Welcome to Discover!

So a new blog for 2012, this one all about the new Discover Festival, which takes place in May this year. Just to introduce what will be happening on these pages, I'll be offering a host of news about the event as well as some thoughts and opinions on a host of different matters genre-related. The aim is to post something once every two days, so we'll see how that goes.

So the best place to start would surely be with what the event is all about - Discover Festival takes place over the weekend of 18th-20th May, and runs at Snibston Discovery Museum at Coalville, Leicestershire. For anyone who hasn't been, it's a great venue with a really modern-looking frontage and Museum, accompanied by the old-fashioned Century Theatre at the back. The theatre is purportedly haunted (including one ghostly audience member who has a permanent reservation on his seat) and the whole place has a fantastic vibe and atmosphere about it. If you wanted to check out more, you can do so at http://www.centurytheatre.co.uk/ and http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/leisure_tourism/museums/snibston. The area itself has quite a history, so well worth taking a look around the website.

So that's where and when, but what is it? Well, it's an exciting and fresh event which will be drawing together a host of writing talent in the fields of science-fiction, fantasy and horror, and we'll be presenting a mixture of panels, workshops, readings, Q+As and much more over the weekend. If you've never been to this type of event, Discover will be a welcoming and friendly way to explore genre fiction. If you're a hardcore convention or events-goer, you'll know the sort of thing to expect and there will be plenty to keep you entertained over the whole weekend.

Our first two Guests of Honour, both of whom I am really excited to be welcoming along, are best-selling SF author PETER F HAMILTON and legendary horror and thriller author GRAHAM MASTERTON. Both fantastic names from the field, I'm sure you'll agree, and well worth seeing in action. We're not stopping there, of course - we should be confirming more Guests of Honour in the near future, as well as announcing a host more authors taking part as time goes on. There's bound to be something for everyone at the event, given how the line-up is shaping up so far.

So there you go - a quick intro to what Discover is all about, and if you want to find out more you can drop by our website at www.discoverfestival.co.uk. And of course, if you have any questions, so feel free to drop me a line at discoverevent@hotmail.co.uk

Be back soon for another blog update...

Thanks a lot

Alex