1 The Ramada Jarvis (aka the Ramada Plaza) sits next to the historic St Mary Redcliffe Church, and is a ten minute walk from Temple Meads Station in one direction, and Bristol town centre in the other. The Number 76 bus runs from the centre right past the hotel.

PARKING:There is a pay and display car park for 170 cars opposite St Mary Redcliffe, just across the road from the hotel. Further afield, parking can be found at Lower Guinea Street near the Ostrich Inn (five minutes walk), and on-street in the area around Queen Square, though this can be busy.

EATING:Opposite the hotel, the Portwall Tavern (the tiny blue pub) does a small range of pub grub, pizzas etc. Two doors down is Byzantium, a large and highly recommended Mediterra- nean restaurant.

Follow Redcliffe Way past St Mary Redcliffe and over the bridge (5 minutes walk) and you come to the Grove, home of the upmarket Severn Shed and River Station restaurants, and the more homely (but often crowded) Hole in the Wall tavern. But for real bargain dining the Bristolcon Committee highly recommend the all-day breakfasts served at the Colosseum, next to the Mer- cure Hotel on Redcliffe Hill. It won’t win any glamour prizes, but it’s cheap and very cheerful.

CASHPOINTS:Nearby cashpoints are situated behind the hotel, on the corner of Redcliffe Mead Lane and Somerset Street (RBS), and a little further along Somerset St (Lloyds). 2 Last year’s event was such a resounding success that we thought we’d do it all again for 2010, only bigger, better, and a few hundred meters closer to the station. And here we are!

In your hands, juggled awkwardly between a pint of cider and a goodie bag, is your guide to all the delights Bristolcon ’10 has to offer. Let your mind boggle as science fiction authors speculate on the future, and quite possibly recreate the Battle of Thermopylae as they tell you how to write a kick-ass fight scene, before the Filk tunes of Talis Kimberley lull your ears into a false sense of security. And then the Pub Quiz taxes your brain to infinity, and possibly a little bit beyond.

All this, of course, wouldn’t be possible without our fabulous guests, volunteers, and organising committee. If I mention them all by name here this guide would be as thick as the Yellow Pages, and you don’t want to be lugging that around. And of course, it wouldn’t be possible without you. So thanks for coming, and enjoy what I’m sure will be a fantastic day!

Best Wishes, Jo Hall (BristolCon Chair)

PAUL CORNELL is a writer of SF and fantasy prose, comics and television scripts, the only person to be Hugo nominated for all three media. He wrote three episodes of the new Doctor Who, Captain Britain and MI-13 for Marvel Comics, and is now the regular writer on Action Comics for DC. His novels are Something More and British Summertime, and he has another coming out from Tor next year. He lives in Oxfordshire with his wife, Caroline.

JOE ABERCROMBIE is the author of several critically acclaimed fantasy novels. He first became famous for The First Law trilogy, comprising The Blade Itself, Before They are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings. He also produced a standalone novel set in the same world: Best Served Cold. Another standalone book, The Heroes, is due in 2011. In 2008 Joe was a finalist for the prestigious John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. He is published by Gollancz in the UK, and by Pyr in the USA. He lives in Bath with his wife, Lou, and his daughters Grace and Eve.

3 10:00 PUBLISHING PANEL Andy Bigwood, Insights into and experiences of the tricky business of getting Colin Harvey, published. Dave Bradley, Juliet McKenna (Chair), Mike Shevdon 10:50 READING Juliet McKenna Juliet McKenna 11:00 Guest of Honour–JOEABERCROMBIE Joe Abercrombie, A Questions and Answers session with Cheryl Morgan Cheryl Morgan

