Black Library Weekender 2018 – A Survival Guide

The 2018 Black Library Weekender is rapidly approaching, and it promises to be a great weekend at the Nottingham Belfry (3rd and 4th November, in case you were wondering). I’ve been to all of the Black Library Weekenders so far, and a few of the Horus Heresy Weekenders too, so I’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect – barring surprises, at least. There’s going to be a lot going on, and I find it’s usually best to try and plan ahead and get organised before the event kicks off. In this article I’m going to take a look at the sort of preparations you might want to think about, and offer some suggestions for how to get the most out of the event.

Don’t get me wrong, if you just rock up on Friday evening or Saturday morning and see what happens I’m sure you’ll still have a blast – after all, it’s a weekend spent talking Black Library and Warhammer and what’s not to like about that? That being said, past experience tells me that even a little bit of planning can make a big difference!

What do you want to get out of the event?
First things first, it’s worth thinking at least a little bit about what you want to get out of the Weekender. These events offer all sorts of activities and opportunities, so think about what your priority is going to be. Are you most interested in learning about what’s next for the Horus Heresy, or maybe getting the chance to finally pose that one burning question you’ve got to a particular author? How about getting books signed, or picking up all the new releases before they’re officially released? Or are you just going along for the chance to meet up with some mates and chat about your hobby?

All of those are possible at the Weekender, and chances are you’ll be able to pick and choose and get quite a lot of different things out of the weekend. Because there’s so much to do, however, you might find yourself needing to compromise a bit. For example, if you’re desperate to get a load of books signed, and the authors you’re most excited about are split across several different signing sessions, there’s a good chance you’ll end up having to miss some of the seminars. Or at least have to sneak in part way through (at least try to – sometimes the staff are quite strict on capacity). On the one hand that might feel like a waste, missing those seminars, but on the other hand if signings are your priority then maybe that’s a sacrifice you’ll have to make.

Whatever your priorities, have a good look at the schedule in advance so you can plan where you want to be and what you want to do. Each seminar and signing session has a list of featured guests (authors, artists, actors etc.) and while it’s possible that some of those are going to change, you can at least do a bit of planning. You might change your mind when you’re there, but that’s ok too!

What to take
Assuming you’re going for the whole weekend, you’re going to need to pack for at least two days and one night, if not more. You’re going to need all the usual clothes and whatnot, along with anything else you might need over the weekend. On top of that, if you’re anything like me you might want to anticipate some of the purchases you’re likely to make, so that you’ve got space in your suitcase/car for all the new books, audio dramas, art prints and so on that you end up buying!

You don’t need me to tell you what to bring on the clothes front, however I will say that sometimes in the past it’s been boiling hot in the seminar rooms, and other times freezing, so bring layers in case you need to adjust to the temperature. Oh, and deodorant – always, ALWAYS bring deodorant when you’re going to be sat in a room (or various rooms) with lots of other people.

I’ll talk a bit more about food later on, but I would strongly recommend you pack some snacks so that you’re not dependent on getting all of your food at the Belfry. A decent supply of fruit/biscuits/chocolate/your snack of choice will keep you going in those tricky moments when you’d rather stick around in a seminar room between sessions so that you can keep your seat, and it’ll also make you suitably popular with your mates who will inevitably have forgotten to bring their own food!

If you’re planning on getting some books signed, think carefully about how many you want to bring along. There’s a good chance you’re going to end up buying more books while you’re there, so think about how much space is going to be in your bags, and how much you’re going to be able to carry – especially if you’re getting public transport home afterwards! If you’re staying in the Belfry it makes things easier as you can shuttle back and forth from your room and swap which books you’re carrying, but even then you might well end up with either an extremely heavy bag, lots of different bags, or both – at least for a while.

Lastly, assuming you’re going to be around for at least the Saturday night, it’s worth thinking about bringing some gaming stuff with you. Over the years my mates and I have played Blood Bowl, Gorechosen, Chaos in the Old World, Exploding Kittens, Cards Against Humanity, even done some hobby work and assembled models, all in the bar in the evenings. There’s plenty of entertainment to be found just hanging around and chatting to other people, but a few quick games can be great fun as well. Once again, just be aware of how much you’re carrying, mind!

Evenings at the Belfry
Whenever possible I’ve tried to make it to Nottingham on the Friday afternoon before a Weekender (or indeed any other BL or GW event), and I’ll be doing exactly that this year. I always enjoy popping into Warhammer World for a look round the shops (yep, including spending money at the BL store despite knowing I’ll be buying LOADS at the Weekender) and a meal at Bugman’s Bar, and maybe even a game or two of something quick – Necromunda, Blood Bowl, this year maybe Shadespire. It’s a great way to start the weekend off as you mean to go on!

