And that's it! Time is up!
My sentiments exactly. And to everyone else who joined in, heartfelt gratitude all round.
I didn’t get to it all, obviously. Fantasy worlds to live in, fan fiction, diversity and some insane reading recommendations (including undiscovered gems) over at #gdnteenfantasy. Seriously, go and get your reading list from the experts. It’ll last you till Christmas and then some.
But overall, yep we’ll take this. *bows 360*
And before you go! We can’t possibly all top that, can we? Can we? We sure can! But how, you ask, with a double-take of astonishment. Free books, that’s how! Claim yours here.
Enjoy your evening folks. We’ll leave with you with the wisdom of Professor Albus Dumbledore:
Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?
Oh and the winner of that music thingamijig? Anything by Hans Zimmer. Obviously.
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At last, someone finally willing to admit how they did on that fandoms quiz...
A last word on writing routines and world-building techniques:
So much for that methodical approach, eh?
Is it me or are we escalating here??
And the reason our panel are hooked on writing fantasy in particular...?
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And then there’s fim adaptations... The possibilities are endless.
Especially film adaptations to the tune of this?
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This would be a fantastic segue into another world entirely...
There are sooo many book recommendations on twitter. #Gdnteenfantasy. We can say no more!
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Isn’t this a question everyone secretly wonders about?
Victoria has prepared a long, considered exposition on the subject:
OK then. Harsh, but fair.
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A manifesto for fantasy?
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We’ve discussed the harder aspects of writing fantasy, now what about the good bits?
‘Nuff said.
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OK this was bound to come up at some point. However much fantasy takes inspiration from the real world, there are some things you just can’t replace:
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Like what you see? Join in anytime between now and 6pm by posting questions on twitter using #Gdnteenfantasy, or by emailing childrens.books@theguardian.com.
Meantime, another great shout for would’ve-should’ve-could’ve fantasy musical accompaniments: Dead Can Dance, Anastasis.
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Lucy Saxon has some tips for those considering their own fantasy series, gleaned from hard hard experience:
Victoria is a bit more no-nonsense!
And Samantha Shannon seems like a complete party pooper here, except that we can completely see the logic of this:
Alwyn Hamilton has got a perfect little nugget of golden advice.
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In fact, if you had to ask Taran what the hardest thing was about writing fantasy, he’d say...
Victoria Aveyard struggles with maintaining the illusion of plausibility:
While Alwyn would find economics the hardest (wouldn’t we all!)
And for Zoe, it’s the sheer amount of research involved.
It’s an unexpected answer from Sally Green though, given her fantasy series is about witches. Too much magic?!
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Michelle Pauli, Guardian children’s books site Book Elf in Chief, has a suggestion for music that *should* be a fantasy theme tune. Close enough! Keep ‘em coming in.
This is an interesting outsider’s perspective on the process of composing fantasy series. I wonder if our authors concur?
Taran clarifies:
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The line between fantasy and the real world can be a porous one at times. Some thoughts:
Lucy Saxon answers by shifting the onus onto us:
It’s the “all beauty is in the eye of the beholder” tactic, right?
And woah, way to take this into a whole other dimension, Rebekah!
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To JK Rowling the kindly mother of modern fantasy, we’ve also of course got Tolkien the kindly father.
This conversation has at least distracted us from the terrifying prospect that at least one member of our panel has confessed to feeling an affinity with Slytherin house... Which one? Ah, but that’d be telling. #gdnteenfantasy to find out.
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Favourite fantasy powers?
The first of what we hope will be many such recommendations.
So what got all these writers into fantasy in the first place? Seems a reasonable place to start.
Needless to say, JK Rowling might have had something to do with it too...
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And we're off!
Through the looking glass, down the rabbit hole, , boarding the steam train, through the wardrobe - and let’s not forget, into the pages.
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Alwyn makes a rookie mistake. Hardened twitter-chatterers know by now that a phone just can’t cut it for these hours. But we all live and learn. Less than 5 minutes to go now...
