Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014 - The Schedule!

Here at is at last, what you've all been waiting for, the schedule for Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014, taking place on Sunday 7 September at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in Ealing, West London.

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10.30am – The event opens and Registration begins.

11.15am – Welcome to the event you've all been waiting for...

11.30am – Tin Man Games presentation - A very special preview of some of Tin Man Games' forthcoming FF apps.

12.00pm – The History of Fighting Fantasy - A talk by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, with Philippa Dickinson, their editor on the original FF gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

1.00pm – Lunch - Join us for a flagon of Cloud Ale at the Black Lobster Tavern.

2.00pm – The Art of Fighting Fantasy - The Fighting Fantasy artists, in conversation with Jonathan Green.

3.00pm – Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks and YOU ARE THE HERO mass signing.

4.00pm – Fighting Fantasy Costume Competition, followed by the Fighting Fantasy Auction (with auctioneer Ian Livingstone).

5.00pm – Your adventure ends here… The event closes.

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During the day you will also be able to enjoy Advanced Fighting Fantasy gaming sessions, courtesy of Arion Games, take part in a Swindlestones tournament, with Inkle Studios, and have your fantasy-themed portrait taken by Legend Photography.

Traders who will be there on the day include Otherworld Miniatures, board games specialists Leisure Games, FightingFantasy.com, French AFF publishers Scriptarium, purveyors of gaming accessories All Rolled Up, Pure Evil Miniatures, and Snowbooks, publishers of YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks (which will also be launching on the day).

If you've not bought your ticket yet, you can do so here.

Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014 - Only 2 months to go!

It's hard to believe, I know (and just a little bit scary), but two months today the DoubleTree Hilton in Ealing, West London, will be opening its doors to attendees from across the world visiting FIGHTING FANTASY FEST 2014. And you could be there too.

For those attending we have all of the following on offer:

6 Fighting Fantasy artists - including Russ Nicholson, John Blanche, Chris Achilleos, Malcolm Barter, Tony Hough and Leo Hartas.

3 Fighting Fantasy creators - Steve Jackson, Ian Livingstone and Jonathan Green.

An extremely collectible goodie bag, including a Fighting Fantasy gamebook, a poster, a novel, a Tin Man Games download app code, and a ZAGOR THE WARLOCK miniature, only available to those FF fans attending FIGHTING FANTASY FEST and based on this piece of artwork by Russ Nicholson!

A talk on the early days of Fighting Fantasy by Steve and Ian, with special guest Philippa Dickinson, the editor who first worked on The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

Arion Games running Advanced Fighting Fantasy sessions throughout the day.

Tin Man Games talking about and demonstrating their latest FF apps.

Inkle Studios talking about their Sorcery! apps.

Various others traders, offering books for sale, wargaming miniatures, dice and gaming equipment, and more!

The official book launch of YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, written by Jonathan Green and supported by hundreds of FF fans through the Kickstarter crowd-funding website.

An exhibition of never-before-seen and highly-collectible items from FF's history.

An auction of rare Fighting Fantasy memorabilia from the vaults of the Warlocks of Firetop Mountain themselves.

And if all that wasn't enough you'll be able to have a drink with the creators of Fighting Fantasy at the Black Lobster Tavern, from Port Blacksand, City of Thieves, themed bar!

If you've not bought your ticket yet you can do so here. Please tell all your friends via social media and any other means at your disposal (such as telephone, email, carrier pigeon, smoke signals, sorcery...) and we'll look forward to seeing you in September!

Five reasons why you need to be at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014

If you've not already purchased your ticket for FIGHTING FANTASY FEST 2014 - the world's first convention dedicated to Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks - here's why you should.

1) You will not only get to listen to the Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, the co-creators of Fighting Fantasy, give a talk about the history of their gaming and publishing phenomenon, you'll also be able to get your FF treasures signed by them, and even hang out in the Black Lobster Tavern with them!

2) The Adventurer's Backpack goodie bag that is included in the price of every ticket is chock full of awesome merchandise, with many of the items being exclusive to the event, such as the limited edition Zagor miniature and the collectible convention programme - not to mention the bag itself!

