Inside SFFH Publishing

Over the festival weekend, we will be chatting to industry professionals in our Inside SFFH Publishing events.

What does an editor do all day? Why should you get an agent? And why you should always listen to your publicist!

Saturday 1st June at 12:15pm: Natasha Qureshi Commissioning Editor at Hodderscape, Hodder & Stoughton

Saturday 1st June at 1:15pm: Alice Caprio, Agent at Felicity Bryan Associates

Saturday 1st June at 4:30pm: Eleanor Teasdale, Publisher at Angry Robot

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Sunday 2nd June at 1:45pm: Simon Spanton, Editor at Large at Angry Robot

Sunday 2nd June at 2:45pm: Rebecca Wojturska from indie publisher Haunt Books

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Our speakers will be in conversation with Averie Watson, Chair of the committee of the Society of Young Publishers (SYP) Scotland.

Venue: Lomond Room

Free to attend, no ticket needed.

Produced in collaboration with SYP Scotland.

Agent & Editor One-on-Ones

Writers will have the invaluable opportunity to talk directly to an agent from a literary agency or an editor from a SFFH publisher about their work, seek advice about any stage of the writing process, and receive direct feedback on pitches and ideas.

SOLD OUT Thursday 30th May - 2pm - 4pm, digital via Zoom with Stevie Finegan from Zeno Agency

SOLD OUT Friday 31st May - 2pm - 4pm, digital via Zoom with Stevie Finegan from Zeno Agency

SOLD OUT Saturday 1st June - 10am - 11:45am, in person with Alice Caprio

SOLD OUT Saturday1st June -2:15pm - 3:30pm, in person with John Baker , Alice Caprio or Lina Langlee

SOLD OUT Sunday 2nd June - 10am - 11:45am, in person with John Baker

SOLD OUT Sunday 2nd June - 2:15pm - 3:30pm, in person with Caro Clarke

Meetings will be 15 minutes long, and there will be a £25 fee. For the in-person meetings, please select which Agent you’d like to speak to on booking. Please note spaces are limited.

By booking tickets for this event, you are committing to submitting your submission letter and the first 2000 words of your novel (or less) by Monday 06.05.2024

Please send your material to admin@cymerafestival.co.uk

Booking Deadline Monday 6th May 2024. Please note that our Agent One to One sessions book out very quickly.

Open Mic

Do you have a fresh piece of writing ready for the world to see? Then we want your reading! Poetry, a bit of a novel or short fiction, we love it all!

There will be two in-person open mic session over the festival weekend.

The Open Mic will take place in the Pleasance Bar at the following times

• Saturday 1st June 3pm to 3:30pm

• Sunday 2nd June 1:30pm to 2pm

To join us in person, please apply here

Submission deadline is Sunday 19th May 2024.

Brave New Words

Cymera: Scotland’s Festival of Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror offers a platform for Scotland-based emerging and newly published writers to read their work in front of our audience.

Brave New Words readers will appear just before some of our main events.  Readings will be a maximum of five minutes.

Are you a Scotland-based writer of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror and are interested in being one of our readers?

Drop us an email on programme@cymerafestival.co.uk and tell us a little about yourself and your work.

Please note that whatever piece of work you intend to read has to be available to purchase, in digital form or in print. Both traditionally published and self-published writers can apply. Spots are limited and will be allocated by our programming team.

Writing workshops

Our #Cymera2024 programme is bursting with writing workshops, both in-person and online via Zoom.

Friday

Digital Workshop: Writing Fantasy Poetry with Elspeth Wilson, 2pm- 3:45pm on Zoom

Saturday

Workshop: Break Things: Play and Experimentation in Fiction Writing with Dan Coxon, 10am to 11:45am, in-person

Workshop: Creating and Running Critique Groups with Nick Binge and David Goodman, 10am to 11:45am, in-person

Workshop: Working With An Editor - Why? What? How? with Helen Bleck, 10am to 11:45am, in-person

Workshop: Writing Immersive Fight Scenes with Josh Holton, 10am to 11:45am digital on Zoom

CANCELLED Workshop: Sci-Fi Songwriting with Dan Collins (Dune The Musical!), 12:15pm to 2pm, in-person

Workshop: Create Your Own Fantasy Map with Andy Law, 12:15pm to 2pm, in-person

Digital Workshop: Getting Your Book Ready For Submission with Caro Clarke, 1pm -2:45pm, digital on Zoom

Workshop: Historical Fantasy: Writing Cross-Genre with Lucy Holland, 4pm to 5:45pm, in-person

Workshop: Fantasy Character Illustration with Hannah Kelly, 4pm to 5:45pm, in-person

Sunday

Workshop: Getting Your Book Ready For Submission with Caro Clarke, 10am to 11:45am, in-person

Workshop: Dialogue and Characterisation: What You Say, How You Say It with MK Hardy, 10am to 11:45am, in-person

Digital Workshop: Recycling Magic - The Craft of Turning Old Tales into New Stories with Lari Don, 10:30am to 12:15pm digital on Zoom

Workshop: Contract Skills with Francesca Barbini, 12:15pm to 1:15pm, in-person

Workshop: Writing Immersive Fight Scenes with Josh Holton, 12:15pm to 2pm, in-person

Workshop: Writing Ghost Stories with Helen Grant, 12:15pm to 2pm, in-person

Digital Workshop: The Author As A Brand with Sheila M. Averbuch and Anna Caig, 1pm to 2:45pm, digital on Zoom

Live Podcast Recording with Page One Podcast

Join podcasters Marco Rinaldi and Tariq Ashkanani for a live recording of their writing podcast, Page One – with a special guest yet to be revealed.

On Page One - The Writer’s Podcast, Marco and Tariq talk to writers of all kinds, from bestselling authors to screenwriters to comic writers to learn about how they go about creating their stories.

Don't miss a deep dive into each guest’s writing history, including how they broke into the industry, their writing process and an exploration of their work. There might even be a sneak peek of upcoming projects!

Date: Saturday, 1st June 2024 at 2:15PM to 3:15PM

Venue: Lomond Room

This event is free but ticketed. Please reserve a free ticket here.

How to Write a Submission/Query Letter

There is much advice out there for writing your submission/query letter. To start you off, here what the Writers and Artist Yearbook advise.

Top Submission Tips from Mark Leggatt

We asked author and editor Mark Leggatt to give us his top tips for submitting to agents.

Mark is the author of Names Of The Dead, The London Cage, and The Silk Road, a series of international thrillers which weave fact and fiction across the globe. He is also the author of a Historical Fantasy series, the first of which is in final draft.

He is also a freelance literary consultant and editor for several of the UK’s leading literary consultancies, providing editorial reports, developmental editing, copy editing and assessments.

More about Mark on his website http://www.markleggatt.com/