So – that was World FCon, one crazy weekend, and the third year in a row that Brighton has played host to a convention of the fantastic. This year’s revels were bigger, noisier, and considerably wetter than in previous years. Dashing through the streets of Brighton without benefit of coat or umbrella is a) stupid and b) best undertaken only when suitably fortified with generous helpings of sliced pork in hot chili oil, as served by the superb Sichuan Garden restaurant on Queen’s Road.
Con highlights for me included Ian Whates’s wonderfully warm and insightful interview with Tanith Lee, and Neil Gaiman’s interview with Susan Cooper, who held her large audience completely enthralled. It was an honour to be present.
Best of all, perhaps, was seeing Helen Marshall take the Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer. Some of you may remember me reviewing Helen’s debut collection Hair Side, Flesh Side for Strange Horizons, and the book remains for me one of 2012’s standout titles. The jury certainly got this one right, and it’s great to know that Helen is already deep into working on new material.
Visit Helen’s website here, where you can sample her work and share all her latest updates.