Milford SFF Conference
@milfordsff.bsky.social
Longest-running SF writers' event in the UK; yearly workshops and writing retreats. https://www.milfordsf.co.uk/ (We don't have access to DMs, so please contact us via the website!)
Looking for feedback and community? The Milford SF Writers' Conference is a workshop running 12-19 September at @gladlib.bsky.social and it still has open slots! Find out more and get an application here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/about.htm
two men standing next to each other with the words " i 'm writing this down this is good stuff " above them
Alt: The gif is a snippet from Back to the Future, with Marty and his dad (as a teenager) standing next to each other. Marty's dad is writing something down on a pad of paper and the words "I'm writing this down this is good stuff" is below them.
media.tenor.com
January 21, 2026 at 11:36 AM
Looking for feedback and community? The Milford SF Writers' Conference is a workshop running 12-19 September at @gladlib.bsky.social and it still has open slots! Find out more and get an application here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/about.htm
Reposted by Milford SFF Conference
I attended the Milford Workshop last September. An absolutely amazing experience! I am coming back this year. The retreat is very tempting too…
Do one of them if you can! You will not regret it. 🔥🔥🔥
Do one of them if you can! You will not regret it. 🔥🔥🔥
January 20, 2026 at 9:35 PM
I attended the Milford Workshop last September. An absolutely amazing experience! I am coming back this year. The retreat is very tempting too…
Do one of them if you can! You will not regret it. 🔥🔥🔥
Do one of them if you can! You will not regret it. 🔥🔥🔥
Reposted by Milford SFF Conference
5-min distraction incoming: my sci-fi comedy flash-fiction "A Troubleshooting Guide to Your Flat-Pack Planet" is now out in Nature Futures. media.nature.com/original/mag...
January 7, 2026 at 3:13 PM
5-min distraction incoming: my sci-fi comedy flash-fiction "A Troubleshooting Guide to Your Flat-Pack Planet" is now out in Nature Futures. media.nature.com/original/mag...
Hey, Writers! Milford has spaces available for the
Writers' Retreat 9-16 May at @gladlib.bsky.social. A week of time & space to write, with an en-suite room, breakfast & dinner incl, & access to the quietest library ever?
TAKE MY MONEY!
More info & apply here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/retreats.htm
Writers' Retreat 9-16 May at @gladlib.bsky.social. A week of time & space to write, with an en-suite room, breakfast & dinner incl, & access to the quietest library ever?
TAKE MY MONEY!
More info & apply here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/retreats.htm
kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter .
Alt: Kermit the frog is typing like a mad thing on a manual typewriter
media.tenor.com
January 20, 2026 at 11:19 AM
Hey, Writers! Milford has spaces available for the
Writers' Retreat 9-16 May at @gladlib.bsky.social. A week of time & space to write, with an en-suite room, breakfast & dinner incl, & access to the quietest library ever?
TAKE MY MONEY!
More info & apply here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/retreats.htm
Writers' Retreat 9-16 May at @gladlib.bsky.social. A week of time & space to write, with an en-suite room, breakfast & dinner incl, & access to the quietest library ever?
TAKE MY MONEY!
More info & apply here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/retreats.htm
One of our Milfordites is running a Kickstarter soon, so get in on it early! It looks like it's gonna knock our socks (and glittery platforms) right off!
Just hit 111 followers on my Kickstarter pre-launch page for THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF VALENZIAGA!
My brain loves numbers like this, so I’m pleased! (Always happy to see that number go higher tho!)
Queer sci-fantasy with family DRAMA and shenanigans, anyone?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/tri...
My brain loves numbers like this, so I’m pleased! (Always happy to see that number go higher tho!)
Queer sci-fantasy with family DRAMA and shenanigans, anyone?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/tri...
Coming soon: The Fall of the House of Valenziaga: A Special Edition Novel
It’s a dynastic struggle with voguing, all-but-forgotten magics, and drag as the weapons of choice in this post-apocalyptic fantasy!
www.kickstarter.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:29 PM
One of our Milfordites is running a Kickstarter soon, so get in on it early! It looks like it's gonna knock our socks (and glittery platforms) right off!
Let's keep going with Colin Brush's series on how to write a compelling blurb: How does shape (aka scope) affect things?