Whether or not you can take time off work to spend the afternoon in Warhammer World, I would ALWAYS recommend getting yourself down to the bar at the Belfry for the Friday night. You’re bound to find a good number of other fans there – you’ll certainly see me and some friends, this year (come say hi!) – and maybe even some of the authors, and it’s a great opportunity to start getting into the swing of the event. The Black Library team may well have finished setting up the sales stand by that point, but there’s always the chance you’ll catch a sneak peek at some of the new releases that are going to be available the next morning.

Speaking of meeting other fans, it’s pretty common for people to come along to these events on their own (that what I did back in 2012), and while everyone who’s there for the Weekender is going to be a fan, it’s not always easy to join in with other people and kick off conversations. If you see someone on their own, it’s great to try and include them in conversations, or just head over and say hi, maybe ask what they’re looking forward to the most or who their favourite author is.

Likewise if you’re there on your own, remember that we’re all big fans of BL, so chances are you’re going to have something in common with most of the other people there. I’ve made some amazing friendships which started by turning to the person sat next to me, or nearby, and starting talking. You can always give me a shout – Twitter’s probably the best place for it on the day – and come find me to say hi!

That all applies for Saturday evening as well, so if you can’t make the Friday night then I’d really urge you to try and make sure you can stick around for the Saturday. Whether you’re planning on joining in with the organised entertainment (looks like there’s going to be a live audio drama taking place) or spending the whole time in the bar, there should be lots of opportunities to meet new people and catch up with old friends so do stick around at the Belfry once the last seminar is finished. If you’d actually rather have a bit of peace and quiet, you could even book yourself a treatment at the spa!

Just one final note – be aware that the Belfry won’t be booked out exclusively for our benefit, and so there will be other guests around and about. Often walking around in robes from the spa, looking deeply confused about what’s going on around them! I’ve had some…interesting conversations at some previous events, that’s for sure.

Purchases
If you’re anything like me you’ll be looking forward to getting your hands on some pre-release books and audio dramas, of which I suspect there will be quite a lot! The published schedule doesn’t mention the opening times for the sales stand, but if memory serves it tends to open about 9am on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, and I would recommend getting there bright and early if possible. I wouldn’t worry too much about things being absolutely crazy, but it’s probably worth anticipating a few queues.

I’m going to sound like a bit of a broken record here, but much like your overall priorities for the event I’d recommend planning out what you want to spend your money on. The Weekender page over on the BL website shows a load of the releases that are going to be available, and while there might be some surprises you should be able to get a good idea of what will be on sale. Dan Abnett’s Anarch is due to be available, and that’s not due out until January, so there’s a chance that anything listed in the Coming Soon section of the BL website will be there at the Weekender.

On top of the new releases, at previous events there have tended to be a range of recently released titles along with limited edition art prints, a few older special edition hardbacks that haven’t yet sold out, a few bits of merchandise like mugs and t-shirts, and so on. Plenty to encourage us to part with money, and so it’s really easy to be tempted to spend more than you intended to. Having at least a rough idea of what you know you ABSOLUTELY MUST buy, and how much that’s going to cost you, means you can prepare yourself for that temptation…or at least prepare yourself for the amount of pain you’ll be inflicting on your wallet.

Food
I mentioned earlier that it’s a good idea to bring some of your own food with you, and that’s not just because it’s useful to have snacks on hand but also because it gives you the option of eating something other than unhealthy bar food or pretty terrible sandwiches all weekend. There are options within the Belfry, but while the bar food is far superior to the ‘packed lunches’ that have been available at previous events, it’s still not going to be the best selection.

If you have the time, I would wholeheartedly recommend heading out of the Belfry and looking for food elsewhere. It’s especially easy if you’ve got a car, but even if not there are options relatively nearby. On the BL website there are a couple of suggestions, which a quick glance at Google Maps suggests are both walkable within 10 minutes (although the area isn’t exactly designed for walkers), but I’d also recommend asking other attendees who’ve been to previous Weekenders for recommendations. Even if it’s just a case of getting some variety, it’s worth doing!

Seminars
One of the main selling points of events like the Weekenders for most people, I suspect, is the opportunity to attend seminars, listen to authors talk, and ask questions. At this year’s Weekender there are no fewer than 25 seminars, split across three rooms and the two days, so there’s bound to be something you’ll find interesting amongst all of those! I can’t really offer useful suggestions on which ones to go to, as your own interests will determine what’s going to be the most insightful/interesting/useful etc. for you. However…

I’m going to say it again – plan ahead! With so many possibilities it can be really tricky to decide which ones to attend, and which ones to skip, especially when there are conflicts with other seminars, or signing sessions. I tend to print the schedule out with the colours inverted (super easy to do in Microsoft Paint, if like me you’re not a clever Photoshop wizard) so that I can take a highlighter to it and mark the sessions I want to go to. I’ve been mulling over my decisions for a week or two already, and I’m going to try and make my mind up no later than the train journey to Nottingham on the Friday!

