3) Yesterday was the 15th day of the month, so of course Fie and I also posted a new edition of Paranatellonta – number 404!
4) In May, I had my Storytelling exam, allowing me to mark my third year at Knst academy as successful. I’m continuing the Storytelling course next year with great enthusiasm! If you’re in the area of Hasselt, you can start your first year in September with the same brilliant teacher, on Mondays from 19:00 until 21:00. (Mind that this course is taught in Dutch.) Info via this link, scroll down to “Storytelling 18+”.
5) Ulla Thynell, the artist who created the cover of my novella The Dragon of Ynys, will have a book out with Atthis Arts soon! Faraway Dreaming is an art book and story of forest, peace, and a calming night journey. Dragons, hills, and magic to soothe your soul. I know I’m ordering several, both to keep and as gifts. The Kickstarter is already successful, so the book is definitely happening! Rewards start from $1. Go take a look!
6) Speaking of cool artists affiliated with Atthis Arts, Dhiyanah Hassan made this amazing handdrawn dragon fairy portrait of me! I’m still so delighted with how it turned out; I really feel seen. You can commission your own portrait from Dhiyanah via this link.
7) I’m looking forward to a week in Denmark in July! I’m sure it will bring lots of inspiration and relaxation. And I’m going to see the H.C. Andersen House, which feels extra special as my first published story ever, Match Sticks, was inspired by one of his fairy tales.
The transportation device of a tiny flame-shaped alien called Ibb breaks down on planet Earth. Ibb meets a human and discovers the species’ problem-solving talents. Both main characters of this story are non-binary and the book focuses on neurodivergence, including but not limited to ADHD, anxiety, and autism.
Published in anthology Queens in Wonderland, No Bad Books Press, February 2024, USA. Edited by Theresa Halvorsen and Chris Bannor.
Available formats: paperback and ebook.
This re-imagining of classical elements from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass into a brand-new, queer story about self-acceptance is a wild ride. It doesn’t require knowledge of the Wonderland universe, but knowing your Lewis Carroll may spark some extra smiles.
3: Short stories in Paranatellonta Issues 369-392
Self-published on paranatellonta.tumblr.com, each photo-and-story combination is available to read for free.
Paranatellonta is a photography and flash fiction project running since August 2013, posted on the 1st and 15th day of each month. Fie takes a photo which inspires a ten-sentence story written by me, Minerva Cerridwen. The project itself was inspired by Erin Morgenstern and Carey Farrell’s Flax-golden Tales (2009-2014).
Issues 370, 380, and 390 were special editions where we swapped roles, meaning that for those issues, I took the photo and Fie wrote the short story.
4: Work as a Fan Artist
As a friend of author Clara Ward and a fan of their novel Be the Sea (Atthis Arts, 2024), I got to work on the successful Be the Sea: Audiobook and Hardcover Editions Kickstarter campaign last summer and made a piece of fan art for the book for every day of the campaign. Check out the 26 Sea Creatures of the Day, 8 of which have been made into postcards as backer rewards. There’s crochet, drawing, painting, and origami creatures, and even a Double Chocolate Cookie Fish.
I got home safely on Tuesday evening, and it’s Saturday now, but sometimes you need to let the waves calm down before you start writing about them or the ink will run.
Anyway, this is the report of my first Worldcon! I left home on the morning of Wednesday, August 7, to start on my 10-hour journey by train. It really was more relaxing than travelling by plane, and barely seemed to involve any waiting thanks to Siân, who was so sweet as to meet up with me for a cup of tea in London even though I would only be there for under 2 hours. It was wonderful to meet her in person, and I am very proud and grateful that she allowed me to add her beautiful fore-edge-painted hardcover of The Dragon of Ynys to my hoard!
Here it is, displayed leaning on the yarn hoard I acquired later…
And thus my trip had already become magical before I was even close to Scotland!
The journey went smoothly. I thought I’d be using the 4.5-hour trainride between London and Glasgow to finish preparing for my panels, but it turns out that I do fall asleep in high-speed trains, so the final preparations would end up happening late at night in the hotel room and in the Quiet Space at the con itself. I did get to see some nice Shire landscapes and some gorgeous hills and/or mountains on the way; I’m grateful that my friend Mattea had advised me to look out of the window more often!
After checking in at the hotel, where I was sharing a room with theAva Kelly, we had a nice dinner and some time just to settle in. We decided to have an easy morning, too, before we headed for the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre. I still had to get registered, and in the late morning on Thursday there was a bit of a queue… Luckily, Emily and Chris from Atthis Arts came and found Ava and me in the queue, so we could hug and talk, and what must have been over an hour of queueing just flew by!
And then I was really there! At Worldcon!!! Ready to show off this gorgeous copy of my book (and my convention badge) to everyone!
