Octothorpe: Recent Episodes

John Coxon, Alison Scott, Liz Batty

A podcast about science fiction and SF fandom from John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty.

John is well-read, Alison played a game, and Liz needs an Allen key.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Bluesky or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

One hour of Mon Mothma dancing
Letters of comment
- Andreas Davour (Mastodon and Mastodon)
- Andy Openshaw
  - Jez Lowe
- Ang Rosin
- David Bamford (Bluesky)
- Ed Morland (Bluesky)
- Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook)
- Jake Casella Brookins
- Nuala Fahey (Bluesky)
- Raj (Mastodon)
- Roseanna Pendlebury (Bluesky)
  - and replies by Niall Harrison
- Shi Lala (Facebook)
- Tammy Coxen (Facebook)
  - “The Evolution of the Art Hugo Categories” on File 770
British Fantasy Society
- One-day convention called “BFS Online: World Fantasy Convention 2025”
  - Saturday 21 June, 10:00–18:00 BST
  - Free for BFS members, £5 otherwise
World Fantasy Convention 2025: Brighton
British Science Fiction Association/Science Fiction Foundation AGM
- Sunday 22 June
- SFF’s “Latest News” page has some details
- It’s also in the BSFA newsletter if you are a member
Jake Casella Brookins suggests a Hugo Award for Best Translated Work at Ancillary Review of Books
- Hugo Award statistics from LAcon IV in 2006
- William Weaver
- Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Picks
- John: A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall
  - Sylvie Cathrall’s website
- Alison: Sci-Fi London
  - Blue Prince
- Liz: Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
Credits
- Cover art: “Ahmon Kwasson Incorporates” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: An image of the well-known fantasy hero Ahmon Kwasson, holding his trusty croissant-shaped sword and his trusty croissant-adorned shield, with his trusty croissant-coloured hair, which obscures the words “Octothorpe 137”. At the bottom is text: “Ahmon’s Quest: Your perfect cosy breakfast listen”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is ambivalent, Alison is against, and Liz is hangry.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Ali Baker Brooks (Facebook)
- Chris Garcia (email)
  - 2008 Worldcon site selection
- Farah Mendlesohn (email)
  - Dream Foundry
  - The original announcement of the Carole Goldman Fund
  - Con or Bust
    - “If you are Palestinian, or identify as a member of the Palestinian diaspora … you may qualify for a larger grant from the [Carole] Goldman Fund.”
    - The deadline for the 2025 round seems to have been October 2024, so it might be worth checking before October 2025 if you’re interested in the 2026 round
  - 2026 Eurocon: Metropol Con in Berlin
- Jan Harley (Facebook)
- Kin-Ming Looi (Facebook)
  - Looi
- Raj (Mastodon)
- Tammy Coxen (Bluesky)
- We also heard from Lynelle Howell, Peter Sullivan, Sam Skipsey, Sandra Bond, and Shi Lala
Eastercon 2025: Reconnect in Belfast
- Rattlebag has won Best Bar in Northern Ireland at the CLASS Awards
Worldcon 2025: Seattle
- Consultative votes on Retro Hugo Awards and Best Professional/Fan Artist
- New Business Meeting business had to have been submitted by 4 June 2025
- Apparently WSFS is pronounced “whiz-fizz”?!
- “About Choosing Convention Program Participants” by Erin Underwood
- “Genre Grapevine’s Deep Dive into the Use of ChatGPT by Seattle Worldcon” by Jason Sanford
Picks
- John: Welcome to Forever by Nathan Tavares
- Alison: Andor
  - J Michael Straczynski is moving to the UK to write British TV shows
- Liz: The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
  - Novacon 54
Credits
- Cover art: “Liz Hits the Smörgåsbord” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Liz, depicted as the Incredible Hulk, comes across a table on which lie many items of food (sketched in black and white) including John (a sausage roll) and Alison (an almond croissant), rendered in colour. The words “Octothorpe 136” appear at the top and “You won’t like Liz when she’s hangry” appear at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

Alison describes her perfect almond croissant.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Idea, ed. Geri Sullivan
Lune Croissanterie
Chocolatine
Blondies
Ado Campeol died in 2021
Pink Lane Bakery
Credits
- Cover art: “Almond Croissant Engineering” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A blueprint of an almond croissant with “Octothorpe 135” written at the top and “almond croissant engineering” at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John has shortlisted, Alison has worked in large organisations, and Liz has done a spot-the-difference.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: LLMs

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Clarrie Maguire
- Colette Reap
- Roseanna Pendlebury
  - Her Death of Stalin review
- Tobes Valois
- We also heard from Ali Baker Brooks, Ang Rosin, Brian Nisbet, Caroline Mullan, DC, Doug Faunt, Ed Morland, Esther MacCallum-Stewart, Farah Mendlesohn, Gareth Kavanagh, Ivan Sinha, Jonathan Baddeley, Jonathan Cowie, Kin-Ming Looi, Lilian Edwards, Meg MacDonald, Neil Ottenstein, Phil Dyson, Raj, Sandra Bond, Shi Lala, Tammy Coxen, Tony Keen, TrishEM, ‪Zoë O’Connell‬
Corflu
- FAAn Award Winners
Ada Palmer runs a class called “The Italian Renaissance: Dante, Machiavelli, and the Wars of Popes and Kings,” better known by students as “pope class” or “pope LARP”
- Archive.is
Chris Barkley has sued Dave McCarty
- Shot
- Chaser
Locus
- 2025 fundraiser
- Revenue is flat and costs are up 21%
Clarke Award
- The shortlist has been announced
Worldcon 2025: Seattle
- “Statement from the Worldcon Chair”
- “Apology and Response From Chair”
- “May 6th Statement From Chair and Program Division Head”
- Resignation statement from WSFS division
Picks
- John: The Mark by Frìða Ìsberg
- Alison: Sinners
- Liz: Blue Prince
Credits
- Cover art: “Sample FAAn Award” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A photograph of a yellow square on a mantlepiece. On the yellow square is black text and a red shape with yellow text. The text reads “Corflu 42. 2025 FAAn Awards. Best Immutable Object: Octothorpe”. Text overlaid on the photograph reads ‘Octothorpe 134. “Don’t believe everything you read on ChatGPT.”’
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison, and Liz are live from the Belfast Eastercon!

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: It’s a live recording!

Eastercon 2026: Iridescence in Birmingham
- Guests of Honour
  - R J Barker
  - Karen Lord
  - Emma Newman
  - John Wilson and Serena Culfeather
- Prices
  - Adult: £80
  - Low income: £50
  - Child/teen: £20
  - Supporting: £40
Eastercon 2027: Unconfined in Glasgow
- Guests of Honour
  - P Djeli Clark
  - L R Lam
  - Mark Meenan
  - Tamsyn Muir
- Prices
  - Adult £85
  - Discounted adult: £60
  - Young person: £20
  - Child: £5
  - No supporting rate has yet been announced
Eastercon 2028: BSFA v Marcus Streets
Eastercon 2029 and 2030: Rumours abound
Picks
- John: Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster
- Alison: Er. Steak? Spending too much? Unclear
- Liz: Karaoke and ThinkBox Belfast
Credits
- Cover art: “Octothorpe at Reconnect” by Andrew Hogg
  - Alt text: John, Alison and Liz are sat behind a table at Reconnect doing a live podcast. The words “Octothorpe 133” appear at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison and Liz discuss this year’s Hugo Awards finalists.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

A note from John: I’ve done my level best to find useful URLs and link them below. Please let me know if there are better links or things I’ve missed!

Best Novel
- Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
- Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
- A Sorceress Comes to Call by T Kingfisher
- The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
Best Novella
- The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
- The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed
- Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
- The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar
- The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler
- What Feasts at Night by T Kingfisher
Best Novelette
- “The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video” by Thomas Ha
- “By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars” by Premee Mohamed
- “The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea” by Naomi Kritzer
- “Lake of Souls” by Ann Leckie
- “Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou
- “Signs of Life” by Sarah Pinsker
Best Short Story
- “Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachael K Jones
- “Marginalia” by Mary Robinette Kowal
- “Stitched to Skin Like Family Is” by Nghi Vo
- “Three Faces of a Beheading” by Arkady Martine
- “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” by Caroline M Yoachim
- “Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole” by Isabel J Kim
Best Series
- Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse
- The Burning Kingdoms by Tasha Suri
- InCryptid by Seanan McGuire
- Southern Reach by Jeff VanderMeer
- The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
- The Tyrant Philosophers by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Best Graphic Story
- The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag
- The Hunger and the Dusk, Vol. 1 by G Willow Wilson and Chris Wildgoose
- Monstress, Vol. 9 by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
- My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Vol. 2 by Emil Ferris
- Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio
- We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans
Best Related Work
- “Charting the Cliff: An Investigation into the 2023 Hugo Nomination Statistics” by Camestros Felapton and Heather Rose Jones
- r/Fantasy’s 2024 Bingo Reading Challenge
- “The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel” by Jenny Nicholson
- Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S Carroll
- Track Changes by Abigail Nussbaum
- “The 2023 Hugo Awards: A Report on Censorship and Exclusion” by Chris M Barkley and Jason Sanford
Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)
- Dune: Part Two
- Flow
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- I Saw the TV Glow
- Wicked
- The Wild Robot
Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)
- “The Beginning” (Fallout)
- “Death’s Hand in Mine” (Agatha All Along)
- “Dot and Bubble” (Doctor Who)
- “Fissure Quest” (Star Trek: Lower Decks)
- “The New Next Generation” (Star Trek: Lower Decks)
- “73 Yards” (Doctor Who)
Best Game or Interactive Work
- Caves of Qud
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
- Tactical Breach Wizards
- 1000xRESIST
Best Editor (Short Form)
- Scott H. Andrews
- Jennifer Brozek
- Neil Clarke
- Jonathan Strahan
- Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
- Sheila Williams
Best Editor (Long Form)
- Carl Engle-Laird
- Ali Fisher
- Lee Harris
- David Thomas Moore
- Diana M. Pho
- Stephanie Stein
Best Professional Artist
- Micaela Alcaino
- Audrey Benjaminsen
- Rovina Cai
- Maurizio Manzieri
- Tran Nguyen
- Alyssa Winans
Best Semiprozine
- The Deadlands
- Escape Pod
- FIYAH
- khōréō
- Strange Horizons
- Uncanny Magazine
Best Fanzine
- The Ancillary Review of Books
- Black Nerd Problems
- The Full Lid
- Galactic Journey
- Journey Planet
- Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog
Best Fancast
- The Coode Street Podcast
- Eight of Diana Wynne Jones
- Hugo, Girl!
- Hugos There
- A Meal of Thorns
- Worldbuilding for Mascochists
Best Fan Writer
- Camestros Felapton
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Roseanna Pendlebury
- Jason Sanford
- Alasdair Stuart
- Örjan Westin
Best Fan Artist
- Iain Clark
- Sara Felix
- Meg Frank
- Michelle Morrell
- España Sheriff
- Alison Scott
Best Poem
- Calypso by Oliver K Langmead
- “Ever Noir” by Mari Ness
- “there are no taxis for the dead” by Angela Liu
- “A War of Words” by Marie Brennan
- “We Drink Lava” by Ai Jiang
- “Your Visiting Dragon” by Devan Barlow
Lodestar Award
- The Feast Makers by H.A. Clarke
- Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
- The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko
- Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee
- Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger
- So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole
Astounding Award
- Moniquill Blackgoose
- Bethany Jacobs
- Hannah Kaner
- Angela Liu
- Jared Pechaček
- Tia Tashiro
Credits
- Cover art: “Scorching Hot Takes” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A black background. Text in purple reads “Octothorpe 132” while text MADE OF FIRE says “Scorching hot takes on the Hugo finalists”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is moderating, Alison is auctioning, and Liz is lecturing.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: The situation in the USA

Letters of comment
- Handwriting guesses!
  - John, Alison, Liz: Ed Morland
  - Alison, John, Liz: Chris Garcia
  - Alison, Liz, John: Tammy Coxen
  - Liz, John, Alison: Tammy has another go
  - Liz, Alison, John: Ang Rosin, Niall Harrison
  - John is the top one: Doug Faunt
  - John is in the middle: Roseanna Pendlebury
  - Alison is in the middle: Mike Scott (who is cheating)
  - Liz is the top one: Bridget Bradshaw
  - All handwriting fonts: Bridget Bradshaw
  - You all have nice handwriting: Shi Lala
    - [But mine’s nicest—John]
- Roseanna Pendlebury (email)
- Farah Mendlesohn (email)
- Chris Garcia (email)
- Ivan Sinha (Facebook)
- Renay (email)
  - The 2026 Hugo spreadsheet is open
- Fredrik Coulter (Facebook)
- We also heard from Lilian Edwards
Worldcon 2025: Seattle
- “Statement from Worldcon Chair”
- The SMOFcon bid in the USA has stopped bidding, and Seattle has filled its room blocks, reports File 770
Eastercon 2025: Belfast
- We have provisional programme schedules!
  - John, Alison, and Liz:
    - Monday 12:30: Octothorpe Live
  - John and Liz:
    - Sunday 17:00: Fandom, Politics, and Boycotts: What is the line and where do we draw it?
  - John:
    - Sunday 12:30: Is The Force With You?
    - Sunday 15:30: “What does this card really mean?”: History in Board Games
  - Alison:
    - Sunday 20:00: Fan Fund Auction
  - Liz:
    - Saturday 15:30: Hay Lecture [SO EXCITED—John]
- Colourfields by Paul Kincaid
  - This will be launched at the convention
  - Adam Roberts reviews the collection
Peter Mabey has passed away
BSFA Awards
- File 770 reports the finalists
Fan funds
- European Fan Fund
Picks
- John: The Power Fantasy by Kieron Gillen, Caspar Wijngaard, Clayton Cowles, and Rian Hughes
  - Roseanna Pendlebury’s review at NoaF
- Alison: The Death of Stalin
  - [I’m off to represent the entire Red Army at the buffet—Liz]
  - Tobes de Valois as played by Jason Isaacs
- Liz: The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
  - [I also like Roseanna’s review at NoaF—Liz]
Credits
- Cover art: “Happy Birthday to Us” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A birthday cake with six layers, from purple to a dark orange, and then a red 5 and five red candles on top, with fireworks overhead. The words “Octothorpe 131” are at the top.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is working, Alison is plugging and Liz is ghosting.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Capitalism, death (Chapter 8: Picks)

