SF writer Gary Gibson

I saw the proof bound copy of Al's book Vellum on Saturday night, and very nice it is too. The thing is huge - about eight hundred pages, and it got me thinking again that it would be a nice idea to get a group photo of the Glasgow Science Fiction Writer's Circle (hereafter referred to as GSFWC) when the Glasgow Worldcon comes up in August, given that the event coincides, not entirely accidentally, with several publication dates.

First up is my old flatmate Michael Cobley (and one-time GSFWC'er, now living abroad), whose book Shadowmasque is out in June. Then my second book Against Gravity is out in mid-July, a month before the Con. Al's book Vellum is out in August, just in time for the Con. Miller Lau isn't a GSFWC'er, but she is another Scottish writer, and she's got a book coming out also from Tor UK round about the same time. And on top of that, Phil Raines - another GSFWC'er - has a story in Datlow's Year's best Fantasy and Horror. Plus, there'll be another anthology coming out in time for the Con, sort of Shipbuilding 2, and sort of er, not, called Nova Scotia.

What's interesting about this sequence of launch dates is the contrast with the last Glasgow Worldcon in 1995, when the presence of local authors working within the roughly sketched territory of what we call sf was far more limited: in that respect, it wasn't really a very Scottish Con, with the notable exception of Iain Banks. I think Ken McLeod was around at the time, but I don't think he'd yet achieved the degree of success he has now.

So what I'm saying is, this looks like it's going to be a very Scottish con, given the number of authors either born in or now living here. There's also Richard Morgan of course, and Charlie Stross over in Edinburgh. There are others, but my mind's gone a bit blank, so apologies if I've missed you out. This is hugely different from the '95 experience.

(slight update - a Google search reveals Miller Lau is now publishing under her real name, Deborah J. Miller, and the book is called Swarmthief's Dance, out in September. Which probably explains why I couldn't find anything new by her on a quick browse through Amazon ...)