Based in Edinburgh, Cymera is Scotland's annual Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing. Over one weekend in June, Cymera brings together writers and readers from Scotland and beyond to share ideas, create stories and celebrate their enjoyment of those genres with a series of workshops, talks and social events such as a quiz and a ceilidh.
"It is often said that if you want something to happen, you have to do it yourself. Cymera is the embodiment of this. The enthusiasm with which the idea was received, showed me how much such a festival was wanted and needed, so how could I not make it happen?"
Ann Landmann, a recent graduate of QMU's Arts, Festival and Cultural Management post-graduate course, is a problem solver. "After nearly a decade of working in events, getting a MA in Arts, Festival and Culture Management equipped me with the tools to address a problem I had my eye on for years - the lack of representation of my favourite literary genres at book festivals. I wrote the business plan for Cymera as my Masters dissertation in April 2018. Once it was handed in, I set out to find people to help me make it happen. Fortunately, I had already laid the groundwork in the interviews I conducted during my dissertation work and by November 2018 I had a board of trustees, speakers for our first festival programme in June 2019, and a crowdfunder to raise some starting capital."
