Please note these Agent one to ones take place outwith the festival.

Writers will have the invaluable opportunity to talk directly to an agent from a literary agency or an editor from a SFFH publisher about their work, seek advice about any stage of the writing process, and receive direct feedback on pitches and ideas.

Meet our Agents/Editors

10am to 12noon: John Jarrold

2pm to 4pm: Kirsten Lang from Zeno Agency

Meetings will be 15 minutes long, and there will be a £25 fee.

Please select which Agent you’d like to speak to on booking. Please note spaces are limited.

By booking tickets for this event, you are committing to submitting your query letter and the first 2000 words of your work (or less) by Monday 11.05.2026

Please send your material to admin@cymerafestival.co.uk

Booking Deadline Monday 11th May 2026.

Please note that our Agent One to One sessions book out very quickly.

Digital Agent One to Ones will take via Zoom.

Join Strawmoddie Theatre for Terry Pratchett’s Night Watch, adapted for stage by Stephen Briggs, and brought to stage as part of Cymera: Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing 2026.

Night Watch is the story of Sam Vimes, running hero of the Guards sequence, who finds himself cast back in time to the Ankh-Morpork of his youth. With a psychopath from his own time rising in the vile ranks of the Cable Street Unmentionables complicating things, Vimes has to ensure that history takes its course so that he will have the right future to go back to, and to keep his younger self alive.

Book Tickets

Running Time: approx. 2 hours 30 minutes including interval

Performance dates and times

Wednesday 3rd June, 7:30pm

Thursday 4th June: 7:30pm

Friday 5th June: 8pm

Saturday 6th June: 8pm

Sunday 7th June: 5pm

Ticket prices £20.50/ £18.50 concession, free for carers. Please book a free carer ticket.

Please note that the venue has unreserved bench seating. Please arrive in goodtime to secure seats, especially if you are in a group. 

The venue has limited wheelchair spaces. Please let us know when booking if you require one.

We do not issue physical tickets - your booking confirmation email is your ticket.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Join debut author Shannon J. Spann as she chats about her debut A Stage Set for Villains to fellow author A.S. Webb.

Riven Hesper is running out of time. Cursed by a Player—a godlike performer —she must infiltrate the Playhouse and find a way to break the curse before it kills her.

But inside survival comes at a price. Mortals must compete for a chance to kill a Player and steal their power. Riven wants nothing to do with this until Jude—charismatic and cruel —makes her an offer. Win the competition. Spare his life. And he’ll set her free.

As the final act approaches, Riven faces a devastating truth. She might not become the hero of this story. But the villain.

About the event

Running time: 55 minutes

Price: £6 - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in Zoom Webinar.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

Joining us at the Pleasance? We will be showing the digital events on a big TV in the Music Room. Free with a weekend pass, or please purchase a £6 digital ticket.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

What if your mind wasn’t entirely your own?

In Paul Tremblay’s Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep, Julia Flang takes a job escorting a man in a vegetative state, his body controlled by implanted AI. As she guides him across the country, the man—Bernie—wanders a shifting dreamscape, searching for something he cannot remember. As their realities begin to blur, they are drawn together in a journey where memory, technology, and identity begin to unravel.

In Sylvain Neuvel’s The Many, a strange event in a small Michigan town causes five strangers to share a single, merging consciousness. As their identities begin to dissolve into something collective, they must grapple with what it means to lose themselves—and what they are becoming together. In this unsettling exploration of connection and transformation, the greatest mystery may not be what happened, but what comes next.

About the event

This event will be chaired by Jim Taylor.

Running time: 55 minutes

Price: £6 - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in Zoom Webinar.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

Joining us at the Pleasance? We will be showing the digital events on a big TV in the Music Room. Free with a weekend pass, or please purchase a £6 digital ticket.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

No way out. No one to trust. And the deeper you go, the worse it gets.

In Frances White’s The Bone Door, Hop awakens in a vast labyrinth with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Trapped with a mysterious girl and hunted by something in the dark, he must navigate a series of impossible trials to reach the only exit. But as he ventures deeper, the maze begins to reveal a far more dangerous truth—about itself, and about him.

