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#cymera — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #cymera, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Speculative Worlds: Cymera 2026 Is The Ultimate Fantasy Playground

    Speculative fiction and game design have always shared a common heritage. If you examine the foundations of modern narrative design, the link to sci-fi, fantasy, and horror is obvious. In an era where players expect increasingly complex, system-driven storytelling, the ability to build cohesive and convincing worlds is one of the most valuable skillsets in game development.

    This is why I am pleased to highlight the return of Cymera 2026 – Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing – which will take place at The Pleasance in Edinburgh from 5 to 7 June 2026.

    The curatorial team behind this year’s games line-up includes several well-known figures from the Scottish games sector, highlighting a mature and deliberate collaboration between our literary and interactive communities. While Cymera is celebrated primarily as a literary festival, it has built a highly structured and professionally relevant tabletop and RPG programme that deserves the attention of the wider games industry (and is a whole lot of fun).

    Exploring the Cymera Games Space

    At the heart of the weekend is the dedicated Cymera Games Space, located in the Highland Room above the Festival Bookshop. Open on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am until late, this drop-in space is designed to foster connection, play, and live feedback for both tabletop enthusiasts and developers.

    For the narrative design community, the scheduled RPG and tabletop sessions offer a practical demonstration of interactive storytelling in action. A few (of the MANY) highlights of the Cymera 2026 games programme include:

    • Under A Yellow Moon (Friday 5 June, 5:00pm – 8:00pm): A live-play Call of Cthulhu RPG session written specifically for the festival by the actual-play podcast team Narrative Damage. Set in 1890s Edinburgh, the game features several prominent Cymera authors navigating a custom-designed mystery. The event is free to attend, with no prior booking required.
    • The Games Showcase and Panel Sessions: On Saturday afternoon, the team behind Inside the Rookery will host a live RPG broadcast, analysing the mechanics of interactive narratives and world-building alongside a panel of industry experts.
    • Curated RPG Sessions: Throughout Saturday and Sunday, attendees can book dedicated slots to experience a range of tabletop systems. These include Hunt The Gowk (produced by industry legend and friend of SGN, ABS…) , a card-play session of Dark Deeds, and The Family – a GM-less, diceless reverse-horror RPG where players coordinate the actions of a thriller-style antagonist group.
    • Blood on the Clocktower: The social deduction game will host late-night sessions on Saturday and Sunday, providing a study in player interaction, hidden information, and emergent narrative.
    • Much, MUCH more

    Whether you are a writer, narrative designer, developer, reader, gamer, or simply have an interest in the worlds of speculative fiction, having a festival with the sheer range of care and creativity Cymera 2026 brings, is a wonderful thing. Many sessions are free to attend, or offer low-cost options. It’s a beautiful, collective, welcoming approach, which the games sector could learn much from.

    Ticket and Registration Details

    The full festival programme features over 50 events and more than 70 authors, offering a hybrid format with in-person sessions at The Pleasance, live streams on YouTube, and digital workshops via Zoom.

    While the Games Space and several live-play events are free to access, capacity is limited, and individual panels and workshops require ticket registration. Day passes are also available for Saturday and Sunday, providing access to all scheduled panels and subsequent catch-up recordings.

    I encourage our community of developers, writers, and designers to support the festival, secure their tickets for the sessions, and participate in these awesome creative conversations.

    Explore the games programme and book spots: Cymera Games 2026

    View the full festival schedule and buy passes: Cymera Festival 2026

    Image courtesy of Cymera Festival.

    #books #Cymera #edinburgh #fantasy #Fiction #games #horror #literature #SciFi #scotland
  2. Speculative Worlds: Cymera 2026 Is The Ultimate Fantasy Playground

    Speculative fiction and game design have always shared a common heritage. If you examine the foundations of modern narrative design, the link to sci-fi, fantasy, and horror is obvious. In an era where players expect increasingly complex, system-driven storytelling, the ability to build cohesive and convincing worlds is one of the most valuable skillsets in game development.

    This is why I am pleased to highlight the return of Cymera 2026 – Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing – which will take place at The Pleasance in Edinburgh from 5 to 7 June 2026.

    The curatorial team behind this year’s games line-up includes several well-known figures from the Scottish games sector, highlighting a mature and deliberate collaboration between our literary and interactive communities. While Cymera is celebrated primarily as a literary festival, it has built a highly structured and professionally relevant tabletop and RPG programme that deserves the attention of the wider games industry (and is a whole lot of fun).