Please remember that we have recused from consideration for the 2025 Hugo Awards
Letters of comment
- Ali Baker Brooks (Facebook)
- Ang Rosin (Facebook)
- Christopher J Garcia
- Dave Langford
  - Please do report issues in transcripts and we will fix them!
- DC (skeet, requires sign-in)
- Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook)
  - “Know your rail rights” from the Office of Rail and Road
- Ivan Sinha (Facebook)
- Pat McMurray (Facebook)
- Shi Lala (Facebook)
- Simon Bubb
BSFA
- If you attended please let us know what happened!
Awards
- Hugo Award nominations close the day after this podcast drops (14 March 2025)
- Locus Award nominations are open until 15 April 2025
Oxford–Bloomsbury Fantasy Summer School
- Free to apply with limited in-person spaces
- Or, wait for the streaming link! (FAQ)
GUFF: The Incomplete Chronicles
Liz previously described a Pepper’s Ghost at Tokyo Disneyland
- “Disney’s Best Illusion Explained” by Zach Wally
Picks
- John: Shroud by Gravity Well Brewing
  - Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  - “Sins of the Children” by Adrian Tchaikovsky in Asterisk
- Alison: Mickey 17
- Liz: Hacks (Amazon Prime)
Credits
- Cover art: “Handwriting Analysis Special”
  - Alt text: The words “Octothorpe 130: Handwriting Analysis Special” appear three times in the three hosts’ handwriting.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John thought of something, Alison is educational, and Liz reads contracts.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Money (chapter 3)

Please remember that we have recused from consideration for the 2025 Hugo Awards
Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- DC
  - On Blind Chance (skeet, requires sign-in)
  - On picking books (skeet, requires sign-in)
- Doug Faunt
- Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook)
Eastercon 2025: Reconnect in Belfast
- Cancelling non-refundable hotel rooms does not net one a refund
  - We get ourselves into knots trying to work out what’s happened here and we’re not sure
  - Alison taught John and Liz about complaining about cancellations
    - Cancelling goods or services
    - Make a court claim for money
Worldcon 2025: Seattle
- Virtual Business Meeting details
  - Lumi Global
  - The meetings are all at 09:00–12:30 (PDT/UTC-7) on 4, 13, 19, 25 July
- Hugo nominations are open
  - How to nominate
Picks
- John: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Marc Sumerak
- Alison: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
- Liz: Nova by Samuel Delany
  - John Nielsen-Hall’s article, “Running up that Hill: or Life with the Brunners” appears in Prolapse #7
    - Prolapse
    - Motorway Dreams, a collection of Nielsen-Hall’s writing which includes the article
Credits
- Cover art: “Thailand Positioning Service” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Words read “Octothorpe 129: Can you pin Thailand on the map?” above a black-and-white world map. The backs of John, Alison and Liz’s heads are shown. John is thinking “Yup!”, Liz is thinking “100%”, and Alison is holding Thailand and thinking “???”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John picks too soon, Alison is fully paid-up, and Liz found the comment.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 7)

Letters of comment
- Andreas Davour (toot)
- Bridget Bradshaw (skeet)
- Chris Garcia
- David Bamford (skeet)
- DC (skeet, requires sign-in)
  - Przypadek/Blind Chance
- Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook)
- Karen Schaffer
- Meg MacDonald (Facebook)
- Raj (toot)
  - Short story: “Bond, Bond, and James Bond” by Eric Molinsky
  - Novelette: “Lake of Souls” by Ann Leckie (from her new collection, Lake of Souls)
  - Novella: Last Stop by Django Wexler
- Tammy Coxen (skeet)
Eastercon 2025: Reconnect in Belfast
- John has been asked to head up the Discord
- Bursaries
  - Deadline is noon on 16 February
  - Email finance@easterconbelfast.org with as much or as little detail as you like
Eastercon 2026: Iridescence, a bid for Birmingham
BSFA
- BSFA Award Longlist
  - Octothorpe 122 has been nominated, thank you very much!
- Review policy rumours
  - Steven French’s comment on Camestros Felapton’s blog
- New chair: Stewart Hotson
Picks
- John: Severance S2
- Alison: The Brutalist
- Liz: Lady Eve’s Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow
Credits
- Cover art: “Live From Minidisc” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A blue Sony MiniDisc Walkman shows, on its LCD screen, “Now playing: Octothorpe_128”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is incoherent, Alison is excited, and Liz is romantic.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Ali Baker Brooks
- Andy Openshaw
- Chris Garcia
- Claire Brialey
- David Salter
- Ed Morland
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Irwin Hirsh
- Jonny Baddeley
- Neil Ottenstein
- Roseanna Pendlebury
- We also heard from:
  - Fiona Moore, Ivan Sinha
Readers’ recommendations
- Best Novel
  - Private Rites by Julia Armfield
  - I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S Beagle
  - Metal from Heaven by August Clarke
  - In Universes by Emet North
  - The West Passage by Jared Pechaček
  - Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley
  - Someone You Can Build a Nest in By John Wiswell
- Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)
  - Deadpool and Wolverine
  - Tim Travers & the Time Travelers Paradox
- Best Game or Interactive Work:
  - Tactical Breach Wizards
- Best Fancast
  - Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones by Emily Tesh and Rebecca Fraimow
    - Lady Eve’s Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow
- Astounding Award
  - The End of Nobility by Michael Green
Briardene Books
- Preorders for Colourfields by Paul Kincaid are now open!
Eastercon 2025: Reconnect in Belfast
Picks
- John: Sliding Doors
- Alison: Three Men in Orbit by Sandra Bond
- Liz: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
Credits
- Cover art: “Availability Flowchart” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A flowchart entitled “How to meet John, Alison and/or Liz at Eastercon”. The boxes culminate in “console yourself with Octothorpe 127”, and the various options are listed below, but the original file is here in case that’s more helpful to the partially sighted.
  - How to meet John, Alison and/or Liz at Eastercon
  - Are you going to Reconnect?
  - Of course!/Not sure
  - Oh go on it will be a laugh
  - Oh all right then/No…
  - Are they in the bar?
  - Yes!
  - I can’t see them
  - Are you quite sure? Check again
  - Oh wait… there they are
  - No sign
  - Is there another bar?
  - Yes!
  - Nope
  - Are they on programme?
  - Yes!
  - No
  - Wait till the moderator asks for questions
  - But it’s Octothorpe Live!
  - Is your joke very funny?
  - Obviously!
  - Excellent! Good to know.
  - COME AND SAY HELLO
  - until then…
  - Are they asleep or on the loo?
  - No, they look chill
  - Er, yes?
  - Oh, that’s a shame
  - Console yourself with Octothorpe 127
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is a thief, Alison plays games, and Liz is bullied.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Andreas Davour
- Bella Garcia
- Constanze Hoffman
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Jonathan Cowie
- June Young
- Mike Scott
- Neil Ottenstein
- Raj
- Tammy Coxen
- Zoe O’Connell
- We also heard from Bridget Bradshaw, Colin Harris, Meg MacDonald, and Shi Lala
Fan funds
- The 2025 TAFF race has begun
  - Zi Graves, Mikołaj Kowalewski, Jan Vaněk jr.
- CUFF comes to an end
Fowler Award
Hugo Awards
- 2025 spreadsheet of doom
- Novels
  - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
  - The Sentence by Gautam Bhatia
  - The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
  - The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
  - Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang
  - The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohamed
  - Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  - House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  - Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer
  - We Are All Ghosts in the Forest by Lorraine Wilson
- Novellas
  - A Mourning Coat by Alex Jeffers
  - North Continent Ribbon by Ursula Whitcher
- Short Stories
  - Grottmata by Thomas Ha
  - Five Views of the Planet Tartarus by Rachael K Jones
- Related Works
  - Track Changes: Selected Reviews **by Abigail Nussbaum
  - Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll
- Series
  - The Horus Heresy
  - The Southern Reach
  - The Tyrant Philosophers
- Graphic Stories
  - Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio
    - Abigail Nussbaum’s review at Strange Horizons
- Dramatic Presentations
  - All of Us Strangers
  - Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
  - I Saw the TV Glow
  - Late Night with the Devil
  - My Old Ass
  - A Quiet Place: Day One
  - The Substance
  - Timestalker
  - Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
  - The Wild Robot
- Games
  - Tabletop
    - Arcs
    - City of Six Moons
    - Mothership
    - Undaunted 2200: Callisto
  - Video
    - Animal Well
    - Caves of Qud
    - Dragon Age: The Veilguard
    - The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
    - Slice and Dice 3.0
    - Star Wars: Outlaws
    - Tale of the Golden Idol
    - UFO50
  - Other
    - Bridge Command
- Poems
  - Sandra Bond
- Fan categories
  - Artists
    - Alison Scott
    - España Sheriff
  - Podcasts
    - Fanac Fan History Zooms
    - Going Rogue
    - Hugo, Girl!
    - A Meal of Thorns
  - Writers
    - Camestros Felapton
    - Ersatz Culture
    - Roseanna Pendlebury
  - Fanzines
    - Ancillary Review of Books
    - Banana Wings
    - Ornithopter
    - Unofficial Hugo Book Club
- Debut authors
  - Moniquill Blackgoose
- [Alison did not write any of her selections into the show notes and I was sorely tempted not to go through and write them all down for her but I did it for you, listener. I did it for you—John]
Picks [isn’t this a whole episode of picks?—Liz]
- John: Earthborne Rangers
- Alison: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- Liz: Horizon Zero Dawn
- Sorry Mark
Credits
- Cover art: “Waffle of comment” by Bella Garcia
  - Alt text: A picture of a Belgian waffle that looks like an octothorpe, on a white background, with the words “Octothorpe 126” above and “now with added waffle” below.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is travelling, Alison is coding, and Liz is faithful.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Death (chapter 6)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
  - The Beef and Dairy Network Podcast
- Jt
- Raj
Rotsler Award
- España Sheriff is this year’s winner
Seattle 2025
- Virtual Business Meeting announcement
- Reportage on File 770
- Unofficial WSFS Business Meeting Discord
Upcoming Worldcons
- Vince Docherty reports from Smofcon 41
  - There are many links to convention bid websites contained within
- Montréal are continuing for 2027, but Tel Aviv have suspended
- Conventions on cruise ships
  - BGG@SEA
  - JoCo Cruise
Vanessa May
- Vanessa was an integral part of the very beginning of Glasgow 2024
Picks
- John: EXIT: The Game: Advent Calendar: The Missing Hollywood Star
- Alison: Advent of Code
- Liz: The Muppet Christmas Carol
Credits
- Cover art: “Christmas Hats” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: John wears an Octothorpe Christmas jumper and a green and red hat with elf ears, Alison wears a red Christmas jumper and a moose/reindeer hat, and Liz wears a blue jumper and a Christmas tree hat. The words “Octothorpe 125” appear at the top in a Christmassy font that looks like it has snow on the letters.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is horrified, Alison is spelunking, and Liz is detecting.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode:

Letters of comment
- Ali Baker Brooks
- Andrew Hogg
  - 4D Golf
  - Braid
- Archipelacon 2
- Caroline Mullan
- Chris Garcia
  - Some accusations against Ekpeki have been disproved
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Ivan Sinha
- Jonny Baddeley
- June Young
  - Aurora Australis Alerts
  - Aurora Now
  - AuroraWatch UK
  - SpaceWeatherLive
- MonkeyKing
- Roseanna Pendlebury
- Shia Lia
- Tommy Ferguson
  - Reconnect
Upcoming conventions
- Eastercon 2026: Iridescence at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole
  - Bid chaired by Phil Dyson
- Eastercon 2027: Glasgow
  - Bid chaired by Alan Fleming and David Bamford
- Eastercon 2028: Gateshead?
- Novacon 2025
- Conrunner 2026
  - To be chaired by Esther MacCallum-Stewart in February
- WisCONline 2025
- Edmonton 2030
Picks
- John: Mothership
  - Mothership Month
- Alison: Caves of Qud
- Liz: Rise of the Golden Idol
- (Sorry that they’re all games, Mark)
Credits
- Cover art: “Ohmudillo” by Sophie van Setten
  - Alt text: The Glasgow 2024 logo drawn in pencils and crayon, but across the middle there is a segmented creature with eight eyes and mandibles. At the top, the words “Octothorpe 124” appear in blue.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is going to Seattle, Alison is going to the Åland Islands, and Liz is going to Belfast.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Money, grim darkness

Belfast Eastercon
Seattle 2025
Archipelacon 2
Back to Our Futures
- The Dark Room
Liz’s Adrian Tchaikovsky scoop
Edmonton Worldcon bid
Picks
- John: Wrath and Glory
- Alison: Timestalker
- Liz: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
  - Goodie from Goodreads
Credits
- Cover art: “Fully Caffeinated” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A coffee stain on a piece of paper on which are written the words “Octothorpe 123” and “fully caffineated”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is on the periphery, Alison is carving, and Liz went to Japan.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: con artistry, privilege, racism

Letters of comment
- Jake Casella Brookins
  - Sankey diagrams on the Ancillary Review of Books
- Ali Baker Brooks
  - I’m a Fan of That
- Christopher J Garcia
- Emily January
- Kat Kourbeti
  - SH@25 is a new, year-long interview and feature series that will delve into the archives, celebrate the work of past contributors and staff, and highlight the contributions of Strange Horizons to SFF publishing and the wider community.
- Caroline Mullan
- Zoe O’Connell
- Roman Orszanski
  - Booking flights on a phone
Awards
- World Fantasy Awards
- The Kitschies
- Ursula K LeGuin award
  - Strange Horizons review in two parts: one, two
Oghenochovwe Donald Ekpeki
- Erin Cairns has reported that Ekpeki stole a story and passed it off as his own
  - On Bluesky
  - On Google Drive
  - File 770 report
- Cairns tried to sound this alarm on X in June
- Reactions
  - Gautam Bhatia
  - L D Lewis (requires Bluesky login)
- Ekpeki’s response
- Jason Sanford talks about his reaction to the news: one, two
Picks
- John: Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- Alison: Bridge Command
  - Alison was given free tickets by the venue’s PR team
- Liz: Japan
  - Neat effects like Tokyo Disneyland’s Pepper’s ghost or Shiriki Utundu
  - Liz was not given free tickets but if anyone wants to give me free tickets to Disney parks please get in touch
Credits
- Cover art: “Octothorpe, Octothorpe, Octothorpe” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A pumpkin carved with an image of Beetlejuice, with the words “Episode 122” at the top of the image and “Octothorpe, Octothorpe, Octothorpe” at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison and Liz read Grass by Sheri S Tepper.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Rape, consensual interspecies sex, murder, classism, plague/disease

Adam Roberts’ review of Grass
Credits
- Cover art: “Three Little Hippae” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three hippae stand on a landscape of alien grass and plants in blue, purple, red, teal, and orange underneath a pinkish sky. The words “Octothorpe 121” appear at the top and the words “Grass Sheri S Tepper” appear at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John does a funny voice, Alison recoils, and Liz loves big stats and she cannot lie.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Death (chapter 5)

Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Chris Garcia
  - Alison closing a parenthesis
- Emily January
- España Sheriff
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Ivan Sinha
- Nicholas Whyte
  - Upcoming eclipses
- Tammy Coxen
2024 Hugo Voting Statistics
- 2024 Sankey diagrams
- 2020 Sankey diagrams
Picks
- John: The Substance
  - Definitely not Subterranea
- Alison: UFO 50
- Liz: Alien Clay
Credits
- Cover art: “Judge Coxon” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Words read ‘Octothorpe 120: Introducing Judge Coxon. “I am the lore”’. They are around a picture of John as a Judge in the style of 2000AD, holding a big stack of books. The logo of the Clarke Award may or may not appear in the artwork.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is not assigning blame, Alison is someone, and Liz is bludgeoning.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky or on Instagram) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Sexual assault (Neil Gaiman allegations, at 39:28 to 42:02).