In Megan Bontrager’s The Sea Hides Its Dead, Caro joins an expedition into ancient sea caves, hoping for purpose. When the entrance collapses, trapping the team inside, they discover they are not alone. Surrounded by relics and something far older than they imagined, they are forced into a trial where each must confront their darkest sins—because in the depths, atonement is the only way out.

About the event

This event will be chaired by Lynsey May.

Running time: 55 minutes

Venue: Upper Hall

Price: £11/£9 concession - In Person - or £6 Live Stream - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in person and is broadcast via live stream.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

 This event is followed by a book signing in the Signing Space above the Festival Bookshop.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

A memoir in song by the Earl of Caladan, trusted adviser to the Padisha Emperor and beloved troubadour-warrior, the bard Gurney Halleck.

Following the success of his work on "A Child's History of Muad'Dib" Gurney will perform hits from his back catalogue and introduce never-before-heard songs from his time among the Fremen.

Sing along with little Paul Atreides on his journey to Sietch Tabr; can he tame the worm, save the world AND get the girl?

Forget everything you know about Arrakis and get ready for Dune! The Musical

About the Performer

Dan Collins is a musician, writer and amateur clown with too much time on his hands. He enjoys reading sci-fi and telling stories.

“I saw Dune! The Musical at the World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, bought it on Bandcamp, then travelled to Edinburgh a few days later specifically to see it again because it was so good (then bought the CD too). Of the wide galaxy of Dune adaptations, this is certainly in the top tier. I really can't recommend it highly enough.”

Check out the original cast recording on Bandcamp

Venue: Pleasance Bar

Running Time: 60 minutes, no break

Tickets: £10/£8 plus 50p booking fee

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

This event will feature a Brave New Words reading by Julianna Mac.

The stars have already decided their fate. They just might refuse to follow it.

In Tasha Suri’s The Isle in the Silver Sea, in a Britain shaped by story, a knight and a witch are destined to fall in love—and destroy each other—across countless lifetimes. Simran and Vina are drawn together despite knowing how their story ends. As they search for a way to break the cycle, a mysterious assassin begins hunting tales like theirs, forcing them to question whether fate can truly be rewritten.

In Venetia Constantine’s The Last Starborn Seer, Leilani Stellarion is the last of a cursed bloodline, her volatile magic granting visions while slowly consuming her. As war spreads and her future is controlled by political forces, a prophecy offers her a chance to change everything. But to claim it, she must navigate dangerous alliances, forbidden feelings, and a relentless hunter before her power destroys her—and the world with it.

About the event

This event will be chaired by Heather Palmer.

Running time: 55 minutes

Venue: Theatre

Price: £11/£9 concession - In Person - or £6 Live Stream - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in person and is broadcast via live stream.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

 This event is followed by a book signing in the Signing Space above the Festival Bookshop.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

ONE-TO-ONES WITH LINA LANGLEE ARE SOLD OUT.

Writers will have the invaluable opportunity to talk directly to an agent from a literary agency or an editor from a SFFH publisher about their work, seek advice about any stage of the writing process, and receive direct feedback on pitches and ideas.

Meet our Agents/Editors

Simon Spanton-Walker, commissioning editor at Angry Robot

Lina Langlee from North Literary Agency

Meetings will be 15 minutes long, and there will be a £25 fee.

Please select which Agent you’d like to speak to on booking. Please note spaces are limited.

By booking tickets for this event, you are committing to submitting your query letter and the first 2000 words of your work (or less) by Monday 11.05.2026

Please send your material to admin@cymerafestival.co.uk

Booking Deadline Monday 11th May 2026. Due to limited availability, we ask that participants only book one Agent One to One session.

Please note that our Agent One to One sessions book out very quickly.

Meeting will take place in the Cheviot and Braid rooms.

When the system starts to crack, the question isn’t if it will fall—but who will survive the collapse.