    Exploring the Cymera Games Space

    At the heart of the weekend is the dedicated Cymera Games Space, located in the Highland Room above the Festival Bookshop. Open on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am until late, this drop-in space is designed to foster connection, play, and live feedback for both tabletop enthusiasts and developers.

    For the narrative design community, the scheduled RPG and tabletop sessions offer a practical demonstration of interactive storytelling in action. A few (of the MANY) highlights of the Cymera 2026 games programme include:

    • Under A Yellow Moon (Friday 5 June, 5:00pm – 8:00pm): A live-play Call of Cthulhu RPG session written specifically for the festival by the actual-play podcast team Narrative Damage. Set in 1890s Edinburgh, the game features several prominent Cymera authors navigating a custom-designed mystery. The event is free to attend, with no prior booking required.
    • The Games Showcase and Panel Sessions: On Saturday afternoon, the team behind Inside the Rookery will host a live RPG broadcast, analysing the mechanics of interactive narratives and world-building alongside a panel of industry experts.
    • Curated RPG Sessions: Throughout Saturday and Sunday, attendees can book dedicated slots to experience a range of tabletop systems. These include Hunt The Gowk (produced by industry legend and friend of SGN, ABS…) , a card-play session of Dark Deeds, and The Family – a GM-less, diceless reverse-horror RPG where players coordinate the actions of a thriller-style antagonist group.
    • Blood on the Clocktower: The social deduction game will host late-night sessions on Saturday and Sunday, providing a study in player interaction, hidden information, and emergent narrative.
    • Much, MUCH more

    Whether you are a writer, narrative designer, developer, reader, gamer, or simply have an interest in the worlds of speculative fiction, having a festival with the sheer range of care and creativity Cymera 2026 brings, is a wonderful thing. Many sessions are free to attend, or offer low-cost options. It’s a beautiful, collective, welcoming approach, which the games sector could learn much from.

    Ticket and Registration Details

    The full festival programme features over 50 events and more than 70 authors, offering a hybrid format with in-person sessions at The Pleasance, live streams on YouTube, and digital workshops via Zoom.

    While the Games Space and several live-play events are free to access, capacity is limited, and individual panels and workshops require ticket registration. Day passes are also available for Saturday and Sunday, providing access to all scheduled panels and subsequent catch-up recordings.

    I encourage our community of developers, writers, and designers to support the festival, secure their tickets for the sessions, and participate in these awesome creative conversations.

    Explore the games programme and book spots: Cymera Games 2026

    View the full festival schedule and buy passes: Cymera Festival 2026

    Image courtesy of Cymera Festival.

    #books #Cymera #edinburgh #fantasy #Fiction #games #horror #literature #SciFi #scotland
  3. Speculative Worlds: Cymera 2026 Is The Ultimate Fantasy Playground

    Speculative fiction and game design have always shared a common heritage. If you examine the foundations of modern narrative design, the link to sci-fi, fantasy, and horror is obvious. In an era where players expect increasingly complex, system-driven storytelling, the ability to build cohesive and convincing worlds is one of the most valuable skillsets in game development.

    This is why I am pleased to highlight the return of Cymera 2026 – Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing – which will take place at The Pleasance in Edinburgh from 5 to 7 June 2026.

    The curatorial team behind this year’s games line-up includes several well-known figures from the Scottish games sector, highlighting a mature and deliberate collaboration between our literary and interactive communities. While Cymera is celebrated primarily as a literary festival, it has built a highly structured and professionally relevant tabletop and RPG programme that deserves the attention of the wider games industry (and is a whole lot of fun).

    Exploring the Cymera Games Space

    At the heart of the weekend is the dedicated Cymera Games Space, located in the Highland Room above the Festival Bookshop. Open on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am until late, this drop-in space is designed to foster connection, play, and live feedback for both tabletop enthusiasts and developers.

