The Brits love a festival it would seem. Hardly a month goes past without another one being spawned. Here’s a better list than you’ll find most places for UK scifi, fantasy and horror conventions and festivals.
- Bolton Comic Con/Invasion Earth 3, 15 Nov 2015, Bolton: a coming together of the successful annual Bolton comic event and the annual Manchester scifi event, http://www.boltoncomiccon.co.uk/
- World Fantasy Con, 5-8 Nov 2015, Saratoga Springs, USA: Steven Erikson will be a special guest, http://www.worldfantasy.org/
- FantasyCon, 23-25 Oct 2015, Nottingham: UK national fantasy convention, run by the British Fantasy Society, http://www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=3796.0
- Bram Stoker International Film Festival, 22-15 Oct 2015, Whitby: http://www.bramstokerfilmfestival.com/
- Pandorica, 25-27 Sept 2015, Bristol: Doctor Who convention, http://www.fantomfilms.co.uk/events/Pandorica2015/pandorica_event.htm
- BristolCon, 26 Sept 2015, Bristol: a one-day convention organized by the Bristol Fantasy and SF Society, http://www.bristolcon.org/
- Dragon Con, 4-7 Sept 2015, Atlanta, USA: pretty much the world’s biggest fantasy and scifi convention, http://www.dragoncon.org/
- Scifi Wales, 5 Sept 2015, Llandudno: mainly a tv and film focus, http://www.scifiwales.uk/
- Nine Worlds, 7-9 August 2015, London: gaming, film, cosplay, fandom, literature, science and geek culture, http://nineworlds.co.uk/
- HorrorCon 2015, 11-12 July, Rotherham/Sheffield: special guests, lectures, Cosplay and market, http://horrorconventions.co.uk/index.html
- MCM Comic Con, 25-26 July 2015, Manchester: one of the biggest comic cons in the north-west, http://www.mcmcomiccon.com/manchester/
- Distopia conference, 29 April 2015, Newcastle University: high-brow interdisciplinary conference on the dystopian in modern and contemporary literature and film, http://dystopianfictionconference.wordpress.com/
- EuroCon2015, 23-26 April 2015, St Petersburg, Russia: the annual scifi convention run by the European Science Fiction Society, held in a different European country every year, http://eurocon2015.org/en/about-convention/
- Whitby Goth Weekend, 23-26 Apr 2015: it all goes on in Whitby. Why? Cos that’s where Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, where much of the novel is set, and where the dark lord arrived in the UK to boot, http://www.whitbygothweekend.co.uk/
- Dysprosium 2015 – EasterCon, 3-6 Apr 2015, Heathrow London: 66th British National Science Fiction Convention, http://www.dysprosium.org.uk/
- Sci-Fi Weekender 6, 19-22 Mar 2015, Wales: formerly known as the ‘SFX Weekender’, http://www.scifiweekender.com/
- EM-Con, 15 Mar 2015, Notts: the East Midlands scifi and fantasy convention: the focus is mainly TV and film, mind you, http://www.em-con.co.uk/
- London Super Comic Convention, 14-15 Mar 2015: comics, costumes and gaming, http://www.londonsupercomicconvention.com/
- Sci-Fi Scarborough, 14-15 Mar 2015: second convention for this growing event, https://www.facebook.com/scifiscarborough/info?ref=page_internal
- World Book Day, 5 Mar 2015
- UK release of mass-market paperbook of Tithe of the Saviours!
- A J Dalton book signing event, 13 Dec 2014, Waterstones Doncaster
- Wigan Comic Con, 7 Dec 2014: a successful and popular comic con that is worth checking out, https://www.facebook.com/wigancomiccon
- A J Dalton book signing event, 29 Nov 2014, Waterstones Manchester Arndale
- Novacon 44, 14-16 Nov 2014, Nottingham: the UK’s longest-established regional (operating out of Birmingham) science fiction convention, held every autumn since 1971; has a definite focus on scifi literature rather than anything else, http://www.novacon.org.uk/index.php
- Preston Comic Con, 25 Oct 2014: taking place in Preston Guild Hall, the inaugural event, http://www.prestoncomiccon.co.uk/
- SCARdiff, 19 Oct 2014, Cardiff: a one day horror expo!, http://scardiff.co.uk/
- Nor-Con, 7 Sept 2014, Norwich: one-day scifi convention for Star Wars, Batman, Doctor Who, Star Trek and so on, http://www.nor-con.co.uk/
- EDGE-LIT 3, 19 July 2014, Derby: scifi, fantasy and horror writing, http://www.derbyquad.co.uk/special-event/edge-lit-3
If you run or know of a convention you’d like included in the above list, just give me a shout.
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Hello! Sorry to be a pain, but BristolCon is organised by the Bristol Fantasy and SF society, not the British one. We don’t like to give ourselves airs down in the West Country!
Thanks, hierath. Now amended. No offence. Keep your ‘airs’ on. Poor joke, sorry, too much caffeine. Adam
Hehehe, cheers for that!
Microcon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcon
Longest running convention in the South West.
Pingback: My convention fear | J E Nice
Hi! Could you update your entry for BristolCon? The 2013 event takes place on 26th October at the DoubleTree, Bristol City Centre. Many thanks.
A convention in swansea, well just outside
https://www.facebook.com/events/1428004037443044/
just heard about it
Wow an up to date list :D this is what I like to see.
I’m Sam, captain of StarBase Leicester, and every year we get together with a local cinema called Phoenix Square to run ScifiFest. A movie festival perfect for geeks! with a quiz, gaming, book launch, and even a nerf shooting gallery and a 3d printing display with a chance to print stuff!
http://www.phoenix.org.uk/index.php?cms_id=615
this is the event May 10th, wish I’d found you sooner… Keep up the good work
Sam
Hello, Scardiff will be hosting their 2nd horror convention at Cardiff masonic hall in October.http://scardiff.co.uk/.
A slightly eclectic convention in Cambridge is happening in a few days’ time including some fantasy writing and storytelling, might just be worth adding it:
http://www.exilian.co.uk/ExiliCon
One off event on the 25th October…
Greenwich Time Symposium: Objects in Time
A day of enquiry, tinkering and questioning, examining the facts and fiction behind everyday objects.
With panel discussion, talk on writing by sci-fi novelist Robert Adam, and you can get involved in a clockwork workshop with steampunk artist Jemma Hewitt.
25 October
12.00-16.00
£15 / £10 members and concessions
http://bit.ly/NMMobjctstime