In Bethany Jacobs’ This Brutal Moon, rebellion spreads across the Treble as the fragile colony Jun Ironway and Masar Hawks fought to protect begins to collapse. New enemies rise, old powers cling to control, and the cost of freedom grows ever steeper. As alliances shift and a final confrontation looms, unlikely forces must come together to challenge tyranny.

In Mahmud El Sayed’s The Republic of Memory, aboard the Safina—a city ship carrying the remnants of a ruined Earth—generations have preserved the legacy of a long-dead empire. But as blackouts spread and unrest grows, the crew begins to question the system that governs them. Loyalties fracture, authority falters, and a reckoning approaches in a society that can no longer hold itself together.

About the event

This event will be chaired by Oliver K. Langmead.

Running time: 55 minutes

Price: £6 - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in Zoom Webinar.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

Joining us at the Pleasance? We will be showing the digital events on a big TV in the Music Room. Free with a weekend pass, or please purchase a £6 digital ticket.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

The Cymera festival is in full swing, but something odd is happening in the games hall. A cry goes out. A storyteller is dead and it can only mean one thing. A demon walks among you. It’s down to a plucky band of attendees to hunt the demon. Will good triumph or will impish evil succeed?   

Blood on the Clocktower is a social deduction game from The Pandemonium Institute. Players are opposing teams of Good and Evil, overseen by a Storyteller. The goal of the game is to successfully deduce and execute the demons before they outnumber the townsfolk. Each player receives a token with their unique character. Good players share information to solve the mystery of who has the demon token, while evil players lie about who they are and what they know. Good wins if they can find and execute the demon during the ‘day’ phase. Evil wins by killing players in the ‘night’ phase, sowing distrust and evading detection until the final two players. 

 Games will be beginner friendly running the Trouble Brewing introductory script.

Trigger warnings 

Death, talk or murder/execution, the game mechanics revolve around deceit and mistrust.

Game- System: https://bloodontheclocktower.com/

Your GM

Fiona Leslie is an Edinburgh-based author. Her first novel, an urban fantasy exploring the history and urban myths of Edinburgh, is currently out on submission, and hopefully, she will have news to report soon! She is also a moderator of the Edinburgh SFF Writers' group and ‌part of a guild of Blood on the Clocktower Storytellers that run games in association with Ancient Robot Games.   

Find her online @biblo_fi/ bibliofi.bsky.social  

Running time: 120 minutes +

Price: from £0

Venue: Munro Room

This event takes place in person. Please note the Munro Room is not wheelchair accessible.

For our full Games programme, please check out the dedicated Games page.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been rescheduled from 12noon on Saturday 6th June. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Sometimes starting over is the bravest magic of all.

In Heather Fawcett’s Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter, Agnes runs her Montreal cat rescue with precision—until a forced move lands her above a dubious magic shop run by a grouchy wizard with a dangerous past. When trouble catches up with him, threatening both the shop and her shelter, Agnes may have to protect the very man she doesn’t trust.

In Sarah-Beth Durst’s The Enchanted Greenhouse, Terlu Perna is punished for forbidden magic by being turned into a wooden statue—until she awakens on a remote island of magical greenhouses. As she begins to rebuild her life among unexpected companions, the magic sustaining the island starts to fail. To save it, Terlu must break the rules again and confront the question of whether she truly deserves a second chance.

About the event

This event will be chaired by Nadia El-Fassi.

Running time: 55 minutes

Price: £6 - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in Zoom Webinar.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

Joining us at the Pleasance? We will be showing the digital events on a big TV in the Music Room. Free with a weekend pass, or please purchase a £6 digital ticket.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

There is man chained to a book. Or, perhaps, it is a book chained to a man?
 
It is a book full of stories. The most terrible and wonderful stories you will ever hear. Stories of misery and monsters, of capitated heads becoming UNcapitated heads and of people who – despite all appearances to the contrary – were dead ALL ALONG.

His name is Hector Kreeping and this is his Book of Despair. Dare you hear what’s written within?
 
