Spalding, and I'm just a few days into a new contract on the Breath of Fresh Air project, so if anything things are still picking up rather than slowing down!

But of course a lot of the focus is on Alt.Fiction, which I'm really excited about this year. And judging from some of the online activity out there, I'm not alone in that - there's a lot of talk about the event going on, so I thought it'd be a good idea to try and gather some of it together here. I've got no doubt I've probably missed a few, and of course these are in no particular order, but do feel free to check out the word on the street :-)

Chris Wooding:
http://www.chriswooding.com/alt-fiction/

Pendragon Press:
http://www.pendragonpress.net/2011/05/18/alt-fiction/

Paul Kane:
http://www.shadow-writer.co.uk/news.html

Adam Christopher:
http://www.adamchristopher.co.uk/?p=2413

Alastair Reynolds:
http://www.wikio.com/fine_arts/books/authors/alastair_reynolds

Damien G Walter:
http://damiengwalter.com/2011/06/08/alt-fiction-2011/

Adrian Tchaikovsky:
http://shadowsoftheapt.com/blog/360

That's all from me - back to the business of emails!

Thanks a lot

Alex

Saturday, 4 June 2011

Reporting in...

Hi Guys,

First of all, I know it's been far too long since I posted, but things have been c-razy busy. The events side of things have really been picking up, with plenty of things going on for Alt.Fiction as well as a few of my own ventures, and I'm also currently teaching two nights a week.

First thing to report on is last night's event with Iain M Banks - we had a great night at Leicester Phoenix Square, who were tremendously helpful both in the lead in to the event as well as on the night. We had a great crowd over over 100 people, Iain was tremendously entertaining (as always) and the whole thing had a great atmosphere and vibe about it. I arrived bright and early at 4pm, where I caught up unplanned with my old friend and colleague Damien Walter and planned with Adele of Un:Bound. Then it was on to business about 5:30, getting the Alt.Fiction table set up and checking in at Screen 1, which was a great room for the event. Iain arrived about 6pm, and no sooner had I said hello and bought a drink than he was off for a host of interviews with a number of different organisations, so you can expect to see plenty of coverage of the evening locally! Waterstones Market Street were selling our books, and they arrived shortly afterwards to get set up - they did well on the night for sales, which is always nice to see.

Iain's talk began at 7 and covered a wide range of bases, including the old question of how the 'M' in Iain M Banks originated, the roots of the idea for the Culture, favourite authors and reads and a whole host of other questions. There was also a short reading from Surface Detail, featuring a host of semi-unpronouncable names, which made the whole thing great fun.

From there, it was on to the signing session, and Iain was great with the audiences, chatting away and posing for a host of photos while signing away - and yes, the signature does include the M! We managed to wrap up about 9, at which point I had time to stop for a quick drink with Iain, Damien, Graham Joyce (who popped down for the evening) and some of the Leicester Speculators group. Unfortunately I had to slope off relatively early for my train, but overall it was a fantastic night and an event that I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

In other news, I was lucky enough to have two pieces in the Derby Evening Telegraph yesterday - one was a full interview about the success of the writing courses at QUAD, which is at http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Course-Quad-aims-turn-budding-writers-published-authors/article-3622522-detail/article.html, while there was also a piece on the upcoming Eat Your Words event at http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Book-lovers-eat-words-author-event/article-3622552-detail/article.html

Anyway, that's all for now - there's still plenty of marketing to be done!

Thanks a lot

Alex

Tuesday, 3 May 2011

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

Tuesday, 12 April 2011

Schedule for Alt.Fiction Spring Writing Weekend

Hi Guys,

Here's the latest news on the Alt.Fiction Spring Writing Weekend, which takes place this May. We've just managed to confirm the schedule, which looks really exciting and is crammed with feedback time, workshops and talks that will be hugely useful to everyone attending.

So here it is - if you haven't booked your place yet, tickets are just £180 including all food and accomodation and can be booked at http://altfiction.co.uk/the-programme

Cheers

Alex

Alt.Fiction Spring Writing Weekend – schedule
All events in the Chatsworth Room unless otherwise stated

Friday 20th May

4pm onwards Arrival time
7pm-9pm Dinner (Legacy Chesterfield Hotel restaurant)
Saturday 21st May

8am-9:30am Breakfast
9:30am-10:00am Opening session – writing aims and ambitions
10:00am-10:45am Opening talk by Alex Davis – Literary Agents
10:45am-11am Break
11am-12pm Discussion session – plotting and planning
12pm-12:15pm Break
12:15pm-1pm Feedback session – bring some work with you
1pm-2pm Lunch
2pm-3pm Workshop with guest author Tony Ballantyne
3pm-3:15pm Break
3:15pm-4:15pm Interview/Q+A with guest author Tony Ballantyne
4:15pm-4:30pm Break
4:30pm-5:00pm Day one summary and plenary
5:00pm-7pm Free time (including free writing time in Chatsworth Room)
7:00pm-9:00pm Dinner (Legacy Chesterfield Hotel restaurant)

Sunday 22nd May
8am-9:30am Breakfast
9:30am-10:30am Inside Publishing talk and Q+A with Alex Davis
10:30am-10:45am Break
10:45am-11:30am Feedback session 2 – bring some work with you
11:30am-12:00pm Discussion session – the genre book market 1
2pm-12:15pm Break 12:15pm-1pm Workshop with guest author Simon Clark
1pm-2pm Lunch
2pm-3pm Interview/Q+A with guest author Simon Clark
3pm-3:15pm Break
3:15pm-4pm Feedback session 3 – bring some work with you
4pm-4:30pm Day two summary and plenary

Thursday, 7 April 2011

Events are go...

Hi Guys, A week or so since I last posted, which I can only put down to being busy both with social stuff and decorating, although I have to admit I didn't get my hands all that dirty... :-) But things are picking up very nicely under the banner of Alt.Fiction - obviously we're not all that far away from our Spring Writing Weekend, with some places still available for that. The schedule of events will be going live soon, and I think everyone will be really impressed when they see the level and quality of activity going on. Then of course we've been lucky enough to make two big announcements since then, first and foremost all the details of our flagship Alt.Fiction 2011 event, taking place on 25th and 26th June. Our Guests of Honour for this year are huge SF author Alastair Reynolds and top comic book writer and novelist Dan Abnett, who will both be joined by a stellar cast of authors throughout the weekend. I'm so excited about the expansion to two days and all that can offer, so it should be a fantastic year. But wait, there's more... as we've also been able to snag an event with the legendary Iain M Banks at Leicester's Phoenix Square on the 3rd June. Anyone who has seen Iain before will tell you how entertaining a speaker he is, and he was a real star turn at Alt.Fiction back in 2007. I'd love to say more, because that's far from all we have in the pipeline, but some things are still cranking their way through ths system before becoming official. But rest assured we won't be taking too much time off after the June weekend, and we'll be back in full swing throughout September and October. That's all for now... signing off for lunch! Thanks a lot Alex