FantasyCon XX

FantasyCon XX was held in the International Hotel, Marsh Wall, London, over the weekend 4-6 October 1996. The Guests of Honour were Tom Holt and Christopher Fowler, with Kim Newman the Master of Ceremonies. It was an incredibly small organising committee, just the four of us: Mike Chinn, Jan Edwards, Debbie Bennett and me. And this was a rehearsal for the following year’s World Fantasy Convention, at the same venue!

The FantasyCon XX Souvenir Book was edited and produced by me – my first A4-sized publication. The cover art, depicting Chris Fowler’s fine story “The Man Who Wound a Thousand Clocks”, was by Bob Covington.

For the record: I attended my first FantasyCon (it was FantasyCon 2) in February 1976. FantasyCon 2 was held at the New Imperial Hotel, Birmingham. The Guest of Honour was Robert Aickman and Ken Bulmer was the Master of Ceremonies. The “highlight” of the film programme was, probably, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.

In October 1980 I found myself on the FantasyCon VI organising committee. I think I had also been voted in as BFS secretary / treasurer by then. And I seemed to have been involved with the BFS and/or FantasyCon in one or another role for many years thereafter…

Elsewhere in the UK in 1996, Andromeda Bookshop was celebrating its 25th anniversary – and its move to bigger, better premises in Suffolk Street, Birmingham.