11:50 FILM Lewis Bear A short stop-motion animation "Wizards of Speed and Time" by Mike Jittlov. Made in1979, Mike created all of the special effects himself, includingthe stop-motion animation. 12:00 SPECIAL EFFECTS– Alex Keller, FROM HARRYHAUSEN TO AVATAR. Mike Tucker, As little as five years ago, Empire Magazine predicted that John Meaney, James Cameron’s Avatar, then trapped in development hell, Terry Cooper, would never be realised because the technologyto make it Gareth L Powell (Chair), simply didn’t exist. Dave Golder This year SFX guru Ray Harryhausen celebrated his 90th birthday and, in honour of these two events, Bristolcon is devoting a panel to the history of special effects in movies and TV, looking at how far they’ve come from the days of stop motion, wondering if more is actually better, and speculating on how far the art can be pushed in the future. 12:50 READING Gareth L Powell Gareth L Powell 13:00 SIGNINGS Guests Time for you to meet the authors and get books signed. Books will be on sale in the dealer's room for those who haven't brought their own! 13:50 READING John Meaney John Meaney 14:00 BRISTOL-FANTASTICAL CITYSCAPE Eugene Byrne A virtual tour of strange and mythic Bristol in search of inspiration for writers, and would-be writers.

Bristol has a couple of would-be portals to other worlds, no end of urban legends (historic and present day), two separate founding myths, at least two walking statues, and a street which is marked on maps, but which doesn't really exist at all 14:50 READING Mike Shevdon Mike Shevdon

4 15:00 VISUALISING FABULOUS WORLDS Joe Abercrombie, How do fantasy writers create a world where the sea is Stephanie Burgis, exactly the right shade of pink? One of the key hooks of Kim Lakin-Smith (Chair), fantasy is the visualisation of the fantastic, but how does that Mike Tucker, change when interpreted into a different medium? Andy Bigwood, Roz Clarke 15:50 READING Stephanie Burgis Stephanie Burgis 16:00 FUTURE SCIENCE Alastair Reynolds, Writers talk about the science they want to see in the coming Gareth L Powell, decades. Whendoes Science Fiction become Science Paul Cornell, Fact? Where are we all going to end up? And when do we Nick Walters, finally get the jetpacks and flying cars we were promised Dean Burnett about50years ago? 16:50 READING Sarah Singleton Sarah Singleton

17:00 Guest of Honour-PAUL CORNELL Paul Cornell Paul Cornell talks about his life and work

17:50 READING Paul Cornell Paul Cornell

18:00 WRITING FIGHT SCENES John Meaney, We’ve all got drunk. But very few of us havebeen involved Juliet McKenna, in a tavern brawl, fought hand to hand combat, faced down a Joe Abercrombie, barrage of ray guns or led a cavalry charge. Maybe as a Colin Harvey (Chair) result of this, writers frequently cite fight scenes as one of Cheryl Morgan the hardest things to write. So we have martial artists/authors John Meaney and Juliet McKenna on hand to guide you through the mechanics of writing fight scenes, and maybe, if you’re lucky, demonstrate some moves on our other unsuspecting panellists... 18:50 READING Colin Harvey Colin Harvey

19:00 TALIS KIMBERLEY ENTERTAINS Talis Kimberley Whether inspired by literature, real life or the world of myth, Talis' work always takes a quirky, sideways view of the world. 20:00 PUBQUIZ Nick Walters Don your thinking caps-Nick Walters challenges the best SF minds in Bristol. 22:00 PROGRAMME ENDS ...but the bar will stay open!

In addition our guests will be available to sign books, chat and the like at various times during the afternoon. All panelists appear subject to work commitments and not getting killed practicing for the fight scenes panel. 5 Alastair Reynolds is one of Britain’s best-selling science fiction writers. Currently signed to a million-pound contract by Gollancz, he thrills readers with his complex tales of the far future. Reynolds’ Chasm City won the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel in 2001. He has also won a Seiun Award in Japan, and been three times nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. His latest novel is Terminal World. He lives in South Wales, and was a Guest of Honour at the first ever BristolCon in 2009.

