Welcome!!

Welcome!!
Welcome one and all!

My name is Alex Davis and perhaps I should start with a little about me...

I've always been interested in literature- I've written actively since I can ever remember and went on to study Creative Writing at the University of Derby. It was after that I got interested in literature work through volunteering and running a writing group in Derby. Eventually I was lucky enough to be offered a post organising Nottingham 2005 Poetry in the City Festival and following that experience I was offered the post I currently occupy, Literature Development Officer in Derby.

The post is one that I really enjoy and involves helping budding writers through guidance and resources, assisting writing groups to develop, offerign work and profile to more established writers and also organising events both large and small. Which brings me to the whole reason for this blog...Alt.Fiction 2007.

Alt.Fiction 2006 was my first brainchild in post and ran on May 6th of this year. The whole thing took around six months of planning and work and was generously supported by Derby City Council and Arts Council England, who were invaluable in making the event happen. We were able to draw together a host of twenty-five fantastic horror, science-fiction and fantasy writers including Ramsey Campbell, Simon Clark, Justina Robson, Richard Morgan, Chaz Brenchley, Mark Chadbourn, Juliet McKenna, Simon R Green, Stan Nicholls, Peter Crowther and many more. The writers and publishers took part in a host of workshops, discussions, readings and Q+A sessions throughout the event. The day went really well and in particular the response after the event was overwhelming.

The 2006 event was pretty much a pilot and it was only in the cold light of day after the event that we realised we had some decisions to make on its future. I thoroughly enjoyed putting the whole day together and with all the positivity surrounding it, we decided that it would be folly not to run again. So this blog is dedicated to giving news, thoughts and updates for Alt.Fiction 2007.

The very basics first of all: The event takes place on 28th April 2007 and runs again at the Darwin Suite of the Assembly Rooms, Derby. Times have yet to be confirmed.

This year the event has to run on a tighter budget so at present I am pursuing publishers and various other organisations to see if they would like to be involved by having book launches or sessions at Alt.Fiction. It seems likely already that Stephen Hunt (of SFCrowsNest) will have an opportunity to launch his book at the event courtesy of Voyager. I'm also arranging a meeting with Solaris, who are affiliated with Games Workshop who have their head office over in Nottingham, to see if they would be interested in some kind of involvement.
But I certainly wouldn't want anyone to think I was resting on my laurels and I have plenty of big names in mind also to ensure that we can match the high standard of this year's event. Expect some repeat visits plus a whole host of new names for 2007. I'll be trying to post on the blog weekly so keep heading back for all the latest news.

In the meantime, any of you interested in the 2006 can find a nice range of photos on Paul Kane's Shadow Writer website...visit http://www.shadow-writer.co.uk/altfiction.htm.

Cheers

Alex