Wednesday evening at Bat & Ball Covent Garden proved more enlightening than anticipated. Stepping into the London Sci-Fi/Fantasy Authors community felt like entering parallel literary universe – familiar creative struggles expressed through completely different artistic vocabulary.
The social atmosphere surprised me. Rather than hardcore genre discussion, conversations centred on universal writer challenges: character development, pacing, finding authentic voice. These authors face identical creative demons, just dressed in different costumes.
What struck me was discovering how much existential literature shares with speculative fiction. Both genres explore human condition under extraordinary circumstances. My characters navigate psychological alienation; their protagonists face literal alien worlds. The emotional territory overlaps more than I’d expected.
The venue’s gaming atmosphere created relaxed backdrop for genuine conversation. Writers discussing world-building techniques taught me about constructing believable psychological landscapes. Their approach to creating consistent internal logic applies directly to my own work’s philosophical frameworks.
One fantasy author described her process as ‘building entire societies to explore single human truth’. That resonated deeply. My Brighton-set piece constructs specific cultural environment to examine similar themes – displacement, identity, belonging. Different tools, identical purpose.
The evening challenged my literary assumptions whilst reinforcing core beliefs about storytelling. Genre boundaries matter less than commitment to authentic human experience, whether set in imaginary kingdoms or contemporary English towns.
Left feeling grateful for the reminder that good writing transcends arbitrary categories. We’re all trying to capture something true about being human.
— Writer Anastasia Dubinina