When it comes to writing fiction, much of our planning revolves around plot and character. But a work's lasting effect on the reader is often just as dependent on the atmosphere the author conjures on the page.
This workshop will look at how we can use techniques from the Weird and the Uncanny to develop atmosphere and tone, ensuring that the reader is drawn into your fictional world before the plot even starts to unfold. From dissonant language to Uncanny imagery, we'll examine a variety of unsettling effects before putting them into practice in a piece of descriptive writing. While the Uncanny is particularly useful when writing horror, we will also look at how to use its effects in other genre fiction, from epic fantasy to dystopian science fiction.
Your Workshop Leader
Dan Coxon has won a World Fantasy Award (Heartwood: A Mythago Wood Anthology), a Saboteur Award (Being Dad) and two British Fantasy Awards (Writing the Uncanny and Writing the Future, both co-edited with Richard V. Hirst). He has been shortlisted for the British Fantasy Awards a total of eight times, and was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Awards. In October 2025 his anthology of haunted house stories, Unquiet Guests, was published by Dead Ink Books. His second short story collection, Come Sing for the Harrowing, will be reissued by CLASH Books in April 2026. www.dancoxon.com
About the event:
Running time: 105 minutes including breaks
Venue: Braid Room
Tickets: £20.50/ £18.50 (plus 50p booking fee)
The event will be take place in-person. Workshops are not recorded. Workshops are not included In a weekend pass.
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