An hour of rib-tickling and spine-chilling comedy spoken-word from the slightly cracked mind of Tom Black.

Tom Black is a writer and performer based in Edinburgh with a slightly unhealthy interest in both the spooky and the silly. He has written comic books, plays and all sorts of stories for all manner of mediums. He’s performed at venues across the UK including the Edinburgh International Book Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. One of his lifelong ambitions is to befriend a crow. Find him on Instagram at @tom.black.writes

Bodies shift. Rage takes root. And something buried refuses to stay that way.

In Emma Cleary’s Our Monstrous Bodies, Brooke travels to Vancouver to care for her estranged sister, only to find her apartment building steeped in unease and shadowed by a figure known as Medusa. As reality begins to warp and horror bleeds into everyday life, Brooke undergoes changes she cannot explain. Together, the sisters are pulled into a claustrophobic spiral where identity, autonomy, and transformation begin to unravel.

In Hester Steel’s The Faceless Thing We Adore, Aoife is drawn to a remote commune that promises freedom and belonging. But beneath its idyllic surface lies something far darker—a vanishing cave, a creeping rot, and a leader whose influence borders on devotion. As her past collides with her present, Aoife must confront the violence and power within herself, and the dangerous pull of her own rage.

In Tracy Fahey’s Queens of the Crone Age, the ancient Hag of Béara awakens to a world that has forgotten women like her. Through a series of haunting, interconnected stories, voices of marginalised women rise—seeking refuge, survival, and something more. As their stories intertwine, the collection explores power, transformation, and what happens when those long ignored are finally heard.

About the event

This event will be chaired by Cailean Steed.

Running time: 55 minutes

Venue: Upper Hall

Price: £11/£9 concession - In Person - or £6 Live Stream - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in person and is broadcast via live stream.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

 This event is followed by a book signing in the Signing Space above the Festival Bookshop.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Discover some of the freshest SFFH talent out there at our Open Mic.

Do you have a fresh piece of writing ready for the world to see? Then we want your reading! Poetry, a bit of a novel or short fiction, we love it all!

Readings should be no longer than five minutes

There will be two in-person open mic session over the festival weekend.

The Open Mic will take place in the Pleasance Bar at the following times

• Saturday 7th June 3:30pm to 4:15pm

• Sunday 8th June 1:30pm to 2pm

To read your work, please apply here

Submission deadline is Wednesday 27th May 2026

About the event

Running time: 45 minutes

Price: Free

Venue: Pleasance Bar

This event takes place in person.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

This event will feature a Brave New Words reading by Shannon K. English.

To rule is to risk everything. To survive is something else entirely.

In C.L. Clark’s The Sovereign, Luca has claimed the throne of Balladaire, but her rule is already under threat. Betrayal festers within the court, a deadly plague looms, and the magic that could save her people remains out of reach. Beyond the kingdom’s borders, her general Touraine faces failing alliances and rising enemies. As past loyalties resurface, both must decide what they are willing to sacrifice—for their country and for each other.

In Elian J Morgan’s Princeweaver, Meilyr has spent his life hiding forbidden magic, until a forced engagement to Prince Osian binds him to the very court occupying his homeland. As nobles begin to die by magic like his own, suspicion tightens around him. Drawn into a dangerous alliance with Osian that begins to shift into something more, Meilyr must navigate a court of secrets and shifting loyalties—where survival may demand an impossible choice.

About the event

This event will be chaired by Annabel Campbell.

Running time: 55 minutes

Venue: Theatre

Price: £11/£9 concession - In Person - or £6 Live Stream - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in person and is broadcast via live stream.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

 This event is followed by a book signing in the Signing Space above the Festival Bookshop.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Cymera’s Riley Klabunde caught up with bestselling and multi-award winning author TJ Klune to chat about his writing journey.

About the event

This event was pre-recorded for Cymera.

Running time: 35 minutes

Joining us at the Pleasance? We will be showing the digital events on a big TV in the Music Room. Free with a weekend pass, or please purchase a £6 digital ticket.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Sit back and relax as some of our authors read from their work.

