From gay best friends to butch martyrs, and from found family to ‘coffee shop AU’, how do popular archetypes and tropes inform the writing and editing of queer stories? This interactive, online workshop will examine how LGBTQIA+ characters are presented in contemporary speculative fiction, exploring how queer writers might sleepwalk into writing problematic tropes, or straight editors inadvertently “de-queer” a story. This workshop is aimed at writers, editors and publishers of all sexualities, and at all experience levels, interested in improving their awareness and practice of these topics. Join the team behind Bona Books to learn more.

C.L. McCartney (he/him) is a writer and editor based in East London. He loves all things speculative, and his fantasy and horror fiction can be found in a number of collections, most recently in _The Crawling Moon_ (Neon Hemlock, 2024). He is Managing Director & Editor at Bona Books. Follow him at: @chrismccartney.bsky.social

Trip Galey (he/him) is a fantasy writer, a doctor of the academic persuasion, and the Editorial Director at Bona Books. He has variously been a cowboy, an itinerant marketing professional, and an instructor in creative writing. His novel A MARKET OF DREAMS AND DESTINY is currently out from Titan Books. Find him at https://linktr.ee/tripgaley

The workshop will be held via Zoom and will be recorded for catch up.

Please note: You should receive a confirmation email when you buy your ticket, plus a second email with the Zoom link to join. If you don’t, please contact Shona via email: chair@britishfantasysociety.org