Colin Harvey lives in Keynsham, and is a writer, reviewer and blogger. He is the editor of Future Bristol, published in 2009, and of Killers, which was short-listed for the Black Quill Award. His novel, Winter Song, published by Angry Robot Books, was launched at BristolCon ‘09, and his new novel Damage Time, was published in October 2010, also by Angry Robot. Next up is Dark Spires, an anthology of west-country based SF, fantasy and horror from Wizard’s Tower Press.

Juliet E McKenna has always been fascinated by myth and history, other worlds and other peoples. She studied Greek and Roman history and literature at St Hilda’s College, Oxford, and has a lifelong love of SF and fantasy fiction. She is the author of the acclaimed Tales of Einarinn series, and the highly praised Aldabreshin Compass sequence. Her current project, The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution, is a trilogy exploring divided states, personal conflict and the rights and responsibilities of power. She is one of the leading lights of The Write Fantastic, a UK authors’ initiative promoting the breadth and depth of current fantasy fiction, and reviews online and for Interzone and Albedo One.

Mike Tucker is Director and Effects Supervisor of The Model Unit, a visual effects company based at Ealing Film Studios that specialises in miniature sequences for television and film. Prior to founding his own company, Mike was an effects designer at the BBC Visual Effects Department. He was one of the principal effects crew for Red Dwarf series 1 – 7 and worked as an effects assistant on the final four series of the original Doctor Who. Mike was awarded for a BAFTA for his work on the BBC’s Hiroshima documentary and was nominated for an Emmy for his work on Dangerous Film’s Human Body – Pushing the Limits. He has recently been commissioned to write the History of the BBC Visual Effects Department with ex-BBC colleague Mat Irvine, which is due to be published by Aurum Press in November.

John Meaney is the author of To Hold Infinity, the Nulapeiron Sequence (Paradox, Context, Resolution) and Absorption, vol.1 of the Ragnarok trilogy, all hard SF novels. He also wrote the dark fantasy/Gothic SF novels Bone Song and Dark Blood, and (as Thomas Blackthorne) the violent, near-future thriller and political satire Edge. His short fiction has been reprinted in several year’s best anthologies. Meaney has a degree in physics and computer science, holds a black belt in shotokan karate, and works out fanatically. Before writing full time, he enjoyed a long career in IT, and taught business analysis and software engineering around the world. A trained hypnotist, he likes dark chocolate and adores cats. He lives in a Welsh valley.

6 Mike Shevdon’sblend of real history and folklore was launched on an unsuspecting world last year with his debut novel, Sixty-One Nails, published by Angry Robot Books. It interleaves forgotten legends and faerie tales with real history and ancient rituals that are still performed at the core of the realm to this day. A refreshingly different take on Urban Fantasy, The Courts of the Feyre is a series exploring humanity's relationship with the creatures that inspired the oldest of stories, weaving a modern faerie-tale into the fabric of reality. The sequel, The Road to Bedlam, was published in September, revealing more of the relationship between the everyday world and the secret world of magic and darkness beneath. Mike's work has been described as richly detailed and an effortless joy to read with a pace and plot that leaves you wanting more.

Terry Cooper is a full-time artist and illustrator, producing graphic novels, movie storyboards, cartoon characters and company logos, book and CD covers. He has illustrated for authors Steven Deighan, Garry Charles, Steve Lockley, Paul Finch, Barry J House, Steve Dean and Chris Lynch. He is a published novelist in his own right, with the book, Kangazang! and is currently working on its sequel. He is contributing an illustrated story for the 10THOLOGY Welsh graphic novel project. He also provides voice-overs and narration for advertisements, films and cartoons.

Eugene Byrne is a novelist and journalist resident in Bristol. His books include Back in the USSA, co-written with his old schoolfriend Kim Newman, ThiGMOO, Things Unborn and a biography of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in comic form, drawn by Bristol artist Simon Gurr. In 2008, Eugene and Simon produced The Bristol Story, a 200-page graphic history of Bristol; over 100,000 copies were printed and given away free. Last year Eugene and Simon brought out a graphic biography of Charles Darwin for the Darwin 200 celebrations.

