Cymera Festival

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Cymera is Scotland's Festival of Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing.

23/10/2026

Join us in person or online for Cymera's 2027 Writers' Retreats! ✍️

Our online writing retreat will run from 29th–31st January 2027, featuring writing sprints, free writing time, brainstorming, guided workshops, industry insights and more.

Then, from 4th–8th March 2027, we'll be returning to the Scottish Borders for our second in-person retreat, after a resounding success earlier this year! Just a 40-minute drive south of Edinburgh, you'll share a weekend with fellow writers and a whole menagerie of animals on a sprawling, 350-acre farm.

Find out more and book your spot on our website! Link in bio.

09/10/2026

We're getting ready to head to Glasgow for . Make sure you enter the Raffle to win one of these lovely prizes.

06/10/2026

The Northern Court is calling.

On 17 October, the doors open for a night of music, dancing, stories, magic and a little bit of beautifully bookish chaos.

Join us for the Cymera Loves Romantasy Fantasy Ball.

For tickets and more info, head to www.cymerafestival.co.uk/romantasy

28/09/2026

We've added a series of talks to the Cymera Loves Romantasy programme ➡️

Grab your Weekend Pass or individual tickets on our website – link in our bio!

From shadow-daddies and dragon bonds to high-stakes magic, modern romantasy offers far more than simple escapism. Beneath the epic worldbuilding lies a deep exploration of bodily autonomy and consent, where emotional boundaries and high-stakes magic go hand in hand. But the true power of romantasy doesn't end on the final page.

In this engaging talk, researcher and romantasy reader Michelle Esrig-Munguia explores how the genre’s themes of personal agency mirror the incredible force of its fan community. Moving from digital spaces like BookTok into real-world communities, fans are actively dismantling industry gatekeeping and claiming their space in mainstream culture. Discover how reading about empowerment on the page fuels real-world community, and the role of romantasy fans in shaping a genre that centres women's agency, desire and feminist resistance.

Listening is the new reading! Audio books are booming, and we here at Cymera love listing to them.

Join author Heather Palmer and audio book narrator Shiromi Arserio for a unique insight into this exciting part of the publishing industry.

Your favourite trope may be more than a reading preference. It might be an emotional wound wearing wings and carrying a dagger.

Join Riley Klabunde for a special romantasy edition of this interactive, Jeopardy-style game. Choose a category and point value, reveal a beloved trope, and discover both why readers cannot resist it and the suspiciously specific emotional damage it might be soothing. From fated mates and one bed to found family and morally grey love interests, every answer brings us a little closer to understanding our reading habits – and possibly needing a group therapy discount.

25/09/2026

Our Festival Director, Ann, will be in conversation with L.R. Lam and Elizabeth May at Wigtown Book Festival on Fri 2nd Oct!

Prepare for stories of forbidden dark desires and love fated to destroy worlds as we welcome L.R. Lam and Elizabeth May. In L.R. Lam's Dragon Scale duology (Dragonfall and Emberclaw), humans betrayed dragons, stealing their magic and banishing them to a dying world. Centuries later, their descendants worship dragons as gods. When thief Arcady unwittingly pulls Everen, the last male dragon, through the Veil, their new-formed bond may bring salvation for both their worlds, or shatter them.

Don't go looking for sweet gestures in Elizabeth May's dark romance The Wolf and the Crown of Blood. Centuries ago, a princess and a war-weary god met in the ashes of a broken city, forging a pact in blood and sacrifice. When forbidden desire burns between an assassin and the sacrificial princess, their connection threatens the fragile boundary between gods and mortals, and the hard-won peace.

Follow the link in our bio to grab your tickets!

18/09/2026

What to expect at our Fantasy Ball 🗡️🌹🐉

Saturday, 18th October from 7pm–midnight
Teviot, Bristol Square, Edinburgh

14/09/2026

Get ready for a night of dancing, live entertainment (including a ceilidh and DJ!), crafts, storytelling and tarot with your fellow romantasy fans in the gothic surroundings of Teviot at Cymera Loves Romantasy I'd inaugural Fantasy Ball!

Tickets are available now – just follow the link in our bio.

08/09/2026

We had a fantastic time at Tabletop Scotland over the weekend! Thanks so much to everyone that stopped by Cymera's table, and of course thank you to Tabletop Scotland for having us 💙

07/09/2026

Swipe for a full list of author panels at Cymera Loves Romantasy ➡️

Weekend Passes and individual tickets are all available on our website. Follow the link in our bio to find the full CLR programme!

Address

Edinburgh

Website

http://www.cymerafestival.co.uk/

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