Dispatch From The 2025 World Fantasy Convention

I didn’t have a normal Halloween this year.

There was no dressing up. No parties. No trick or treat. No gorging on candy while I watched scary films.

Sounds depressing?

Well, it wasn’t.

The Metropole Hotel, Brighton, England

This Halloween I was in Brighton, England at the World Fantasy Convention. My husband and I joined a thousand other fantasy, science fiction and horror writers for three days of panels, networking and general mayhem. The Metropole Hotel never knew what it hit it!

Here are some of the highlights.

Finding My Tribe In Dark Academia

I was a last-minute addition (somehow my application got lost in the ether of the internet) but the panel I landed on was a perfect fit: “Dark Academia: The Lure of Evil Institutions”.

 I joined moderator Ellis Saxey, who donned a mortar hat, and fellow panelists Lorraine Wilson and Matthew Palmer. We fielded some very interesting questions from both our moderator and the audience, including the evil institution’s relationship with the wider community, whether dark academics have more responsibilities than “normal” ones, as well as what course we would like to take from an evil institution. (For the record, I opted for “How to Open Interdimensional Portals”.)

Making A Rather Intense Point ; )

The panel was great because it verified what everyone has been telling me. My series, The Shadows of Miskatonic, falls squarely in the dark academia category. Reading the books name-dropped in the panel description, listening to my fellow panelists discuss their work, I felt a warm glow that only comes from feeling at home.

Me with childhood tormentor Ramsey Campbell

Meeting people I’ve long admired

I can’t tell you how surreal it is to meet someone whose stories scared the hell out of you. But that was where I found myself when I met Ramsey Campbell, who has been a horror writer for longer than I’ve been alive. I approached him after a panel for a picture. He was genial and cheerful and took great pleasure in the fact that his stories scared me. He asked me about my work and seemed genuinely interested in talking to a fellow Lovecraftian.

Another thrilling (but brief) encounter was with Joe Hill. For those who don’t know, Joe Hill is the son of Stephen King and an impressive writer himself. He appeared on a panel about “Marmite Characters” (characters you either love or hate, named after a British pub snack that people either…you guessed it…love or hate). I had the opportunity to ask Joe Hill a craft question, and he (and his fellow panelists) gave me some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten. My thanks to them all for their generosity.

Lee Murray, Me, CC Adams and my husband Lance striking a pose in the lobby

Reuniting with good friends and making new ones

In the bar with Carol Gyzander

My peeps from the Horror Writers Association (HWA) were out in force!

In addition to London native CC Adams, Lee Murray came from New Zealand, and Eric LaRocca and Carol Gyzander travelled from New York. It was so nice to reunite with all my old friends and catch up on what they were doing. I even attended a session with CC and Carol, where they read from their latest works. I can’t wait to read their new books!

Just outside London city limits

Oh, England. When I was growing up in the hot arid Mojave Desert, I fell in love with England. Its cool weather, gray days, its rich deep history…well it was everything that Lancaster, California wasn’t. When I graduated high school, I saved up enough money to spend six weeks there. And now, almost forty years (!!!) later, I returned to my beloved country.

An Afternoon Matinee of Troillis and Cressida at the Globe

For a few days before the conference, my husband and I explored London. We went to a Shakespeare play at the Old Globe (then saw Six, a musical about Henry VIII’s wives on the West End), visited museums, and went on a Thames river cruise to Greenwich. I’d never been on the river before, and it afforded a unique opportunity to view London from another perspective.

Being foodies, we also dined at some incredible places (Colonel Saab, an Indian place near our hotel was a particular highlight). All I can say is that British cuisine has come a long way in the last four decades. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I’m no longer on a starving student’s budget!

My conferences is 2026 will be a little closer to home. The Horror Writers Association reunites in Pittsburgh, World Fantasy convenes in Oakland, California and World Con is Disneyland adjacent in Anaheim. Not as exotic as London, but I’m looking forward to exploring my own backyard…