Taran’s seen it all before, got the t-shirt - but even he’s feeling the pressure tonight!
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Let’s do this indeed.
This seems potentially fraught with danger, however.
You can post questions anytime between now and 6pm using #Gdnteenfantasy, or by emailing childrens.books@theguardian.com. But seriously, you want to do it NOW! We’re about to slip into another world...
Now for the real debate of the night: best fantasy soundtrack or theme tune ever? Let’s start with the obvious, shall we. Send your slightly more imaginative equally valid suggestions to childrens.books@theguardian.com or tweet us @GdnChildrensBks.
All together now...
Would you survive in your favourite fandom? Take this quiz and find out.
If you’re starting to get excited for the chat now (50 minutes and counting till take off), here’s a podcast recorded with four of our participants tonight, chatting about women in fantasy - the perfect way to get into the zone.
You might begin to detect a theme emerging, particularly where Samantha Shannon is concerned…
To join in this evening, all you need to do is...
Make sure you’re following us (@GdnChildrensBks), get settled in a nice comfy chair, and just start posing questions from 5pm using #Gdnteenfantasy.
You don’t even need to be on twitter to take part – search #Gdnteenfantasy in Twitter to read the conversation, then send any comments or questions to us at childrens.books@theguardian.com and we’ll feed them in for you.
Or you can sit back, relax and follow the whole thing with high-def, high-hilarity antics right here.
Dramatis Personae
We’ve got seven of the most exciting YA authors currently shaking up the fantasy genre, and they’re all at your disposal for one evening this sultry Sunday.
Victoria Aveyard @VictoriaAveyard, author of Red Queen, who says that ‘transporting someone, putting them in a story for a few hours, taking them out of their worlds, is what I always strive to do’.
Sally Green, @Sa11eGreen, author of the Half Bad/Half Wild/ Half Lost series, who took on the Guardian Children’s books quickfire interview here.
Alwyn Hamilton @AlwynFJH, author of much-anticipated debut Rebel of the Sands, which will be our Guardian teen book club focus starting Monday 1 March.
Zoe Marriott @ZMarriott, author of The Swan Kingdom and Shadows on the Moon, the latter of which has a rather spiffy trailer here:
Taran Matharu @TaranMatharu1, author of Summoner: The Novice, who wrote this piece on diversity in fantasy.
Lucy Saxon @Lucy_Saxon, author of the Tellus series, who wrote this beginner’s guide to cosplay.
Samantha Shannon @say_shannon, author of The Mime Order and The Bone Season, who wonders, ‘when will women no longer surprise us with their strength’.
Preamble
It is a way of living a life you could never even have imagined, a way to be so much more than this world can allow. It is anything and everything you can imagine.
The reason to read fantasy, according to blogger TheBookAddictedGirl.
The freedom of imagination and being able to explore issues that within a contemporary setting would be heavy and a bit difficult to deal with but in fantasy you can change them and bring in a different perspective, but they’re still relevant to the world we live in - you can just alter them a little bit to get people to look at them on a different level.
The reason to write fantasy, according to author Samantha Shannon.
That, and sometimes dragons just happen don’t they? What can you do.
It’s the complete freedom of the genre that makes fantasy, in all its different forms, so compelling. Whether it’s brand new world building, or writing alternate histories, absolutely nothing is determined for you. As long as your world is consistent within its own logic, anything can happen: all bets are off. That can be profoundly liberating and, I suspect, slightly daunting as well! But we’re in a golden age of YA fantasy, so the authors gathered here this evening and their comrades-in-pens must be doing something right...
We’ll be discussing all things mystical, magical and make-believe this afternoon – why we love it, what it has to say about the real world, where the genre needs to go next and those all-important book recommendations.
It’s all going down between 5-6pm GMT this evening. Join us, using #Gdnteenfantasy.
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