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/24/7...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/24/7...
7) The Many Shaped Blurb by Colin Brush
The seventh in a series of how-to posts by Colin Brush ‘Poetry is precise a thing as geometry’ – Gustave Flaubert We’ve looked at beginning our blurb and structuring it utilising opposites and tens…
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:26 PM
Let's keep going with Colin Brush's series on how to write a compelling blurb: How does shape (aka scope) affect things?
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/24/7...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/24/7...
Milford loves to hear about the attendees' successes! Please share with us your publications, especially if they came after you attended a Milford Workshop or even wrote part of the piece at a retreat! Here's to a fabulous 2026!
Bye-bye 2025. You've been good to me.
I drafted a novel and am halfway-though revising it.
I attended the @milfordsff.bsky.social retreat in May and met a dear friend face to face for the first time.
I've had six original publications and two reprints, and a non-fiction piece is forthcoming.
I drafted a novel and am halfway-though revising it.
I attended the @milfordsff.bsky.social retreat in May and met a dear friend face to face for the first time.
I've had six original publications and two reprints, and a non-fiction piece is forthcoming.
January 6, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Milford loves to hear about the attendees' successes! Please share with us your publications, especially if they came after you attended a Milford Workshop or even wrote part of the piece at a retreat! Here's to a fabulous 2026!
Starting the new year back with Colin Brush's series on writing a blurb (for those of you with publishing in 2026 as a goal!): milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/17/6...
6) Middling – the power of opposites to structure your blurb by Colin Brush
The sixth in a series of how-to posts by Colin Brush ‘Elric knew that everything that existed had its opposite. In danger he might find peace. And yet, of course, in peace there was danger. Being a…
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Starting the new year back with Colin Brush's series on writing a blurb (for those of you with publishing in 2026 as a goal!): milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/17/6...
Reposted by Milford SFF Conference
Bursaries for writers of colour to attend the Milford Writers Workshop next year are now open. I seriously cannot recommend the experience enough. Apply here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/bursaries.htm @milfordsff.bsky.social
Milford Bursaries for Writers of Colour
www.milfordsf.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Bursaries for writers of colour to attend the Milford Writers Workshop next year are now open. I seriously cannot recommend the experience enough. Apply here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/bursaries.htm @milfordsff.bsky.social
APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN for the Milford Bursaries:
Funded Places for SF Writers of Colour September 2026!!
We have two bursaries available.
Apply before 30 Nov. All necessary info here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/bursaries.htm
Funded Places for SF Writers of Colour September 2026!!
We have two bursaries available.
Apply before 30 Nov. All necessary info here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/bursaries.htm
Milford Bursaries for Writers of Colour
www.milfordsf.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 1:11 PM
APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN for the Milford Bursaries:
Funded Places for SF Writers of Colour September 2026!!
We have two bursaries available.
Apply before 30 Nov. All necessary info here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/bursaries.htm
Funded Places for SF Writers of Colour September 2026!!
We have two bursaries available.
Apply before 30 Nov. All necessary info here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/bursaries.htm
Colin Brush's next step in writing a blurb: writing a beginning that gets--and keeps--a possible reader's attention by considering your opening line.
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/03/5...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/03/5...
5) Beginnings, or How to Get People’s Attention by Colin Brush
It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.’ Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell We’re just over the halfway point in my guide to writing blurbs and you’re probably won…
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Colin Brush's next step in writing a blurb: writing a beginning that gets--and keeps--a possible reader's attention by considering your opening line.
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/03/5...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/03/5...
Reposted by Milford SFF Conference
my good friend @shonak.bsky.social is launching this wonderful book on the Friday evening of @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social (7pm, so put it in your diary). So come along and be entranced by this brilliant story.
October 23, 2025 at 10:10 AM
my good friend @shonak.bsky.social is launching this wonderful book on the Friday evening of @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social (7pm, so put it in your diary). So come along and be entranced by this brilliant story.
Reposted by Milford SFF Conference
Just to let @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social attendees know: my book Human Resources will be available from Newcon Press, but I am bringing along a *small* number of copies of my (BSFA Award shortlisted) novel Rabbit in the Moon and my (not shortlisted for anything) novel Driving Ambition.