3) There are a host of special guests coming to FIGHTING FANTASY FEST, including legendary fantasy artists Chris Achilleos, Russ Nicholson, Malcolm Barter and Tony Hough. Tin Man Games and Inkle Studios will also be there to talk about their latest FF and Sorcery! app releases, and Tin Man are even generously giving away a download code to all attendees. And on top of that Arion Games will be running demo games of Advanced Fighting Fantasy!

4) One of the highlights of the day will be an auction of rare - and highly collectible - items of FF memorabilia from the Warlocks' own hoard, including a pair of swords made to promote the Deathtrap Dungeon video game and now hard-to-find classic Fighting Fantasy computer games.

5) Quite simply, Fighting Fantasy Fest is going to be a unique experience. There has never been an FF event like it before, and YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks is going to launch on the day. Just think, when FF is celebrating it's 50th anniversary in 2032, you'll be able to look back and say, "I was there!"

So click this convenient link and buy your ticket today. And don't delay! The first 100 ticket buyers will receive a copy of the extremely hard to get hold of 25th hardback edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

And if you have bought your ticket, tell all your friends about FFF 2014, via email, your blog, Twitter (#FFF2014), Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Instagram, or whatever your social media networking tool of choice is.

And hopefully we'll see you on Sunday 7 September...

Fighting Fantasy 2014 - Official Press Release

For immediate release!

Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014

The first dedicated Fighting Fantasy convention, with Special Guests of Honour Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, featuring the official launch of YOU ARE THE HERO – A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks by Jonathan Green.

Sunday 7 September 2014 will see the first dedicated Fighting Fantasy convention take place at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in Ealing, West London. Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, co-creators of the publishing and gaming phenomenon that is Fighting Fantasy, will be Special Guests of Honour at the event, where they will be joined by legendary fantasy artists Russ Nicholson, Chris Achilleos and Tony Hough. A highlight of the day will be Steve and Ian’s own talk on the History of Fighting Fantasy.

Fighting Fantasy Fest will see the official launch of Jonathan Green’s YOU ARE THE HERO – A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, along with an exhibition of rare FF memorabilia – including original artwork and other more obscure artefacts connected to the series – as well as trade stands, and an auction of Fighting Fantasy treasures. Arion Games will be running Advanced Fighting Fantasy role-playing game sessions during the day, while Tin Man Games and Inkle Studios will also be in attendance, talking about their digital versions of such classic gamebooks as Ian Livingstone’s The Forest of Doom and Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! epic.

Tickets for the event cost £50 each, and every attendee will receive an event-exclusive Adventurer’s Backpack containing various Fighting Fantasy Fest and YOU ARE THE HERO goodies.

“The success of the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter project demonstrated that there is still an active community of Fighting Fantasy fans out in the world who would relish the chance to not only meet their heroes, but to get together and share their stories of battling the horrors of Deathtrap Dungeon or braving the perils of Kharé – Cityport of Traps,” says Jonathan Green, author of the History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, “ideally whilst quaffing a flagon of ale in Port Blacksand’s infamous Black Lobster Tavern.” (The event will even feature a themed bar!)

Ian Livingstone, co-creator of Fighting Fantasy said, “It’s crazy really that it’s taken 32 years for a dedicated Fighting Fantasy event to take place!  But that’s going to make it all the more special. It will be brilliant to see old friends, artists, authors and fans again after all this time. I’m going to bring along some special Fighting Fantasy items that have never been seen in public before. It certainly will be a Return to Firetop Mountain! I can’t wait.”

Steve Jackson, who is famed for his Sorcery! series, said, “Amazing to think it’s almost 40 years since the first Games Day was held, at Seymour Hall and Baths in Central London. There was a great buzz at that event. Visitors – and organisers – felt they were attending a special occasion. I’m sure it will be the same kind of buzz at Fighting Fantasy Fest. FF celebrities will be there, dealers and memorabilia, game demos and a special auction of items from the Jackson and Livingstone personal archives. This will be an event not to be missed by FF readers. I’m really looking forward to it.”

For more information, or to arrange interviews with the organisers of Fighting Fantasy Fest, please email Jonathan Green at info@jonathangreenauthor.com.

