BFS Online: Worldbuilding – Magic Systems

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Magic Systems: We see different types of magic in our fictional worlds, but which is best? Hard or soft? Should there be rules to magic? How do you go about defining the parameters of a supernatural process?

Join moderator Sian O’Hara and panellists Annabel Campbell, Amy de la Force, and Katalina Watt as they discuss the ins and outs of structuring magical systems and how to convey them to readers.

Annabel Campbell (she/her): Annabel writes fantasy with fierce female characters and disaster wizards, and believes everything is improved by dragons. She lives in a tiny village in Scotland, where most of her neighbours are sheep. She has a PhD in cardiovascular science, and when not making things up for a living, she works as a Medical Writer. Her other joys are red wine, playing games, or showing you too many pictures of her dog. Find out more about Annabel on her website or follow her on Bluesky or Instagram. She’s also on Substack. Get her new book, The Outcast Mage, here.

Amy de la Force (she/her): Amy de la Force is the debut author of A Kiss of Hammer and Flame, book 1 in the Fated For Hael fantasy romance series published by Canelo (DK, Penguin Random House) in July 2025. A shortlistee of the 2024 Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, Amy is an Aussie expat living in London, and used to train in Shaolin kung fu and medieval sword fighting. Connect with Amy on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok. Or check out her website for more information. Pre-orders for Amy’s book can be made at Waterstones, direct through Canelo, or at these retailers.

Katalina Watt (she/her/they/them): Katalina Watt is an Edinburgh-based author of speculative fiction. They were selected for a 2025 Literature Matters Award from Royal Society of Literature, AIR Literature UNESCO 2024 Gothenburg Writer in Residence, and 2023 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Semiprozine as founding Audio Director for khōréō. Saltswept is their debut novel. Find out more about Katalina on their website. Or connect on Instagram. Get your copy of Saltswept here.

Sian O’Hara (she/her): Siân O’Hara has long been an avid reader of SFF (thanks to her mother, and then a chance encounter in her school library). With other worlds only ever a daydream away, Siân started writing as a way to get her thoughts and feelings out of her head and onto paper. Siân lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two daughters and has a career as an aerospace engineer working in earth observation and climate services. Inspired by her attendance at Fantasycon 2021, Siân started to spend more time on her writing and is now sharing it out into the world for others to read. Several of her flash and short fiction pieces are published online. Connect with Sian on Bluesky.