It’s been a strange year – one of those authors go through sometimes – in which novel-writing has been slow or tricky, and instead I’ve done what I term the ‘marginalia’ of a writer’s life – other things that around the margins of writing actual books. So this year, I’ve been a mentor on the…
A couple of weeks ago I was kindly invited by talks organiser Altered State to join a panel on Artificial Intelligence (AI), considering whether it is “the end of the world as we know it”. I took the opportunity to brush up on my AI knowledge.
If you live in or near Bristol, you probably know that the famous zoo has finally closed its doors after 186 years. To mark this momentous end of an era, the zoo launched a short story and poetry competition, and I was lucky enough to win first prize in the adult fiction category.
Four authors, all part of the writing collective Just Write Bristol have been busy running our popular ‘Hidden Gems’ event for literature festivals during lockdown.
This is the year of online literary festivals – all the chit chat and all the literati you could want, and all from the comfort of your sofa. Bristol Literature Festival has a great programme, and you can catch me at a couple of free, online events too…
Earlier this week I braved the flooding to head into the Forest of Dean, where I was warmly welcomed by the Newnham Readers group, a book club set up by local librarian Margaret Ellis. The group chose The Undoing of Arlo Knott as their February read, and I went along to hear what they thought…
There have been so many book events over the last couple of months I’ve hardly been able to keep up! Needless to say it’s been great reading from The Undoing of Arlo Knott to new audiences, and getting into a lot of interesting chats with readers about the nature of time, quantum physics, snakes, superheroes…
Get your tickets here We’re seemingly surrounded by villains and in desperate need of heroes. But how do authors create them and what can we learn from these timeless archetypes? Day: Wednesday 16th October Time: 7:30pm Venue: Max Minerva’s, 39 North View, BS6 7PY Tickets: £3 (redeemable on purchase of a book) About the authors Heather Child’s latest novel,…
Arlo Knott is finally out in the world, having been launched at a sell-out event at Storysmith Books, Bristol. With fabulous hosting from Hugo award-winning sci-fi critic and publisher Cheryl Morgan, we talked about having an undo button for life, plus the power of hindsight, quantum physics and snakes and ladders. The room was packed…
This weekend past, I was with Alison Littlewood up at MCM Manchester, talking to a packed audience about how to set a novel with fantastical elements in the real world. A highlight was Michael Rooker – of Guardians of the Galaxy – checking out Everything About You at the Author corner (he’s Mary Poppins, y’all!).
The Undoing of Arlo Knott is being launched on 1 August 2019 in Bristol.
Gone Girl for the VR generation . . . when the book is released ask Alexa to order you a copy. But be careful she doesn’t read it before you do, she may just tell the delivery drone that we’re onto them. STARBURST MAGAZINE The paperback of Everything About You is finally here! It will be launched at…
This weekend I was in Bath with Writers Unchained, meeting lots of other writers’ collectives, small presses and other creatives.
It was a good chance for all the publishers based in the Westcountry – like Tangent Books, Wizard’s Tower Press and Silver Crow Books – to come together, get to know one another and share their wares with the public.
James Smythe’s dystopian novel I Still Dream, is also about an artificial intelligence, and deals with many of the same themes as Everything About You. Thus it was no problem launching into a lively and in-depth AI debate when I joined him in London – along with Rachel Heng, author of Suicide Club – at…