@fightingfantasy @stevejacksonuk @ian_livingstone @jonathangreen @You_Are_TheHero #FightingFantasyFest2014

Sunday 7 September 2014 • The DoubleTree Hilton, Ealing, London, UK

Artists • Panels • Book Signings • Games • Exhibition • Special Guests • Auction

www.FightingFantasy.com

Nine Worlds Geekfest 2013

At around 3.00pm today, the first ever Nine Worlds Geekfest gets under way at the Renaissance and Radisson Hotels in Heathrow, just outside London.

If you've not heard about this yet, (a) where have you been? and (b) you can find out more about the epic event here.

I am attending as part of the Steampunk contingent, who will be based in the Windsor Room at the Renaissance Hotel. I shall be selling my books (and other wares, including beer-flavoured fudge this time!) as well as taking part in various other events over the course of the weekend.

Here are the current timings of specific Pax Britannia/Jonathan Green-related goodness, but as with all such events, timings are inevitably subject to change, so best to check the Nine Worlds website for the most up to the minute info and at the event itself, just to be sure.

Saturday 10 August
3.15pm - Steampunk & Fiction - a panel hosted by Yours Truly and featuring Robert Rankin, Raven Dane and Stephen Hunt. (Windsor Room)

Sunday 11 August
11.45am - 1.00pm - Meet the Authors - book readings and signing session featuring Yours Truly, Raven Dane and Toby Frost.
1.00pm - 2.00pm - Signing at the Forbidden Planet stand.

I shall look forward to seeing you there!

Clemency Slaughter at EasterCon

Mr Ian Whates, the man behind NewCon Press, is currently taking part in the geek-fest that is EasterCon - or rather EightSquaredCon, in its current guise - up in Bradford for the Easter weekend.

He's busy promoting various projects - including the anthology he's edited, Solaris Rising 2, and his own short story collection, Growing Pains - and will also have some Clemency Slaughter postcards on the NewCon table.

So if you're up in Bradford for the weekend, why not pop along and say "Hello!" and then pledge your support to Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath?

Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath - Competition Time!

A while ago I threatened to run some sort of competition or other if (or more accurately when) I ended up with both 1,000 followers on Twitter and 1,000 friends on Facebook.

Well that magic number was exceeded a while ago now (as of writing I have 1,018 followers on Twitter and 1,030 Facebook friends) so I thought it was about time I made good on my promise.

Your Part of the Bargain

I want you to do all you can to promote the Kickstarter project I am currently running with the artist Tom Brown and publisher Ian Whates, Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath. I don't care how you do it - blog posts, social media campaigns, YouTube videos, get in mentioned in the press, on the radio, on TV! - just do whatever you can to get word out to the masses about this exciting adventure in publishing!

You have until the end of the month (11:59pm on Sunday 31 March) to enter - in other words ten days - and email me a link to whatever it is you've produced at info@jonathangreenauthor.com.

Be imaginative, be creative, be prolific, be persistent! But whatever you do, to be eligible for the big prize, you must let me know about it.

Our Part of the Bargain

The three of us (Jon, Tom and Ian) will decide who has mounted the most effective campaign and, as long as the project funds on 13 April, you will be invited to the grand London launch as our guest, with all that that entails (book, goodie bag, drinks reception, etc.) but without having to stump up £100 for the privilege yourself. (You must arrange and pay for your travel to London.)

And that's it!

So check out the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter page, Facebook page, and blog, get thinking, and good luck!

Gamebook Adventure on the G*M*S Magazine Podcast

As anybody who's dropped by the blog in the last week will know, last Saturday I attended Dragonmeet with Neil Rennison - the Tin Man's mortal minion - to promote Gamebook Adventures and Temple of the Spider God in particular.

Whilst we were there, we were both interviewed for the G*M*S Magazine Podcast which is now live over here. You can hear Neil and I talking between around 33 and 39 minutes (me for rather longer than I recalled doing so).

It's a great podcast all round and I'll definitely be checking out future editions.

Dragonmeet - Saturday 26 November

I shall be appearing at Dragonmeet tomorrow (Saturday 26 November), as the guest of Tin Man Games.

The event runs from 10.00am, at Kensington Town Hall, and I'm planning to be there for the whole day.

Fighting Fantasy's Warlock is going to be around as will Graham Bottley of Arion Games, publisher of Second Edition Advanced Fighting Fantasy. And Cubicle 7 will be selling my Pax Britannia books.

