Guests

Born and raised in London Ben Aaronovitch had the sort of unrelentingly uninteresting childhood that drives a person to drink or Science Fiction. The later proved useful in his early career when he wrote for Doctor Who (before it was fashionable), Casualty and the cheapest soap opera ever made - Jupiter Moon. Alas his career foundered in the late 1990s and he was forced to go out and work for living.

It was while running the Crime and Science Fiction sections at the Covent Garden branch of Waterstones that he conceived the notion of writing novels instead. Thus was the Rivers of London series born and when the first book – Rivers of London - proved to be a runaway success he waited all of five minutes to give up the day job and return to the bliss that is a full time writing career. He still lives in the city that he modestly calls 'the capital of the world' and says he will leave when they prise London from his cold dead fingers. He promises that he is already hard at work on the next Peter Grant novel and not computer games - honest.

Ben's website

As the only Scottish/Filipino comic on the UK circuit, Rik’s dual heritage gives him a wealth of funny stories from an intriguing perspective and experience. Engaging, likeable, sharp, and unique, Rik is rising the ranks fast. ​

He is also the creator and host of Star Trek vs Star Wars, the hit comedy debate panel show that debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2016, It has gone on to be performed at comic conventions and venues around the country, to rave reviews.

Rik's website

Gary Erskine has worked for MARVEL, DC Comics, Vertigo, Dark Horse Comics, IMAGE, IDW with writers Mark Millar, Garth Ennis, James Robinson and Grant Morrison on books including Hellblazer, War Stories, and Grindhouse with Alex De Campi, with characters as diverse as Judge Dredd, Starman, Dan Dare and Captain America. He has also contributed to licenses including Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Transformers and Terminator.

Gary has also provided storyboards and concept design work for the games industry and boarded Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time. Recent work includes the FRONTLINES graphic novel and covers for Sabrina, The Teenage Witch for Archie Comics. He has most recently returned to 2000AD for Rogue Trooper.

Outside comics, Gary also hosts character design workshops for schools and colleges including Dublin's Pulse College and teaches storyboards for film students and games design. He has produced educational and promotional work and talks for various universities including Glasgow and St Andrews.

Gary's website

Tom Foster has been a regular artist in 2000AD for nearly a decade, best known for his extensive work on Judge Dredd and for co-creating the series 'Storm Warning' for the Judge Dredd Megazine. He frequently delivers comics workshops around Scotland and lives in Glasgow with his partner, Zan, and their houseplant, Tony.

Tom Humberstone is an award-winning comic artist and illustrator based in Edinburgh

He is the author of Suzanne: The Jazz Age Goddess of Tennis (Avery Hill Publishing) and his non-fiction comics have appeared in the Ignatz and Eisner award winning The Nib, the New Statesman, Vox, Washington Post, Buzzfeed and more.

He is the editor and publisher of the critically acclaimed British comics anthology Solipsistic Pop and co-editor of Over The Line: An Introduction to Poetry Comics.

Tom's website

GR Jordan is a self-published author who finally decided at forty that in order to have an enjoyable lifestyle, his creative beast within would have to be unleashed. His books mirror that conflict in life where acts of decency contend with self-promotion, goodness stares in horror at evil, and kindness blindsides us when we are at our worst. Corrupting our world with his parade of wondrous and horrific characters, he highlights everyday tensions with fresh eyes whilst taking his methodical, intelligent mainstays on a roller-coaster ride of dilemmas, all the while suffering the banter of their provocative sidekicks.

Having published over fifty books, his writing time is divided between thrillers and crime fiction, with his passion for gamebooks providing his “Fun” writing. He tries to push the genre limits, whether with unusual protagonists, or by expanding the replayability bubble. His crime fiction has topped the Amazon eBook store in both Canada and Australia.

Having flirted with most places in the UK, he is now based in the Isle of Lewis in Scotland where his free time is spent between raising a family with his wife, writing, firing arrows down a football pitch and caring for a small flock of chickens. Luckily, his writing is influenced by his varied work and life experience, as the chickens have not been the poetical inspiration he had hoped for!

GR Jordan's website

Chris MacLeod is from Lewis and attended Laxdale School and the Nicolson Institute. He started his career as a research scientist in the aerospace industry with Hughes Aircraft company in the USA. He has been a university lecturer for nearly 30 years and was a Senior Lecturer and Director of Research at the School of Engineering in the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen where he worked for 20 years. He now teaches at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Stornoway.

He has Undergraduate Degrees in Physics and Electronics, Biology and Geology, and Music; a Master’s Degree in Computer Science and Communications Engineering; a Post Graduate Certificate in Space Science and a Doctorate in Artificial Intelligence. He is also a Chartered Physicist. 

Ken MacLeod was born on the Isle of Lewis and now lives in Gourock on the Firth of Clyde. He has degrees in biological sciences, worked in IT, and is now a full-time writer. He is the author of nineteen novels, from The Star Fraction (1995) to Beyond the Reach of Earth (2023) and many articles and short stories. He has taught science fiction writing at Arvon, Moniack Mhor, and Clarion West.

Sha Nazir is publisher at BHP Comics. An accomplished graphic designer and artist best known for his books The Amazing Mr Macintosh, Laptop Guy and The Bold Universe. Sha is the founder of Scotland's longest running comic con, Glasgow Comic Con and co-owns and runs ACME Comic Con. He's currently working freelance for the Terry Pratchett estate and helping to produce the most successful comics Kickstarter of all time with 'Good Omens' the graphic novel adaptation.

Hereward L.M. Proops is a psychotherapist and lecturer at UHI North, West and Hebrides. He’s also got an encyclopaedic knowledge of old horror movies, nerd culture and retro video games. His writings have been published in various speculative fiction magazines and small press anthologies. He is a ‘forever DM’ and owns a small piece of the sarlacc from Return of the Jedi. Hereward is currently working on a PhD exploring the development of positive relationships within tabletop roleplaying game groups.

Irina Richards is a comics and manga artist and illustrator. Irina’s work includes The Witch- Hare, a manga-style retelling of Welsh witch-hare stories, as well as her original title, Chemical Blue, and an instructional book, Creating Manga Characters. Irina’s current work-in-progress is set in the Hebrides in the early medieval period; it was shortlisted for the LDcomics Prize in 2019.

Irina is a member of Sweatdrop Studios, UK’s first and best-known original manga publisher. As an experienced art educator, Irina teaches art workshops at schools, libraries, festivals and events. Irina is passionate about all things comics, and loves introducing new audiences to the limitless possibilities that this art form has to offer.

Irina's website