Reading for you in this session are:

C. L. Clark

Tracy Fahey

Marvelous Michael Anson

Megan Bontrager

Sophie Burnham

V.L. Bovalino

Fonda Lee

About the event

Running time: 55 minutes

Price: Free

Venue: Munro Room

This event takes place in person. Please note the Munro Room is not wheelchair accessible.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Speculative poetry might conjure images of seers and the cosmos, aliens and cryptids, or haunted landscapes and foreclosed destinies. In this workshop, we’ll explore one of the hallmarks of speculative poetry – its sense of wonder and the blurring of time, space, history, and identity. Through a series of short prompts, we will play with these themes, re-orienting ourselves towards the future to speculate on what it means to us. Drawing on myth and our own personal histories, we'll reimagine the pasts of places of personal importance and, together, transform these imaginings into spaces brimming with possibility.

 This workshop is open to writers of any level who wish to delve into the world of speculative poetry. It is designed to both inspire and offer practical guidance, holding space for lyrical experiments.

The aim of this workshop is practical and generative. Writers will come away with a draft of a poem they can polish for submission as well as ideas and prompts for honing their own poetic projects.

 Be sure to bring a notebook and/or laptop! There will be time set aside for advice on submissions.

Your Workshop leader

Morgan L. Ventura (They/She) is a Belfast-based poet, writer, translator, and former archaeologist. They hold degrees from the University of Chicago and the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University, Belfast. Poems and short fiction have appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Poetry Ireland Review, Strange Horizons, Banshee, Shoreline of Infinity, and Lackington’s, among others. Thrice a finalist for the Rhysling Award, Ventura’s the author of the microchap, some minor, sometimes divine, existential crises (Ghost City Press 2024) and translator of the forthcoming collection by Ñuu Savi (Mixtec) poet, Kalu Tatyisavi, Tyi Niin Iyo / Because of the Silence (Skein Press 2027). Find them on Bluesky: @morganvl.bsky.social

About the event:

 Running time: 105 minutes including breaks

Venue: Cheviot 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.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Experimental stories – playing with fiction and form

Join author Lyndsey Croal for a workshop on different ways of experimentation in style and form, from flash fiction to longer fiction. This will include looking at epistolary fiction, interactive and choose-your-own-adventure narratives, ways to generate ideas from other media, unusual points of views, metafiction in short and long fiction, and other unconventional forms (like fiction through reviews, lists, adverts, audio transcripts, and more). We will look at published examples to explore what these authors did and what they achieved, followed by guided writing exercises to bring your own experimental stories to life. This workshop will be suitable for a range of writing levels, and of particular interest to writers working in flash and short fiction.

Your Workshop Leader

Lyndsey is a Scottish author of strange and speculative fiction published in 100+ magazines and anthologies, including Apex, ElectricLit, Shoreline of Infinity, Analog SF, Weird Tales, Best of British Science Fiction, and Mslexia’s Best Women’s Short Fiction. She’s a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awardee, Shirley Jackson Award and British Fantasy Award Finalist, and former Hawthornden Fellow. Her longer works include the collections Limelight and Other Stories (Shortwave) and Dark Crescent (Luna Press), and most recently her novella In This City, Where it Rains. She writes across science fiction, fantasy, and horror, often blending genres. Some of her published work has been experimental, including fiction as adverts, audio transcripts, film reviews, recipes, and more.

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.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

This event will feature a Brave New Words reading by Berna Hudson.

Empires fall, vengeance rises, and justice always comes at a price.

In A.S. Tamaki’s The Book of Fallen Leaves, exiled heir Sen Hoshiakari is drawn into a growing civil war as vengeful spirits rise across the land. Reunited with Rui, the woman who once saved him, he begins to question the cost of his clan’s ambition—and the bloodshed feeding both war and demons. As loyalties fracture and the gods threaten retribution, they must find a path to peace before everything is consumed.

