Joining David Gemmell

Since I’ve (rather belatedly – sorry Stan!) today joined up over at the DGLA website, I’ve just had a proper old nose through the nominations, not only for the DGLA itself, but for the two new categories introduced for 2009.

The David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Newcomer

‘The Morningstar Award will give recognition to emerging talent in the field of fantasy fiction. As David Gemmell always took a keen interest in new writers, and helped many onto the path to publication, we regard this as an appropriate category to add, and one we feel sure David would have approved.’

The David Gemmell Ravenheart Award for Best Fantasy Cover Art.

‘The Ravenheart Award will honour the best fantasy book cover art. The importance of fantasy cover art deserves admiration, as do the artists who produce it, yet there is no major UK award acknowledging this. The Ravenheart Award will fulfill that role.’

There a list of current nominations on the site here.

I was a huge fan of David's work (I think I was 19 when I read ‘Legend’ and it’s left a mark to this day) and therefore very privileged to be at last year’s awards (rumours about my axe-wielding may have been exaggerated).

I’m also looking forward to casting my votes in this one - a celebration of the best in the genre is always a good thing.

The 2010 David Gemmell Awards ceremony will again be held at The Magic Circle headquarters in London, on Friday 18th June.

And I can't help but wonder... just what Raven Armoury have in store for us this time...

Five Authors; One Event (You Know How This Works!)

FORBIDDEN PLANET and Gollancz Publishing are delighted to be hosting an open-format, multi-author signing. Five authors, one event – at 6pm on Thursday November 26th, Forbidden Planet 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London will be playing host to: -

• David Devereux
• Paul McAuley
• Justina Robson
• Adam Roberts
• Chris Wooding

To promote the release of Justina’s new book CHASING THE DRAGON, Forbidden Planet and Gollancz Publishing have gathered a host of science fiction and fantasy talent into one event – an event to bring writers and fans together and to promote interest in new and different kinds of fiction.

This is a free-form and open signing, bringing the authors out from behind their tables and giving their readers a chance to meet them and talk to them about their work. An array of fantastic books will be on hand to be picked up and signed – including works by every one of the writers present.

And, as usual with these events, there are likely to be more than a few surprise guests...

...and a subsequent visit to the pub!

Absolute V For Vendetta

DAVID LLOYD will be signing the Absolute edition of the classic V for Vendetta at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Thursday 24th September 6 – 7pm.

V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, now returns in a gorgeous, oversized Absolute edition with new material. Originally published in 1990, the story is both frightening and powerful, dealing with loss of freedom and individuality within a totalitarian England. Written against a background of third-term Thatcherism and tabloid rants against minorities, this is a work of startling clarity... everything that comics weren't supposed to be. With fresh material including never-before-reprinted, newly-coloured full-page illustrations, an expanded sketchbook, the original series back cover art, and the re-mastered colour of the 2005 deluxe hardback edition - this is the ultimate edition of a modern comic masterpiece.

Foremost comics illustrator David Lloyd has a bibliography that spans from V for Vendetta to Slaìne and Hellblazer and bringing to visual life the work of Alan Moore, Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis and Grant Morrison. His own crime-noir thriller - the critically-acclaimed Kickback - has been published by Dark Horse.

The David Gemmell Legend Award

It’s been a long time since I had the opportunity to dig out long frock and war-paint and head out to sparkle – and where better to exhibit such bravery than the David Gemmell Legend Award, hosted at the headquarters of The Magic Circle last Friday evening.

It was a beautifully structured event, slotted neatly together on every level of pre-preparation - and flawlessly timed on the evening itself. Fronted by the tirelessness of Debbie Miller, the experience of Stan Nicholls and the shameless in-your-face wit of James Barclay, the presentation still retained a slightly self-conscious sincerity that a larger, more established event would have lost. It was both touching and memorable; its humour completely honest.

