Meet Chris Hawton

Every Friday, we meet a member of the BFS and peer deep into their soul (or, at least, a form they filled out). Want to be featured? Email us: online@britishfantasysociety.org

Name: 
Chris Hawton (he/him)

Which region are you based in? 
South London (innit)

If you write, which genre: 
Sci-fi & Fantasy (though sometimes dark)

Are you drawn to any specific SFFH sub-genres? 
Time travel, dark fantasy, alternative history

If you don’t write, what do you do?
I also co-host the All New Adventures of the Doctor Who Book Club podcast, so have read a different Doctor Who book every month for the last 7+ years. I’m also a volunteer steward at Sutton United Football Club (and sometimes inhabit the mascot costume – see photo), Chair of Sutton Writers, and in my day job I work in IT.

Your influences

Tell us about the book/film/thing that got you into SFFH: What was it? How old were you? What impact did it have on you?

I think it was probably Star Wars, to be honest (surprise!). I remember being swept up in it to the extent that one of my teachers had told me she’d seen Darth Vadar in a local shopping centre, so I was always very nervous going to the shops!

Of course, there’s also The Doctor, who I saw for the first time on American Forces Broadcasting whilst living in the UAE (as you did as a small blonde thing in the 1980s). It was the fact there was a complete universe with all these different stories, bringing up different themes and topics, and I think looking back on it, because it wasn’t all one vision, it added a realism to it for me. There was lots of odd textures. There was always more stuff to learn, to discover. And more books to read. There were a few smuggled-in tapes and books that were circulated around the expat community in mid-1980s Abu Dhabi, and I very much relished my turn with them.

How does that early influence show up in your work now?

Obviously, I co-host a long-running podcast about that very topic! I think I often get drawn to stories with fleshed-out universes, usually ones with strong roots in the real world. My own writing tends to veer towards the fantastical, and it’s likely because I feel too restricted in science fiction having been so exposed to the genre’s tropes.

(Pictured: Chris with his podcast co-host Matt. They finally met in person this January after working together for seven years.)

Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?

Often it’s trying to parse the world as I see it, but with fantasy twists so I can skewer things a bit more, or explore topics without fear or favour.

Who do you look to as a genre hero? Why?

Iain M. Banks, absolutely, just because I found his work extraordinary when I discovered them as a teenager. 

As for others: For years, I would go out and get the latest Grant Morrison efforts. Inspiration for the podcast stuff are podcasts like Doctor Who: The Writers Room, which delves into the writing side, and the storytelling focus is why I do a niche within a niche for my podcast. In terms of TV writing, Stephen Moffatt, though it can be popular to knock his work – I do believe some of the very best scripts of modern Doctor Who and wider modern scifi TV have come from his pen.

Your work

You’re stuck in an elevator for 60 seconds with that hero, and they want you to describe your work. Give us the pitch.

If I met the ghost of Iain M. Banks, he’d be as surprised as I was given his atheism. But I might be inclined to say: “Hello, there. I explore the modern world through a fantastical prism, both as a writer and a reader – and a podcaster! Also, spoilers: the world’s gotten much worse since you left us. Please come back.”

What are you working on right now?

Prepping this month’s episode: we’re reading Summer Falls, by Amy Williams (aka Amy Pond, aka the companion. Yes, I know.) and Melody Malone (aka her daughter, River Song. Yes, I know. Spoilers, sweetie.)

Thinking about all the stories/work you’ve done, what sticks out most in your mind? Why?

Probably writing a story that was published featuring the original TARDIS crew for a charity anthology put together by BFS member Fio Trethewey. Through that, meeting the late William Russell, who played the Doctor’s first male companion, Ian Chesterton.

Fio also created this amazing artwork of me, commissioned by my wife for my 40th birthday a few years back when I was bearded and had short hair.

Where and when do you create/are you at your most creative?

Honestly, I’ve been a bit drained because of my day job and various other commitments. I think I let creative itches grow, and then something needs to happen.

What’s the best advice you’ve received about creativity?

Creativity is a muscle you need to exercise – though I can’t say I follow that advice rigorously!

What’s your writing soundtrack?

Silence, or the ambient sounds of wherever I happen to be.

The quickfire round

Sci-fi, fantasy or horror?
Sci-fi

Quiet or loud?
Quiet

Dark or light?
Depends

Strict lines or genre blend?
Blend, firmly firmly firmly

Awards or bestseller?
Neither? Bestseller?

Fiction or non-fiction?
Depends on the topic! 

Poetry or prose?
Prose

Plotter or pantser?
Plotser/plantser

Reading or listening?
Reading

Notebook or computer?
Computer (but mainly my phone!)

Favourite SFFH book of all time?
In my teens, I’d say Flowers for Algernon, but I do wonder how well that’s stood up to time.

Consider Phlebas by Iain M Banks.

My favourite Doctor Who book is Touched by an Angel by Johnny Morris.

Last book you read?
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty, as part of the Hugo nominations packet. 

Any SFFH author on auto-buy?
Not so much these days.

Favourite podcast?
Mine! But also: Sword and Laser; Radio Free Skaro; Verity!; Doctor Who: The Writers Room; The Rest is History; Empire, which is warts and all and fascinating; After Dark, the post-watershed History Hit, which often skirts into the supernatural. 

The home stretch

What’s the best thing about being part of the SFFH community?

The ability to get swept up in ideas, and the willingness of others to help brainstorm and suggest how to tackle those ideas.

Time to plug your stuff! Where can we find you and your work? What have you got coming up? Consider this your advertising space.

Listen to the All-New Adventures of the Doctor Who Book Club podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts! There’s seven years worth of episodes now. Marvel as we get excited for the Jodi Whittaker era of the show, and then get frustrated by the scripts! Meet those we’ve had as guest readers and guest stars! Discover if we’ve ever slammed a book and then been contacted by the author! See how I realise how wrong my younger self was about some books – some are brilliant, and others less so, contrary to what I originally thought!