Letters of comment
- Niall Harrison
- On our Hugo win/recusing
  - Andy on Mastodon
  - Chris Garcia
  - Meg MacDonald
  - Perianne Lurie
  - Renay
  - Sandra Bond’s poem
- On info desk and maps
  - Alan Fleming
  - Doug Faunt
  - Peter Sullivan
- On communications
  - Chris Garcia
  - Duncan MacGregor on Mastodon
- On WSFS Business Meeting
  - June Young (email, 9 September)
  - Chris Garcia (email, 29 August)
    - Martin Freeman circa 2001
    - Post from Nicholas Whyte on consultative vote
  - DC on Mastodon
  - Duncan MacGregor on Mastodon
  - Raj on Mastodon
  - Our brand is now WSFS Commentators and people like it?
  - Laurie Burchell
- On Worldcon attendance numbers
  - Tero on Mastodon
  - aoanla on Mastodon
- Miscellaneous
  - Hugo finalists: Raj on Mastodon
  - Programme: aoanla on Mastodon
  - Back to Our Futures
- We also heard from:
  - Ali Baker Brooks, Angela Rosin, Catherine Pickersgill, Curt Phillips, Damien Warman, Dave Coxon, España Sheriff, Farah Mendlesohn, Fiona Moore, Fran Dowd, Gav Reads, Iain Clark, Jonathan Baddeley, Julie Faith McMurray, Karen Schaffer, Leigh Edmonds, Lilian Edwards, Malcolm Hutchison, Mike Scott, Neil Ottenstein, Phil Dyson, Roseanna Pendlebury, Trish
Neil Gaiman
- File 770
- Genre Grapevine
- Elise Matthesen on Dreamwidth
- The Guardian
- Theremina on Patreon
Future Worldcons
- Seattle 2025
  - Seattle is having a Poetry Hugo
  - Seattle has announced a judged film festival
- LAcon V looks good
  - Good guests
  - “The LA in 2026 bid received 452 out of 531 votes cast.”
- Tel Aviv in 2027
- Brisbane in 2028
The latest episode of FANAC History Zoom is “The secret history of Plokta”, with Steve Davies, Sue Mason, Alison Scott, and Mike Scott
Picks
- John: Alien: Romulus
- Alison: KAOS
- Liz: Control
Credits
- Cover art: “We got a lot of letters” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A famous photograph of Margaret Hamilton standing beside printed outputs of the code that took the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon, overlaid with the words “Octothorpe 119” and “Our Listeners Write In”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is savage, Alison hates paper, and Liz likes stationery.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: harsh criticism (Publications), racism (Picks)

Glasgow wants your feedback on Facebook
Worldcon photography
- Glasgow 2024 photographs on Flickr
- Andrew Hogg: Noted Fan Artist
- Andy Openshaw’s photo on BlueSky
Halls 4 and 5
- Staples
- WOOF
- In Memoriam
- Boris the Spider
- John’s Swag
Communications
- Join fancon.dev on Discord
Picks
- John: The Acolyte
- Alison: Nimona
- Liz: The Case of the Golden Idol
Credits
- Cover art: “Armadillo Pins” by Sara Felix (lettering by Alison Scott)
  - Alt text: Three pins of armadillos flying colourful spaceships are on top of a piece of paper with blobs of glue that look like planets. The lettering “Octothorpe 118” appears above in a similar style to the pins.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John liked the entertainment, Alison didn’t queue, and Liz wanted soup.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Doug Faunt
- Renay
  - We are recusing for at least the 2025 Hugos
  - Renay is known for Lady Business and the Hugo Award Spreadsheet of Doom
- ULTIMAFAX on YouTube:
  - “Allison [sic] looks exactly like she sounds lol. john does not”
Fancast recommendations:
- Stitch and Bitch by Kalanadi
- FANAC Fan History by Joe Siclari and Edie Stern
- Hugo, Girl! by Lori, Haley and Amy 🥰
The Godzilla Minus One eligibility extension was voted down
Queue entertainment
- Cardinal Cox
- The Quest NPC
The Long List of World Science Fiction Conventions (Worldcons)
Glasgow 2024
- Back to Our Futures
Credits
- Cover art: “Hugo Evolution” by Iain J Clark (arranged by Alison Scott)
  - Alt text: Three photographs dominate the centre of the image. The left-hand photograph is of a prototype Hugo made of rough wood and cardboard; the centre photograph is of a rough-ish wood base and tin foil rocket but with the actual acrylic and etching, and the right-hand photograph is of the finished Hugo Award. Text below the photos reads “protoprototype”, “prototype”, and “2024 Hugo”. Above, the words “Octothorpe 117” appear.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison and Liz have won Hugo Awards.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: It’s a live recording!

Credits
- Cover art: “Octothorpe and Others” by Simon Bubb (CC BY-NC 2.0)
  - Alt text: John, Liz and Alison (I know, listener, I know) are looking off to the right holding their Hugo Awards as people take photographs of them on the stage at the SEC Armadillo.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is a busy bee, something’s bugging Alison, and Liz meets a wasp.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Vote rigging and bureaucracy.

Glasgow programme
- Saturday, 11:30: “Table talk: Octothorpe Podcast”
- Monday, 11:30: “Live Podcast: Octothorpe”
- John:
  - Friday, 14:30: “Ahsoka: Fusing Clone Wars, Rebels and Heir to the Empire”
  - Monday, 13:00: “Safety Tools for Tabletop Roleplaying Games”
- Alison:
  - Friday, 10:00: “The Difficult Second Album”
  - Friday, 13:00: “Let’s Create the Glasgow 2024 Fanzine – Kick Off Session”
  - Friday, 17:30: “Pure Dead Brilliant History of Scottish Fanzines”
  - Saturday, 13:00: “The League of Extraordinary Fanzine Covers”
  - Saturday, 20:30: “Fan Funds Auction”
- Liz:
  - Nothing because she’s saving herself just for you, listeners 💜
Glasgow Discord
- Access is through the members’ portal
377 votes have been disqualified from the Hugo Awards due to ballot stuffing
- File 770’s report
The Business Meeting agenda has been published
- Chris Garcia’s in-depth dive into the agenda is at Claims Department #74
- Nicholas Whyte’s thoughts are on From the Heart of Europe
- In the order we discussed them:
  - The “don’t do that Dave” resolutions (C1, 3–4): we are in favour
  - Changes to the Business Meeting (D9, F14–15): we are in favour of D9 and F14, and against F15
  - Independent film Hugo Award categories (E7): we are against ratification
    - Consultative vote on the indie film category
  - Extended eligibility for movies (D1–7):
    - We are in favour of Conann, Lovely, Dark and Deep, Mars Express, Tiger Stripes, and Mollie and Max in the Future
    - We oppose The Boy and the Heron and Godzilla Minus One
      - The Boy and the Heron: released 8 December on 2,325 screens, made $35mn in 2023
      - Godzilla Minus One: released 1 December on 2,622 screens, made $45mn in 2023
      - Poor Things: released 8 December on 2,300 screens, made $10mn in 2023
  - Changes to the Hugo Awards (D10, F5–9, F11): we are in favour of D10 and F5 (with tweaks), we are against F6–8, and we are a bit nuanced (sorry) on F9 and F11
    - WSFA
      - Glasgow has ~8,400 WSFS members, WSFS membership is £45, so 5% is ~£18k
  - Censure resolutions and apology resolutions (D11–14, F16): we are in favour of making it clear that WSFS does not condone what happened in Chengdu
    - Here are links to the text of the two redacted resolutions
      - D11 Statement of Values for Transparency and Fair Treatment
      - D12 Chengdu Censure (the middle of the three on this page)
  - WSFS memberships and whatnot (F1–2): we oppose consideration, but we are broadly in favour of the concepts
  - WSFS marks (F3–4): we are in favour
    - c.f. our discussion of Kevin Standlee’s foot in his mouth on Episode 103
  - Software Advisory Committee (F10): we oppose consideration
  - Site selection changes (F12–13): we oppose consideration, and also oppose F12, and we think F13 might need a committee
  - A grab bag (F17–20): we oppose consideration
    - Some of this stuff matters but it shouldn’t get debated this year
  - Ratifications:
    - We didn’t think that all of them were worth discussing, so you can assume we’re in favour/ambivalent of the ones we don’t discuss (unless we forgot one that’s very heinous)
    - Bid committee contact details (E5): we are in favour
    - Voter contact details (E6): we are against
    - Independent film Hugo Award categories (E7): we are against (but we discussed this above)
    - Fancast compensation (E9): we are nuanced, we don’t want professionals to be in Fancast, but we’re not sure what this amendment does that helps
    - Eligibility (E10) and ASFiC (E12): we are in favour of the Worldcon becoming more international, but we are against these ratifications specifically
Credits
- Cover art: “All the Popcorn” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A giant stripy purple bucket of popcorn on a cinema screen says “Octothorpe 115 WSFS Special”, and John, Alison and Liz sit in the audience, silhouetted in the style of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. John is saying “We’re gonna need a bigger box of popcorn.”
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison, and Liz discuss what they’re voting for in the Hugo Awards.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode:

Letters of comment
- Ali Baker Brooks
- Bridget Bradshaw
- Chris Garcia
- Colette Reap
- Duncan MacGregor
- Edward Morlund
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Mike Scott
- Raj
  - Fantasy Book Swap
    - Alison Scott, Marianne Dreams and Tamarind and the Star of Ishta
    - ”More funny than Thomas Hardy”: John Coxon, Rebecca‘s World and Flora & Ulysses
Hugo Awards:
- Novella
- Novelette
- Short story
  - ”Gathered in Translation” by Ken Liu
  - “Disconnected Tales: Contrasting Ken Liu’s Original and Translated Works” by Stephanie Gao
- Series
- Graphic Story or Comic
- Best Related Work
- Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)
- Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)
- Fan Categories
  - The Midnight Pals that made Liz laugh
Picks
- John: Star Wars: Jedi: Survivor
- Alison: Cinco Paus by Michael Brough
- Liz: No pick
Credits
- Cover art: “Worldcon Community Group Bingo Card” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: ”Octothorpe 114” is at the top, and the word ”Octothorpe” is written on a series of lottery balls. Below that, a bingo card, and below that, the words ”Worldcon Community Group Bingo Card". The items on the card are as follows:
    - Can I convert pounds to Scottish money?
    - Does anyone have any opinions on…?
    - Do you know my Scottish cousin?
    - This list is too long to read so can someone…
    - Is the programme out yet?
    - Can I swim in the Clyde?
    - Can I visit Stonehenge for the day?
    - Asks question answered in PR5
    - Does Glasgow Zoo have live haggis?
    - Volunteering is the best way to have fun
    - What’s with all the armadillos?
    - Shouldn’t the subway be a Digital Orange now?
    - Free!
    - Is the con organising an aurora viewing?
    - Is it too late to get on the programme?
    - Will Nessie be doing a signing?
    - Mention of Glasgow, England
    - Can anyone go to the Hugo Awards?
    - Why don’t we do this the way we did in 1956?
    - Can I fly from Glasgow to Edinburgh?
    - Will there be any authors there?
    - Can I bring my Emotional Support Moose?
    - Are tartan and/or kilts compulsory?
    - What I reckon…
    - Mention of deep-fried Mars Bar
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is doing Discord, Liz is doing programme, and Alison isn’t working on the Worldcon.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Karen Schaffer
  - Peach and bourbon pie
- Chris Garcia
- Peter Sullivan
- Kat Kourbeti
- Facebook
  - Farah Mendlesohn
  - Mike Scott
  - Malcolm Hutchison
  - Jonny Baddeley
Glasgow 2024
- Glasgow 2024 Worldcon Community Group on Facebook
- Cerebus
  - Humble Bundle
- Why is Alison collecting a big pile of con badges?
  - The Streisand Effect
    - (I know I got it slightly wrong in the episode!)
Awards
- 2024 Locus Award winners
- 2024 Nebula Award winners
Antipodes
- Brisbane in 2028
  - File 770 report (with details of their socials/mailing list)
  - Worldcon 1939
  - Minneapolis in 2073: Progress Report 11
  - Torched by Alissa Walker
- Continuity 2024
  - The 2024 New Zealand NatCon
  - John spent ages assuming that the above was just the online portal, but it is in fact the convention website
  - There is some backstory on this at SFFANZ
Picks
- John: Alan Wake 2
  - Saga Anderson’s sweater
  - I didn’t mention it on the podcast at all and it’s just for you, the show note reader, but I was watching this sketch when I was waiting for Alison and Liz this morning: ”Beavis and Butt-Head” from SNL
- Alison: Animal Well
- Liz: Will Anderson’s YouTube channel about Scrabble
Credits
- Cover art: “Massive Lizard” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three stick figures run from Godzilla, who is depicted in the style of Godzilla Minus One. The words “Octothorpe 113” used to be at the top of the art, but Godzilla has knocked off the letters “O C T O”, is holding “H”, and is trying to eat “T”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John was gaming, Alison was dancing, and Liz was batty.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, or tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Wealth privilege (chapter 3)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Curt Phillips
  - Starter Villain review
- David Ian Salter
- Ersatz Culture
- Peter Sullivan
- Sandra Bond
Levitation (Eastercon 2024)
- Post-convention report
FunCon
- Alan Fleming’s report
UK Games Expo
Glasgow 2024 (Worldcon 2024)
- Site selection is open for Worldcon 2026
- Brisbane has (re-)announced their bid for Worldcon 2028
Picks
- John: The Beast
  - Spoilery interview with George MacKay
- Alison: Baldur’s Gate 3
- Liz: Godzilla Minus One (Netflix)
Credits
- Cover art: “That Octothorpe Series” by España Sheriff
  - Alt text: John, Alison and Liz stand in the transporter on a Constitution-class Federation starship. They are mid-transportation, made of sparkles instead of fully fleshed out. The words “Octothorpe 112” appear beneath them.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison, and Liz read the 2024 Hugo Award finalists for Best Novel.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Rape and murder during a brief discussion of historically accurate piracy in Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, discussion of billionaires during Starter Villain