I'm on the 'Fiction and the Games Industry' panel with my esteemed colleagues Sarah Newton and Iain Lowson, starting at 1.30pm, whilst m'colleague James Wallis will be interviewing Ian Livingstone OBE, from 11.00am - 12.00pm with a Q&A session afterwards.

So, maybe I'll see you there...

FantasyCon 2011

First off an apology. I don't usually do these - I get tired of reading posts by writers apologising for not updating their blogs because they've been... er... writing - but today it's not without just cause.

I realise that I owe you a couple of posts - one about Games Day (which was awesome) and one about the House of Fear launch (which was equally awesome). And they will happen, but the thing is I've been rather immersed in my latest project (which is a good thing) and know that my time is limited because this weekend I'm off to Brighton for FantasyCon 2011.

I'll be there from Friday to Sunday, attending various panels that m'colleagues are on, attending The Big Solaris Book Event and the Dark Continents launch, and generally hanging out 'networking' in the bar. I may also stop by the dealers' room... see if there are any good deals to be made, and so forth.

Maybe I'll see some of you there. I you see me first do come over and say hello. Although, having checked out the list of 'professionals' attending the Con, I wonder if they'll actually be anybody else there at all...

JG at Weekend at the Asylum

Well, some might say it's about time, but I'm off to the Asylum in Lincoln on Saturday 10 September for the United Kingdom Steampunk Convivial.

Weekend at the Asylum is the largest steampunk festival in Europe, attracting more than 1,000 steampunks from across the World, and is taking place this year from 9-11 September 2011.

Special Guests will be Wilf Lunn, Robert Rankin and Fraser Hines, while I'll be there as a visiting author, along with Sam Stone, Toby Frost and Raven Dane.

I'll be in the Exhibition Hall on Saturday from 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. so why not pop along to get your Pax Britannia collection signed and pick up the latest titles from Abaddon Books while you're at it. I've even had some special badges made to commemorate the occasion!

I'll also be giving a reading and talking about my work for an hour from 11.00 a.m.*

So hopefully I'll see some of you there. It should be most convivial.

* This is a provisional timing only and you should check again on the day, just in case.

House of Fear - Foyles launch

You know how I mentioned I've contributed a story to Solaris Books' House of Fear (edited by Jonathan Oliver and out this October)? Well the official Foyles launch has been announced.

It's taking place on 27th September 2011, 6:30pm - 7:30pm, at the Charing Cross Road store. You'll get a taste of the book's collection of new and original fiction and be able to join in the discussion of the ideas behind the writing of said stories with Sarah Pinborough, Christopher Priest, Paul Meloy and others.

Tickets are free but have to be booked via the Foyles website here.

Maybe I'll see you there...

Steampunk Creators Day at Kew Bridge Steam Museum

Just a reminder that I will be at the Steampunk Creators Day at Kew Bridge Steam Museum in Brentford tomorrow from 11.00am until around 3.30pm. I will be there selling and signing my Pax Britannia books. I will also be reading from one of my books at 1.00pm with a Q&A session to follow afterwards.

If you're in the area, why not drop by? A number of the steam engines in the Steam Hall will be running during the day and there is the The Greatest Steampunk Exhibition to visit of course.

Maybe I'll see you there...

Pax Britannia at the Greatest Steampunk Exhibition

The Greatest Steampunk Exhibition is the largest exhibition of Steampunk art, craft and engineering in the UK. It opened last weekend, on Saturday 4th June, at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum in West London. The includes Steampunk exhibits from all over the world, ranging from paintings and artworks through costumes and fabrics to machines and engines, together with sound installations and short films. Many of the exhibits have been specially created for the exhibition and have never been seen before.

The exhibition is running until Monday 29th August, and visitors to the exhibition will be able to enjoy all the other attractions of the Kew Bridge Steam Museum, including the giant Victorian pumping engines which will be operating most weekends. These will all be complemented by a range of Steampunk books and other products which will be available in the Museum shop during the exhibition.

And I'll be there, as part of a Steampunk creators' day, in a fortnight's time, on Saturday 25th June, selling, signing and reading from my Pax Britannia books, which will be available to buy from the museum bookshop.

So if you live anywhere near Brentford, why not pop along and check it out? More details about the exhibition can be found here.

