PERSONAL APPEARENCES
BEST NEW HORROR LIVE!
On the evening of Wednesday, October 31st 2007, Waterstone’s bookstore in London’s Gower Street hosted a Hallowe’en night reading to celebrate the publication of The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror #18 (Robinson Publishing)
Above from Left to Right - Stephen Jones and Michael Marshall Smith. Book singing.
Photos courtesy of Mark Samuels
Introduced by editor Stephen Jones, authors Mark Samuels, Don Tumasonis and Geoff Ryman read from their stories in this year’s anthology, Michael Marshall Smith read an extract from his story in next year’s volume, and Christopher Fowler previewed a new tale from his forthcoming collection, Old Devil Moon.
The readings were followed by a Q&A discussion hosted by Jones which encompassed the guest authors’ favourite horror writers and the current state of the genre, followed by a brisk signing session during which many copies of the new book were sold.
Above from Left to Right - Geoff Ryman. Christopher Fowler and Geoff Ryman. Mark Samuels and Don Tumasonis.
Photos courtesy of Mark Samuels
With space quickly restricted to standing room-only, the audience of more than 60 (which included famed comics artist John Bolton and SF author Pat Cadigan, amongst other luminaries) were treated to mulled wine and other beverages served by the Waterstone’s staff, who entered into the spirit of the occasion with Hallowe’en costumes and make-up.
The event lasted for more than two hours and was considered a great success, thanks to the bookshop’s hard-working staff. It is hoped that in future Best New Horror readings will become a regular event around Hallowe’en.
For the first time ever, Stephen Jones was a Guest of Honour at British FantasyCon. Held over September 21-31 September at The Britannia Hotel, St. James Street, Nottingham, other guests at FantasyCon 2007 included bestselling fantasy author Terry Brooks and horror/crime writer Michael Marshall Smith (aka "Michael Marshall"), with publisher/author Peter Crowther as Master of Ceremonies.
Although I attended the very first British Fantasy Convention in 1975, and have been at almost all the gatherings since then, FantasyCon 2007 was the first time I had ever been a Guest of Honour.
It was a wonderful experience, and I would like to thank the organisers and everyone who attended for the many kindnesses shown to me over the weekend in Nottingham.
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Co-GoHs Steve and Michael Marshall Smith at FantasyCon 2007 Photo (c) Peter Coleborn
What helped make it such fun was that along with multi-million copy selling fantasy author Terry Brooks, my fellow GoH was old friend and collaborator Michael Marshall Smith, while the incomparable Peter Crowther made an exuberant Master of Ceremonies.
For me, things officially kicked off at 7:00pm on the Thursday with a “Welcome to FantasyCon” introduction in the bar, swiftly followed by an oddly low-key “Mass Signing”. Terry Brooks was undoubtedly the star of this event, but some of us signed a fair few books as well. Then it was off to dinner with Val and Les Edwards, Jo Fletcher and Amanda Foubister, followed by drinks in the bar.
Saturday began with me interviewing Ramsey Campbell off camera about literary vampires for a forthcoming Doctor Who DVD, then at mid-day I was on a lively panel about the “Trials and Tribulations of Publishing from an Editorial Perspective”. I was a little unsure about why I was on this item, but thanks to moderator Andrew Porter and fellow panellists Peter Crowther, Jo Fletcher and George Mann we easily filled our forty-five minute slot and could have kept the discussion going for quite a while longer.
David Sutton and Steve at FantasyCon 2007 Photo (c) Peter Coleborn
However, I had to get back to the bar for a pre-publication signing for The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume Eighteen, organised by independent bookseller The Talking Dead (thanks, Bob). As it turned out, they sold all thirty copies they had within six minutes and, for the next hour, myself and contributors Ramsey Campbell, Joel Lane, Mark Morris, Mark Samuels and cover artist Les Edwards signed for a seemingly never-ending line of horror fans.
Following a hurried M&S sandwich (thanks, Mandy) and a few welcome beers, I was back on stage at 4:00pm for a “Conversation” between Mike and myself. We weren’t entirely sure how this would work out, but the audience seemed to enjoy our free-flowing discussion, and Mike and I certainly enjoyed the free-flowing single malt (thanks, Paul) that we consumed during the seemingly all-too-short hour-and-a-half.
After a fabulous Orion Books dinner (thanks, Jo) with many of the usual subjects and old friend Simon R. Green, Mike, Jo and I were back on stage at 9:30pm to host the “Fabulous FantasyCon Raffle”. This year the organisers had allowed two hours and, although I didn’t expect us to need all that time, we had such a wonderful selection of prizes donated that we used our full allotted slot and raised around £1,000 to put some lucky person chosen by the British Fantasy Society through a respected writing workshop programme.
But the evening wasn’t over for Mike and me yet. Next we headed upstairs to a packed Film Show where, for the next hour, we previewed test footage and animated storyboards from MonsterMania! – a cartoon for children that we have scripted. Thankfully, the audience seemed to laugh in all the right places.
It's All Abbout Them: Michael Marshall Smith and Steve after the Raffle at FantasyCon 2007 Photo (c) Les Edwards
Exhausted, we finally made it down to the hotel bar around 1:00am, where some of us stayed up later than others . . .
At least Sunday was a little more relaxing, although a lively and positive BFS AGM took up most of the morning before I headed down to the main suite to help organise and decorate the room for the Awards Banquet.
This year quite a number of people made the effort to dress up for the event, and although the meal was (as usual for these types of things) barely edible, and I don’t remember much about my (hopefully brief) speech, the subsequent Awards Ceremony went like a dream thanks to the hard work of David Sutton, Jen and Pat Barber, and everyone else who put their time and energy into making the afternoon’s festivities so enjoyable.
Once again I lost out on a British Fantasy Award, but Gary Couzens was a deserving winner in my category, and I did get to accept Neil Gaiman’s award for Best Collection.
Steve, Sarah Pinborough and David Sutton at FantasyCon 2007
However, all too soon it was a blur of goodbyes, more drinking in the bar and a late dinner with another group of friends (both old and new).
For me, personally, the weekend could not have gone better (despite still recovering from a broken ankle and having the Largest Kidney Stone in the World). Although I didn’t get to hang out with everyone I wanted to, I did have the opportunity to talk with quite a number of people (including several newcomers to the convention), and I even managed to get around the Dealers’ Room and Art Show at least once.
The final attendance for the convention was apparently around 330, and I hope the BFS can continue to build upon that figure next year when the event once again returns to Nottingham. I’ll be there – albeit in the audience, while some other lucky person has all the fun being a guest!
—Stephen Jones