4 RESULTS
2025Friday 26th September 2025Keynote SpeakersOnlineMain image from Martyrs of Elysia by Chris Dows

In defence of the topofocal approach to story development – Worldbuilding as an aid to narrative creation and the expansion of Elysian Drop Troops lore

The British literary critic and author M. John Harrison defines Worldbuilding as an ‘attempt to exhaustively survey a place that isn’t there’. Worldbuilding is one of the most important aspects of genre fiction and is an undeniable factor in the success of the 40K universe, which is appropriately recognised for the scope, depth and detail …

2025OnlinePanel 15Saturday 27th September 2025Fulgrim vs Ferrus Manus (c) Games Workshop

The Lives of Objects:  Warhammer miniatures as artefacts of craft, gameplay and narrative

Warhammer miniatures have the distinction of being able to transcend from mere objects to meaningful “things” by their multifaceted nature. Supported by their rich contextual background, they are objects of meticulous craft, enablers of complex gameplay, and manifestations of rich intangible characters and enduring identities. As physical artefacts, they are products of effort and expressions …

2024Friday 27th September 2024OnlinePanel 9Warhammer 40k

Intertextuality as a double-edged chainsword – is writing for Warhammer a barrier to narrative invention?

Julia Kristeva’s poststructuralist concept of intertextuality applies to the creation of all genres and formats of texts, but when it comes to working within an existing universe such as Warhammer, the relationship with what has come before and, challengingly from wider narrative and character arc perspectives, what may come in the future, takes on a …

2024Friday 27th September 2024OnlinePanel 9Warhammer 40k

The Power of Ensembles: How Warhammer Novels Introduce Worldbuilding and Create Tension through Multiperspective Storytelling

Worldbuilding is an integral part of the science fiction and fantasy genres. A major challenge of these genres is introducing the setting to readers in a way that is natural and doesn’t overwhelm them. This can be done through a reader surrogate character, a character that is either new to the setting (such as Neo …