Recent events and adventures...

Just a few updates today... I had great fun at my events this weekend just gone. The Ilkley Festival did me proud on Saturday. I taught a workshop on plotting Secrets and Subtexts and the large class of people were all halfway through their novels and very keen to learn and experiment. Then there was time to get a bacon and tomato sandwich in a tea room that wasn't Betty's (Betty's was chockablock) and dash to the Playhouse. I did a Gothic-themed event with Kevin Jackson, who's published a book about vampires with Portobello (a publisher I like - because of their doing that lovely book about Enid Blyton a couple of years ago, and because they're doing Tiffany Murray's second novel.)

Anyway, we'd sold out, which was pretty good. The festival had laid on special supplies of gloopy and peppery Bloody Mary's, both alcoholic and none, and we had a nice time talking about monsters and vampires in myth and film, and things such as Paranormal Romance and the old Universal Monster Team-ups and took some very interesting questions from the audience. Afterwards I was glad to sign lots of copies... and delighted to hear from a woman who belongs to a Leeds Book Group, who said they'd had a flurry of excitement about my stuff - and the term they used for circulating 'Never the Bride' and 'Something Borrowed' etc, was 'Borrowing the Brenda'!

Sunday was all about the sublime Lass O'Gowrie pub in Manchester, and attending the epic daylong NovelCon event. This was a long overdue celebration of the Doctor Who novels - the books that kept the story going during the lost years of the 1989 -2005 hiatus. There was a large gathering of novelists and readers of all kinds and a really splendid time was had by all, I think. Many congrats to the genial and unflagging host, Gareth Kavanagh, who put together this whole day of debate and nostalgia and beer and pies. I spent quite a lot of time in the snug with a shifting cast of old and new friends.

It seems like the autumn season of events and talks and dashing about on trains is well and truly underway..!

This week I'm off to Sheffield for their literature festival. There, I'll be reading some Brenda and Effie (from my brand new proof copy of Hell's Belles!). Details follow. It says Sold Out (hurray!) but I guess they could squeeze in a couple more.

Paul Magrs
Thu 15 October 2009 @ 2pm

This event is sold out

The Sheffield College

A chance to meet the prolific writer Paul Magrs who will be talking, amongst other things, about his latest novel Hell’s Belles the fourth in his series of mysteries featuring Brenda and Effie, two very unusual old ladies who help keep evil at bay. His collection of short stories Twelve Stories is about to be published and his most recent Doctor Who project is the five part BBC Audiobook series Hornets Nest starring Tom Baker. Paul also teaches on the Creative Writing MA course at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Facilitated by Hillsborough College

Tickets

Tickets £3/£2 (cons) from Reception, Reference and Information, Central Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield 1 - Tel. 0114 273 4737 and Finance Office, Hillsborough College (Mon-Fri 9am-4.30pm) For information Tel. 0114 260 2215