John’s rankings:
1. Some Desperate Glory
2. Translation State
3. Saint of Bright Doors
4. Witch King
5. Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
6. Starter Villain
Alison’s rankings:
1. Saint of Bright Doors
2. Some Desperate Glory
3. Translation State
4. Witch King
5. Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
6. Starter Villain
Liz’s rankings:
1. Some Desperate Glory
2. Saint of Bright Doors
3. Translation State
4. Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
5. Witch King
6. Starter Villain
Consensus:
1. Some Desperate Glory
2. Saint of Bright Doors
3. Translation State
4. Witch King
5. Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
6. Starter Villain
Credits
- Cover art: “Favourite Reading Positions” by Sue Mason
  - Alt text: John is in the bottom-left, sitting in a chair, wearing a blue shirt and purple trousers, holding a can, and reading an ebook. Alison is in the upper-middle, lying down upside down, wearing a purple shirt and stripy trousers, and reading an ebook. Liz is in the bottom-right, wearing a pink shirt with green trousers, holding a mug of a hot beverage, and reading a physical book. They are surrounded by floating beer bottles, books, the Moon, a mug with a moose on it, and two cats. The text “Octothorpe 111” and “Hugo Novels 2024” appears to the top and the bottom of the image.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is a professor, Alison doesn’t have a bucket list, and Liz is the country’s foremost fan historian.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: More wealth privilege (chapter 2)

Letters of comment
- Bridget Bradshaw
- Christopher J Garcia
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Jonathan Cowie
- Jonny Baddeley
- Kin-Ming Looi
- Sandra Bond
- Tammy Coxen
Awards
- Babel wins “Best Translated Work” at the 2024 Xingyun Awards
- Clarke Award finalists
  - John: 0, Alison: 1, Liz: 3
  - The winner will be announced on 24 July
- 2024 Nebula Awards
- 2023 Nebula Awards
- Locus Awards
Glasgow 2024
- The Hugo Packet is now available
- Joel’s Whisky Zoom is hosting a tour of the Clydeside Distillery on 9 August at 7pm
Picks
- John: Sunderland Shorts Film Festival
  - Soulmate, Beautiful Things, Ensouled, Finger Food, Bisected, Own Home?, R1CO, The First Time I Never Met You
  - Wes Anderson’s short adaptations of Roald Dahl
- Alison: Aurora
  - Liz’s view on auroras
- Liz: A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin [paper, ebook, audiobook, Amazon]
Credits
- Cover art: “Explain 2233” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three photographs of the night sky, labelled Newcastle, Bangkok, and “Quite near London” (the labels were written by a Londoner, which is why it doesn’t just say “London”). Text above reads “Octothorpe 110” and below reads “Local Aurora Snapshots”. The Newcastle and London images show photographs of aurora with some minor bits of vegetation intruding; the Bangkok picture shows a skyline of buildings underneath a thunderstorm.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is middle, Alison is even sadder, and Liz is sorry.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Discussion of access issues (chapter 2), wealth privilege (chapter 6)

Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Ali Baker Brooks
- Andrew January
  - The Eastercon members’ portal
- Caroline Mullan
- DC
- Farah Mendlesohn
  - Critical Friends 8
- Jacob Holder
- Mark Plummer
- Meg MacDonald
Doc Weir award
- Dave Langford receives the trophy
  - Alt text: Dave Langford triumphantly lofts a blue Bag for Life from Tesco, which we are expected to believe contains the Doc Weir trophy. He is standing in front of a house.
GUFF
- The results
Chengdu 2023
- “The Pidu district of Chengdu announces a 10-year science fiction plan”
Glasgow 2024
- Town Hall Event: Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards Glasgow
- Town Hall Event: Site Selection Glasgow 2024
Eastercon and money
Picks
- John: Dredge
- Alison: Hopeland by Ian McDonald (paper, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
- Liz: Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (paper, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
Credits
- Cover art: “Voyagers” by Ulrika O’Brien
  - Alt text: The background is a starry, lightning-filled square in blues, purples, and yellows. Atop that, there is a spaceship, somewhat like a rocket, with engines coming out of the sides. There are yellow lights shining from it, and a ladder reaches up to a central archway. John, Alison and Liz are depicted as silhouettes, regarding it with wonder. Their shadows stretch off the canvas, and they look faintly alien or futuristic in a hard-to-define manner.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is ignorant, Alison is first, and Liz is a trendsetter.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 8).

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
  - Maundy Thursday
- Andy Openshaw
- Nuala on Bluesky: sorry!
- Raj recommends pizza crunch
  - Mono
- Raj on Mastodon
  - Track Changes
- Meg MacDonald
- DC’s loc
Eastercon 2024
- Telford
  - Telford International Centre
  - KFC
- Catchup
  - Members’ area
  - Catchup will be closing at the end of April
- Dealers’ room
  - Beyond Cataclysm
- COVID
  - No reported cases, as far as we are aware
Picks
- John: Thunder Road: Vendetta
- Alison: Fallout (the TV series)
- Liz: Stardew Valley
Credits
- Cover art: “Vibrant Food Culture” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A drawing of a blackboard with text that reads: “Octothorpe 108 guide to Glasgow street food.” A picture of a deep fried pizza with glasses is next to text reading ’The “Coxon” pizza crunch’, a picture of three pakora with glasses next to ‘The “Scott” haggis pakora’, and a picture of a deep fried Mars bar next to ‘The “Batty” deep fried Mars bar”. Stars also adorn the backboard, and bottles of red and brown sauce are in the bottom-left-hand corner.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison, and Nicholas are live from Levitation!

A transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Thank you very much to our stunt Liz, Nicholas Whyte!
- Nicholas’ blog, From the Heart of Europe
April Fool’s Day
- The rocket in all its glory!
The Hugo Awards
- Hugo Award finalists
- The announcement video
- Thank you to everyone who nominated us!
- Congratulations to the other Fancast finalists:
  - The Coode Street Podcast
  - Hugos There
  - Publishing Rodeo
  - 科幻Fans布玛 (Science Fiction Fans Buma)
  - Worldbuilding for Masochists
- The first Town Hall will be on 20 April 2024
  - Tickets available on Eventbrite
  - The stream will be available on YouTube
- Three Black Halflings
- Tammy Coxen
  - The Glasgow Gimlet
  - Tammy’s Tastings
  - Tammy’s podcast, My Tiny Bottles
- Bigolas Dickolas
Gallifrey One
BSFA
- Join their Discord!
Picks
- John: Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (Channel 4)
  - Our cosplay
- Alison: Eastercon catch-up
- Nicholas:
  - The Black Archive
  - David Whitaker in an Exciting Adventure with Television by Simon Guerrier
Credits
- Cover art: “Octothorpe at Levitation” by Sue Dawson
  - Alt text: John, Alison, and Nicholas Whyte stand in front of a projection of the Octothorpe podcast and behind a panel table. Each of them wears a convention badge, and Nicholas holds the Glasgow Landing Zone Rocket. Nicholas is looking at the camera, while John and Alison are not quite as good at this. The table they stand behind holds beers, coffees, convention newsletters, phone batteries, microphones, and table tents.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John used to be an undergraduate, Alison has been keeping a list, and can Liz be a stunt Liz?

A transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Death (Deb Geisler, chapter 3) and gambling (Hugo Awards, chapter 7; Alison’s pick, chapter 8).

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Mike Glyer
  - Transcripts
- Bob Morrell
- Colin Murtagh
- We also heard from Jonny Baddeley, Alex Holden, Farah Mendlesohn, and Ang Rosin
Deb Geisler
- File 770
Eastercon
- Programme
  - Octothorpe Live is at 13:00 on Monday!
- Games
- Newsletter
  - Please come help, post in the Discord if you’d like to volunteer!
- GUFF
  - Vote here!
- Doc Weir
- BSFA Awards
Awards
- Nebula Award finalists
  - Android Press Games
  - The Bread Must Rise
- Hugo Award betting markets
  - Liz has decided not to put her referral link here because the people who run the website might be a bit too Silicon Valley-y
- Hugo, Girl! un-recuse
Picks
- John: Airecon
  - Overs: The Cricket Card Game
- Alison: The 2023 Eastercon souvenir book
  - Balatro
- Liz: “No CGI is really just INVISIBLE CGI” on YouTube
  - Todd Vaziri on X, BlueSky, Mastodon
Credits
- Cover art: “Podcasting Is Magic” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three ponies in the style of My Little Pony adorn the cover. The left-hand one is orange, and has a six-sided die as a cutie mark. The central one is teal, and has a rainbow Apple logo for a cutie mark. The right-hand one is blue, and has a Hugo Award for a cutie mark. They look like they are having a nice time. The words “My Little Octothorpe 106” appear at the top, and the words “Podcasting Is Magic” appear at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John watches movies, Alison walks on the Moon, and Liz has special bonds.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Censorship, in the form of more Hugo Award controversy

Letters of comment
- Ang Rosin
- Andy Openshaw
- Chris Garcia
  - Zodiac Speaking
- ErsatzCulture and Raj
- España Sheriff
  - Brighton 1987
- Martin Easterbrook
- Tammy Coxen
- Sandra Bond
  - Keep an eye out for Poetry Slum!
  - Click here to see the cover
- Nicholas Jackson on Bluesky
- Harry Payne on Bluesky
BSFA Awards shortlist
Hugo Awards
- The 2023 Hugo Awards: A Report on Censorship and Exclusion by Chris M Barkley and Jason Sanford
- Charting the Cliff: An Investigation Into the 2023 Hugo Nomination Statistics by Camestros Felapton and Heather Rose Jones
- More on Other Chinese Hugo Nominations, based on “Charting the Cliff” by Prograft
- Recent updates from the MPC/WIP
- Journey Planet #79
Picks
- John: Monolith dir. Matt Vesely
- Alison: Moonwalkers
- Liz: FRIENDSHIP
Credits
- Cover art: Liz’s Bedtime Reading by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A famous photograph of Margaret Hamilton standing beside printed outputs of the code that took the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon, overlaid with the words “Octothorpe 105” and “Liz has finished reading the latest Hugo Award exposés”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison and Liz discuss what SF they enjoyed from 2023.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Fanzine
- The Ancillary Review of Books
- IDEA
- Nerds of a Feather
Fan Artist
- Alison Scott
- España Sheriff
Fan Writer
- Camestros Felapton
- Paul Weimer
- Sandra Bond
Fancast
- Going Rogue
Game/Interactive Work
- Video games
  - Baldur’s Gate 3
  - Chants of Sennaar
  - Dredge
  - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
  - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Tabletop games
  - Apiary
  - Earthborne Rangers
  - Moon
  - Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game
  - INELIGIBLE: Hegemony
- Galactic Starcruiser
  - Adrian Hon’s write-up
  - Cass Morris’s write-up
Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)
- Blue-Eyed Samurai (Netflix)
- Doctor Who (BBC iPlayer, Disney+)
- For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
- Foundation (Apple TV+)
- The Last of Us (Now)
- The Mandalorian (Disney+)
- Poker Face (Now)
- Silo (Apple TV+)
- Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+)
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)
- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Netflix)
Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)
- Asteroid City (Now Cinema)
- Barbie (rent or buy)
- Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount+)
- Ghosts, series 5 (BBC iPlayer)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney+)
- The Marvels (Disney+)
- Nimona (Netflix)
- Polite Society (Now Cinema)
- Poor Things (rent or buy)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Now Cinema)
Best Related Work
- 50 Years of Text Games by Aaron A Reed
  - Silverwolf
- A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
- All These Worlds: Reviews and Essays by Niall Harrison
- A Traveller in Time: The Critical Practice of Maureen Kincaid Speller, ed. Nina Allan
Best Graphic Story
- Moon Knight, volume 9 by Jed MacKay, Alessandro Cappuccio, and Rachelle Rosenberg
- Why Don’t You Love Me? by Paul B Rainey
Best Series
- Dune by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson
- Elric by Michael Moorcock
- Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie
- The Final Architecture by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- The Tyrant Philosophers by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Best Short Fiction
- “Spring Woods Spring” by B Pladek
- “The Year Without Sunshine” by Naomi Kritzer
- Find stories to read at Rocket Stack Rank
Best Novella
- A Theory of Haunting by Sarah Monette
- Walking Practice by Dolki Min
- “On the English Approach to the Study of History” by E Saxey
Best Semiprozine
- Giganotasaurus
- Strange Horizons
  - wot, no https?!
Best Novel
- Bridge by Lauren Beukes
- The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
- The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
- Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez
- Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway
- Orbital by Samantha Harvey
- In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
- Hopeland by Ian McDonald
- Julia by Sandra Newman
- Him by Geoff Ryman
- Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
- City of Last Chances and The House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
- The Year in Review 2023 by Graham Sleight
Credits
- Cover art: “Favourite Reading Positions” by Sue Mason
  - Alt text: John is in the bottom-left, sitting in a chair, wearing a blue shirt and purple trousers, holding a can, and reading an ebook. Alison is in the upper-middle, lying down upside down, wearing a purple shirt and stripy trousers, and reading an ebook. Liz is in the bottom-right, wearing a pink shirt with green trousers, holding a mug of a hot beverage, and reading a physical book. They are surrounded by floating beer bottles, books, the Moon, a mug with a moose on it, and two cats. The word “Octothorpe” appears in scattered letters around the artwork, against a pinky-purple background.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is a year behind, Alison is opening nominations, and Liz is Elizabeth (!).