And Atthis Arts was beautifully present at Waterstones too.
I walked Ava to the greenroom so I’d know where to find it myself the next day, and from that point on I was either listening to panels or finding my way to the next one. I attended “Engineering Solutions to People Problems” with moderator A.T. Greenblatt and panellists Ann Gry, Ava Kelly, Wole Talabi, and Robert (nojay) Sneddon. Up next was “Surviving Late-Stage Capitalism as a Creative” with moderator Terri Ash and panellists Erica Holcomb, Miles Cameron, Sarah Langan, and E.D.E. Bell. Next we were at the Group Book Launch, where Gregory A. Wilson got to present Atthis Arts title Heretic, the third book in his fantasy trilogy. And thus the whole day had been filled with Atthis Arts-related activities, and with so much joy!
On Friday it was time for the very first panel I would be speaking at myself: “Introduction to Cosy SFF” with fellow panellists Rachel Gutin and Yilin Wang, moderated by Caitlin Rozakis. It went well, and Atthis Arts friend Clara Ward even described it as one of the nicest and indeed cosiest panels they had ever listened to. A big thank you to Caitlin, Yilin, and Rachel for making my first panel experience so welcoming!
Knowing that I had survived being on a panel once, I wasn’t really nervous for the other panels anymore, and I went and listened to a panel in the very next time slot, titled “Learning from COVID – An International Perspective”, moderated by Ava Kelly, with panellists Iain Kennedy, Keren Landsman, Sabine Furlong, and Sam Scheiner. Not the most cheerful subject to celebrate my first panel with, but it was still interesting, and after that Ava and I went for lunch and a short walk around the Dealers Hall, and then I was heading for the greenroom again for my second panel, “Great Heroes in Children’s Literature”, moderated by Grace A.T. Worm, with fellow panellists Caitlin Rozakis, H.G. Parry, and Sharon Sheffield. Again, these people were so nice to talk with. The convention honestly felt like one big book club session, because so many people there have more or less the same set of interests, and I feel so lucky about the panels I got! Being on the same panel twice in one day, Caitlin and I realised we had a lot in common, and I will definitely be reading her novel Dreadful soon—it sounds right up my street.
“Introduction to Cosy SFF” with Caitlin Rozakis, Rachel Gutin, Yilin Wang, and Minerva Cerridwen. Esme Addison was scheduled to be on this panel too, but sadly couldn’t make it to the convention.
“Great Heroes in Children’s Literature” with Grace A.T. Worm, Caitlin Rozakis, Minerva Cerridwen, H.G. Parry, and Sharon Sheffield.
Finally I attended the panel “Fanfic or Re-imagining?” moderated by Ava Kelly, with panellists F.D. Lee, Gabi GL, Genevieve Cogman, and Seanan McGuire, and after that we had a nice little Atthis Arts dinner party thanks to Chris and Emily!
After such a long day, Ava and I made the (perhaps surprisingly) wise decision of taking another easy morning on Saturday, so we could take our time for breakfast and prepare for our events of the day. There was just one for each of us, but sadly they were at the same time—someone really should invent a way to be in several places at once for conventions like this! Though I suppose providing replays of some of the panels is already a good step in that direction. And I was lucky enough to hear Ava’s practice version of their academic presentation “Digital Necromancy: Ethical Implications of Virtual Life After Death”, so I didn’t fully miss out either.
Before it was time for the presentation and the panel, all of the Atthis Arts people were meeting up outside to celebrate Chris’ 50th birthday! Emily managed to herd everyone together, Clara brought a cake and chocolates, and I met new Atthis Arts author Joyce Chng, whose book Wolf’s Path will be out in March 2025. But it really was extremely windy, so Ava and I soon fled inside to spend some time in the convention’s Quiet Space. Singing the song that I’d written for Chris would have to wait for another opportunity. Somehow, the fates actually decided to start playing the right song when we were out for dinner on Monday evening, so that turned out great!
My dragon panel, “The Purpose of Dragons” moderated by J E Hannaford, with fellow panellists Eliza Chan, L.R. Lam, and Paolo Bacigalupi, was in one of the big halls. Getting to speak about what I love most in front of so many people gave me such a rush! We really had a lot of fun on this panel, and I think it sparked new story inspiration for most of us. After the panel, I sold the final two copies of The Dragon of Ynys present at the convention (aside from my own pretty painted one, which obviously wasn’t for sale! Mine!!!), to two very kind Dutch-speaking people. It was strange to be speaking Dutch in this setting! When I came out of that panel, I was skipping over purple clouds and rainbows; it really had gone as well as I could have hoped. Thanks to Eliza Chan for the photo of the dragon panel, and thanks to Ava Kelly for the other 4 photos of panels in this post!