In Sarah Mughal Rana’s Dawn of the Firebird, Khamilla Zahr-zad has been shaped by war and driven by vengeance since childhood. After her family is destroyed, she infiltrates an enemy army school, hiding her identity while honing her magic. But as she rises through the ranks and uncovers truths that challenge everything she believes, she must choose between the revenge she’s fought for and the future she never imagined.

In Soraya Bouazzaoui’s Aicha, in a Morocco under colonial rule, Aicha becomes a fierce force of rebellion, driven by rage and a dangerous, ancient power within her. As the fight for freedom intensifies, her connection to fellow rebel Rachid offers a fragile anchor, even as the force beneath her skin grows harder to control. She must decide how far she’s willing to go for vengeance—and what it might turn her into.

This event is followed by a book signing in the Signing Space above the Festival Bookshop.

About the event

This event will be chaired by Kshoni Gunputh.

Running time: 55 minutes

Venue: Upper Hall

Price: £11/£9 concession - In Person - or £6 Live Stream - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in person and is broadcast via live stream.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

 This event is followed by a book signing in the Signing Space above the Festival Bookshop.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Ever wondered the best way to write realistic injuries for your characters? From bleeding, to burns, to broken bones, join author and GP Jenni Coutts for a crash course in the dos and don'ts of writing injuries in scifi and fantasy. 

Your Workshop Leader

Jenni Coutts is an illustrator, speculative fiction writer and GP based in Glasgow, Scotland. She won the British Fantasy Award for Best Artist in 2022, and won the British Science Fiction Association Award for best artwork in 2025. She was also shortlisted for the World Fantasy Awards for best artist in 2025, with artwork featured in both UK and international publications. She is the current art editor for BFS Horizons and is art lead for this World Fantasy Convention. She was shortlisted for the Scottish New Writers Award in 2019, and is represented by Harry Illingworth of DHH Literary for her writing. In her free time, she enjoys boxing, weight lifting, and chilling with her cat Smudge.

 Running time: 90 minutes including breaks

Venue: Lomond Room

 Tickets: £13 / £10 (plus 50p booking fee)

 The event will be take place in-person. Workshops and presentations are not recorded.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

This event will feature a Brave New Words reading by David Green

Bookshops, bakeries, and a little bit of magic—stories to curl up with, warm in hand and heart.

In Amy Coombe’s Stay for a Spell, Princess Tanadelle finds herself cursed into a run-down bookshop until she discovers her heart’s true desire. Far from desperate to escape, she embraces a quieter life among the shelves—alongside an irritatingly charming pirate—beginning to imagine a future that may not include the princes sent to rescue her.

In Chiara Bullen’s The Inn at the Foot of Mount Vengeance, scholar Ainsworth Gladsly arrives at a remote inn determined to document heroic quests. But no one seems to actually climb the legendary mountain. As he grows closer to the inn’s inhabitants, his curiosity deepens into something riskier—because uncovering the truth may mean pushing others toward danger.

In Lucy Jane Wood’s Uncharmed, Annie Wildwood’s perfectly curated life begins to unravel when she’s tasked with mentoring a teenage witch with unpredictable powers. As chaos seeps into her carefully controlled world, Annie must learn to let go of perfection and embrace connection, magic, and the messiness of who she truly is.

About the event

This event will be chaired by Alice Tarbuck.

Running time: 55 minutes

Venue: Theatre

Price: £11/£9 concession - In Person - or £6 Live Stream - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in person and is broadcast via live stream.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

 This event is followed by a book signing in the Signing Space above the Festival Bookshop.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Over the festival weekend, we will be chatting with industry professionals during our Inside SFFH Publishing series.

What does an editor do all day? Why should you get an agent? And why you should always listen to your publicist!

Our line-up

Saturday

10:30am: Anne Perry, Publisher, Arcadia and Renegade, imprints of the John Murray Group. 

