The programme for this year’s BristolCon was released last night. Here’s what I’ll be doing.

09:50 – 09:55 Room 2 : Welcome, by me (we don’t have opening ceremonies, we just do a quick welcome in each room).

10:00 – 10:45 Room 2 : Crossing the Genre Borders – They’re here, they’re respectable, and they’re taking our awards. These days more and more LitFic writers are dabbling in SF&F. This year’s Clarke Award shortlist contained several books marketed as mainstream fiction, rather than genre. Should we welcome these genre-crashers with open arms, or view them with suspicion? with Alex Davis (Mod), Adrian Faulkner, Cheryl Morgan, Dan Pawley and Sophie Sparham.

18:00 – 18:45 Room 2 : The Secret Life of an Editor – Editors stare out of the window and drink gin all day… or do they? What do editors actually do? Why do you need an editor? What can they do for you, and what can you do to help them get the best out of your work? with Cheryl Morgan (Mod), Alex Davis, Jaine Fenn, Jen Williams and Richard Bendall.

18:50 – 18:55 Room 2 : Reading: Cheryl Morgan.

Yeah, I’m doing a reading. But people will have time to flee before it starts.

There are lots of other great panels going on too. I am particularly pleased to see that we have found room on the programme for this one:

17:00 – 17:45 Room 1 : Bad-ass with a Baby – It’s still fairly rare to see depictions of parenting in SF&F. If a character has a child, does that mean they’re no longer allowed to be a bad-ass? And how difficult is it to juggle childcare and saving the universe? with Lor Graham (Mod), Amanda Kear (Dr Bob), Jasper Fforde, Peter Newman and Stephanie Saulter.

The full programme for this year’s convention can be found here.