October 23, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Just to let @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social attendees know: my book Human Resources will be available from Newcon Press, but I am bringing along a *small* number of copies of my (BSFA Award shortlisted) novel Rabbit in the Moon and my (not shortlisted for anything) novel Driving Ambition.
Next up in Colin Brush's series about writing blurbs focuses on the story's emotional hook, which requires you to boil it all down to a 12-word (or shorter!) pitch!
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/27/4...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/27/4...
4) Pitching your story’s Emotional Hook by Colin Brush
Number 4/8 in a series of weekly posts on how-to write your own cover copy by Colin Brush reprinted from Summer 2020. Follow this blog to get all the instalments. I never take on a client unless I …
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com
October 23, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Next up in Colin Brush's series about writing blurbs focuses on the story's emotional hook, which requires you to boil it all down to a 12-word (or shorter!) pitch!
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/27/4...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/27/4...
Have you ever wondered why an author would teach a writing workshop? It usually happens by accident, but it can be a very valuable experience for a new writer. Listen in on @julietemckenna.bsky.social telling you about her experience.
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2024/05/07/p...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2024/05/07/p...
Poacher Turned Gamekeeper? by Juliet E McKenna
When I became a published fantasy author, I didn’t really plan on developing a sideline as a creative writing tutor. The first time I ran seminars was at a convention, when the writer scheduled to …
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Have you ever wondered why an author would teach a writing workshop? It usually happens by accident, but it can be a very valuable experience for a new writer. Listen in on @julietemckenna.bsky.social telling you about her experience.
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2024/05/07/p...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2024/05/07/p...
Over on the Milford blog, we are back with Pete Sutton and his Writing About Writing About Writing posts. This time, he looks at Scarlett Thomas's Monkeys With Typewriters: How to Write -- and Read -- Better.
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/13/w...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/13/w...
Writing about writing about writing #12 – by Pete W. Sutton
Part 12 of an intermittent series where I read or re-read the writing books on my shelf to see if they’re worth keeping. See previous part here This book stems from Thomas’s creative writing lectur…
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com
October 17, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Over on the Milford blog, we are back with Pete Sutton and his Writing About Writing About Writing posts. This time, he looks at Scarlett Thomas's Monkeys With Typewriters: How to Write -- and Read -- Better.
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/13/w...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/13/w...
The next step in writing a blurb and marketing your book: Colin Brush explains how you have to know who your audience actually is (and no, it's not "everybody").
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/06/3...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/06/3...
3) Who Are We Talking To? by Colin Brush
Number 3/8 in a series of how-to posts on writing your own cover copy by Colin Brush reprinted from Summer 2020. Follow this blog to get all the instalments. ‘Half the money I spend on advertising …
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com
October 14, 2025 at 11:36 AM
The next step in writing a blurb and marketing your book: Colin Brush explains how you have to know who your audience actually is (and no, it's not "everybody").
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/06/3...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/06/3...
Reposted by Milford SFF Conference
New Review - happy publication day to the excellent When There Are Wolves Again by @catamaroon.bsky.social - a science fiction novel for the 21st century that gives us hope. Run and get it I think we need this. One of the best reads of my year! www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2025/10...
When There Are Wolves Again by EJ Swift — Runalong The Shelves
I would like to thank Arcadia for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and valid review Publisher – Arcadia Published – Out Now Price – £20 hardback £9.99 ebook Dec...
www.runalongtheshelves.net
October 9, 2025 at 6:33 AM
New Review - happy publication day to the excellent When There Are Wolves Again by @catamaroon.bsky.social - a science fiction novel for the 21st century that gives us hope. Run and get it I think we need this. One of the best reads of my year! www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2025/10...
Reposted by Milford SFF Conference
Energy requirements for AI mean that the only way for the bubble not to burst would require companies to multiply their carbon footprint to an unimaginable degree. Right now, while AI is barely functional and mostly a novelty for the lazy, it requires so much energy that data centers rival cities.
October 9, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Energy requirements for AI mean that the only way for the bubble not to burst would require companies to multiply their carbon footprint to an unimaginable degree. Right now, while AI is barely functional and mostly a novelty for the lazy, it requires so much energy that data centers rival cities.
More practical advice from Colin Brush on writing a blurb. This time, you have to know what kind of story--what kind of plot--you're writing to be able to market the book: milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/04/29/2...