11:30am: Angie Curzi, Senior Marketing Executive, DK UK

12:30am: Convention Special. Meet the teams behind Fantasycon 2027 and Eastercon 2027

The speakers will be in conversation with Joy Curtis, Co-Chair of The Society of Young Publishers Scotland

Sunday

10am: Dan Coxon, award-winning editor and author

11am: Simon Spanton-Walker, freelance commissioning editor, Angry Robot

The speakers will be in conversation with Mary-Kate McAllister, Mentorship Lead of The Society of Young Publishers Scotland.

Venue: Lomond Room

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Join our one-hour class, hosted by professional binder Will Phoenix, and craft a beautiful accordion-style pocket book—perfect for photos and keepsakes.

Choose from a wide selection of materials, including leather, cotton, and tweed. All materials provided.

About the event

Running time: 60 minutes

Price: £20, includes all materials

Venue: Munro Room

This event takes place in person. Please note the Munro Room is not wheelchair accessible.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

The world tried to silence them. It didn’t work. Now they’re rewriting the ending.

In Anna Smith Spark’s Anderson Versus Death, Psi-Judge Cassandra Anderson sacrifices herself to imprison Judge Death within her own mind, her body sealed away as she wages a silent, relentless war. For eighteen months, she endures endless visions of destruction, fighting to contain the entity she defeated—and to keep herself from breaking.

In Brigid Lowe’s The Bloody Branch, three powerful women—a slave queen, a sorceress, and a woman made of flowers—join forces to take revenge on the man who wronged them. As Gwydion’s ambition threatens the land itself, Goewin, Arianrhod, and Blodeuwedd unleash ancient magic in a story of power, desire, and the bonds between women.

In Sam Davey’s The Sisters and the Sword, Arthur’s rise to power fractures the fragile balance between him and his sisters, Morgause and Morgan. As prophecy looms and old wounds resurface, alliances shift and rebellion stirs in a dark reimagining of Camelot, where magic and betrayal go hand in hand.

About the event

This event will be chaired by Tazmyn-Mei Gebbett

Running time: 55 minutes

Venue: Upper Hall

Price: £11/£9 concession - In Person - or £6 Live Stream - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in person and is broadcast via live stream.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

 This event is followed by a book signing in the Signing Space above the Festival Bookshop.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

What happens when we read? What is it that we get from losing ourselves in a novel?  Does reading actually improve our wellbeing? 

Guest: Claire North

Claire North is a pseudonym for Catherine Webb, who wrote several novels in various genres before publishing their first major work as Claire North, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. It was a critically acclaimed success, receiving rave reviews and becoming a word-of-mouth bestseller. They have since published several hugely popular and critically acclaimed novels, won the World Fantasy Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and been shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Philip K. Dick Award. They live in London.

They will be in conversation with Philippa Cochrane who is the Head of Porgramme at Scottish Book Trust and Katherine Wilkinson, the Scottish Book Trust’s Head of Evaluation and Research.

This event is based on the ongoing Reading and Wellbeing research project by Dr Sarah McGeown from the University of Edinburgh.

About the event

Running time: 55 minutes

Venue: Theatre

Price: £8/£6 concession - In Person - or £3 Live Stream - (plus 50p booking fee)

This event takes place in person and is broadcast via live stream.

A recording of this event will be available to catch-up on our YouTube until Sunday 12th July 2026. Ticket holders and weekend pass owners will receive the catch-up link automatically after the festival. Please keep an eye on your SPAM.

 This event is followed by a book signing in the Signing Space above the Festival Bookshop.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Over the festival weekend, we will be chatting with industry professionals during our Inside SFFH Publishing series.

What does an editor do all day? Why should you get an agent? And why you should always listen to your publicist!

Our line-up

Saturday

10:30am: Anne Perry, Publisher, Arcadia and Renegade, imprints of the John Murray Group. 

11:30am: Angie Curzi, Senior Marketing Executive, DK UK

12:30am: Convention Special. Meet the teams behind Fantasycon 2027 and Eastercon 2027

The speakers will be in conversation with Joy Curtis, Co-Chair of The Society of Young Publishers Scotland

Sunday

10am: Dan Coxon, award-winning editor and author

11am: Simon Spanton-Walker, freelance commissioning editor, Angry Robot

The speakers will be in conversation with Mary-Kate McAllister, Mentorship Lead of The Society of Young Publishers Scotland.

