This was, truly, the most fun event I've ever been a part of - and the turnout was HUGE! Such an amazing evening, thanks to the organisers, the staff, the other authors, and all those who came along. It's a joy to have something like this up north. Make sure you get along to next year's event!

WHAT A NIGHT!! We just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone involved in making It's Strange Up North 2025 such an incredible success! The authors, the attendees, the publishers, the waterstones staff, the organisers, we could not be more grateful for all you've done!

Please could you help me to spread the word about my swashbuckling adventure story with a pirate protagonist, sapphic romance, with a dash of werewolves and vampires? My latest novel THE VENGEANCE is available in all formats geni.us/thevengeance Perfect for escaping the horrors of our time.

Had a splendid time at @strangeupnorth.bsky.social yesterday - lovely event, lovely people!

I had the most incredible time at @strangeupnorth.bsky.social in Leeds yesterday. Such a wonderful event where I got to chat to just the loveliest bunch of SFF readers. Thank you to everyone who came and said hello and took a chance on a new author - you made my evening very special!

What a fantastic event that's was at Leeds Waterstones! Discovered so many many fantastic authors and books, and had the pleasure of meeting authors whose work I adore! Now on to a full day of reading! @strangeupnorth.bsky.social

Had an absolutely wonderful time at @strangeupnorth.bsky.social last night. I met so many lovely people, got to reconnect with lovelies I haven't seen for years and wall-to-wall booklovers. Thanks to the team for inviting me!

So @strangeupnorth.bsky.social last night at Leeds Waterstones was an amazing event. Met some lovely people and signed lots of copies of Withered Hill & Scuttler’s Cove, and gave a lot of people crabs 🦀 (insert your own gag). Failed to take any pix though.

Having a blast at @strangeupnorth.bsky.social

I just got to @strangeupnorth.bsky.social and in the bag there's a copy of The Gentleman and his Vowsmith by @devinmadson.bsky.social - yay 😃 And I've chatted with @emmanewman.bsky.social who's the nicest person ever!

Today!

TODAY'S THE DAY!!!!

I'll be at ISUN later, not in an official signing capacity but in a hanging-out-with-my-author-friends capacity. See some of you there!

If anyone is going alone tomorrow and would like to meet some new folks first, comment below!

🎵 One Day More! 🎵 But there will be no miserable faces tomorrow! Even the weather has seen the error of its ways and understands we cannot risk the precious books getting wet! And what books they are! What are you bringing to get signed? What are you planning on buying? Who's excited???

🎵 One Day More! 🎵 But there will be no miserable faces tomorrow! Even the weather has seen the error of its ways and understands we cannot risk the precious books getting wet! And what books they are! What are you bringing to get signed? What are you planning on buying? Who's excited???

TOMORROW, @strangeupnorth.bsky.social returns to Leeds Waterstones! Grab your ticket and the chance to meet fantastic authors - including our very own @samkhorton.bsky.social and @emmanewman.bsky.social! bit.ly/4iT1QPD (And keep an eye out for some Solaris treats in your goodie bag 😜)

🎵It's the final countdown! 🎵 2 days! Don't forget tickets are only £10 with £5 redeemable against books on the night! Bargain! There are still tickets available but we recommend buying now as we can't guarantee there will be tickets available on the door. Tickets: tinyurl.com/itsstrange

The weather may be turning grim but don't worry, it's not apocalypse time yet! Just make sure to keep the rain away from the books, okay? www.waterstones.com/events/its-s...

The day after tomorrow! 😮

Three days to go! I'm so excited!

Can you get to Leeds on Saturday? Then you should GET TO LEEDS ON SATURDAY Book your ISUN tickets NOW!

So much to look forward to!!

3 days to go!!! The bags are packed! The books are in! The authors are all preparing to descend upon Yorkshire for one glorious SFFH bookish event! Are you joining us? Tickets: tinyurl.com/itsstrange

4 days to go & exciting things are happening! Tote bags & booklets & what else could these dragons be hiding... To avoid a bottleneck trying to get in, we're changing things up slightly. From 5pm, Waterstones staff will come to the shop entrance & start checking tickets & giving out tote bags

Exciting things happening today ...

We’re so excited to be supporting #ISUN for a second year! We know all attendees will have a fabulous time on Saturday - and we hope you enjoy your swag 😉!

5 days to go and we want to thank the incredible publishers that are sponsoring this event, without which there would be no tote bags, no swag, no food or drink, no books! Please join us in thanking them & let us know which of their fabulous authors you're looking forward to seeing this Saturday!

6 days to go & the weather up north is returning to it's usual grim self once more. What better way to spend a rainy day than inside, dry & warm, with all the books. And, hey! We thought we'd gather a whole bunch of people who wrote those books so you can spend time with them too. Why not join us?

