Looking forward, looking back

This is one of those posts looking back at some of the great events I attended in 2019, and looking forward to what’s coming up in 2020. My excuse is that it’s January, named for the god Janus, with one face looking to the past and one to the future, but of course it’s really because I’m so late with the event write-ups! I did mean to be organised, honestly I did, but things somehow got lost in the rush of getting ready for Christmas and mince pies and too much cheese and indeed forgetting what day it is…

So with no more ado – some of the grand days out of 2019!

Here I am with SJ Bradley of the Northern Short Story Festival and Lucie McKnight Hardy, my fellow speaker, at an event at Leeds Library. This took place amid a torrential rainstorm for added atmosphere, and for a second surprise –  well, who knew there was a library tucked away behind the shops and banks right on Commercial Street? Not only that but an ancient, creaking, reputedly haunted library, just perfect for the telling of spooky tales.

First there were some open-mic readings which were all terrific, and then Lucie and I joined in. Lucie, I should say, has recently had her book Water Shall Refuse Them published, to wide acclaim. I’ve just begun reading it and am thoroughly enjoying it already. We had a lovely afternoon reading and chatting before braving the rain once more.

November brought with it colder weather and indeed the inaugural UK Ghost Story Festival, held by the brilliant Alex Davies and his team at the Quad in Derby. There was a wide range of panel discussions, workshops, interviews and talks, as well as lots of lovely bookish people to talk to.

I was so eager I actually managed to arrive before the Quad opened its doors, so first, a quick inspection of the giant pressies in the square:

I was on a couple of panels during the weekend. The photo shows the second of those, with Alex Davies, Marie O’Regan and James Everington, gamely discussing who wrote the finest ghost stories of all time. I also managed to catch up with the lovely Laura Purcell, author of The Corset, Adam Nevill of The Ritual fame, and had Andrew Michael Hurley sign a copy of Starve Acre.

All in all, the Ghost Story Festival was a fabulous event – here’s hoping for many more!

On to December, and I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Lindum Books Christmas party. Lindum is one of my favourite independent bookshops, being just lovely, and on a lovely street, and indeed in the lovely city of Lincoln. Everything about it is lovely, in fact – if you get the chance, I’d highly recommend a visit – and the party was no exception.

Everyone started off with tea and cakes in the medieval cellar of the ice cream parlour next door to the bookshop. Then I came along and gave a little talk about my new title Mistletoe, followed by a reading and a lively Q&A session. After that we repaired to the bookshop and I signed copies and chatted with everyone who came along. Thank you so much to Gill Hart for inviting me and the whole Lindum Books community for a last event of the year that was – well, lovely!

If that wasn’t enough, I also met the uber-talented Ellen Lavelle, an up-and-coming freelancer, who did a lovely write-up of the event here.

And finally, I promised a looking forward bit, so I will just mention another event that’s on the horizon – Stokercon, which is taking place outside the USA for the first time ever. It will be held in Scarborough from 16th to 19th April and looks set to be an absolutely terrific occasion. Organised by genre couple extraordinaire Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane, it already has a great line-up, with much, much more to come. I for one am excited!

With all best wishes for a happy and healthy 2020,

Alison

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