Guests

When Alastair Chisholm was a kid, he wanted to be a computer programmer, an author, and an astronaut. So far he’s two out of three and still hoping NASA will call soon…

In the meantime, he writes picture books, chapter books about dragons, and science fiction for older kids. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife and family and a cat named Maudie, who is yowling at him even though there is CLEARLY food in her bowl, and his hobbies include writing and playing games on his phone when he should be writing. He likes biscuits.

Workshop:  Write the Future,  1pm to 2.30pm in the Education Room in An Lanntair.

Brian Tyrrell is a neuroqueer games writer, graphic designer and illustrator. He lives in Edinburgh, and runs Stout Stoat, a multi-award winning games publishing imprint. He is also the co-organiser of TAGS Fest and ECAF.

Talk: Pict-ish: What goes into historical role-playing games? 12noon to 1pm, Drum Roon in  An Lanntair

Des O'Gorman is a nerdy comedian, stage host and cosplayer. He has been stage hosting since 2015 and has developed a fun, relaxed and creative approach to hosting. He has also preformed his one man shows across the UK and will be going on tour in 2024 with performer Ash Pryce with the tour A Night of Ghosts. As well as stage hosting, Des will also compare the cosplay contest and will perform his one man Ghostbusters tribute show, Still Ready to Believe You, celebrating 40 years of Ghostbusters and 10 years of performing this show to fans. You can find out more about Des at his website, desogorman.co.uk

Ghostbusters tribute show: Still Ready to Believe You, 5pm to 6pm, An Lanntair auditorium

Eira Richards (formerly known as Irina Richards) is a comics and manga artist and illustrator. Eira’s work includes The Witch-Hare, a manga retelling of Welsh witch-hare stories, as well as her original title, Chemical Blue, and an instructional book, Creating Manga Characters. Eira’s most recent manga-style graphic novel, Between Storms, is set in the 8th century Hebrides, and draws inspiration from Scottish mythology and history.

Since 2009, Eira has been is a member of Sweatdrop Studios, UK’s first original manga publisher. Eira is also an experienced artist educator, and has taught at schools, libraries, festivals and events.

Links and social media:

• Website: www.eirarichards.com
• X/Twitter @EiraRichards
• Instagram @eirarichardsart

Workshop: Manga Heroes and Crazy Creatures, 10.15am to 12:15pm, Education Room at An Lanntair

Talk: Between Storms: the UK's first Hebridean Manga, 2pm, Balcony in the Town Hall

Grace Curtis is a writer from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and works for Future Friends, an indie game publisher. She is the author of Frontier and Floating Hotel. When she’s not dreaming up pulpy sci-fi stories, Grace usually writes about video games, with work appearing in publications including Eurogamer and Edge Magazine.

Stephen White is an Edinburgh based comic book artist and writer, who works under the penname Stref. His past credits include the Dandy, the Beano, Oor Wullie, the Broons, Commando Comic and Viz. He has also had five independent graphic novels published, including an adaptation of J M Barrie's Peter Pan, in 2015. His latest book, Tara Togs: The Silence of Unicorns, was released via Kickstarter in 2024.

Talk: 4pm to 5pm, Drum Room at An Lanntair

Tanya Roberts is a comic artist who’s worked with Disney, Dreamworks, Netflix and others.

"I live and breathe characters. Either helping established ones blossom or creating new ones for new stories!”

Workshop: Create Stories and Characters through Illustration, 10:15am to 11:45am in the Drum Room at An Lanntair

Wren James is the Carnegie-longlisted British author of many Young Adult novels as ‘Lauren James’, including Last Seen Online, Green Rising, The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker and The Quiet at the End of the World and is also the story consultant on Netflix’s Heartstopper series. 

Wren is also the founder of the Climate Fiction Writers League and editor of the anthology Future Hopes: Hopeful stories in a time of climate change. They work as a consultant on climate storytelling, with a focus on optimism and hope. They run a Queer Writers group in Coventry.

Their books have sold over two hundred thousand copies worldwide in seven languages. The Quiet at the End of the World was shortlisted for the YA Book Prize and STEAM Children’s Book Award.  Amazon MGM Studios is developing The Loneliest Girl in the Universe as a feature film. 

Follow them on Instagram @laurenelizjames

Online talk for schools and pupils: Writing with STEM, 9 October