Venue: Lomond Room

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Join sci fi writer and Shoreline of Infinity Magazine's fiction editor, Eris Young, for a sci-fi workshop exploring what "science fiction" really is, and how to use science and tech to create conflict and shape character. 

This workshop is for any writer new to the genre of science fiction. You  may have experience writing in other speculative genres like horror or fantasy, but might be intimidated by the prospect of moving into the sci fi space, or you could be completely new to speculative fiction and looking to sound out the spaces you might like to work in. 

Using inspiration from real-life science and tech, we will explore what science fiction actually is and what it can be used for, and how to build your concept and follow it to its natural conclusions, along the way discovering character and story conflict. 

This workshop will involve a small amount of pre-preparation, which is encouraged but not mandatory. 

Your Workshop Leader

Eris Young is a transgender writer of speculative fiction. Their work has appeared in venues such as Pseudopod, Gutter, GigaNotoSaurus, the Immigrant Sci Fi Short Stories anthology from Flame Tree Press, and the 2025 Edinburgh Science Festival exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland. Their debut novel, a lesbian vampire thriller titled Hunger in the Blood, is publishing with Tor UK in May 2027. They are fiction editor at Shoreline of Infinity, Scotland's sci fi magazine. 

About the event:

 Running time: 105 minutes including breaks

Venue: Cheviot 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.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Can we use a prescription as a base for a sci/fi-fantasy-horror story? What about a receipt? A parking ticket? A nursery rhyme? How many 'other,' forms of writing could we harness to enrich our writing practice? I'm thinking of the back of shampoo bottles, your dishwasher instructions, children's picture books, semaphore. Let's go weird. 

Your Workshop Leader

Can we use a prescription as a base for a sci/fi-fantasy-horror story? What about a receipt? A parking ticket? A nursery rhyme? How many 'other,' forms of writing could we harness to enrich our writing practice? I'm thinking of the back of shampoo bottles, your dishwasher instructions, children's picture books, semaphore. Let's go weird. 

“Genuinely one of the best workshops I have ever done. Practical, fun and with multiple Aha! moments.” 2025 Writers Conference Feedback

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.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

The Cymera festival is in full swing, but something odd is happening in the games hall. A cry goes out. A storyteller is dead and it can only mean one thing. A demon walks among you. It’s down to a plucky band of attendees to hunt the demon. Will good triumph or will impish evil succeed?   

Blood on the Clocktower is a social deduction game from The Pandemonium Institute. Players are opposing teams of Good and Evil, overseen by a Storyteller. The goal of the game is to successfully deduce and execute the demons before they outnumber the townsfolk. Each player receives a token with their unique character. Good players share information to solve the mystery of who has the demon token, while evil players lie about who they are and what they know. Good wins if they can find and execute the demon during the ‘day’ phase. Evil wins by killing players in the ‘night’ phase, sowing distrust and evading detection until the final two players. 

 Games will be beginner friendly running the Trouble Brewing introductory script.

Trigger warnings 

Death, talk or murder/execution, the game mechanics revolve around deceit and mistrust.

Game- System: https://bloodontheclocktower.com/

Your GM

Fiona Leslie is an Edinburgh-based author. Her first novel, an urban fantasy exploring the history and urban myths of Edinburgh, is currently out on submission, and hopefully, she will have news to report soon! She is also a moderator of the Edinburgh SFF Writers' group and ‌part of a guild of Blood on the Clocktower Storytellers that run games in association with Ancient Robot Games.   

Find her online @biblo_fi/ bibliofi.bsky.social  

Running time: 120 minutes +

Price: from £0

Venue: Munro Room

This event takes place in person. Please note the Munro Room is not wheelchair accessible.

For our full Games programme, please check out the dedicated Games page.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events here, and for information about TICKETS, click here.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.