You might end up changing your mind on the day, especially if your mates are trying to convince you to go to the sessions they’re interested in, but a bit of planning goes a long way to avoid frantic last-minute decisions that you might regret!

It’s not just planning which seminars to go to that’s worth thinking about, however. A big part of the fun is getting to ask the authors questions, and whether it’s your question or not it can be absolutely fascinating to hear their answers. It’s not always easy to think of good questions, however, and as there’s only a finite amount of time in each seminar it’s in everyone’s interest to try and make sure questions are as relevant and interesting as possible. WIth that in mind, I’ve put together a few suggestions for what to do – and what not to do – when asking questions. These are very subjective, of course, so you may disagree…but here’s what I would suggest.

Do

• Think about your questions in advance, based on the subject of each seminar. Ask yourself what you’re most interesting in learning about, and see if you can come up with a question about that.
• Listen to other peoples’ questions, and look for inspiration for your own.
• Be clear and concise when you’re asking your questions, so that authors know exactly what you’re asking.
• Accept that what authors say in their answers is well intentioned and probably as much as they can say – they’re not going to give spoilers, or reveal too much!
• Try to make sure your questions are actually questions, not statements that you hope an author will agree with.
• Be respectful to authors and their work. If you’re not a fan of something, you don’t need to tell the author that!
• Bear in mind that this is probably someone’s first time at a BL event, and they don’t know that the missing Primarchs questions have been asked many times before!

Don’t

• Be afraid to ask questions – that’s what the seminars are for! However, also don’t…
• Make your questions about yourself. Try to make sure they’re as relevant to EVERYONE as possible.
• Ask really long questions which are actually multiple questions in one. Pick a question, then stick your hand up again later to ask another one!
• Argue back if you’re not getting the answer you expect. I’ve seen it happen, and it’s not pretty.

Signings
I don’t tend to go to too many signings, so I don’t have a huge amount of advice other than to say it AGAIN…plan things out. You really don’t want to be carrying masses of heavy books around all day, so figure out in advance which authors are going to be available and when, and try to make sure you’re only carrying around the relevant books. Okay, that’s easier said than done if you’re not staying at the Belfry or don’t have a car to leave stuff in, but it’s worth trying at least. Likewise have a think about where a signing might clash with a seminar, and so on.

I’ve not got so many suggestions for dos and don’ts with signings, but here are a couple of ideas at least.

Do

• Bring a couple of extra books with you to get signed. You’re not going to be turned away if you’ve got an old favourite you’re desperate to get signed, or really want a specific dedication.
• Keep an eye out for anyone without a long queue, and go say hi! Sometimes you’ll see a couple of authors with loads of people queueing and one or two without a queue, so that’s your chance to have a longer chat with one of them!

Don’t

• Bring an entire suitcase full of books for one author. It’s just a case of being considerate of other fans, and even the authors themselves, so keep an eye on the queue and try to avoid asking the authors to write essays.
• Spend ages talking to one author when there’s a massive queue behind you. Once again, just be considerate of the other people around you, and try to make sure everyone has a chance to talk to the each author. Chances are you’ll find another opportunity to chat to that author later on if you’ve got more questions.

Authors out and about
Lastly, I just want to quickly talk about whether it’s ok to chat to authors (or any other guest, or member of BL staff) between seminars as they’re wandering about, and ask for a quick signing. In my opinion – and some people might disagree – I think this is absolutely fine…to a certain extent.

You’re usually going to be fine to grab a quick signing or very quick chat after a seminar ends, but be sensible. It’s a busy weekend for the authors, and they’re going to be dashing from one seminar to another, or to a signing session, so they only have a limited amount of time. They’re all really lovely people, and they’re going to want to talk to us fans, but time is always going to be of the essence.

Likewise if you spot an author at the bar between sessions, or pottering around looking at the sales stand. I’d say go over and have a chat, but keep your eyes open. If they’re looking twitchy and are obviously looking like they need to be somewhere, let them! Equally, don’t be offended if they politely explain that they need to be somewhere.

Whenever you’re chatting to an author, don’t forget that there’s going to be other people around who also have questions, and want to speak to the same author. Some of the best conversations I’ve had with authors have been when an ad-hoc group has formed and we’ve ended up chatting about something totally off the cuff – so do let everyone have their turn asking questions, and you might be surprised at the interesting topics that arise!

***

I hope that’s all been interesting, or at least useful. If you’ve got any more suggestions for dos and don’ts, or tips for smart things to do while at the Weekender, I’d love to hear them! Drop them into the comments below, or join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter. Otherwise, make sure to be friendly and chat to as many people as you can, come find me and say hi, and generally just have fun at the Weekender! I’ll see you there.