The Value of Events

UK SFFH event stalwart Alex Davis is gearing up for his latest edition of Edge-Lit, coming up in Derby on 20 September. Here, he reflects on what makes a great event—and has a double-pass for EdgeLit to give away, too!

When I first left University, and was looking to make my way forward in writing, I didn’t feel quite sure what to do with myself. Looking back, I can’t even remember how I stumbled upon Fantasycon—the event was running in Nottingham in 2006, so it was pretty close to home. I didn’t really arrive with the idea of volunteering, but we found ourselves mucking in to help out with goodie bags before we knew it, and then spent the weekend among a veritable who’s who of fantasy, horror and science fiction writers.

It was the year after that I found myself actively volunteering, and getting my first taste of what goes into running an event—and if you’ve never done it before, that will give you a fresh appreciation of the amount of work and fine details that go into putting it together. It’s a hell of a lot of effort before you start, and the weekend itself is a never-ending whirl of activity from the day before kick-off to the day after the dead dog party.

If you’ve never been, Fantasycon is well worth a trip. As are events like EasterCon, Cymera, BristolCon, NovaCon and plenty more besides. Let’s face it—writing can be lonely business, and the chance to hear from experts in the field, chat with fellow writers and connect with professionals in your genre is not to be underestimated. All that aside, genre conventions and events are generally just a lot of fun, and I could regale you with any number of hilarious stories of conventions gone by. 

I’ve done my share of attending, and I’d also say I’ve done my share of organising—be that the Alt.Fiction event, or Edge-Lit that was birthed from it, or even the UK Ghost Story Festival each year. So I thought it might be handy to serve up some of my advice for getting the most out of your convention…

Do your research

Whatever your writing field, you will find many events representing it—and it’s fair to say it’s unlikely you’ll be able to attend all of them. As such. we have to try and be selective and take a look at what events are offering in terms of headline speakers and content. That answer might be different from person to person, of course, so here are some things you might want to consider before deciding…

• How far is it to travel? You might consider this in terms of distance and time to get there.
• How much does it cost? 
• If there’s an overnight stay involved, how much is that?
• Who is attending and taking part? This might mean the Guests of Honour or indeed everyone on the talent roster. Are they people you have heard of, people whose writing you like, people you want to hear from?
• What’s on the schedule, and how does it align with what you want? Are you after interviews, panels, workshops, one-to-ones, the dealers room? How many does it have, and how closely do they coincide with your writing interests?
• Is there anyone you know going? Is there a social benefit to you going as well as a career and/or writing benefit?

Photo by Windows on Unsplash

Prep and planning

For me doing a bit of prep before you go to any convention or conference can be a massive help. But equally it’s important to be flexible enough for when things do go ‘off-piste’—these can prove to be the most fun and useful experiences! But here’s a list of things you might want to consider by way of advance prep…

• What do you want to attend? Try and break this down into ‘essentials’ and then ‘optionals’ which might prove handy but you could miss if you’re tired and in need of a break. Conventions can pack a lot in, so considering your path through is a good idea.

• Factor in when you are going to take a break. It can be hard to concentrate for three, four, or five hours if you are panelling back to back. Lots of the fun stuff—and the networking—will be happening at the bar while you stop for a drink.
• What do you need to take with you? Notebook, pen, pencil? Bottles of water, headache tablets, snacks to carry around? It can be a long and busy weekend if the event is two days plus, so these sorts of things can be great to have handy!
• Where is the venue? Make sure of your travel and accommodation plans ahead of time to avoid stress. This might also affect some of what you bring—are you in the heart of a town or a city, with plenty of shops, or are you a bit further out? 
• Are there people you particularly want to chat to? Long-term friends, people you’ve interacted with on social media, writers whose work you’ve enjoyed, agents or publishers? A dealers room can be ideal for meeting independent presses.

Photo by Leosprspctive on Unsplash

At the event

So, you’ve decided which event to go to, how to get there and what you want to attend. When you actually get there, how do you make sure you’re really making the most of it?

• Be friendly to everyone. If you’re only looking to chat with agents, for example, it’s unlikely to get you far. Conventions are full of all sorts of fascinating people doing all sorts of things—just try and enjoy the great company rather than looking to wrangle a publishing deal. If you must consider it networking, consider it soft networking.
• Don’t be shy to introduce yourself! Ask people about themselves—offering to buy someone a friendly drink is often a good conversation starter. Remember that you will find people tend to have many common interests at an event like this.
• Try and judge the mood. People will sometimes be talking business, or maybe having a serious chat about something non-writing related if they know each other well. There’s generally plenty of socialisation going on, but try not to deliver any faux pas if you can help it.
• Do keep in mind that many of the staff at events might be volunteers, so do be sure to treat them with respect!

Photo by Timur Shakerzianov on Unsplash

Win tickets to Edge-Lit!

And if you fancied checking out my own brand of event, we’ve put together a competition to win two tickets for Edge-Lit, running at Derby’s QUAD venue on 20 September! We’ll be joined by Guests of Honour Matthew Holness, Peter F Hamilton and Tim Lebbon, with a wide range of interviews, panels and workshops on the bill. You can find more info about the event here. 

For your chance to win a pair of tickets to Edge-Lit (worth £70), simply answer the following question:

Matthew Holness is the star of which popular Channel 4 comedy show?

C) Garth Marenghi’s Shadowplace

A) Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace

B) Garth Marenghi’s Lightplace

Send your answers to alexdavisevents@hotmail.co.uk by midnight Sunday 17 August for your chance to win! 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Entrants will receive an email reply to acknowledge their entry. Only winning entries will receive a further email. Email addresses will not be retained or added to any mailing lists. One winning entrant will receive two passes to the Edge-Lit event taking place on 20 September at QUAD in Derby. Competition closes at midnight on Sunday 17 August with winners drawn and contacted the following day.

Ed note: Don’t forget all the great events put on by the BFS, too! With a mix of online and in-person, there’s bound to be something for everyone. Don’t see an event near you and want to get involved? Contact our events queen PS Livingstone to offer your services as a regional events coordinator. And there’s also World Fantasycon coming up at the end of October, right here in the UK! This year’s Fantasycon is part of the big global event—next year’s will be in Glasgow, with tickets already on sale—and we hope to see you there.