JG at the UK Games Expo this weekend

Just a quick reminder that I'll be at the UK Games Expo in Birmingham this weekend helping to promote Advanced Fighting Fantasy (as well as traditional un-advanced Fighting Fantasy), but I'll also be selling some of my Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia novels at a knock-down price.

So, if you fancy finding out all about the newly revised AFF RPG, drop by the Arion Games stand and, while you're there, why not pick up the PB titles missing from your collection?

I look forward to seeing you on Saturday or Sunday.

PS - If you can't make it up to Birmingham this weekend, I'll also be at the BFS Open Night at the Mug House, Tooley Street in London tonight. So, if you're around, do pop over and say "Hi!"

Fighting Fantasy at the UK Games Expo

The hotel's booked, the necessary weekend pass has been negotiated, so I can now confirm that I shall be attending this year's UK Games Expo in Birmingham (over the weekend of 4-5 June) helping Graham Bottley of Arion Games promote the Fighting Fantasy brand.

Graham will be there to talk about (and sell) the newly revised edition of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG and between us we'll also have some Fighting Fantasy books to sell. So, if you want to see why people have been raving about the new AFF RPG, or you want to replace your dog-eared copies of Titan and Out of the Pit, or you want me to deface a book for you with my signature, or you just want to chat about the Good Old Days, then why not drop by on Saturday or Sunday and say "Hi!"

Maybe I'll see you there. Until then...

Black Library Live and Official Doctor Who book signing at the Doctor Who Experience

Two events to check out tomorrow (although probably not both because they're a couple of hundred miles apart).

The first in Black Library Live! which is taking place at Games Workshop's Nottingham HQ. It's an event that celebrates and showcases Black Library's books, audio productions and authors. Available to buy pre-release on the day will be Fall of Damnos, Victories of the Space Marines, Knights of Bretonnia, Age of Darkness, Caledor, Blood Reaver and Garro: Legion of One.

Attendees will also be able to pick up a copy of the limited Black Library Live! 2011 chapbook at the sales stand (as long as stocks last). The event runs from 10.00am until 7.00pm(!), with seminars, signings, and probably some gaming somewhere along the line too. You can find out more about it here.

Secondly is the Official Doctor Who book signing taking place at the Doctor Who Experience at Olympia Two in London tomorrow, between 11.00am and 1.00pm. Justin Richards, Oli Smith and other Doctor Who experts will be there, ready to be grilled on all things intergalactic. My Doctor Who book Terrible Lizards won't be out for a while (more on that later) but I may drop by just the same, so don't forget to bring along your copies of The Horror of Howling Hill and The Official Doctor Who Annual 2010 just in case.

The signings will be held in the café area at the Doctor Who Experience. The signing is a separate event so to enter the Doctor Who Experience you will need to buy tickets, which you can do here.

Jonathan Green at the SFX Weekender 2

Just a quick update about the SFX Weekender 2, taking place this Friday and Saturday at Pontins Holiday Park, Camber Sands.

I will be there from lunchtime Friday until about lunchtime Sunday - signing at the Abaddon Books stand and suchlike - but on the Saturday afternoon, from 2.00 - 3.00pm, I and m'colleagues Rebecca Levene, Scott Andrews and Al Ewing will be hosting the Abaddon Pub Hour in the Queen Victoria Bar.

Maybe we'll see you there...

16 November 2010

16 November... You may not have thought there was anything particularly special about that particular date (unless your birthday happens to fall on that day, in which case you share it with the Roman emperor Tiberius, Oswald Mosley, Griff Rhys Jones, Frank Bruno and Danny Wallace) but you'd be wrong.

For a start, from 16 November there's only 45 days left until the end of the year. On this day in 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, Hessian mercenaries captures Fort Washington from the Patriots. On this day in 1857, twenty-four Victoria Crosses are awarded (the most in a single day) after the second relief of Lucknow. On this day in 1938, LSD was first synthesized by the Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland. In 1940, during World War II, in response to Germany's leveling of Coventry, England two days before, the Royal Air Force bombed Hamburg. In 1945, Operation Paperclip saw the United States Army secretly admit 88 German scientists and engineers to help in the development of rocket technology, on the very same day that UNESCO was founded.

