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UK Meet - LGBT fiction writers conference


Bruin Fisher

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I just got back from attending this year's LGBT Fiction writers' conference, held this time at a seafront hotel in the beautiful south coast resort of Brighton (think Agatha Christie...). Last year the venue was much more prosaic (Milton Keynes), and among about fifty delegates I was one of only three men. This year there were about seventy delegates and about a dozen men, which was nice to see. I'm still amazed that so many (mostly straight) women write m/m fiction, and that most of their readers are women, too. Not that I'm complaining at all - if I get a few things I've written published, and there's a ready-made market of enthusiastic readers, I'll be delighted to sell to them!

The event was lively, enjoyable, helpful, and there were seveal publishers represented offering their advice and looking for prospective new authors to work with. Delegates had travelled from several European countries and some from the USA. All the publishers were US-based.

http://ukglbtfictionmeet.co.uk/

They're a great crowd and I've made a lot of good friends. I'm not going to mention names here because no way am I going to use the AD forums to plug anything, but if anyone asks I'll gladly mention some jewels among the writers I met!

Now... I'm home, so first things first - read the new stories from Camy and Brian Roberson!

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Not sure there are any strictly LGBT events here in the US but there are book conferences galore around the country. The general appeal of such events is to show the buyers for various libraries what is on the market. Conferences are hosted by a consortium of publishing organizations.

My father foolishly bought into having one of his books "represented" at a conference. That amounted to a $500 check sent to the publisher who then placed a notice of his book on a list and a copy on a table at the event amidst thousands of other books. I suppose if you trust to fortune then this is a good idea, but hardly worth the fee.

I would think that some LBGT bookstores might sponsor a small event like this, but their number diminishes every day. Gay literature seems to be better represented online since many of the buyers are individuals who value their privacy. If there is such an event it would be in New York or San Francisco so those of us who live far from the big cities could not attend. But this merits further research and if I find anything I will post it.

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I bet you had a great time, Bruin. I find it rather surprising that the majority of m/m writers are straight women, and even more so that their readers are women too. Odd, but whatever floats your boat.

That all the publishers were US based suprised me too. You'd have thought that with it being a UK event there would be at least one UK publisher in attendance. 'Fisher Publishing' is a good name! :smile:

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I did indeed have a great time. Next year it is to be held in Manchester, and in July. I doubt I'll get to that one. The UK meet is organised by a well-motivated group from among the community of authors, and they do it for the authors, and invite readers too. There's a very good spirit among them. Publishers are invited to sponsor the event, but not allowed to be involved in the organisation. Every delegate went home with a goody-bag with a lot of publicity material from various authors, as well as chocolates and candy and at least one free book. Three Kindles were donated as prizes - and I won one of them!

Fisher Publishing... now that's an idea!

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