Alt.Fiction 2008

Early days yet but Alex Davis, organiser of the Derby based Alt.Fiction event, has already been hard at work getting writers booked for next year’s gathering. It’s this kind of forward planning that has made the event the success it is, despite only having happened twice.

I made the trip over this year and can truthfully say it was worth all the travelling there and back. Loads of writers doing readings and holding Q&A sessions, publishers and agents sitting on informative and entertaining panels, and meeting up with a bunch of people I’d previously only communicated with through forums and the like. And as an added bonus Derby has more than it’s fair share of pubs serving decent ale, several of which I just had to visit.

I’ll be keeping an eye on Alex’s blog to see what other goodies he has planned for us next year; the line-up is looking good so far.

(Original heads-up from Orbit Books)

Neil Gaiman and the Stardust movie

Time magazine has a short article/interview with Neil Gaiman on the forthcoming film of his novel Stardust. As mentioned in the article, Neil has a busy film schedule ahead of him, with his scripted Beowulf due out later this year, the film adaptation of his children’s novel Coraline to come next year, and his directorial debut of his graphic novel Death: The High Cost of Living.

MeCon

Next weekend, 3 - 5 August, sees what the organisers bill as “Northern Ireland’s Premier Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention” or MeCon X, at the Queens Elms Centre, Malone Road, Belfast.

Guest of Honour is Iain M Banks, quite possibly the greatest living SF author and the perfect GoH to celebrate the Con’s 10th anniversary. Anybody who has seen Iain at readings, signings, etc agree that he’s a down-to-earth and very likable chap, and an entertaining weekend is hopefully in store for all those attending, including me, and Phazed, and DaveH, and (post name in comments if you’re going).

Hello Again!

Ariel suggested I set up a blog. I did so. But it was on Blogger and he was not amused. So now I’m here.

Chess

Since I found this site several years ago I probably spend way too much time playing chess online, about 10 hours a week. I’m not a great player but I enjoy the game.

The site is a form of correspondence chess. You make your move then wait for your opponent to make theirs and so on. Games can take weeks to complete but the programmers provide a handy notebook function for each game to allow you to keep track of any strategy you have planned.

Membership is free but if you want more functionality there is a small $20 annual subscription fee. Subscribing gives additional features such as unlimited simultaneous games, tournament entry and clan membership.

If anybody’s up for a game post a comment with your player name and I’ll see about issuing a challenge.

The Servants

The 31 July marks the release date of the eagerly anticipated new novel by Michael Marshall Smith, called The Servants. It’s been 9 years since the last one, although he has been busy writing engaging thrillers under the name Michael Marshall during this time.

For this book he has teamed up once again with US based Earthling Publications. Earthling previously published a very limited (100 copies) short story anthology from Michael called More Tomorrow and Other Stories, currently being offered on various auction sites for very silly money. The two limited edition versions of The Servants have already sold out but fortunately there will be a regular hardback available too, priced at $30. For UK buyers ordering direct from the publisher the additional postage charge is likely to be around $20.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my new blog. Webmaster Ariel has suggested on several occasions I get involved in this lark so you can all blame him. As mentioned in the header description I intend this to be a completely random place, no individual topic will be covered but expect posts on books, films, beer, links to stuff that pique my interest.
The layout will probably change over the next months and more functionality will no doubt be added as I learn more about how this works, but stick with me and please feel free to pass comment, suggestion or constructive criticism as you desire.