Surrounded by the magic – and I mean the word – of the venue, the Award offered everything to touch our memories of David. Baby Snagas were offered to all five nominees – but they paled (oh did they!) beside the Raven Armouries interpretation of the Real Thing. I’ve waited twenty years to get my hands on Druss’ hardware – and apparently not in vain. It would have been against the idealistic tone of the Award to have tucked it under my frock and raced out the door with it… and, besides, I think they might have noticed…

The event was smaller than I’d guessed – but it showed a flawless ability to visualise and a genuine flair for bringing separate elements together to make it a huge success. From the gorgeous invites to the perfect canapés, from the sparkling eveningwear to the shining weapons, from the auction to the Award – it was all about the true heart of Heroic Fantasy. More than anything, it reminds us why we love the genre, why we read and/or write it, and why it holds a special place in our hearts.

Edmund Burke said, ‘All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing’ – a quote used by David Gemmell in ‘Legend’ and recited by James Barclay at the opening of the Award presentation. Courage and triumph are ultimately intensely personal – however, the chance to stand and thank someone else is just as important as achieving your own.

More so.

Congratulations to Andrzej Sapkowski for ‘Blood of the Elves’, winner of the first David Gemmell Legend Award. May there be many more novels from his pen, and many more Award ceremonies as heartfelt and sincere as that one.

David Eddings - and Dreaming Big

This is a cheeky repost from John de Nardo’s recent Mind Meld over on SF Signal. It’s here because I’ve had a sentence from it actually quoted by two of my twitter friends today – and (rather more seriously) in the light of the tragic loss of David Eddings – a man who wrote fantasy because he was a ‘pessimist’.

Q: Why do you think there is an imbalance towards a negative futuristic outlook? How did we get here and how has this affected the genre? Can you give some examples of positive/upbeat ideas in your genre?

Call me a starry-eyed idealist, but I find little negative about the genre. It can be mundane, certainly, but negative? That’s another thing entirely.

The SFFEthics mission statement wording runs, ‘We aim to leave cynicism and negativity at the door, and concentrate on what makes us smile, what entertains us…’ Accentuating the positive doesn’t need to imply that we’re surrounded by the wailing and the gnashing of teeth.

I have a very singular job – arguably, the only one of its kind. Standing for the largest specialist geek/cult/sf retailer in the world, everything I am is about celebrating the genre. Not just the literature – the ideas and creativity contained within – but the people who write it, read it and critique it. With every signing comes a celebration of that author’s work and of their fanbase – I’ve stopped counting the people who’ve driven miles to meet someone, who bring treasured first editions, who – quite literally – cry as they’re overcome by the presence of a writer who’s changed their life.

Isn’t that what we’re celebrating?

What’s positive about the genre? Everything. In the current financial climate, sales of genre literature are rising; people need escapism, new vistas and visions. And it’s not only books – it’s comics, RPGs, computer games. Our reality becomes bleaker – give us the fantastical. Give us other worlds; give us creatures of imagination that lurk beneath the surface of our own.

Popular culture doesn’t challenge us – soap operas serve only to grind it in our faces. At its height, it offers us – what? – a vicarious dream of potential celebrity, even as the media exults in tearing that celebrity down. This is what we have to aim for? I think we can do better.

Completely randomly, on the table by my elbow I have:

• Andy Remic’s Biohell
• David Devereux’s Hunter’s Moon
• David Moody’s Hater
• Liam Sharp’s God Killers
• Mark Charan Newton’s Nights of Villjamur
• Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind
• Tony Ballantyne’s Twisted Metal

Some I’ve read, some await that long, claustrophobic commute – and there’s an image to iconise the point. The science fiction, fantasy, horror genre takes us out of ourselves; opens our eyes and minds to a wider picture.

To achieve, one has to dream. To dream, one has to read. And the genre we read enables us, if we wish to, to dream big.

That, in itself, is a cause for celebration.


David Eddings dreamed big – the ‘Belgariad’ was a cornerstone of the fantasy genre. Thank you to Liz and Michael for the quote… but I’m sure he would have said it better.