    For the narrative design community, the scheduled RPG and tabletop sessions offer a practical demonstration of interactive storytelling in action. A few (of the MANY) highlights of the Cymera 2026 games programme include:

    • Under A Yellow Moon (Friday 5 June, 5:00pm – 8:00pm): A live-play Call of Cthulhu RPG session written specifically for the festival by the actual-play podcast team Narrative Damage. Set in 1890s Edinburgh, the game features several prominent Cymera authors navigating a custom-designed mystery. The event is free to attend, with no prior booking required.
    • The Games Showcase and Panel Sessions: On Saturday afternoon, the team behind Inside the Rookery will host a live RPG broadcast, analysing the mechanics of interactive narratives and world-building alongside a panel of industry experts.
    • Curated RPG Sessions: Throughout Saturday and Sunday, attendees can book dedicated slots to experience a range of tabletop systems. These include Hunt The Gowk (produced by industry legend and friend of SGN, ABS…) , a card-play session of Dark Deeds, and The Family – a GM-less, diceless reverse-horror RPG where players coordinate the actions of a thriller-style antagonist group.
    • Blood on the Clocktower: The social deduction game will host late-night sessions on Saturday and Sunday, providing a study in player interaction, hidden information, and emergent narrative.
    • Much, MUCH more

    Whether you are a writer, narrative designer, developer, reader, gamer, or simply have an interest in the worlds of speculative fiction, having a festival with the sheer range of care and creativity Cymera 2026 brings, is a wonderful thing. Many sessions are free to attend, or offer low-cost options. It’s a beautiful, collective, welcoming approach, which the games sector could learn much from.

    Ticket and Registration Details

    The full festival programme features over 50 events and more than 70 authors, offering a hybrid format with in-person sessions at The Pleasance, live streams on YouTube, and digital workshops via Zoom.

    While the Games Space and several live-play events are free to access, capacity is limited, and individual panels and workshops require ticket registration. Day passes are also available for Saturday and Sunday, providing access to all scheduled panels and subsequent catch-up recordings.

    I encourage our community of developers, writers, and designers to support the festival, secure their tickets for the sessions, and participate in these awesome creative conversations.

    Explore the games programme and book spots: Cymera Games 2026

    View the full festival schedule and buy passes: Cymera Festival 2026

    Image courtesy of Cymera Festival.

    #books #Cymera #edinburgh #fantasy #Fiction #games #horror #literature #SciFi #scotland
  4. Speculative Worlds: Cymera 2026 Is The Ultimate Fantasy Playground

    Speculative fiction and game design have always shared a common heritage. If you examine the foundations of modern narrative design, the link to sci-fi, fantasy, and horror is obvious. In an era where players expect increasingly complex, system-driven storytelling, the ability to build cohesive and convincing worlds is one of the most valuable skillsets in game development.

    This is why I am pleased to highlight the return of Cymera 2026 – Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing – which will take place at The Pleasance in Edinburgh from 5 to 7 June 2026.

    The curatorial team behind this year’s games line-up includes several well-known figures from the Scottish games sector, highlighting a mature and deliberate collaboration between our literary and interactive communities. While Cymera is celebrated primarily as a literary festival, it has built a highly structured and professionally relevant tabletop and RPG programme that deserves the attention of the wider games industry (and is a whole lot of fun).

    Exploring the Cymera Games Space

    At the heart of the weekend is the dedicated Cymera Games Space, located in the Highland Room above the Festival Bookshop. Open on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am until late, this drop-in space is designed to foster connection, play, and live feedback for both tabletop enthusiasts and developers.

    For the narrative design community, the scheduled RPG and tabletop sessions offer a practical demonstration of interactive storytelling in action. A few (of the MANY) highlights of the Cymera 2026 games programme include:

    • Under A Yellow Moon (Friday 5 June, 5:00pm – 8:00pm): A live-play Call of Cthulhu RPG session written specifically for the festival by the actual-play podcast team Narrative Damage. Set in 1890s Edinburgh, the game features several prominent Cymera authors navigating a custom-designed mystery. The event is free to attend, with no prior booking required.
    • The Games Showcase and Panel Sessions: On Saturday afternoon, the team behind Inside the Rookery will host a live RPG broadcast, analysing the mechanics of interactive narratives and world-building alongside a panel of industry experts.
    • Curated RPG Sessions: Throughout Saturday and Sunday, attendees can book dedicated slots to experience a range of tabletop systems. These include Hunt The Gowk (produced by industry legend and friend of SGN, ABS…) , a card-play session of Dark Deeds, and The Family – a GM-less, diceless reverse-horror RPG where players coordinate the actions of a thriller-style antagonist group.
    • Blood on the Clocktower: The social deduction game will host late-night sessions on Saturday and Sunday, providing a study in player interaction, hidden information, and emergent narrative.
    • Much, MUCH more

    Whether you are a writer, narrative designer, developer, reader, gamer, or simply have an interest in the worlds of speculative fiction, having a festival with the sheer range of care and creativity Cymera 2026 brings, is a wonderful thing. Many sessions are free to attend, or offer low-cost options. It’s a beautiful, collective, welcoming approach, which the games sector could learn much from.

