Conventions - Edge-Lit 10 - Derby 7th September

Place – The Quad, Derby

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of driving down to Derby to attend Edge-lit once of my favourite conventions. It’s a unique one-day convention in a cinema/workshop environment (with comfy seats) where the focus is on genre covering science fiction, fantasy, horror and crime. Extremely well organised and often with a writer focused approach as along with the usual panels, interviews and dealers’ room there was a series of writing focused workshops. As a blogger the panels were for me the main attraction.

I wen tot the following and had a lot of fun

The Dystopia – At the junction of Uncanny, Satirical, Horror and Science Fiction (mod – Teika Smits and Tim Major, Mark Morris and Alison Moore)

This was a great panel to start the day with from authors’ early experiences of dystopia the discussion went to what the term actually means and its role in book and other media. A reminder for me is that post-apocalyptic fiction is also a form of dystopia and not simply the authoritarian one that often comes to my mind. The debate on our feel of too much order and chaos yet it can also be stylish and seductive as they noted how Bladerunner’s design aesthetic is so appealing. The focus on how characters realise their world is not right was also an intriguing discussion and how issues like Brexit have been used in work to help explore/vent the real world. Lots of good recommendations and I think this will impact the ay I see the genre in reading going forward.

Echoes of the Past – How History Shapes Genre Fiction (mod - Charlotte Bond and Zen Cho, Sarah Brooks and Stephen Volk)

This panel explores writing about historical periods. Loved the format of this one from exploring which period the authors would love to visit   ranging from Tudor to the very specific 1849! Why the historical appeals was a really good discussion as we had explorations of using the period for the atmosphere and vibes to a specific historical incident that set of the imagination. All agreed research is both fun and can be a rabbit hole and knowing when you can diverge from history to feed the story is important. With regard to problematic parts of the past there was a good discussion that you can as an author choose to deal with issues such as racism but its also fine to actually give your characters better outcomes than may have happened in reality.

A fascinating but disturbing angle for me was how recent history gets discussed. Increasingly the 1980s are becoming a period drama (wails) with shows like Stranger Things and the attraction of a pre-internet mobile world has lots of uses to authors. But all felt you can fall into into nostalgia too easily. For example, MR James was not cosy horror, and yet recent adaptations seem to ignore this while Regency is popular as it feels a relatable version of the modern world which many things get created in – also transport is a lot easier than the previous periods! Really useful to understand how historical periods are both used and created.

After a quick lunch, bookshopping and discussion on Star Trek the afternoon resumed with

From The Grave To The Page – Exploring the Undead in Genre Fiction (mod – Conrad Williams and Simon Bestwick, Charlie Higson and Sarah Pinborough)

This time the forms of the undead got discussed from how this entered all to young minds thanks to BBC2 late night films, university film shows or for Pinborough a school play of Dracula seen far too young. A range of opinions came up Pinborough says Zombies aren’t really that scary (yep!) and instead it’s the world they are in which creates the drama Vampires are more interesting and can be real characters with lots of moral quandaries. Bestwick explored the power of being relentlessly hunted and pursued by something that you can’t reason with and never tires while Higson in their work has removed the idea of zombie infection and focused on how people needed to work together to survive. There was a general feeling the zombie wave is now at an end…for now but they will at some point be back.

The last panel for me was Sarah Pinborough being interviewed by Mark Morris on her wide-ranging career so far. This was a great discussion with an author who has so far written 29 books. It as well as painting a picture of a life also explored changes in publishing as Pinborough moved from small horror presses into fantasy, YA, historical horror,, TV tie-ins and now thrillers with a supernatural edge. It was a reminder how difficult publishing can be – good books may not get marketed well or just not reach an audience despite how much research and effort goes into the writing. There was the balance between art and having a career as well as how real life shape shaped work just as the beautiful the Language of the Dying being inspired by a relative’s death. We got to hear about the commercial ‘joys’ of juggling contracts and publishers as well as the new joy Pinborough is finding in scripts for movies and television and how that compares to the often lonely world of writing novels. Lots of good things are also to come over the coming year so keep your eyes peeled for that! This very much felt an insight into writing and publishing that is fascinating and a reminder that it’s a business to navigate too.

Finally, the Lottery – as always, an event to experience and Sarah Pinborough and Conrad Willaims not so gently took the proverbial out of all the prizes and their related authors. For added confusion this year had two ticket books with similar colours leading to descriptions that you just had to be there to be believed. I won one! Clearly a great lottery!

Edge-lit is a great day convention. The writing approach and focus on genre is always appreciated and I think its great for readers and authors. Its also useful if you have ever wondered what a con is like to test a day out. My one feedback was the schedule meant panels very much closed down on top of one another and the use I’m seeing of slightly misaligned room tracks with agreed gaps in between would allow for more time to allow attendees out to shop in dealer’s rooms and get a bite/set world to rights with friends. Apart from that though I thought a great convention, very comfortable setting and one of the best Edge-Lits I’ve attended. It was quieter (unsurprisingly in a year dominated by a Worldcon and just after Fantasycon and Bristolcon) but the atmosphere and community feel of Edge-lit is quite unique and was still there. It’s the kind of con if you enjoy you tend to come back all the time. Huge credit to Holly Blades the organiser for putting a great show on. It is as always strongly recommended!