“The Purpose of Dragons” with L.R. Lam, Paolo Bacigalupi, J E Hannaford, Eliza Chan, and Minerva Cerridwen.
Of course I wouldn’t be going there alone!
Sunday was a very busy day for me: I was on Stroll with the Stars at 9:00, walking to the Tall Ship Glenlee. (Photo source: The Unicorn – Glasgow 2024 Newsletter, Issue 7.) I was happy to find time for a cup of tea before my first panel of the day, “Reality Bites: Escapism in SFF”, moderated by J A Mortimore, with fellow panellists Julia Rios, M H Ayinde, and Phoenix Alexander. This was another really fun talk, and I loved that I’d kept bumping into J A Mortimore before this panel, as she was the one checking me in for most of my panels in the greenroom (leading to the question: “How many panels are you on??!” “I don’t know how this happened either!”).
Stroll with the Stars at the Tall Ship Glenlee. Photo from The Unicorn, Issue 7.
“Reality Bites: Escapism in SFF” with J A Mortimore, Julia Rios, Minerva Cerridwen, Phoenix Alexander, and M H Ayinde.
My final panel of Worldcon 2024 was “Flash Fiction: The Art of Storytelling in Under 1,000 Words”, moderated by Stephen Granade, with fellow panellists Aimee Ogden, Istvan Vizvary, and Örjan Westin (@MicroSFF). This interesting and inspiring panel led me to writing a new welcome post on Paranatellonta, in which I’m linking to the flash fiction recommendations that were mentioned in the panel discussion. Of course there was also a new Paranatellonta edition on the 15th—that’s number 384!
After the Flash Fiction panel, Ava and I finally finished our walk around the Dealers Hall, where we’d also had a lovely chat with the owner of The Portal Bookshop earlier that day. They had anthology Love & Bubbles (James & Rossman, 2018) on display! I signed my story in the three copies they had. If you’re near York (or ordering online from anywhere in the UK), please consider getting your books by Portal.
“Flash Fiction: The Art of Storytelling in Under 1,000 Words” with Stephen Granade, Minerva Cerridwen, Aimee Ogden, Örjan Westin, and Istvan Vizvary.
“Love & Bubbles” on display among lots of other great books in The Portal Bookshop booth in the Dealers Hall.
Then it was time for a quick dinner and to go outside and queue for the Hugos ceremony in the Armadillo. I thought it was so cool to actually be in the room where that yearly celebration of the SFF genre happens!
Cute friends in the Hugos queue: Clara Ward, Ava Kelly, and Emily Bell! I was wearing the adorable dragon hat Clara made for me; it proved far more useful already than either of us would have expected in August! That’s Scotland for you. (Can I have that weather back now, please?)
With my final panel behind me, Monday was an easy day for me, enjoying the words of others and learning from them. I had been planning to attend “Can We Turn the Machines Off?” moderated by Ava Kelly, but by the time I arrived, the room was already full! I still had time to figure out where else I could go in that time slot, and I ended up listening to “Finding Story in the Landscape”, moderated by Kathleen Jennings, with panellists Ai Jiang, Garth Nix, Terri Windling, and Tiffani Angus. That way I unexpectedly got the chance to take up my book club friend Aline’s recommendation of listening to a panel with Terri Windling! And I have to repeat it again: it was interesting and inspiring!
Afterwards I rushed to have a quick lunch and then to the book launch, where Clara Ward was presenting Be the Sea. And then it was time to attend my final panel: “The Art and Craft of Literary Translation”, moderated by Denis Taillandier, with panellists Hildur Knútsdóttir, Igor Rendić, Yaroslav Barsukov, and Yilin Wang.
Suddenly it was over! The convention had rushed by so fast, and I’d love to do it all again someday. We had a lovely final evening with Atthis Arts, and on Tuesday morning it was time to start the journey back to Belgium. Luckily, whenever I feel sad about it being over, I can dive into the hoard I brought home! (Along with the plan to buy more books that had already sold out at the convention by the time I had time to go look for them. And with the beautiful yarn I showed in the pictures at the top, which I’d preordered from Third Vault Yarns and picked up at the convention.)
My convention badge with all the ribbons I collected! Ava Kelly’s Dragon Realm (avakellyfiction.com), #SupportBoldIndies (edebell.com), My First Worldcon, Programme Participant, Nerds of a Feather Flock Together, I Kudos Fanworks (AO3), I Get My Books By Portal (Portal Bookshop), and Cast of Wonders.
Loot: all the cards and bookmarks I picked up at Worldcon, together with the souvenir book, the Hugos programme, a sticker sheet with bees, and my convention badge.