    Ticket and Registration Details

    The full festival programme features over 50 events and more than 70 authors, offering a hybrid format with in-person sessions at The Pleasance, live streams on YouTube, and digital workshops via Zoom.

    While the Games Space and several live-play events are free to access, capacity is limited, and individual panels and workshops require ticket registration. Day passes are also available for Saturday and Sunday, providing access to all scheduled panels and subsequent catch-up recordings.

    I encourage our community of developers, writers, and designers to support the festival, secure their tickets for the sessions, and participate in these awesome creative conversations.

    Explore the games programme and book spots: Cymera Games 2026

    View the full festival schedule and buy passes: Cymera Festival 2026

    Image courtesy of Cymera Festival.

    #books #Cymera #edinburgh #fantasy #Fiction #games #horror #literature #SciFi #scotland
  5. Nearing the end of my catchup watch for the Cymera 2025 festival of scifi, fantasy and horror writing in Edinburgh. I had a digital weekend ticket, with access until this coming weekend to digital recordings. Happy with what I managed to see. Found many new to me authors I want to follow up. #Books #Bookstodon #reading #Cymera #scifi #fantasy #horror #Edinburgh #streaming

  6. I tried not to increase my book TBR pile at @cymerafestival .

    So I bought #comics in the dealer's room instead!

    My mini haul: A Town by the Sea by Nina Poulston, Sparks and the Fallen Star by Lyndon White, both published by Blue Fox Comics, and Samuel's Ghost by my chum Jack Magee.

    #BandeDessinee #Cymera2025 #Cymera #bookstagram #GraphicNovels

  7. I tried not to increase my book TBR pile at @cymerafestival .

    So I bought #comics in the dealer's room instead!

    My mini haul: A Town by the Sea by Nina Poulston, Sparks and the Fallen Star by Lyndon White, both published by Blue Fox Comics, and Samuel's Ghost by my chum Jack Magee.

    #BandeDessinee #Cymera2025 #Cymera #bookstagram #GraphicNovels

  8. I tried not to increase my book TBR pile at @cymerafestival .

    So I bought #comics in the dealer's room instead!

    My mini haul: A Town by the Sea by Nina Poulston, Sparks and the Fallen Star by Lyndon White, both published by Blue Fox Comics, and Samuel's Ghost by my chum Jack Magee.

    #BandeDessinee #Cymera2025 #Cymera #bookstagram #GraphicNovels

  9. I tried not to increase my book TBR pile at @cymerafestival .

    So I bought #comics in the dealer's room instead!

    My mini haul: A Town by the Sea by Nina Poulston, Sparks and the Fallen Star by Lyndon White, both published by Blue Fox Comics, and Samuel's Ghost by my chum Jack Magee.

    #BandeDessinee #Cymera2025 #Cymera #bookstagram #GraphicNovels

  10. I tried not to increase my book TBR pile at @cymerafestival .

    So I bought #comics in the dealer's room instead!

    My mini haul: A Town by the Sea by Nina Poulston, Sparks and the Fallen Star by Lyndon White, both published by Blue Fox Comics, and Samuel's Ghost by my chum Jack Magee.

    #BandeDessinee #Cymera2025 #Cymera #bookstagram #GraphicNovels

  11. At Edinburgh’s sci-fi and horror fiction festival, #Cymera, Adrian Tchaikovsky told the crowd that he has a fantasy novel he won’t do before a TTRPG is agreed on. The game must come first. geeknative.com/173635/adrian-t

  12. Totally going to buy some stickers at #Cymera. A laptop can never have too many stickers on it.

  13. #WritersCoffeeClub 6 Jun
    What are the conventions of the genre in which you write? How strictly do you follow them?

    [Breaking my rule, I haven't done any writing today but I'm at the #Cymera SFFH festival]

    I'm usually off-centre for genre. SF with romantic crushes, fantasy with too much science, humour with fantasy/horror elements. I like to pretend this is intentional and I know what I'm doing, but...

  14. On my way to #Cymera in Edinburgh today. Will probably buy some books, will probably not sell any.

    If you're going to be there too, hi.

  15. Last day off before @cymerafestival , so going over notes & possible questions ahead of chairing a three-author panel this weekend cymerafestival.co.uk/cymera25-

    And of course I'll be going to a bunch of events to listen to them all weekend. Looking forward to catching up with folks.

