Event Details

Join authors Jude Reid, Gav Thorpe, Inés Gregori Labarta and Victoria Hayward for a discussion chaired by Oliver K. Langmead on their different approaches to constructing original, fantastical worlds.

World building in Fantasy: How do fantasy authors go about building their worlds?

Jude Reid: Jude is an author from Glasgow, Scotland. She is a full-time surgeon, writes for Warhammer and the award-winning Zombies, Run! game and won the 2020 Kelpies Prize for Writing.

Gav Thorpe: Gav has a long history with the worlds of Warhammer. He is a New York Times best-selling author and also the winner of the 2017 David Gemmell Legend Award for his novel Warbeast.

Inés Gregori Labarta: Inés is a queer migrant storyteller who publishes in both English and Spanish. She writes speculative fiction, horror and magic realism. Her most recent book is The Three Lives of St Ciarán.

Victoria Hayward: Victoria has published with Grimdark Magazine, Black Library, AAN and Anthem Press and was a member of the writing team for the award-winning Warhammer 40,000: Darktide video game.

Oliver K. Langmead is a speculative fiction writer who teaches Creative Writing at Lancaster University. His books have been nominated for a Hugo award, the Philip K. Dick Award, a British Science Fiction Association Award and a British Fantasy Award. His novels include Glitterati, Birds of Paradise and Calypso.

Fair Realms is a research and public engagement project based at Lancaster University running from April 2026 through April 2027. Titled Fair Realms: Equitable Adventures in Fantasy, the initiative explores how fantasy fiction and gaming can be written and co-created to reduce real-life prejudice and foster social cohesion.

This event has been organised and presented by Victoria Hayward, Principal Investigator, supported by Oliver K. Langmead and Inés Gregori Labarta.