Thought Bubble 2018 runs 17th – 23rd September!

Hello Thought Bubblers!

Long time no see, eh? You’re looking well, good New Year’s Eve? Excellent.

Ok, so the blog is back off hiatus, and we haven’t been slacking. No, sir/ma’am. We’ve been busy getting things into position for this year’s festival, which is going to be our biggest yet. It’s our fifth birthday this year so we’re doing something a bit special. Because of this there have been a few major changes/upheavals, so if you want to get the skinny then read on! If you prefer to be surprised then that’s fine, skip this spoilerific post, but you’re missing out on some very cool beans.

We’re delighted to announce that this year’s festival will be a week long affair, running from the 14th – 20th November in conjunction with the Leeds International Film Festival. We’ll be playing host to a whole bunch of workshops, screenings, parties, academic talks, book give-aways, competitions, and various other shindigs, all leading up to our first ever two day convention on the 19th & 20th of November!

One of the comments from last year’s convention was that things were getting a bit crowded (it’s hard being popular), and apparently my idea of using a shrink ray on all attendees to increase relative hall space was “stupid”, so we decided to double the length of the convention to ease congestion. Along with this we’re expanding to incorporate a second exhibiting hall at the Royal Armouries (directly opposite Saviles Hall) to accommodate an extra 100 tables, and we’ve adapted the floor plan for Saviles Hall in order to increase the width of the aisles.

We’re hoping an expansion in terms of both size and duration will mean even more people can enjoy some bubbly goodness, while maintaining the relaxed atmosphere that we’ve been blessed with year on year. Not that we’re complaining about increased attendance, we love seeing new faces each year, so the more the merrier!

The changes that this has for exhibitors are explained in a bit more detail on our website, but basically there are two options for exhibiting now, and two price tiers. It should also be noted that table registration for this year’s convention is now open, and early bird price rates are available until 1st August, again, full details on the website.

As always we’re expecting a stellar line-up of guests, and we can announce that we will be welcoming the legendary Tim Sale (Batman the Long Halloween) to his first Thought Bubble this year, and will be welcoming back the wonderful Richard Starkings (Comicraft, Elephantmen) who was one of our favouritest guests last year.

We’ll be announcing many, many, many, more guests as the build-up to this year’s festival continues, so check back here regularly for updates, as well as interviews and showcases with some of our favourite indie creators at the moment. We’re expecting tickets for the convention to go on sale in the spring, and an announcement will be made here, on our twitter feed, and on our Facebook page when they do go on sale, along with any other big news regarding our endeavours this year, so keep an eye on ’em!

That’s all for now, we’ll be back shortly with an exclusive reveal of this year’s festival image by [super-secret guest artist’s name obscured] soon!

– Clark