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Israel/Palestine war (Montreal in 2027 segment), serial killers (John’s pick)

Letters of comment
- Ali Baker Brooks
- Chris Garcia
- DC
- Kevin Anderson
- Mark Plummer
- Martin Easterbrook
- Mike Glyer
- Raj
- Alison’s fan art page
BSFA longlist
Fan funds
- TAFF
  - Announcement
  - Ballot
- EFF
- GUFF
Montreal in 2027
- Tel Aviv in 2027
Christopher Priest
- 2005 Guest of Honour speech
Hugo Awards
- Trademarks
  - WIP announcement
  - Mike Dunford on Bluesky
- Chris Barkley’s interview of Dave McCarty
  - Transcript
- A possibly smoking gun
  - File 770 comment
  - Screencap of post from Chinese socials
  - Machine translation
- Tammy Coxen argues Worldcon will die because of lack of volunteers
Picks
- John: How to Find Zodiac by Jarett Kobek (Amazon)
  - Los Angeles Magazine article
- Alison: Fantasy Map Maker
  - Alison’s map
- Liz: North Woods by Daniel Mason (hardback, ebook, audiobook, Amazon)
Credits
- Cover art: “Hugo Regalia Shop” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: The words “Octothorpe 103 Hugo Regalia Shop” appear above a selection of costumes. There are small depictions of a clown, a pirate, a panda and a banana above full-length depictions of a member of the Catholic church (with Hugos on their mitre and crosier), a gangster (labelled “boss”, holding a Hugo), Zaphod Beeblebrox (holding three Hugos) and Jesus (with a crown of thorns but made with Hugos).
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison and Liz respond to a letter of comment from Tobes.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X, Mastodon or Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Chinese censorship (discussion of the Hugo Awards), Jim Crow Florida (Liz’s pick), general socioeconomic inequality (John’s pick)

Glasgow 2024’s hotel bookings are open
Letters of comment
- Alex Ingram
- Bill Higgins
- Chris Garcia
- Colin Murtagh
- Jersey Gryphon
- Karen Schaffer
- Raj
- Tobes Valois
Hugo Awards controversy
- File 770’s roundup
- Some recent writing on these topics:
  - Abigail Nussbaum
  - Cora Buhlert
  - Genre Grapevine
- Ada Palmer on censorship
- Reaction from Chinese fans
  - A reaction from Zimozi Natsuco
  - Check out Ersatz Culture’s feeds for more information on Chinese reactions (Bluesky, Mastodon)
- Dave McCarty
  - His apology
  - A link to his Facebook
- The Useful Idiot
  - It’s not Lenin, it’s a Western term originating in the 1940s and 1950s
- Worldcon Intellectual Property statement about resignations, censures, and reprimands
- Glasgow 2024’s Hugo nominations post
Picks
- John: The Kitchen, dir. Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares
- Alison: Dangerous Space, designed by Jason Greeno and Jason Tagmire
- Liz: The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (paperback, ebook, Amazon)
Credits
- Cover art: “Scooby Gang” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Scooby, Velma and Daphne unmask the panda from last week’s cover art, and the person wearing the panda suit looks a lot like Dave McCarty. They say “It was old Mister McCarty all along!” and he says “And I would have gotten away with it too if it hadn’t been for you meddling Hugo finalists!” He is tied up with rope. The words “Octothorpe! 102” appear at the top of the image.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is self-promoting, Alison ”doesn’t have COVID”, and Liz is distracting.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: large power and age differentials in sexual relationships (John’s pick)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Niall Harrison
  - Adam Roberts on romantasy
  - A website called “pudding.cool”
- Geri Sullivan
- Bridget Bradshaw
- TrishEM says congratulations
- Dave Mansfield
Upcoming conventions which aren’t Worldcon
- Triple Time!, the 34th filk convention (2–4 February 2024, Buxton)
- Picocon 41 (23 March, London)
- Gallifrey One (16–18 February 2024, Los Angeles, USA)
- Levitation 2024, the Eastercon (29 March 2024–1 April 2024, Telford)
- FunCon (31 May–2 June 2024, Buxton)
- Glasgow 2024, the Worldcon (8–12 August 2024, Glasgow)
  - Three Black Halflings
  - Hotel bookings open on 22 January 2024
- Novacon (8–10 November 2024, Buxton)
Send us your Hugo recs while there is a chance we might read/watch them and mention them
China Miéville and Keanu Reeves are collaborating
Picks
- John: Poor Things
  - Exhibition of costumes at the Barbican
- Alison: Why Don’t You Love Me? by Paul B. Rainey (hardback, ebook, Amazon)
- Liz: Chants of Sennaar (PS4, Steam, Switch, Xbox)
  - Relevant Penny Arcade
  - Cracking the Cryptic play Chants of Sennaar
Credits
- Cover art: “Glasgow Hotel Board Game” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A board reminiscent of a well-known board game about property trading. There are three purple properties (Campanile, Village, Moxy), each of which has one hotel. There are two teal properties (Crowne Plaza, Marriott), a replacement for “In Jail” called “In WSFS”, a Statue square featuring a man on horseback with a traffic cone on his head, and a square called Telephone Kiosk with a depiction of a police box. In the middle of the board, the words “Octothorpe Episode 101”. Each property has asterisks for the rent and the words “Rates coming very soon but not quite soon enough for this cover” appear at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

None

John, Alison and Liz receive a telegram.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Irwin Hirsh
- Raj on Mastodon (1, 2)
Hugo voting stats
Moon Knight
- Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey’s run
  - Warren Ellis’ predatory behaviour
    - Article at the time of the original story
    - SoManyOfUs
    - Article from the year after
- Jed MacKay and Alessandro Cappuccio’s run
- Moon Knight: Age of Anubis: A Marvel: Multiverse Missions Adventure Gamebook
  - Want an invite to the Discord? Hit John up! - Glasgow 2024 announces Tanya DePass as special guest
Picks
- John: The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jiminez [paperback, Amazon]
- Alison: The Coral Bones by EJ Swift [paperback, ebook, Amazon]
  - Late-breaking news of a new paperback from Jo Fletcher Books
- Liz: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh [paperback, ebook, audiobook, Amazon]
Festive gaming corner
- John:
  - EXIT: The Game: Advent Calendar: The Silent Storm
  - Final Girl: North Pole Nightmare
  - Herd Mentality
  - Legendary: Marvel
  - Monikers
  - Paleo
  - SCOUT
- Alison:
  - Schotten Totten
  - Zuuli
  - Pandemic: Iberia
  - The Mind
  - Bohnanza
  - Terraforming Mars
    - FryxGames’ CEO posted transphobia and racism
- Liz: Hated by Emily and Andrew
Credits
- Cover art: “Telegram from the Queen” by Alison Scott with telegram by Claire Brialey
  - Alt text: A telegram lies with a golden thread bookmark on a plush purple surface. It has two pieces of Weetabix above text which reads “I am so pleased to know that you are celebrating your one hundredth episode in January 2024. I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion. Claire R (of Croydon).” The words “Octothorpe 100” are at the top in golden lettering.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

None

John doesn’t study herpetology, Alison knows lots of words, and Liz goes first.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Games, SMOFs

If I Ran the Zoo… Con
- PDF version
- Hard copy from NESFA
Bidding Phase:
- 3401 Pre-Supporting Memberships by Leslie Turek
- 5501 Kill the Wabbit by Priscilla Olson, John Pomeranz, Leslie Turek, Mark Olson
Planning Phase:
- 2201 The “Relationship” by Priscilla Olson, Mark Olson
- 5901 We’re in the Money by Glenn Glazer, Leslie Turek
  - Modest food
  - Privy’s props
  - Privy’s cast
At-Con Phase:
- 701 The Lady and the Snake by Mark Olson, Leslie Turek
- 1101 The Dungeon Master by Joe Rico
- 2901 The BNF by Priscilla Olson, Fred Isaacs, Leslie Turek
Credits
- Cover art: “Game of Privies” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: John, Alison and Liz are on a large privy holding drinks with a snake wrapped around the privy. Speech bubbles surround them: “Have you seen my emotional support python?” “The perfect spot for the old pharts photo”, “It’s another ‘what if…’ episode”, and “Oi! There’s a queue here mate”. A banner with “Punctuation Worldcon 2030” appears at the top and the words “Octothorpe 99” appear at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

Points at the end of each phase:

PhasePeopleFinancialGoodwillBidding201Planning541At-Con657

John thinks it’s grandfathered in, Alison doesn’t think it’s SF, and Sandra is Liz.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Curt Phillips
  - Where to buy Moon (USA, UK)
  - If you know of websites that do this in other countries, let John know!
- Mark Plummer
  - The full text of Mark Plummer’s and Leigh Edmonds’ previous locs
Glasgow 2024’s disease mitigation policy
Fan funds
- TAFF
  - Free ebooks
- Taffluorescence! #1
  - With news of the upcoming TAFF race
- Geri Sullivan’s Idea
  - 13 is forthcoming
- Sandra’s books
  - The Psychopath Club
  - The Devil’s Finger
Picks
- John: A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith (hardback, epub, Amazon)
- Alison: For All Mankind
- Sandra: Beyond Fandom: Fans, Culture & Politics in the 20th Century by Rob Hansen (ed.)
Credits
- Cover art: “Stunt Lizard” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: The heads of John and Alison regard a lizard version of Sandra Bond who is doing stunts (on fire, skateboarding) while wearing her signature hat. The words “Octothorpe 98” appear at the top.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

None

John has played some games, Alison will play some games, and Liz is playing games RIGHT NOW

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: China, being burned alive, classism

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- España Sheriff
- Leigh Edmonds
- Lori Anderson
Chengdu
- Chinese v foreign attendees
  - An example
- We expect stats at the 90 day mark
WSFS remote participation
- Current WSFS constitution and standing rules
- Preliminary meeting video
- Don Eastlake on Facebook
Glasgow 2024
- Online convention news
- Glasgow presents Catherynne M Valente and Peter S Beagle
Novacon
- Novacon 53
Picks
- John: The Wicker Man
- Alison: Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi (physical, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
- Liz: Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway (physical, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
Gaming corner
- Tabletop games
  - Hadrian’s Wall
  - Moon
  - Turing Machine
  - Villagers
- Cracking the Cryptic play Return of the Obra Dinn
- The Roottrees are Dead
Credits
- Cover art: “To the LizBatmobile” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: John, Alison and Liz are depicted as Robin, Harley Quinn and Batman, but the Batman logo is replaced by “WSFS”. The Batmobile is in the centre of the three of them. The words “Octothorpe 97” appear at the top and the words “…to the LizBatmobile” at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

Goliath: A Novel

John didn’t, Alison would’ve done, and Liz tried.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: China

Was Chengdu a shower?
- Nicholas Whyte signs autographs
- Chengdu Worldcon on YouTube
- WorldconEvents on YouTube
  - Site selection meeting videos are going up here
- WSFS Business Meeting” group on Facebook
- File 770’s reporting on this year’s WSFS
Picks
- John: Hallowe’en
- Alison: New Zealand
- Liz: Poker Face
Credits
- Cover art: “Chengdu Worldcon Report” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A giant panda stands in a metal tub wearing a rainbow show cap with helicopter blades beneath a shower made of bamboo. A purple towel with “42” on it is over the side of the metal tub. The words “Octothorpe 96” are above “Chengdu Worldcon Report” with a footnote reading “might not have been a shower after all”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is playing a game, Alison is in New Zealand, and Liz’s head is on fire.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Privilege (letters of comment), carbon emissions (GUFF), grant applications (picks)

Letters of comment
- Dave Mansfield
- Esther MacCallum-Stewart
- Chris Garcia
- Abigail Nussbaum
- SJ Johnson
Hugos
- Congratulations to Hugo, Girl!
- Thanks to Nicholas Whyte for
  - Being our designated Hugo acceptor
  - Liveblogging the Hugo Award ceremony
GUFF
- It goes from Australasia to Europe (and vice versa)
  - Australasia
- Stonehenge Aoteroa
- Woomera
- Te Tauaarangi Air Force
- Royal Australian Air Force
- Kākāpō family tree
Picks
- John: Don’t Play This Game (play the demo)
- Alison: Australia
- Liz: Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood (epub, paperback, audiobook, Amazon)
Credits
- Cover art: “Birds” by España Sheriff
  - Alt text: A kakapo, a kiwi and a SIAMESE FIREBACK just chilling out. They look a bit like John, Alison and Liz. The words “Octothorpe 95” adorn the top of the cover.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is eating cinnamon rolls, Alison doesn’t think it’s funny, and Liz has two lists.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X, on Mastodon, or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: colonialism (chapter 2), COVID (chapter 3), organised crime (chapter 5), privilege and capitalism (chapter 7).

