We are currently considering two major themes for the convention, which will be shaped and developed by the line-up of Guests we eventually hope to invite to the event:

"WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION: THE NEXT GENERATION"
Thirty years ago, World Fantasy Conventions regularly featured attendees who worked in the classic pulp magazines and for early specialty press imprints, including Arkham House, Gnome Press and Shasta Press, among others.

Over that period, a new generation of authors emerged at these gatherings—younger writers working their way up through the ranks during the boom years of genre publishing, like Ramsey Campbell, Clive Barker, Dennis Etchison, Charles L. Grant, Stephen King, Brian Lumley, Peter Straub, Lisa Tuttle, Karl Edward Wagner, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and Jane Yolen, to name a few. Today it is these writers who are now considered the "old guard" and we will, of course, be honouring the contributions made by this iconic group of authors and their contemporaries throughout our programming.

However, three decades later, a whole new generation of writers has emerged on both sides of the Atlantic. It is our intent to spotlight some of these newer names, many of whom are now dominating the best-seller charts, while others are developing their careers through the current small presses and other media. To this end, we will also be focusing on new imprints, emerging technologies in the 21st century, and the way in which the publishing industry has changed since those early days of the World Fantasy Convention.

"ARTHUR MACHEN @ 150"
2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of influential Welsh fantasist Arthur Machen (aka Arthur Llewellyn Jones, 1863-1947). Born on March 3, Machen worked as a clerk, teacher, actor and journalist while writing stories of horror and fantasy rooted in the myths of his homeland. H.P. Lovecraft named him as one of the four "modern masters" of supernatural horror fiction (alongside Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany and M.R. James). Probably best known for his classic 1894 novella 'The Great God Pan' (which Stephen King described as "Maybe the best [horror story] in the English Language") and the short story 'The White People', Machen's novels include The Inmost Light, The Shining Pyramid, The Three Impostors and The Hill of Dreams. His story 'The Bowmen', an unashamedly patriotic piece of fantasy fiction written for a London newspaper in 1914, took on the form of an early "urban legend" that has continued into the present day.

We plan a whole stream of programming about Machen and his contemporaries, produced in close collaboration with The Friends of Arthur Machen, a literary society whose objectives include encouraging a wider recognition of Machen's work and providing a focus for critical debate. We also hope to have an extensive collection of Machen's books, original manuscripts and other associated items displayed for the duration of the convention in a gallery of glass-fronted cases opposite the entrances to the various function rooms.