    #Edinburgh #Edimbourg #Books #Livres #Cymera #Cymera2025 #CymeraFestival #ScienceFiction #GarethPowell #EMFaulds #StarkHolborn #BookFestival

  16. Last day off before @cymerafestival , so going over notes & possible questions ahead of chairing a three-author panel this weekend cymerafestival.co.uk/cymera25-

    And of course I'll be going to a bunch of events to listen to them all weekend. Looking forward to catching up with folks.

    #Edinburgh #Edimbourg #Books #Livres #Cymera #Cymera2025 #CymeraFestival #ScienceFiction #GarethPowell #EMFaulds #StarkHolborn #BookFestival

  17. Last day off before @cymerafestival , so going over notes & possible questions ahead of chairing a three-author panel this weekend cymerafestival.co.uk/cymera25-

    And of course I'll be going to a bunch of events to listen to them all weekend. Looking forward to catching up with folks.

    #Edinburgh #Edimbourg #Books #Livres #Cymera #Cymera2025 #CymeraFestival #ScienceFiction #GarethPowell #EMFaulds #StarkHolborn #BookFestival

  18. Last day off before @cymerafestival , so going over notes & possible questions ahead of chairing a three-author panel this weekend cymerafestival.co.uk/cymera25-

    And of course I'll be going to a bunch of events to listen to them all weekend. Looking forward to catching up with folks.

    #Edinburgh #Edimbourg #Books #Livres #Cymera #Cymera2025 #CymeraFestival #ScienceFiction #GarethPowell #EMFaulds #StarkHolborn #BookFestival

  19. Last day off before @cymerafestival , so going over notes & possible questions ahead of chairing a three-author panel this weekend cymerafestival.co.uk/cymera25-

    And of course I'll be going to a bunch of events to listen to them all weekend. Looking forward to catching up with folks.

    #Edinburgh #Edimbourg #Books #Livres #Cymera #Cymera2025 #CymeraFestival #ScienceFiction #GarethPowell #EMFaulds #StarkHolborn #BookFestival

  20. Day off, appointments kept, now walk to Cloisters and my @cymerafestival event reading (the trusty notebook, a festival veteran, is out too, of course). Three books to read, questions to think up...

    I'll be chairing here at Cymera in June cymerafestival.co.uk/2025-tick

    #books #livres #Cymera #Cymera2025 #BookFestival #ScienceFiction #bookstodon

  21. Day off, appointments kept, now walk to Cloisters and my @cymerafestival event reading (the trusty notebook, a festival veteran, is out too, of course). Three books to read, questions to think up...

    I'll be chairing here at Cymera in June cymerafestival.co.uk/2025-tick

    #books #livres #Cymera #Cymera2025 #BookFestival #ScienceFiction #bookstodon

  22. Day off, appointments kept, now walk to Cloisters and my @cymerafestival event reading (the trusty notebook, a festival veteran, is out too, of course). Three books to read, questions to think up...

    I'll be chairing here at Cymera in June cymerafestival.co.uk/2025-tick

    #books #livres #Cymera #Cymera2025 #BookFestival #ScienceFiction #bookstodon

  23. Day off, appointments kept, now walk to Cloisters and my @cymerafestival event reading (the trusty notebook, a festival veteran, is out too, of course). Three books to read, questions to think up...

    I'll be chairing here at Cymera in June cymerafestival.co.uk/2025-tick

    #books #livres #Cymera #Cymera2025 #BookFestival #ScienceFiction #bookstodon

  24. Day off, appointments kept, now walk to Cloisters and my @cymerafestival event reading (the trusty notebook, a festival veteran, is out too, of course). Three books to read, questions to think up...

    I'll be chairing here at Cymera in June cymerafestival.co.uk/2025-tick

    #books #livres #Cymera #Cymera2025 #BookFestival #ScienceFiction #bookstodon

  25. Call of Cthulhu and Rivers of London TTRPG designer Lynne Hardy will be at Scotland's Festival of Science Fiction, #Cymera, this year geeknative.com/172994/chaosium

  26. My SF reading peeps, it's your final day to secure an early bird price for this June's #Cymera Festival of literary Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, YA and SpeculativeFiction cymerafestival.co.uk/weekend-p

    I already have mine! Looking forward to another cracking festival, and hoping to be chairing there again as usual too, always a blast

    #books #livres #ScienceFiction #Edinburgh #Edimbourg #Cymera #Cymera2025 #LiteraryFestival