From character art to maps and back-of-the-book reference material to wikipages to QR codes accessing soundtracks – how can bonus content help – or hinder – the story.

An article in the Guardian in 2016 summarized what grimdark’s “domination” of the fantasy genre as a “commercial imperative to win adolescent, male readers” in opposition to “a truly epic and more emotionally nuanced kind of fantasy” that delivered storytelling. Many grimdark writers and readers, however, would argue that this description is the very antithesis […]

Sometimes evil refuses to die. The shadow lingers on, reforms and returns. The making of a villain that sticks around in the mind of the reader and survives longer than the hero is an art in itself. Join us to discuss.

Since the 1970s, writers have been influenced by roleplaying games and roleplaying games have been inspired by writers. Our panel discusses the relationship between roleplaying games and writing stories. Where do the mediums work well together and where are the issues?

From Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next to Diana Wynne Jones’ Tough Guide to Fantasyland, fantasy has a long tradition of satirising the (so-called) real world and its own genre. Together, we will send up and take apart fantasy’s satirical strands and wonder why it is so good a tool for playing with reality

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Scratch the surface of some fantasy stories and you realise the worlds your heroes live in don’t work. How do characters earn a living? How is food grown, transported and traded? How important is a realistic fantasy economy to you?

In fantasy and horror, there are ways in which music becomes part of the creation. Our panel will discuss the creative role original music plays in the building of stories in the genres. Bring your creations along!