Back from the2012 UK LGBTQ fiction meet!
I gotta say I felt apprehensive before this meetup. I knew that like in case of all small communities, most of the 70 attendees would know one another and I felt we might end up as those people no one speaks to, but the conference was nothing like that. With everyone being so friendly and helpful, we could just relax and enjoy the event.
Everyone got goodie bags which contained some pretty cool items, including candy, chocolates and even paperbacks 🙂 The day was filled with discussions and talks (some of which could have been longer, but I imagine it was hard to squeeze the whole program into a single day). I especially liked how Jordan Castillo Price put the development of our favorite genre into perspective, I tend to forget what a giant leap in terms of availability of computers we have made during the last decade. For aspiring writers like me and Kat, it was simply good to hear a story of rejection followed by success. We could relate to that (though on a much smaller scale). We have been told that some of the things we write are too vulgar, to straightforward, and so on, but ultimately, we moved on and the site we created gathered a large amount of readers in our native Poland. We both truly believe there is no “right” way of writing and the author should follow their own gut, be it the style or the topics they want to explore.
Lunch was perfect. There’s nothing better than discussing books and fetishes in good company;D We also did our pitch to Riptide over the table, so fingers crossed for “The Copper Horse” ;D
After several hours of interesting discussions (I am kinda sad we didn’t move during the Buffet of Banter, but it was too hard to leave the BDSM table ;D), we went to a tapas bar and then walked over to the cabaret venue with Uli. The Proud Brighton Ballroom is one of the coolest clubs I have been to;D I loved everything: the interior, the acts, the music, the waiters (especially one particular blond cutie), but it was all overshadowed by the fantastic company! With cocktails being served every 10 minutes, the atmosphere got better by the second ;D It’s been a long time since I had this much fun in a club, for real. You guys are great!
Videos:
Pride Brighton Ballroom Burlesque
Special thanks to the people we had most personal contact with: Josephine Myles, Melanie Tushmore, Aleksandr Voinov, Larissa Hagen, Blaine D. Arden , Anne Brooke, Tam Ames, Jordan Castillo Price, Katherine Halle, Clare London, Anna Martin, Jay Rookwood, Charlie Cochrane, Ariel Tachna, Uli and many others that we cannot name due to some problems with name-face matching ;D Please, forgive us.
Now I can’t wait to explore the pendrive…
Agnes Merikan
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