2) What’s the Story by Colin Brush
The second in a series of how-to posts by Colin Brush reprinted from July 2020 ‘Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strang…
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com
October 9, 2025 at 11:58 AM
More practical advice from Colin Brush on writing a blurb. This time, you have to know what kind of story--what kind of plot--you're writing to be able to market the book: milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/04/29/2...
Marketing a book is one aspect of being an author (even if you're trad pubbed). Colin Brush has a set of posts all about selling your book; the first one is about writing the blurb, or cover copy.
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/04/22/1...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/04/22/1...
1) How to sell Your Book in a Few Words, by Colin Brush
This is the beginning of a series of weekly how-to posts by Colin Brush reprinted from Summer 2020. Follow this blog to get all the instalments. ‘If you think you have a book evolving, now is the t…
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com
October 6, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Marketing a book is one aspect of being an author (even if you're trad pubbed). Colin Brush has a set of posts all about selling your book; the first one is about writing the blurb, or cover copy.
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/04/22/1...
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/04/22/1...
Reposted by Milford SFF Conference
I wrote about my first Milford SF experience. Spoiler: It was terrific.
@milfordsff.bsky.social #MilfordSF #SpeculativeFiction #Writer
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/09/25/m...
@milfordsff.bsky.social #MilfordSF #SpeculativeFiction #Writer
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/09/25/m...
My first (but definitely not last) Milford SF experience – by Vera Brook
Let me cut to the punchline: If you can attend the Milford Speculative Fiction Writers’ Workshop, do it. I had a terrific experience, learned a ton about the writing craft, met wonderful writers wo…
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com
September 26, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I wrote about my first Milford SF experience. Spoiler: It was terrific.
@milfordsff.bsky.social #MilfordSF #SpeculativeFiction #Writer
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/09/25/m...
@milfordsff.bsky.social #MilfordSF #SpeculativeFiction #Writer
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/09/25/m...
Milford loves to welcome new writers/attendees into the fold, and @verabrook.bsky.social describes that experience from a first-timer's point of view: milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/09/25/m...
My first (but definitely not last) Milford SF experience – by Vera Brook
Let me cut to the punchline: If you can attend the Milford Speculative Fiction Writers’ Workshop, do it. I had a terrific experience, learned a ton about the writing craft, met wonderful writers wo…
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com
September 30, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Milford loves to welcome new writers/attendees into the fold, and @verabrook.bsky.social describes that experience from a first-timer's point of view: milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/09/25/m...
Reposted by Milford SFF Conference
Huge congrats to Ana Sun on her short fiction collection! Just out from NewCon Press (while we are at Milford SF Writer Workshop.) 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
@singingtotigers.bsky.social
@milfordsff.bsky.social
#speculativefiction #solarpunk #climatefiction #newrelease
www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.as...
@singingtotigers.bsky.social
@milfordsff.bsky.social
#speculativefiction #solarpunk #climatefiction #newrelease
www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.as...
September 18, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Huge congrats to Ana Sun on her short fiction collection! Just out from NewCon Press (while we are at Milford SF Writer Workshop.) 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
@singingtotigers.bsky.social
@milfordsff.bsky.social
#speculativefiction #solarpunk #climatefiction #newrelease
www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.as...
@singingtotigers.bsky.social
@milfordsff.bsky.social
#speculativefiction #solarpunk #climatefiction #newrelease
www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.as...
Reposted by Milford SFF Conference
The last day at Milford Speculative Fiction Writers’ Workshop. Very bittersweet after a week full of intense writing craft discussions, mutual encouragement & community. So happy to be part of this group.
I already reserved my spot for September 2026.✨✍️✨
@milfordsff.bsky.social #MilfordSF
I already reserved my spot for September 2026.✨✍️✨
@milfordsff.bsky.social #MilfordSF
September 19, 2025 at 9:59 PM
The last day at Milford Speculative Fiction Writers’ Workshop. Very bittersweet after a week full of intense writing craft discussions, mutual encouragement & community. So happy to be part of this group.
I already reserved my spot for September 2026.✨✍️✨
@milfordsff.bsky.social #MilfordSF
I already reserved my spot for September 2026.✨✍️✨
@milfordsff.bsky.social #MilfordSF