Loot: My friends know me well! Aside from the adorable dragon hat depicted in the Hugo queue photo above, I got to bring these perfect gifts home. “Oracle Gretel” is a chapbook by Julia Rios which was given to the panellists of “Reality Bites: Escapism in SFF”. It’s lovely and will be cherished!
(Disclaimer: if your gift is not in this photo, know that I still very much appreciate it, but I was being chaotic during unpacking and forgot to add it to the photo.)
More loot: We hadn’t even reached the convention when I’d already seen that baby dragon in St Enoch shopping centre in Glasgow. By the end of the convention it was still calling for me, so I had to go pick it up.
I am now the proud owner of a BE THE SEA totebag!
… and of a The Neurodiversiverse totebag!
The Neurodiversiverse totebag was a Kickstarter reward—in case you missed it between all my Worldcon news, anthology The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters has now come out and includes my neurodivergent alien teleportation story “The Space Between Stitches”! Get it here.
P.P.S. The tagline for this convention was “A Worldcon for Our Futures”. If you are, indeed, in the future reading this, and you’re preparing for your first convention yourself, feel free to contact me or leave a comment or some questions here that would help with your preparations!
The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters is out today!
Thinking Ink Press presents an empowering anthology of neurodiverse stories, poetry, and art for sci-fi lovers.
Would neurodiversity be an advantage when encountering aliens? Let’s find out.
Heartbroken starships.
Human-sized hamster balls.
Superpowers unleashed by anxiety.
A planet covered in mathematical fidgets.
And we finally learn why aliens abduct cows.
Featuring stories, poems and art from Tobias S. Buckell, M.D. Cooper, Ada Hoffmann, Jody Lynn Nye, Cat Rambo, and almost forty other contributors, The Neurodiversiverse is edited by Anthony Francis and Liza Olmsted, and explores themes of autism, anxiety, synesthesia, ADHD, PTSD, OCD, avoidant attachment disorder, dissociative identity disorder, and more.
My short story “The Space Between Stitches”, featuring alien teleportation and human crochet, is part of this anthology. Atthis Arts friends Clara Ward and Stewart C. Baker also each have a story in this book.
The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters is available as ebook and paperback:
Meanwhile, it’s time for me to pack the last things for Worldcon! I’ll be travelling to Glasgow by train tomorrow—as Bilbo would say, I’m going on an adventure! For those who want to hear me talk on panels, my schedule can be found here.
Enjoy the Neurodiversiverse! And to those of you who are going to Worldcon: see you soon!
Since my last blog post, the campaign has been labelled a Project We Love by Kickstarter and further Stretch Goals have been announced: bookmarks, goodie bags, an audiobook, and a sequel anthology!!!
But first, of course, we need to cross the minimum goal. Please keep sharing the Kickstarter link and consider preordering your own copy of the anthology!
See this cool new science fiction anthology with short fiction, poetry, and art that celebrates human neurodiversity? The one called The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters?
Well… It includes a short story written by me!
I’m so proud that my story is part of this new universe. The book celebrates human neurodiversity, with a focus on own voices stories told from the perspective of folks who are neurodivergent themselves, featuring autism, ADHD, PTSD, OCD, synesthesia, anxiety, and more. Representation is so important, as you’ve probably heard me say many times if you’re here to read this. Personally I cannot wait for this anthology to come out!
About 45 creators have worked on this book, including Cat Rambo, Tobias S. Buckell, M. D. Cooper, Ada Hoffmann, Jody Lynn Nye, and my Atthis Arts friends Clara Ward and Stewart C. Baker. It was edited by Anthony Francis and Liza Olmsted, with cover art by Barbara Candiotti.
You can preorder it now, and directly support all of these creators, on Kickstarter. The campaign will run until May 13. Please don’t miss it! Aside from the ebook and paperback edition (with a discounted early bird price!), you can add an original sticker, tote bag, or pin to your hoard, order bundles of books from Thinking Ink Press, and even acquire a special hardcover edition with slipcover that will be exclusive to this Kickstarter.
“The Neurodiversiverse is for anyone who loves science fiction that stretches the mind!
In fact, when we first voyaged to your planet, we noticed that some members of your species coped better than others with the symphony of thought process found across the galaxy. These beings, whom many of you call neurodivergent, have diverse thinking styles enabling extraordinary responses to mind-bending situations.
Since your species communicates with words and images for enjoyment, we thought collecting stories, poems and art describing neurodiverse encounters with aliens would not only provide entertainment and edification to lovers of science fiction all across your globe, but also would facilitate our attempts to infiltrate your society.
The realized form of that collection is our science fiction anthology, The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters!”
As if that news wasn’t big enough, there’s something else I’d really like you to know. Snap, my dragon of Ynys, is on a T-shirt! And on a tank top! In different colours! Including purple!
Minerva Cerridwen 