Visiting Cymera Festival

Posted on June 25, 2021 in Scotland

Last month, Cymera: Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing took over the SYP Scotland Instagram feed for a day so, of course, when the festival came around at the beginning of June I just had to go and check it out. As with a lot of events, Cymera had made the move to digital in 2020 and decided to keep that format for 2021, which was great for those of us who wouldn’t have been able to make it to Edinburgh and meant that I could see a lot more than I probably would have in person. The festival was chock-full of amazing content, and with over 50 events it was going to be difficult to narrow it down. There were panels to hear authors discussing their latest works, writing workshops, a quiz, authors taking part in role-playing games, book groups, the Cymera prize… the list felt endless. There really was something for everyone; thank goodness for the clash planner so that I could easily map out my weekend’s activities.

Most of the panels were live but there were also some pre-recorded events which was great because I knew that I could catch up on them after watching the live events. A lot of the live events were also kicked off with the Brave New Words readings that allowed emerging and newly published writers a chance to read an excerpt from their work in front of a captive audience and I have to say they definitely left me wanting more and were in some fantastic settings. Luckily these readings are now all available to watch on YouTube on the #Cymera21 channel, so if you enjoy discovering new authors then you can go and check them out.

There was a range of workshops covering some fascinating topics which was great for writers at any stage of the journey. The ones that I attended were interesting and engaging, however I must give a special mention to the Design Your Own Science Fiction Currency workshop. It was a lot of fun hearing people’s ideas about what could be used for currency (socks and spoons were some of my picks) and how people then expanded on those ideas with how to accrue the currency. It was fun, interactive (but in a way that was good for those of us that are camera shy) and enlightening.

It is tough to single out events because there were just so many options and they were all great however some of my favourites were the Trust No Witch panel – and no I’m not just picking this panel because it was chaired by Sonali Misra, one of SYP Scotland’s Co-Chairs, that was just a happy coincidence – I loved hearing about the magical worlds and the influences behind them that authors Ciannon Smart and Cari Thomas had created in their debut novels, and I now have both books waiting to be read which I am very excited for. In the Destiny Calls panel, it was so interesting hearing Victoria Aveyard and Kesia Lupo talk about their characters’ journeys and how they were reluctantly involved in their quests to save the world; there were also some pretty good-looking world maps too. In the Fighting the Good Fight panel with C.L. Clark and R.F. Kuang, we got a sneak peek at Kuang’s next book, Babel, which was amazing but the discussion was also about strong, resilient women so it was all brilliant really. Lastly, I will say Once Upon a Fairytale with authors Lucy Holland, A.G. Slatter, and Hannah Whitten which was a great conversation about how stories have evolved and the magic of retellings and reimaginings.

What I am most excited about now that the festival is over is the fact that I can catch up on events that I couldn’t see because of timetable clashes. I am looking forward to hearing from authors I haven’t discovered before, taking a chance on an event that I maybe wouldn’t ordinarily go and see, which is definitely part of the magic of the changes to what book festivals usually look like. Cymera is also offering a catch-up pass for a limited time so if you like science fiction, fantasy, or horror then you can head to the website to get the details.

The downsides to the festival… that my TBR pile has gone up significantly and that I have to wait a whole year for the next one!