Eugene has written a guidebook to Bristol’s Arnos Vale Cemetery, which is full of all the city’s leading dead Victorians and he says you really ought to visit it. He lives in quietly-desperate suburban respectability with his wife and two children, does all his own ironing and drives a Skoda.

Simon Gurr is an illustrator and comic artist whose professional comics debut was in 2000AD (the first strip to be drawn entirely with vector graphics). Since then he has collaborated extensively with author Eugene Byrne, producing web and print comics together including graphic biographies of Charles Darwin and I K Brunel. He is also the artist/author of a comic serial adaptation of The Day Of The Triffids.

His illustration work appears most often in books and magazines and includes SF and Fantasy subjects. He was the only illustrator to appear in every issue of roleplaying magazine Arcane, providing artwork for the popular Encounters series

Nick Walters is the author of several BBC Doctor Who novels including the award-winning Reckless Engineering. He has also published various short stories and articles. He lives and works in Bristol. 7 Kim Lakin-Smith is a science fiction and dark fantasy author whose work focuses on urban dystopias, history and folklore, steam/gaspunk, and the notion of the outsider. Her debut novel, Tourniquet (Immanion Press) was published in 2007 and the novellas Black Sunday and Cyber Circus will be published by Newcon Press later this year. Her short stories have appeared in Interzone, Black Static, Celebration – the BSFA’s 50th birthday anthology, Myth-Understandings and others. Kim’s story, “Johnny and Emmie-Lou Get Married” was a shortlist nominee for the BSFA short fiction award 2009.

Stephanie Burgis is a novelist and short story writer. Her Regency fantasy trilogy for 10- to 15- year-olds, The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson, begins with Book One, A Most Improper Magick, which was published in the UK this August and will be published in the US next spring. She has also sold nearly thirty short stories to adult science fiction and fantasy magazines and anthologies, including Strange Horizons, Black Static, and Future Bristol.

Gareth L Powell was born in Bristol, England. He is the author of the SF novels The Recollection and Silversands; and the critically acclaimed short fiction collection The Last Reef and Other Stories. His short story “Ack-Ack Macaque” won the Interzone Readers’ Poll for best short story of 2007. His work has been published in magazines all over the world, and featured in a number of recent anthologies, including Shine, Conflicts, 2020 Visions, Dark Spires, and Future Bristol.

Gareth has written non-fiction articles for The Irish Times, Futurismic, Write To Done, Matrix, SF Signal, and Focus, and has a regular spot writing interviews and reviews for Acoustic, a national UK music magazine.

Craig Lewis is a mixed-media artist, muralist, illustrator, tutor and perpetual image tweaker. He studied Fine Art at Cardiff University and has experience in animation, illustration, graphic novels and community workshops. He organises urban murals and teaches artistic techniques.

Working in a variety of media, from oils to collage, he is a six-time nominee for Welsh Artist of the Year. Craig has been working on a collection of surrealist digital work, portraying weird and wonderful fantasy scenes, reminiscent of the work of Joel Peter Whitkin & Dave McKean, two of his inspirations.

Bristol-bornTalis Kimberley is returning to her home city to present her narrative, whimsical brand of music to Bristolcon’s discerning attendees. Talis is a storyteller. Her songs are full of tales, some true, some speculative. Whether inspired by literature, real life or the world of myth, her work always takes a quirky, sideways view of the world. She can sing you what Lady MacBeth said to Helen of Troy over a bottle of wine, or introduce you to the secret world of teabags. Here are references to Escher’s drawings, Oliver Postgate’s creations, celestial geometry, oh, and werewolves.

8 Andy Bigwood is an artist, draughtsman, bookbinder, cartographer and illustrator from West Wiltshire. He trained in technical illustration in Bath (shortly before the evolution of computer aided art). Andy has provided artwork, cartography and cover designs for a variety of Fantasy, Horror, and Science fiction novels including The Winter Hunt, Conflicts, The Push, Future Bris- tol, and maps for the Wraeththu trilogy; twice winning the British Science Fiction Association Award for best artwork with the book covers of ‘disLOCATIONS‘ (2007) and ‘Subterfuge‘(2008) .