No letters of comment this week, normal service resumes next week!
Books in the order they were discussed
- The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi
- Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree
  - Coffee Shop AU
- Nona the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir
- The Spare Man, by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Nettle & Bone, by T Kingfisher
John’s ranking:
1. Nettle & Bone
2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
3. Nona the Ninth
4. The Spare Man
5. Legends & Lattes
6. The Kaiju Preservation Society
Alison’s ranking:
1. Nettle & Bone
2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
3. The Kaiju Preservation Society
4. Nona the Ninth
5. Legends & Lattes
6. The Spare Man
Liz’s ranking:
1. Nettle & Bone
2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
3. Nona the Ninth
4. The Kaiju Preservation Society
5. Legends & Lattes
6. The Spare Man
Consensus ranking:
1. Nettle & Bone
2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
3. Nona the Ninth
4. The Kaiju Preservation Society
5. Legends & Lattes
6. The Spare Man
Credits
- Cover art: “Favourite Reading Positions” by Sue Mason
  - Alt text: John is in the bottom-left, sitting in a chair, wearing a blue shirt and purple trousers, holding a can, and reading an ebook. Alison is in the upper-middle, lying down upside down, wearing a purple shirt and stripy trousers, and reading an ebook. Liz is in the bottom-right, wearing a pink shirt with green trousers, holding a mug of a hot beverage, and reading a physical book. They are surrounded by floating beer bottles, books, the Moon, a mug with a moose on it, and two cats. The word “Octothorpe” appears in scattered letters around the artwork, against a pinky-purple background.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is husky, Alison is a dingo, and Liz is a ridgeback.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Chris Garcia
- Ersatz Culture
Chengdu is a shower
- Relevant Pixel Scrolls:
  - Fanzine and Fan Writer added; videos of the construction
  - Panoramic views of the convention site
- Arthur Liu’s post on Weibo
Glasgow 2024
- Glasgow 2024 Presents: The Media of Storytelling: Print v Screen
Hugo discussion
GUFF
- LEGO postcards from Australia
- You can donate £5 or £10 to guffeurope@gmail.com to get a personalised postcard from Alison
  1. Postcard from Australia for £5
  2. Photo postcard from the Internet for £5
  3. Special surprise exclusive GUFF 2023 Art postcard for £10
  4. Postcard with an “unreasonable special request” for £10 [don’t ask me what this means, I just wrote down the words Alison said—John]
Picks
- We did a lot of talking about our opinions of SF this episode, so picks return in future!
Credits
- Cover art: “Flying to Australia” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A photograph of Alison’s Apple Watch on a plane to Australia. This episode of Octothorpe is playing on that Apple Watch, which is on her wrist.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John went to Reno, Alison went to San Francisco, and Liz went to Chicago.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Murder and sexual violence (chapter 4)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Dave Mansfield
- Duncan MacGregor
- Ersatz Culture
- Irwin Hirsch
- Juan Sanmiguel
- Nick Hubble
- Peter Sullivan
ConFrancisco
- Ansible 75 (October 1993)
- File 770’s Worldcon Wayback Machine:
  - Thursday
  - Friday
  - Saturday
  - Sunday
  - Monday
Chengdu is a shower
- The Hugo Voter Packet still doesn’t have Best Fanzine or Best Fan Writer
- Ersatz Culture’s page on the Hugo Voter Packet now contains downloads for both
- Arthur Liu/Heaven Duke has two pages in Chinese covering similar ground: one, two
Glasgow 2024
- Progress Report 2 is now out
- They’ve got a big organ
- John is moderating “The Media of Storytelling: Print v Screen” for Glasgow Presents
  - 21 September at 19:00 BST
  - Dan Hanks, A M Justice, Jim Mcleod, and R W W Greene
  - Tickets are free
Picks
- John: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 and 1978)
- Alison: The Thin Man (1934) and The Island of Doctor Moreau by H G Wells (1896)
- Liz:
Credits
- Cover art: “1993 Time Machine” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A drawing of España Sheriff with “gosh wow oh boy oh boy” in a thought bubble to the left of a drawing of Alison saying “displays include Hugo history and antique vibrators” behind an info desk. Computer monitors display the text “Coming soon! Websites!” and “Try Virtual Reality, it’s the next big thing”. A Dalek and the Golden Gate Bridge adorn the scene. Above, the words “Moscone North” are below the words “We travel to a land that photography forgot” which are in turn below “Octothorpe 92”.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is a journalist, Alison is fundraising, and Liz is approved.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Ali Baker Brooks
- Chris Garcia
- David Curry
- Edward Morland
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Jonathan Baddeley
- Lori Anderson
  - Not Laurie Anderson
The Clarke Award
- Liz read them all! 🌟
Hugo Voter Packet
- Ersatz Culture’s report on what’s in the packet
Site selection
- Voting has started!
- Seattle in 2025
Alison’s GUFF plans
- If you are in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Christchurch, Picton/Nelson, Wellington, Auckland or Perth, email Alison
Picks
- John: The (Kenner)Spiel des Jahres shortlist
- Alison: LEGO
- Liz: The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (hardback, epub)
Credits
- Cover art: “Plenty of Bits” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A photograph of three mini figures made to look like John, Alison nad Liz with a dragon in the background. John is holding a lightsaber, Alison a fish and a cup o f coffee, and Liz an ice cream. Two cats accompany them.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison and Liz read Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Murder, death

Other works we discussed:
- Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
- Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
- Rosewater by Tade Thompson
  - This didn’t make the edit due to Liz’s audio being troublesome
- The 2018 Hugo Award ballot
Credits
- Cover art: “Standard-Sized Cryochambers” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three cryochambers marked “Coxon J, Scott A and Batty L” reside in a room marked “Clone Bay”. John and Liz’s heads are visible through the windows int heir chambers; Alison’s is not. Blood floats in front of them underneath the words “Octothorpe 90”.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is sitting, Alison is watching, and Liz is typing.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: AI (chapter 3), China (chapter 4), colonialism (chapter 5)

Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Chris Garcia
- Duncan MacGregor
- Edward Morland
- Ersatz Culture
- Farah Mendlesohn
  - Ash by Mary Gentle
- Raj
- Roman Orszanski
Transcription
- We have uploaded transcripts and subtitles for Episodes 49, 62, and 72 as part of our Hugo Voter Packet submission
- What do people want from transcripts? Do any of our listeners use them?
- You can find the transcripts and subtitles for episodes on our GitHub
Glasgow in 2024
- Liz has taken a role in the Programme Division as the Area Head of Podcasting Content
  - John’s panel suggestion: “Why don’t podcasters just shout? Why use microphones? Our panel discusses the pros and cons of literally shouting into the void.”
  - Please put this into the programme suggestion form
- Glasgow in 2024 has released an AI Art Statement
  - ASFA
Chengdu Worldcon
- None of us are planning to take the Worldcon up on their offer of a free trip
- File 770 articles about finalists going to China: 1, 2, 3, 4
Picks
- John: Asteroid City
- Alison: Beyond a Boundary by CLR James
  - Miles Jupp’s Fibber in the Heat
- Liz: The Last Blade Priest by WP Wiles
Credits
- Cover art: “Eight-Fingered Monkeys” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three monkeys, each with eight digits on their hands and eight on their feet, do the classic “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” triptych under the words “Octothorpe 89”.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is on brand, Alison wants to do Mark, and Liz had a few twinges.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 2)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Duncan MacGregor
- Mark Plummer
- Niall Harrison
  - Adam Roberts’ future books:
    - The Death of Sir Martin Malprelate (2023)
    - The Midas Rain (2023)
    - Lake of Darkness (2024)
- Raj
- Various congratulations from our lovely lovely listeners
Octothorpe COVID round-up
- Levitation are soliciting signups to their eventual COVID survey
Hugo Awards
- The finalists have been announced
  - Chinese recommendation posts
  - Did Octothorpe have an effect?
- What are your favourite episodes from 2022, listeners?
- S. B. Divya declined two Hugo nominations
- España Sheriff did not, but blogged on her thoughts anyway
Chengdu Worldcon
- Emails have been sent to members about the programme survey
- “The Stars and the Sea”
Picks
- John: The Scarlet Keys
- Alison: Plutoshine by Lucy Kissack
- Liz: Tour de France
  - Cyclists near Alison’s house
Credits
- Cover art: “Rocktothorpe” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three Clangers wearing homages to Sean Connery in Zardoz stand on the Moon, painted on a rock which is in turn against a purple background. The words “Octothorpe 88” appear in yellow/orange at the top.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John isn’t picky, Alison is in a field, and Liz is very hungry.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Chris Garcia
- Karen Schaeffer
- Malcolm Hutchison
- Peter Sullivan
- Raj
- We might have Tweets of comment but who knows?
Chengdu is a shower
- Moar Hugo award delays
- Now you see them, now you don’t
- This episode will go live when the Hugo finalists do
Locus awards
- From Locus #750: “The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi won with the smallest winning lead this year, just 17 points ahead Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, which had the most votes and first-place votes, and would have won without the doubling of subscriber points.”
- Scalzi’s grumpy tweet
BSFA awards
- Non-fiction is split into short and long
- Novella
- Collection
- Original audio fiction
- Translated work of short fiction
Picks
- John: Across the Spider-Verse
  - Not Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman
- Alison: Museum Catalogues (In the Black Fantastic and Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination)
- Liz: Stealing From the Sky by Adam Roberts
  - In the style of Donald Westlake
Credits
- Cover art: “One Moose-Sized Alison” by first-time Hugo Finalist Alison Scott
  - Alt text: John and Liz stand in front of a moose-sized Alison wearing antlers in a cage fight. Alison is saying “BEWARE MY SIGNATURE MOVE THE MOOSE”, John is saying “I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE SUMMER OF FUN” and Liz is saying “IS IT TOO LATE TO PICK 100 ALISON-SIZED MOOSE?” The words “Octothorpe 87” are at the top.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John can do one, Alison don’t like cricket, and Liz will never get to bed.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Poor working conditions (chapter 2), COVID (chapter 3)

Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Chris Garcia
Chengdu is a shower
- Hugo Award delay
- Venue under construction
COVID Round-up
- New recommendation: 5 air changes per hour (ACH)
  - The Lancet COVID-19 Commission Task Force on Safe Work, Safe School, and Safe Travel
- HSE has general ventilation advice
Seattle is the only Worldcon bid for 2025
Pemmi-Con
- Virtual memberships have been announced
- You will have a supporting membership if
  - you voted in NASFiC site selection or
  - you got drunk and bought a $65 Moose T-shirt at Chicon 8
Glasgow in 2024
- You can volunteer to be on programme or suggest an item
Arthur C. Clarke Award
- Liz has read one of them
- John has read a different one
GUFF
- Alison has dates and a plan
- If you’re in Australia and want to have Alison (and maybe Steven) to visit, let us know
Picks:
- John: UK Games Expo
  - Earthborne Rangers
  - Solar Sphere
  - FlickFleet
  - Asteroid Dice and Shape Invaders
  - Catacombs
  - Dungeon Drop
  - Final Girl
  - Find stockists for any of the above games through BoardGamePrices
- Alison: Cricket
- Liz: Rivers of London, specifically the most recent novels (False Value and Amongst Our Weapons)
Credits
- Cover art: Apparently It’s Beach Cricket by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: The three of us wearing cricket clothes in front of a picture of a beach that Liz took to taunt us.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is at a convention, Alison is in a cottage, and Liz is not at a festival.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 1)

Letters of comment
- Tammy Coxen
- Alex Holden
- Dave Mansfield
- Chris Garcia
- Perrianne Lurie
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Chris Garcia
- Randy Smith
- Chris Garcia
Cheese
Satellite 8
Jim Shull
Picks:
- John: All These Worlds: Reviews and Essays by Niall Harrison
- Alison: Shining Girls (Apple TV+)
- Liz: Striking Out
Credits
- Cover art: “To-do List” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A moose mug, a keyboard and a to-do list on a desk. The list reads: “Watch the cricket. Sit in the garden. Plan holidays. Octothorpe 85 art. Summer of fun.”
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison and Liz read A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Spoilers for the book

Credits
- Cover art: “Little Baby Cheeses” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three cheeses sit on a shelf. The first cheese is thinking “FACE #1: CHEEZY GRIN”. The second is thinking “FACE #2: LONG SUFFERING ARTIST”. The third is thinking “FACE #3: FIVE EXPRESSIONS? YOU WERE LUCKY. YOU SHOULD TRY BEING CHEESE.” The words “Octothorpe 84” hang above them.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John would like more drawers, Alison uses the floor, and Liz is okay with shelves.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 4)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- España Sheriff
  - Joe Manganiello’s D&D series
- Esther MacCallum-Stewart
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Fran Dowd
- James Shields
  - Andrew January’s GitHub issue
- Jonny Baddeley
- Raj
Chengdu is a shower
- Sunny spells this week
Fan Funds
- TAFF: Congratulations to Sandra Bond, who will visit Pemmi-Con
- EFF: Congratulations to Matylda Naczyńska, who will visit Konflikt
Conversation
- Roughly half and half between COVID chat and not-COVID chat
  - MUCH LIKE THE COVID RATES, BOOM [Alison doesn’t know I wrote that—John]
No picks this week – what have y’all been into?
Credits
- Cover art: “Carry On the Conversation” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: John, Alison and Liz have bottles of porter and wear pink T-shirts in the centre of the art, as various farcical figures surround them looking remarkably like convention attendees. “Carry On… the Conversation” is written in big friendly letters on the cover, above the words “An Octothorpe 83 production • John Coxon • Alison Scott • Liz Batty”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison and Liz talk about their Hugo Award nominations.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment will be coming next week!
Giant Hugo spreadsheet
Fancast
- Hugo, Girl!
Fan Artist
- Iain J Clark
- España Sheriff
- Sue Mason
- Alison Scott
- Sara Felix
Dramatic Presentation (Long Form): - The TV shows are in Episode 77’s show notes - Don’t Worry Darling - The Astral Pole - Everything Everywhere All at Once - The podcast Liz mentioned - Men - Nope - Prey - Turning Red - Google - Vesper - Horizon Forbidden West
Short stories:
- John:
  - “Requiem for a Dollface” by Margaret Dunlap
  - “Transference” by Vivian Shaw
  - “Family Cooking” by Anamaria Curtis
  - “Lily, the Immortal” by Kylie Lee Baker
- Liz:
  - “Critical Mass” by Peter Watts
  - “Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills
  - “The CRISPR Cookbook” by MKRNYILGLD
Novelettes:
- John:
  - “Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home” by CL Clark
  - “If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You” by John Chu
  - “Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold” by SB Divya
- Liz:
  - The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix Harrow
  - What the Dead Know by Nghi Vo
Novella:
- John: “Radcliffe Hall” by Miyuki Jane Pinckard
- Liz:
  - Undercover by Tamsyn Muir
  - The Two Doctors Gorski by Isaac Fellman (ebook, Amazon)
Stars & Stripes FOREVER!
Earwigo
Credits
- Cover art: “Octothorpe, Octothorpe, Octothorpe” by Alison Scott from an idea by Sandra Bond
  - Alt text: Three red pandas hold “Octothorpe” football scarves with “here we go”, “earwig o” and “be kind to your web-footed friends” as lyrics floating above. Text above that says “82: HUGO NOMINATION RECOMMENDATION SPECIAL”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

None

Alison, Liz, John and Alison are live from Conversation!