But 16 November 2010 is going to be a special day as well. First off it's the day that the Solaris Books horror anthology The End of the Line is launched at Foyle's Bookshop, Charing Cross Road, London...

and secondly because this is out the same day...

24 hours in Nottingham - or - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Metal

So, last Friday lunchtime (with still some way to go on my latest Pax Britannia novella Proteus Unbound*) I packed in work for the day and headed up to Nottingham for FantasyCon 2010. Due to other commitments I would have to hit the motorway again at 2pm Saturday so arriving in Robin Hood's hood at 2pm on the Friday, I had 24 hours in which to experience all that FantasyCon had to offer.

Friday 17 September 2010

2pm - Arrived in Nottingham in need of a comfort break and so stopped at GW HQ and popped into Bugman's Bar... Where who should I run into but Christian Dunn and Alex Davis from Black Library editorial. Chris is holding a handful of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks and was about to sit down with Alex to discuss... I wish I could tell you more, but I can't. Not yet, anyway. Suffice to say it was a very exciting moment!

Relaxed and ready to take on the world again, I had a good nose around the Warhammer World miniatures hall which gave me a few ideas for... But again, alas my lips are sealed for the time being.

3pm - Checked in to my hotel where I discovered that complimentary Wi-Fi in all rooms didn't actually mean free. Settled down to do some more work on Proteus Unbound.

8pm - Headed into the city, to The Salutation Inn, semi-ready for a night of Abaddon Books-sponsored metal karaoke. The first fifty to the bar received a complimentary** copy of Al Ewing's I, Zombie while David Moore judged the metal karaoke-ists, the winner receiving a complete set of his chosen Abaddon series!

10pm - David took the mike himself and I wondered why I don't do this sort of thing more often. David's hat gets passed round, photos are taken, and reputations are ruined, all at the click of a shutter lens.

Just for the record, I am not in any way metal - as this photograph proves most effectively.

11pm - Tinnitus kicks in and I realise why I don't do this sort of thing anymore.

12am - Head back to my hotel while the hardcore (a.k.a. Jon and David) rock into the wee small hours of the morning.

Saturday 18 September 2010

8am - Stumble out of bed, ears still ringing. Swear never to go to another metal karaoke as long as live (or until the same time next year, whichever is sooner).

9am - Back to the laptop. Proteus Unbound is starting to come together quite nicely now.

10am - Head off to the Britannia Hotel to experience FantasyCon for myself for the first time. Conclusion: It's basically a load of mates (who happen to be writers, artists and editors) all getting together for a pint*** and a chat.

Barely through the door when I'm met by Mark and Liz of My Favourite Books (go check it out!) and Mark Charan Newton of Nights of Villjamur fame. Then run into Jonathan Oliver, who's looking a lot worse than I am (see above).

Head off into the dealers' room and meet Lee Harris of Angry Robot Books and pick up Guy Adams' The World House along with Lavie Tidhar's The Bookman while I'm about it.

Check out the Art Show upstairs and display incredible self-control and great restraint in managing not to purchase a print of Les Edwards' cover for Creature of Havoc or a piece of original Bryan Talbot comic artwork.

Go back downstairs to the bar where I run into Marc Gascoigne (Angry Robot overlord, former BL publisher, my first FF editor and former flatmate) followed by Bryan Talbot. I even get to shake the great man's hand****.

1pm - The End of the Line book launch. Twelve authors arrayed to sign Solaris Books' latest horror anthology. Take pity on Jon Oliver and David Moore (who are both looking worse than me) and buy them a re-hydrating Coke each. Manage to pick up the last copy and get it signed by all present, in the process meeting such luminaries as Simon Bestwick and Stephen Volk in the flesh for the first time.

2pm - Leave FantasyCon with a bag full of books, Doctor Who toys for the kids and safe in the knowledge that I'll earn a few Brownie points for leaving on time!

Here are the books I picked up at FantasyCon. Some were freebies, some I parted with my hard-earned cash for.

Nice one, FantasyCon. See you next year down in Brighton.

* I can say that now that it's finished and in with my editor. ;-)

** Complimentary here does mean free.

*** The definition of 'a pint' that I'm using here is 'Anywhere between 2 and 10 pints, but most definitely not just the one'.

**** Bryan Talbot's, that is.