My guest this third of five conversations recorded last month during the UK national convention Eastercon is Charles Stross, an 18-time Hugo Award-nominated writer who’s won three times for his novellas. I’ve been reading him for nearly four decades, ever since his first Interzone short story publication in 1987, but he really blew me away with his 2001 Asimov’s novelette “Lobsters,” which seems to have made an impression on the rest of the world as well, for it went on to become the first of his stories to be nominated for a Hugo and a Nebula.

He’s also won Locus Awards for both Best Novel and Best Novella, and has been shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. His novels have also won the Kurd Lasswitz and Italia Awards. The Regicide Report, the final book in his Laundry Files series, was released in January. His other series include Merchant Princess and the Singularity. Plus he’s got a whole new series in the works, one for which I got an advance peek, and you’ll hear us talk all about it in the conversation which follows.

We discussed the twelve “novel-shaped objects” he wrote before making his first professional sale, what changed in his life which meant instead of taking three years to write one novel he could write three novels in one year, why back at the beginning of his career he considered himself the “failure to launch” of the Interzone generation of writers (and how that changed), how to best take the temperature of critique group criticism, why it was time to wrap up his Laundry Files series (and who he had to become in order to be able to write that finale), the way the opening sentence of an as yet unfinished novel became the seed for a new series in progress, how his love for Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat novels ties into his next project, the evolving nature of convention-going for long-time attendees, and much more.

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Here’s what you would have seen us nibbling had you been with us at Cafe Soya —

Fruity Spare Ribs Appetizer
marinated flame-grilled ribs tossed in a fruity sauce

Scott’s Vietnamese Lemongrass with Pork
pork steak marinated in coconut, lemongrass, herbs & honey with sweet basil, red onions served with egg fried rice garnished with salad

Charles’ Singapore Vermicelli
Singapore style vermicelli stir-fried with roast pork, chicken and prawns, peppers and onion in a spicy curry flavour

Charles’ Sweet Tofu Soya with Sesame

Scott’s Fried Banana Fritters

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Coming up next on the podcast, you’ll be able to head out for dinner with John Jarrold, who’s run the John Jarrold Literary Agency since 2004, and also ran three science fiction and fantasy imprints in the UK going back to 1988, so he knows plenty about the way the science fiction and fantasy sausage is made. I hope you’ll subscribe and be among the first to join us at the table.

Thanks for listening!