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID

Eastercon 2025: Reconnect
Funcon 1
Picks:
- John: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Alison: Plague
- Liz: Nocebo (Netflix)
Credits
- Cover art: “Conversation” by Sue Mason
  - Alt text: The dragon and robot from Conversation’s logo, either side of a shield depicting two rockets with a moose head above it and a sleeping black cat below it. Text reads “Octothorpe 81: Live from Eastercon”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is jetlagged, Alison is working, and Liz is under pressure.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Eating octopus (chapter 1), N*zism (chapter 8)

Letters of comment
- Mark Plummer
  - Nicholas Whyte
- Ian Hillman
  - They Called Us Enemy (Forbidden Planet, Amazon)
- Gwen Frazer
- Briardene Books
- Karen Schaffer
Chengdu is a shower
- Their website is back!
Picks:
- John: Digger by Ursula Vernon (read online, Kickstarter)
- Alison: The Eastercon programme (not quite yet online, keep an eye on their website)
- Liz: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (hardback, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
  - Joe Manganiello’s D&D campaign
Eastercon
- Programme coming soon
- Discord now available!
Corflu Craic
Credits
- Cover art: “Intelligent Spider Aliens” by Sue Mason
  - Alt text: Spiders looking like John, Alison and Liz hang from the top of the art on webs, with “O80” written on their abdomens.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

They Called Us Enemy: Expanded Edition

John wants new gloves, Alison is foreshadowing, and Liz scrolls past spiders.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Spiders (chapter 6)

Letters of comment
- Raj
- Bridget Bradshaw
- Chris Garcia
  - Bigbug (Netflix)
  - OSS 117 (Amazon)
  - Brice de Nice (Hoopla)
- Lori Anderson
- Curt Phillips
Chengdu is a shower (but not as bad as the BBC)
- They have opened Hugo nominations
- Conversions for Chinese language nominees: “A factor of 1.6 will be used when converting from English words to Chinese characters. As such the fiction category breakpoints will be: 1) Short Story: fewer than 7,500 English words or 12,000 Chinese characters. 2) Novelette: between 7,500/12,000 and 17,500 English words or 28,000 Chinese characters. 3) Novella: between 17,500/28,000 and 40,000 English words or 64,000 Chinese characters. 4) Novel: greater than 40,000 English words or 64,000 Chinese characters.”
Nebula nominees are out
- Strange Horizons argues erroneously that Our Flag Means Death is fantasy, actually
BSFA nominees are also out
Everything Everywhere All at Once prop auction(s)
- Everything Everywhere All at Once shop
Picks:
- John: Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (ebook, paperback, Amazon)
  - Force Majeure Outer Dark Trilogy Part 2 Episode 1 - “In Space, No-One Can Smell Your Frog”
  - The Dark Room by John Robertson
- Alison: Allegiance by George Takei
  - Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (ebook, paperback, Amazon)
- Liz: Los Espookys **(HBO, Now TV)
Credits
- Cover art: ”MidJourney Into Space” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three adorable little rockets with faces corresponding to John, Alison and Liz above the text “Octothorpe 79”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- “Announcement” from Orange Free Sounds (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Children of Time

John is chuckling, Alison is conversing, and Liz is critical.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Immigration (chapter 2), COVID (chapter 3)

Letters of comment
- Ang Rosin
- Dave Coxon
- Raj
- Chris Garcia
  - Fempire by Honora Talbot
  - Lost Beyond the Stars by Kayla Arend
  - Bean Feasa by Daniel Butler
  - AlieNation by Ray Raghavan
  - I XXXX My Sex Doll by Fay Beck
Chengdu is a shower
- PR1
- The USA says “reconsider travel”, which is level 3 of a 4-level alert, partly due to COVID which may change before October. They have level 4 alerts which are “do not travel”
Conversation COVID policy
- Liz thinks Boskone has a nice, straightforward policy
Picks:
- John: Living with Ghosts by Kari Sperring (only available in the US: ebook, Amazon)
- Alison: Spider-Man: Far From Home (Disney+)
- Liz: The Owl Job
Credits
- Cover art: Sqrrl Grrl by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: John and Liz are squirrels with acorns and Liz is Squirrel Girl, sitting in a tree under the words “Octothorpe 78”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

None

John has trauma, Alison has poetry and Liz hasn’t got Paramount+.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Raj on Mastodon
- Hugo, Girl! on Twitter
  - Whisper.cpp
- Chris Garcia
Chengdu is a shower
- Dave McCarty on Hugos
- Since we recorded, people are reporting seeing emails about Hugo voting – they seem to be landing in spam folders. John posted more info on Mastodon.
Hugo handicapping
- The Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom
- Best Dramatic Presentation: Short Form
  - John
    - The Expanse: “Babylon’s Ashes”
    - Severance: “Defiant Jazz”
    - Star Trek: Strange New World: “Spock Amok”
    - Moon Knight: “Asylum”
    - The Boys: “Herogasm”
  - Alison
    - Severance: “The Way We Are”
    - Ghosts: “It’s Behind You”
    - Mythic Quest: “Across the Universe”
    - Harry Josephine Giles’ performance of Deep Wheel Orcadia at the Edinburgh Book Festival
    - Severance: “whatever other episodes, they’re all great”
  - Liz
    - Andor: “One Way Out”
    - Star Trek: Lower Decks: “Hear All, Trust Nothing”
    - What We Do In the Shadows: “Go Flip Yourself”
    - For All Mankind: “Stranger in a Strange Land”
    - Stranger Things: “Chapter Four: Dear Billy”
Picks:
- John: The Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist
  - The official website for the award doesn’t have historic shortlists on it (why) so have a Wikipedia article instead
- Liz: Strange Horizons’ 2023 criticism special
- Alison: More print and play games
  - In lieu of a list of games, you can browse Alison’s post history on the BoardGameGeek forums to get an idea for what she’s playing
Credits
- Cover art: “Denizens” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: In black and red, three fantasy creatures resembling John, Alison and Liz.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

Episode 76John is watching movies, Alison is making games, and Liz isn’t picky.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on The Wandering Shop) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: China (chapter 2), death of a parent (chapter 4)

Letters of comment
- Claire Brialey
- Tammy Coxen
- Chris Garcia
  - Journey Planet on Chinese Science Fiction and Space
- Irwin Hirsch
Chengdu is a shower
- Tip of the hat to File 770 for some sterling reporting on this
- Chengdu Worldcon changes dates, site
  - Mockups appear to show buildings permanently branded with Worldcon/WSFS marks
- Images of the proposed Chengdu Science Fiction Museum
- Chinese fans are not best pleased
  - It’s no longer in the summer so students will be in school and not able to go, and the students are the ones who brought the con to China
- But, Chengdu can take credit card payments now
  - Fiona Moore confirms
GUFF
- Alison announced in Octothorpe 73 that she was going to go after the coronation
- But there’s now an Australian Natcon (Conflux, 29 September to 2 October) with which Alison is aiming to intersect
Picks:
- John: Prey (Disney+) and Invasion of the Body-Snatchers (1956, MGM)
- Alison: Print and play games
  - [Alison went out for the day and did not give me links to the games, listeners! I’ll try to fill this in before next episode – John]
Credits
- Cover art: Groundhog Day by España Sheriff
  - Alt text: Three groundhogs in the general shapes of John, Alison and Liz regard their shadow, in the shape of an octothorpe, beneath the text “Octothorpe 76”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John wants to play, Alison has met lots of authors, and Liz is a womble.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on wandering.shop) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Capitalism (chapter 3), China (chapter 4)

Letters of comment
- Sandra Bond
- Chris “The Legend” Garcia
- Dave Mansfield
- Curt Phillips
- Kevin Standlee
- Raj on Twitter
Magazines
- The Locus fundraiser is well over target
- Amazon are stopping doing Kindle Periodical magazine subscriptions
- Interesting numbers on subscribers/supporters from Michael Damien Thomas
Chengdu is a shower:
- Chengdu are finally taking non-Chinese memberships
  - A mere 22 days before the deadline for Hugos
- Chengdu have not yet produced PR1
- There is another petition against Sergei Lukyanenko
Liz is going to do the runalongwomble TBR challenge
Picks:
- John: The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itäranta (paperback, epub, audiobook)
- Alison: Europe in Autumn by Dave Hutchison (paperback, epub, audiobook)
  - Please recommend me (and everyone else) one fantastic 2022 book to read
  - Recommend me one science fiction or fantasy thing from 2022 that you’ve particularly enjoyed that is not a novel
- Liz: A Game of Birds and Wolves by Simon Parkin (paperback, epub, audiobook)
Aftershow:
- If I Ran the Zoo…Con (NESFA Press, The Book Patch)
Credits
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John and Alison read a poem by Sandra Bond.

Credits
- Cover art: The Great Cthulhu and John Coxon by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Liz and Alison (dressed in their Sunday best) take John (dressed in Star Wars cosplay but with short trousers) to see Cthulhu, depicted in a cage at the zoo.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is going to Sweden, Alison is going to Australia, and Liz isn’t moving back to Europe.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on wandering.shop) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Capitalism (chapter 1)

Letters of comment
- Phil Dyson
- Chris Garcia
  - There Has Always Been Locus
- Perrianne Lurie
- Mike Scott
- Duncan MacGregor
- Raj on Twitter
Graphs!
European Fan Fund (EFF)
- European Fan Fund rules
- European Fan Fund announcement
TAFF race in 2023 now open - GUFF stuff
Smofcon goes to Providence, Rhode Island (not Sweden)
- But Eurocon is in Sweden
We are on Mastodon:
- Octothorpe
- John
- Alison
- Liz
Picks
- John: Star Wars: The High Republic
- Alison: Dragonmeet
  - Beans dice
- Liz: It by Stephen King (Amazon, paperback, epub, audiobook)
Credits
- Cover art: Visions of St Octothorpe
  - Alt text: Three rodents stand under a mantlepiece covered in holly above a roaring fire. John’s stocking has dice and is orange; Alison’s has moose and is green; Liz has molecules and is blue. Rodent John is holding a B2-EMO coffee mug and wearing entirely Gregg’s-themed Christmas wear. Alison has her knitting, and is wearing red, orange and green Christmas wear. Liz is crocheting and is decked out in tasteful indigo. Each of the rodents is having a thoroughly lovely Christmas and wishes you the same!
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John isn’t gambling, Alison isn’t reading, and Liz doesn’t care.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Capitalism (chapter 3)

Letters of comment
- DC
- Mark Plummer
- Karen Schaffer
- Curt Phillips
- Christopher J Garcia
- Hugo, Girl!
- Duncan MacGregor
Beneath Ceaseless Skies recuses from the Hugo Awards
Locus is crowd funding
Picks:
- John: Andor (Disney+)
- Alison: Andor (Disney+)
- Liz: Andor (Disney+)
  - With a 70s-style intro sequence
Credits
- Cover art: Ictithirpe by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: The text “# Octothorpe” written in fonts that make it look like the Andor logo, and “Seventy Two” written in the Star Wars logo, in a golden colour on black.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is on the Holodeck, Alison is in the past, and Liz is at school.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID-19 (chapter 5)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Jonny Baddeley
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Peter Sullivan
- Raj
Locus fundraiser
Novacon
Satellite 8
Picks:
- John: Star Wars Trek: The Next Generation
- Alison: Genre Fiction: The Roaring Years by Peter Nicholls
- Liz: The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
Credits
- Cover art: Cat Detectives by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: John, Alison, and Liz are depicted as cats wearing the clothing of noir detectives by a door marked “Octothorpe Detective Agency”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is logging in, Alison is getting emails, and Liz is collecting Pokémon.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: War in Ukraine (chapter 5)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Esther MacCallum-Stewart
- Mark Plummer
- Nicholas Whyte
- Karen Schaffer
- Peter Sullivan
- Raj
Arthur C Clarke Award winners
First Nations Travel Fund
World Fantasy Con will be in Birmingham in 2025
Chengdu Worldcon
Picks:
- John: Moon Knight vol. 9 (Marvel Unlimited) and Werewolf By Night (Disney+)
- Alison: Swimming in the North Sea
- Liz: Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin
Credits
- Cover art: 2024 NASFiC bid by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A drawing of a Canadian Consulate, adorned with Scottish and Canadian flags, and a banner which says “Edinburgh NASFiC 2024: Presupports $60 inc. free T-shirt”. A mountie is in front of the building, which is in the Greco-Roman style. OCTOTHORPE 70 is written at the top, on a light purple sky above the building.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is Chris Garcia, Alison is Chris Garcia, and Liz is Chris Garcia.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Hugo statistics by Nicholas Whyte and Kat Jones
- E Pluribus Hugo
  - It was up for reratification at Chicon 8
  - Nicholas Whyte wrote about EPH in 2015
Credits
- Cover art: What If…? by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three figures with long brown hair and brown bears are central in the image. They look eerily like Chris Garcia. The left Chris Garcia is wearing John’s glasses and a Flintstones shirt with his arms folded; the central Chris Garcia is wearing Alison’s glasses and a black shirt with his (her?) arms outstretched and fingers doing horns; and the right Chris Garcia is wearing a stripy blue-and-white top and appears to be doing a wrestling move in a downward fashion. The left Chris Garcia has a speech bubble saying “WELCOME TO THE VERY 69TH EPISODE OF OCTOTHORPE. I’M CHRIS GARCIA”. The central Chris Garcia has a speech bubble saying “I’M CHRIS GARCIA”. The right Chris Garcia has a speech bubble saying “AND I’M CHRIS GARCIA. IN THIS EPISODE I REVEAL MY MULTITASKING TIPS”. The text “What if… all three of us were Chris Garcia? appears in a typeface reminiscent of classic Tintin covers in the top-centre of the artwork. The top-left corner has “Octothorpe 69 Nov 2022” written in the style of a comic cover; the top-right corner has “Rejected by the Comics Code Authority”. In the bottom-right hand corner the words “You can catch Chris Garcia every month in Journey Planet and the Drink Tank” appear. A barcode in the bottom-left hand corner is actually cunningly-disguised text that reads (ROT13 to avoid spoilers) “Lbh ner Puevf Tnepvn naq V pynvz zl svir cbhaqf”. The background is two shades of purple.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is clever, Alison has lost her composure, and Liz is confused by WSFS.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Kev McVeigh (on Octothorpe 63)
  - Burntcoat by Sarah Hall (epub, hardback, audiobook, Amazon)
- Congratulations to Raj for catching up!
  - [Do not listen from the beginning – John]
  - [It is also okay to skip episodes – Alison]
- Mark Plummer
- Chris Garcia
- Farah Mendlesohn
British Fantasy Society Awards
- Maureen Kincaid Speller
  - Tribute on Strange Horizons
Glasgow 2024
- Join here!
- WSFS Memberships
  - These have confused some people
  - WSFS Memberships let you vote in the Hugo Awards and in Site Selection
  - But not in the WSFS Business Meeting
  - Cheryl Morgan at Salon Futura
Picks:
- John: A Vertical Empire: History of the British Rocketry Programme by CN Hill (ebook, paperback, Amazon)
- Alison: Wandavision (Disney+)
- Liz: Return to Monkey Island (Steam, Nintendo Switch)
Credits
- Cover art: Glasgow by Sara Felix with kind permission of Glasgow 2024
  - Alt text: The Glasgow 2024 logo with black line drawings of John, Alison and Liz on three planets. Alison has a tiara. In place of the words “Glasgow 2024” are the words “Octothorpe 68”. The logo is on a background in Octothorpe’s purple.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John has hairspray, Alison has a tiara, and Liz has a necklace.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Falling out of boats (chapter 8)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Facebook, Twitter, assorted other mentions
Conventions
- Chicon 8
- Dragon Con
- Pemmi-con
- Gen Con
Chicago
- Morse Museum of American Art (not in Chicago)
- Chicago Architecture Foundation Center River Cruise aboard Chicago’s First Lady
- Art Institute of Chicago
Hugo Award statistics
Picks:
- Alison: Phantom Peak
- Liz: The Founders trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett
  - Foundryside (epub, paperback, Amazon)
  - Shorefall (epub, paperback, Amazon)
  - Locklands (epub, paperback, Amazon)
- John: Galaxy’s Edge
Credits
- Cover art: “Alison Phones It In” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A commemorative plate with a blue rim which says “Octothorpe 67” and “Number #2 in an obviously infinite series” on it. Within that there is another commemorative plate with a purple rim edged in gold, and gold writing which says “Octothorpe 64” and the names of the hosts on that rim. In the centre, three figures; John on the left, giving a thumbs up in a yellow Star Trek uniform with ocular implants like Rutherford’s in Lower Decks; Alison in the centre wearing a red Star Trek uniform; and Liz on the right wearing a blue Star Trek uniform with blue-green skin and pointy ears. We each have a single command pip. In the top-right corner there is text reading “UNIQUE COMMEMORATIVE PLATE OF A COMMEMORATIVE PLATE”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is in the fanzine lounge, Alison is under a bison hat, and Liz is good, thank you.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

