World Fantasy Convention 2025

DoubleTree by Hilton - venue of the World Fantasy Convention 2025

I went to the World Fantasy Convention!
 
Yes, I took my northern ass to the very southern reaches of our shores and had an amazing few days in windy, rainy Brighton. Set in The DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, the conference spanned four days and cost me £200 for a full event ticket, but with hotels, trains, food and drink, the total cost was rather a lot more, maybe £600+.
 
Yes, it’s a lot, isn’t it?

Was it worth it? I think so; here’s why.
 
The conference started on Thursday, and I arrived in time for the welcome brief to first-timers like myself. I was given a quick low-down on what to expect during the convention, mainly from an administrative and practicalities point of view – nothing I probably couldn’t have figured out myself. But like so many things I attended during the conference, the benefit wasn’t in what the presenters said, but in the people I met.
 
Sat around a table of fellow first-timers, after the brief we were encouraged to chat. And as well as learning lots of interesting things about my fellow attendees, I also learnt that a couple of hours later, there was the chance to pitch your novel to a small press publisher – somehow I’d missed this in the programme.
 
Ever one to jump on any and every opportunity as it arises, I went to the pitching session and despite not pre-registering, like I was supposed to, I blagged myself a five-minute slot with one of the two owners of the press.
 
I gave a spiel about The Stolen Throne Trilogy – and I got an invitation to query! Yay!
 
Granted, I’ve never queried the latest iteration of this trilogy, but I have queried versions of the first book in the past. That soul-destroying ritual of researching agents or publishers, tailoring your query package until it’s just how they want it, then hitting send. And hoping someone gets back to you.
 
Most of the time they don’t.
 
If you’re lucky, you get a soulless standard rejection.
 
If you’re really lucky, you get a personalised rejection – I think I had one of these, once.
 
If your query is the one in a thousand that pricks the interest of whoever you send your query to, you are asked for a full manuscript – which may or may not lead to a publishing deal later – then maybe it's time to start playing the lottery, as you've just been blessed with a big dose of luck!
 
So, having someone in the industry say my trilogy pricked their interest was really nice.
 
Would I trad-publish the trilogy I’m on the verge of self-publishing? Maybe. I guess it depends on what the offer looks like. But I’m not holding my breath that there will be one.
 
Later in the conference I spotted the guy I delivered my proposal to, and we had a good twenty-minute chat. I explained why I didn’t think he’d go for my novel – that sounds a tad self-defeating, I know, but frankly, I’m happy to self publish at this stage. We also talked about how his small press worked; how he goes for only one book a year – one book a year??? Yeah, that’s a tiny number, isn’t it? It’s not the first time I’ve chatted to small presses, so it wasn’t a massive surprise. But in the early days of querying, I really had no idea they took on so few books.
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The next three days were filled with various panels and launches. At least four events were held at any one time, so there was lots to choose from. There were things like panels with titles like Politics in Fantasy, Blending the Genres and Writing Fighting. These are where four or five people sit on a table in front of an audience and discuss a topic.

Panel discussion on Editing and Editors, World Fantasy Convention 2025

One of the great things about World Fantasy Con and its smaller sister event, British Fantasy Con, is that members of the British Fantasy Association are invited to sit on the panels. Ever happy to share my thoughts in public, I of course I volunteered, and I ended up on two of them: Inspired by Tolkien and The Role of Class in Fantasy. I happily chatted away with my fellow panel members (some of whom were actually successful authors!) about said topics then answered questions from the audience. I’ve long been comfortable talking to crowds, so this came naturally, and I really enjoyed it.
 
There were also talks. A highlight was Andrzej Sapkowski in conversation with David French. If the name doesn’t ring any bells, you might be familiar with his books – he wrote the Witcher series, and David French translates Andrzej’s books into English.
 
I read several of the Witcher books before they were even televised, and I really enjoyed them. I find famous authors often mean little to you unless you’ve read their work.
 
The two of them chatted, and Andrzej came across well. A down-to-earth realist who doesn’t waste words on unnecessary waffle or flowery language. Like many Poles I’ve met, he showed a dry sense of humour and a no-nonsense personality, which I really like. I’m yet to meet a Pole, or any eastern European for that matter, that I didn’t like.
 
New books were launched (often with free food and drink) and authors read their work. Throughout the convention there were 39 reading groups – 45-minute slots where three authors read an excerpt from their work.
 
I was sure I’d signed up to read my stuff, but I couldn’t find the details in my inbox. So, I scoured the programme, looking for my name. I didn’t spot it, so I guess I hadn’t signed up…
 
Turns out I had.
 
I found my name around 7:30pm on Saturday just as I was thinking about leaving. I was due to read at 9pm.
 
Um, looks like I wasn’t going just yet then!
 
Far more people turned up to my reading than I expected for that time of day on a Saturday, and I read chapter one of Path to Power to my crowd. I write to be read, or to have my work consumed in any form, so getting the chance to deliver my writing directly to fantasy enthusiasts really was an enjoyable experience.
 
On top of all this stuff, there’s the dealers room. This is where indie authors peddle their wares, along with a few artists and people selling other things linked to the genre. This is where I plan to be when I attend the convention next year (just the British version though – the world version is in California next year). I wanted to take a look at other indie authors’ stalls and chat to the authors selling their books. I talked to many of them, some of them at length. And gosh, did I learn a lot.

World Fantasy Convention 2025 Dealer Room

I learnt how much a stall costs, where to print your banners, and how to make your books look good on your table. I got an idea of how many books you might sell at an event like this, and what kind of figure I should sell them for. And best of all, I got invited into a Discord group. This is a group for indie authors who attend these kinds of events. Many visit several, and so they see each other time and time again. It makes complete sense that they should try to help each other out. The group includes details of all the big conventions that happen every year, and from conversations I had with the authors, I now have an idea of which ones might be the most lucrative.
 
Here's the guys who helped me out the most. I bought a copy of their books, too, of course. They more than earned those sales.

Authors David Tucker, T M Faulkner and Matt Adcock with their books

​Outside events and stalls and readings, there was the social side. I managed to overcome my fear of talking to strangers and chatted to quite a few different people over drinks. Many were interested in my writing: as an author who has no author friends, and no close friends who are interested in my writing, it was amazing to be able to talk about my books with people who cared. And I learnt so much about them, too. I discovered how unusual I am to have written six books. Most people seemed to be on the first or second. I learnt about the huge range of backgrounds of the lovers of fantasy. But most of all, I learned that my kind of people are out there; I guess you just have to know where to look!