Yesterday was a busy day at World Horror. We had our Evolve book launch at 2 p.m. and it was very well attended. I don’t know how many copies we sold, but it seemed like we were busy signing copies the whole time we were there. Neil Gaiman showed up in the afternoon as an unannounced, surprise guest. He interviewed James Herbert, signed and was interviewed himself by Kim Newman. He also attended the Stoker banquet and presented one of the awards. I stood in a long line to get something signed by James Herbert, who was a real trooper, signing for upwards of two hours. Apropos of nothing, I think he’d make a great Doctor Who.
I moderated a panel at 5 p.m. Ramsey Campbell suggested at 5:01 p.m. that the two panels running in parallel switch rooms, so there was a bit of congested confusion for the next several minutes, but then things settled down and we had a good discussion of the extreme horror vs. quiet horror.
The Stoker banquet followed at a fish & chips place on the Brighton pier. The room was a little congested, but it great to see so many people there–and so many big names: James Herbert, Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Tanith Lee, etc. A large contingent of nominees sat at one long banquet table — Joe McKinney, Scott Browne, Weston Ochs, Rocky Wood, Michael Knost, Norman Prentiss and myself. Michael and Norman were winners, so we got two of the haunted houses at our table. I’d been telling Mike Knost all weekend that I thought he’d win and I was right. If only I’d placed that huge bet!
I went to the post-Stoker party for a while, but turned in around midnight, which became 1 a.m. because of the time change. Today is a wind-down day of sorts, with the closing ceremony at 4 p.m. If the weather is nice, I might take the Brighton ghost walk at 7 p.m. Have to get up to catch a 6 a.m. bus to Heathrow tomorrow and then this entire whirlwind will be over for another year. It’s been a blast, and I’ve really enjoyed catching up with old friends and making new ones.
