I’m heading to MCM Comic Con 2023!

Fab news - I’m heading to London on 28th May 2023 for MCM Comic Con!

I’m joining one of the author panels, where I’ll be talking about weird fiction and all its wonder. I specifically asked to be on this panel because weird fiction and just general weirdness is kind of my passion. I also think it’s a really interesting topic in the context of YA, because something I’ve found since releasing This is Not the End last year is that the YA audience just doesn’t really seem to get weird fiction as much as I maybe thought/hoped.

At the risk of sounding like a jerk, I can’t help but feel like with YA in particular, people tend to expect neat endings and storylines that follow very specific guidelines - where magic is concerned, the storyline typically revolves around the magic, all the questions are answered, and everything is really tidy and neat at the end.

With weird fiction, not so much. The weird is about atmosphere and adding to the storyline, but in most cases, it isn’t the focal point of the storyline. So put that in YA, and you get a lot of confusion over why you’re not talking about the magic all the time. To which I say, because that’s not the point!

So I think it’ll be really interesting to not only talk about the joys of weird fiction and what it’s trying to achieve, but how it can serve YA. Funnily enough, I’m actually going to be on the panel with Rym Kechacha, who I met once upon a time at a Norwich park when our daughters were little. We spoke of writing and motherhood and home renovations, and she was obviously a very smart and cool person, so it’ll be nice to meet up again (I hope she remembers me!).

After the panel, I’ll be signing books and then generally wandering around trying to spot some famous people. Some of the guys from the What We Do in the Shadows TV show will be there, so my mission of the day will be to follow them around until I’m politely asked to leave.

If you’re around London and/or at MCM this year, please come say hey! I’ll be totally intimidated by all the talented people there, so it would be nice to see some friendly faces.