Next week, @strangeupnorth.bsky.social returns to Leeds Waterstones! Grab your ticket and the chance to meet fantastic authors - including our very own @samkhorton.bsky.social and @emmanewman.bsky.social! bit.ly/4iT1QPD (And keep an eye out for some Solaris treats in your goodie bag 😜)

Everyone who attends gets a free tote bag stuffed with goodies from our lovely publishers! £5 of the £10 ticket price is redeemable against books on the night! We do love a bargain in Yorkshire! So let's don our best flat cap & go on an adventure both strange & fantastic! tinyurl.com/itsstrange

1 week until It's Strange Up North returns! 7 days until 15 incredible sci-fi, fantasy & horror authors descend upon Leeds for: - 1 hour of socialising with the north's best SFFH fans - 2 hours of signing books - Much food and drink - And of course, many, many, many books bought and signed!

1 week until It's Strange Up North returns! 7 days until 15 incredible sci-fi, fantasy & horror authors descend upon Leeds for: - 1 hour of socialising with the north's best SFFH fans - 2 hours of signing books - Much food and drink - And of course, many, many, many books bought and signed!

Tickets are selling fast and the event is next week so make sure to buy yours now so you don't miss out!! tinyurl.com/itsstrange

You may spot some of the lovely It's Strange Up North totes bags - don't forget, everyone who attends gets their very own tote bag stuffed with goodies from the incredible publishers sponsoring this event, so huge 'thank you's go out to them! What will this year's bags hold? Come along to find out!

We did take a fabulous pic of some of the incredible authors last year! Will we remember to take a full line-up pic this year? Who knows! We also took a picture of the boxes full of books that Waterstones bought in for the event. Very much looking forward to seeing how big the pile is this year!

8 days and we're not above bribing you with dog pics! Did we mention this little cutie will likely be joining us on the night? We thought we'd share some pictures from last year, at which point we realised we were clearly having far too fun to remember to take many. We must rectify this this year!

8 days and we're not above bribing you with dog pics! Did we mention this little cutie will likely be joining us on the night? We thought we'd share some pictures from last year, at which point we realised we were clearly having far too fun to remember to take many. We must rectify this this year!

9 days to go!!! We're into single digits, we're finalising all the details and we're very, very excited!! We thought we'd highlight some of the accessibility features of the event and the venue.

With only 10 days to go, it's time to look at @richardswanauthor.bsky.social Richard's books includes a space opera trilogy(The Art of War), books for Black Library (Blood Harvest & Tears of Raphaela), an epic fantasy trilogy (The Empire of the Wolf) and his latest offering, Grave Empire.

Come to ISUN! Witness me!

And completing this, quite frankly astounding line up, we have @davewragg.com (the fantasy author, not the history guy) David writes modern fantasy, with no magic. Or dragons. Or any other magical creatures. But there are lots of swords! As well as epic adventures, humour, heart and high stakes!

With only 10 days to go, it's time to look at @richardswanauthor.bsky.social Richard's books includes a space opera trilogy(The Art of War), books for Black Library (Blood Harvest & Tears of Raphaela), an epic fantasy trilogy (The Empire of the Wolf) and his latest offering, Grave Empire.

We're also spotlighting @emmanewman.bsky.social Emma's work includes sci-fi with secrets Urban fantasy featuring evil fae, mad sorcerers & lashings of feminism And gaslamp fantasy with a magical industrial revolution! Her latest offering is The Vengeance, the 1st in The Vampires of Dumas series!

11 days!!!! Today we're shining the light on @marklawrenceauthor.bsky.social From magic to sword-fighting, monsters and assassins, Mark's work has it all! His latest series starts with The Book That Wouldn't Burn, a stunningly realised fantasy built for bibliophiles

We're also spotlighting @emmanewman.bsky.social Emma's work includes sci-fi with secrets Urban fantasy featuring evil fae, mad sorcerers & lashings of feminism And gaslamp fantasy with a magical industrial revolution! Her latest offering is The Vengeance, the 1st in The Vampires of Dumas series!

11 days!!!! Today we're shining the light on @marklawrenceauthor.bsky.social From magic to sword-fighting, monsters and assassins, Mark's work has it all! His latest series starts with The Book That Wouldn't Burn, a stunningly realised fantasy built for bibliophiles

Oooh, I'm going to be up in Leeds in a couple of weeks for the @strangeupnorth.bsky.social event, I'll try to pop in and say hello if I get there in time! I hope you enjoy the book!

And we also have the brilliant @samkhorton.bsky.social Sam's debut, Gorse, is a historical fantasy that focuses on the battle between folklore and faith in 18th-century Cornwall. The sequel, Ragwort, will be out later this year!

12 days to go!!! Today we're looking at the brilliant @starkholborn.bsky.social Stark's latest series, The Factus Sequence, starts with Ten Low, continues with Hel's Eight and concludes with Ninth Life!