Cheryl Morgan won a Hugo Award in 2004 for the online book review magazine, Emerald City, and another one in 2009 for her writing. She has been nominated for several other awards, in- cluding the Best Fan Writer and Best Web Site Hugos. She currently co-edits the web site, Science Fiction Awards Watch and writes the Cheryl’s Mewsings blog. Since January 2009 Cheryl has held the post of Non-Fiction Editor at the Hugo Award winning and World Fantasy nominated Clarkesworld Magazine. This year Cheryl launched her own publishing company, Wizard’s Tower Press, and the online critical magazine, Salon Futura.

Sarah Singleton is the award-winning author of six novels for young adults, including Century, The Amethyst Child, and most recently, The Island, all published by Simon & Schuster. She has written one novel for adults, The Crow Maiden (Wildside Press) as well as numerous short sto- ries for magazines and anthologies. She lives in Wiltshire.

Joanne Hall lives in Bristol, England, with her partner. She enjoys writing fantasy, and will have a collection of her short stories published by Wolfsinger Publications in March 2011. Her New Kingdom Trilogy was published by Epress Online, and her short stories feature in Colin Harvey‘s Future Bristol and Dark Spires anthologies. She is currently failing to learn the guitar, and is disappearing under the avalanche of junk in her office while she finishes her latest door- stop of a novel. Her personal website can be found at www.hierath.co.uk, and she’s always happy to hear from readers.

Roz Clarke was born in Manchester and raised in London, and is now making her home in free- range and paint-splattered Bristol. She graduated from MMU’s MA in Creative Writing in 2008. She is also a graduate of the Clarion West workshop, 2007. Her short story “Haunt-Type Experience” was published in Black Static #9, and her latest, “Last Flight to West Bay” appears in the Dark Spires anthology being launched here at BristolCon.

Alex Keller started off wanting to be an archaeologist, but he found that being stuck in a ditch in the rain all day wasn't as glamorous as he’d thought. Instead, he decided to try his hand at writ- ing for a living.

His first novel, "Haywired" is a steampunk novel for the Young Adult audience and was pub- lished in September this year. He is working on the sequel "Rewired" which is due for publication in April 2011.

9 Following on from the success of the Future Bristol anthology, Keynsham-based author Colin Harvey and a disparate band of local authors have spread their wings further afield to bring you Dark Spires. Published by Wizards Tower Press, Dark Spires is a collection of short stories set in the loose geographical region of Wessex. The land of Thomas Hardy, King Arthur, and Alfred the Great, Wessex is rich in myth and legend. These stories span the centuries from distant past to exotic future, taking in dragons, mermaids, strange fossils and spaceships.

The cover art is by BSFA award-winner Andy Bigwood, who will be appearing at Bristolcon along with many of the authors who appear in the anthology. We are delighted to be able to launch the collection here, where there will be a chance to hear readings from the book and pick up a signed copy. The launch of Colin’s novel, Winter Song, was one of the highlights of last year’s Bristolcon, and we’re very happy to have him back with us, and wish him every success with the anthology.

Bristolcon would not be the success it is without the help and support of some brilliant individuals, and I’d like to pass on my thanks to them all here :

D The Committee – Andy Bigwood, Cheryl Morgan, MEG Broadribb, Heather Ashley, Roz Clarke, Nick Walters, Colin Harvey and Gareth Powell.

D All our guests, particularly our brilliant guests of honour, Paul Cornell and Joe Abercrombie

D Cindi Bennett at Ramada Jarvis Bristol, for answering a constant stream of emails and letting us mess about in her ballroom

D Mike Allwood of Bristol ComicCon, for going above and beyond to help out.

D Del Lakin-Smith for technical support

D Forbidden Planet for providing goodies for our goodie bags!

Jo Hall (BristolCon Chair)

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