We talked to the following people!
- Fia Karlsson, TAFF delegate
- Lynelle Howell, Facilities Division Head for CoNZealand
- Chuck Serface, Hugo Award finalist for Journey Planet
- Ric Bretschneider, co-host of Fanboy Planet
- Perry Middlemiss, past Worldcon chair and co-host of Two Chairs Talking
- James Bacon, past Worldcon chair and Hugo Award finalist for Journey Planet
Credits
- Cover art: “Hugo Reception”
  - Alt text: A purple square with “OCTOTHORPE 66” written at the bottom and inset, a photograph of John, Alison, and Liz. John is wearing a grey suit with a Hugo Award finalist pin and a matching purple tie and mask; Alison is wearing a black mask, a burgundy dress, a tiara by Sara Felix, and has glitter on her temple; and Liz is wearing a green dress and matching mask, a necklace by Vanessa Applegate, and a yellow shrug. They are against a backdrop which has alternating Hugo Award logos and Chicon 8 logos.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is a computer; Alison and Liz are talking to him very slowly.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Buy the Parsely Games PDF
Alison had an ear worm
Credits
- Cover art: “Maps” by Alison Scott and Liz Batty
  - Alt text: Two hand drawn maps of the world described by the game, in handwriting, one on an iPad and one on paper. They are atop a purple square which says “Octothorpe 65”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is crying, Alison is lounging, and Liz is crocheting.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: climate change, death, abuse (chapter 3)

Letters of comment
- Ang Rosin
- Caroline Mullan
- Mark Plummer
  - Galactic Journey
  - Kev Smith’s TAFF report
  - John’s TAFF report
- Bill Higgins
- Chris Garcia
- Raj
- Hotel eggs
Our Hugo Award ballots
- The Brialey Competence Threshold
- The list of finalists (we’re not going to write them all out here!)
Worldcon schedules
- The following are us on the Chicon 8 guide: John, Alison, Liz
- Wait for a second for the data to come in to replace the “this user is not found” page rather than deciding it didn’t work before immediately closing the tab (see also: Alison)
Worldcon miscellany
- File 770 reports on proper electronic site selection
  - Vote through Chicon 8’s Registration subsite
  - We all voted and thought it was very easy!
- Alison escapes from collating WOOF
- Kampcon 2028 bids for a Ugandan Worldcon
Picks
- John: Nope (in cinemas) and “Family Cooking” by Anamaria Curtis (Uncanny)
- Alison: “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny)
- Liz: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Disney+)
Star Wars games
- I could do links to Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch games with Star Wars in, but I feel like you can probably just do that yourselves, listeners. I know, the service here is terrible
Credits
- Cover art: “Commemorative Plate” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: A commemorative plate with a purple rim edged in gold, and gold writing which says “Octothorpe 64” and the names of the hosts on that rim. In the centre, three figures; John on the left, giving a thumbs up in a yellow Star Trek uniform with ocular implants like Rutherford’s in Lower Decks; Alison in the centre wearing a red Star Trek uniform; and Liz on the right wearing a blue Star Trek uniform with blue-green skin and pointy ears. We each have a single command pip.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John has a button, Alison has a venue, and Liz once saw a computer that had been in Chris’s car.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 2), death at a young age (chapter 6).

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Roman Orszanski
- Paul Weimer
- Bridget Bradshaw
FantasyCon
- It was cancelled
  - They had sold 200 memberships, but needed 400 and were £24k short
- It was uncancelled
  - You can join the new iteration here
Arthur C Clarke Awards
- The shortlist is out
- The Scotsman reviewed Deep Wheel Orcadia
Conversation has a venue now!
Chicon Fringe
Picks
- John: Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic (Steam, Switch, Xbox, iPad)
  - No PlayStation version, probably because of the coming remaster?
- Alison: “In the Black Fantastic” at the Hayward Gallery
- Liz: The Great Potato War
Credits
- Cover art: “Assorted Jedi” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three humanoid figures hold lightsabers and stand against a futuristic cityscape reminiscent of Coruscant. The leftmost looks like John, but is clad in the clothes of Luke Skywalker. The middle figure looks like Alison, but she’s green and looks quite a lot like Yoda. The rightmost looks like Liz, clad in the clothes of Rey Skywalker. The words “Octothorpe 63” adorn the top of the image in the distinctive typeface of Star Wars.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John has superpowers, Alison is an alien in a human suit, and Liz likes cats.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: being stranded in space (chapter 1); sexism (chapter 2); Hell and murder (chapter 5).

No letters of comment this week, normal service resumes next week!
Books in the order they were discussed
- Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
- A Master of Djinn, by P. Djèlí Clark
- The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers
- She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan
- Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki
- A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine
What book would we have put on the list instead?
- John: The Psychopath Club by Sandra Bond
- Alison: The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
- Liz: Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky
John’s ranking:
1. A Desolation Called Peace
2. Light From Uncommon Stars
3. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
4. A Master of Djinn
5. She Who Became the Sun
6. Project Hail Mary
Alison’s ranking:
1. A Desolation Called Peace
2. Light From Uncommon Stars
3. She Who Became the Sun
4. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
5. A Master of Djinn
6. Project Hail Mary
Liz’s ranking:
1. A Desolation Called Peace
2. She Who Became the Sun
3. A Master of Djinn
4. Light From Uncommon Stars
5. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
6. Project Hail Mary
Consensus ranking:
1. A Desolation Called Peace
2. Light From Uncommon Stars
3. She Who Became the Sun
4. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
5. A Master of Djinn
6. Project Hail Mary
Credits
- Cover art: “Favourite Reading Positions” by Sue Mason
  - Alt text: John is in the bottom-left, sitting in a chair, wearing a blue shirt and purple trousers, holding a can, and reading an ebook. Alison is in the upper-middle, lying down upside down, wearing a purple shirt and stripy trousers, and reading an ebook. Liz is in the bottom-right, wearing a pink shirt with green trousers, holding a mug of a hot beverage, and reading a physical book. They are surrounded by floating beer bottles, books, the Moon, a mug with a moose on it, and two cats. The words “Octothorpe 62” appear in scattered letters around the artwork, against a pinky-purple background.
- Theme music: ‘Fanfare for Space’ by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John has a hat on, Alison is taking the baton, and Liz twirls.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID-19 (chapter 2)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
  - The Drink Tank
  - Sci-Fi Short of the Week
  - DUST
- Andrew January
- Roman Orszanski
- Duncan McGregor and cDave on Twitter
- Raj sent a nice message on Twitter as well
- Fran Dowd
  - Celluloid Screams
  - Fear2000
  - Sheffield DocFest
  - The Festival of Fantastic Films
- Farah Mendlesohn
  - Science Fiction Research Association
Octothorpe COVID Round-Up
- WisCon’s post-con COVID report
- Andrew Plotkin’s write-up of Scintillation
The Hugo Awards’ 25% rule
- WSFS Constitution (see §3.12.2)
- Olav Rokne and Amanda Wakaruk’s proposal to remove this clause
Picks
- John: Elgato Stream Deck Mini
- Alison: Cricket
- Liz: Kevin
Interactive Fiction
- Spider and Web
Credits
- Cover art: Robots by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Three round robot vacuum cleaners on a wood panel floor in a triangle formation. The lower-left one has glasses like John’s and looks like it’s open-mouthed; the upper-centre one has glasses like Alison’s and looks like it’s smiling; the lower-right one has no glasses like Liz and looks like it’s smiling. The text “Octothorpe 61” appears above the robots.
- Theme music: ‘Fanfare for Space’ by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is going to brunch, Alison watched a film, and Liz is critical.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Kevin Standlee and Tammy Coxen
- Bridget Bradshaw
- Chris Garcia
- Unofficial Hugo Book Club on Twitter sent us a graph
- Catherine Crockett
  - Transcripts on eFanzines
  - Subtitles on Podbean - Jonathan Cowie asked “What special Hugo would we introduce if we were in charge at Glasgow?”
- Alison: Best Transcript
- Liz: Best Non-Fiction/Best Criticism
- John: Best Short Film or Best Dramatic Presentation (Very Short Form)
- Alison (seriously): Best Dramatic Presentation (Audio Form)
Hugo voting is now open until August 11th
Picks
- John: Moon Knight (Disney+)
- Alison: ABBA: Voyage
  - Pepper’s Ghost
- Liz: [PICK REDACTED]
Credits
- Cover art: DALL-E, courtesy of Bridget Bradshaw
  - Alt text: A three-by-three grid of images generated by DALL-E with the prompt “cover art for Octothorpe podcast”. They are quite surreal, often involve figures, and are mostly in shades of green and pink with one black and white one. They almost give an impression of Lovecraftian tutti-frutti.
- Theme music: ‘Fanfare for Space’ by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is roast beef, Alison is pickled onion, and Liz is flamin’ hot.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 3)

Letters of comment
- Artwork: Dave Coxon
- Podcasts for tedium: Jonny Baddeley, Ali Baker Brooks, Virginia Preston
- Convention data: Chris Garcia, Lilian Edwards
- Worldcons: Malcolm Hutchison, Gillian Polack
- Picks:
  - Raybearer is getting the Netflix treatment
  - Abigail Nussbaum’s essay on Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Ali Baker Brooks: Athena Scalzi’s review of a British snack box
Fanzine Lounge at Chicon 8
- Alison’s job title is salonnière
- You can volunteer to help out!
- Masks will be required as it’s not a designated space for eating and drinking
Hugo Voter Packet
- We are working on getting transcripts up for people who aren’t Worldcon members, stay tuned…
WSFS Constitution
- Kevin Standlee’s tweets
Picks
- John: Sci-Fi London’s short movie track
- Alison: Severance (Apple TV+)
- Liz was busy: Bob’s Burgers (Disney+)
Credits
- Cover art: “Monster Munch” by Alison Scott
  - Alt text: Photo manipulation of a purple packet of crisps reminiscent of Monster Munch, with “MEGA OCTOTHORPE PODCAST episode 59” written on the centre of the packet. below that are pictures of three monsters eating monster-paw shaped snack, and beneath each of those reads “40% massive hunks of John ‘roast beef’ Coxon flavour baked corn snack,” “40% huge chunks of Alison ‘pickled onion’ Scott flavour baked corn snack,” and “20% mighty bites of Liz ‘flamin’ hot' Batty flavour baked corn snack.”
- Theme music: ‘Fanfare for Space’ by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John has a paper cut, Alison feels seen, and Liz is cheating on her homework.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: racism and sexism (chapter 6)

Letters of comment
- Phil Dyson
- Chris Garcia
- Bradley Harris
  - “I listened to some of your Octothorpe podcast which was cool in general just because I like to hear the British styles of speech. Also I agree with John that Detroit-style pizza is very good. I too have some food recommendations for Chicago so you may look forward to those (if you want to get a start, look up ‘Jibarito’), yum!”
- Mark Plummer
Hugo Voter Packets
DisCon III has translated their Souvenir Book into Chinese
- Chengdu Worldcon has a Translation Services Working Division
Chicon 8 programme participation
- “Chicon 8 will be using an opt-in program development model.”
Data in convention planning
- Disney’s FastPass: A Complicated History by Defunctland
- Len Testa’s model of theme park behaviour
Picks
- Alison: Everything Everywhere All at Once
- John: Paper cuts
- Liz: Raybearer (paperback, epub, audiobook, Amazon) and Redemptor (paperback, epub, audiobook, Amazon) by Jordan Ifueko
Credits
- Cover art: Brad W Foster
  - Image description: Illustration by Brad W Foster. Three aliens cluster around an old-style radio microphone in turquoise with a red speaker grille and green text saying “ON AIR”. The aliens from left to right are green, pink, and blue and look suspiciously like the hosts of Octothorpe. The title of the podcast is atop the artwork in orange.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is a muppet bilby, Alison is actively drinking, and Liz MURDERS OWLS.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 3), animal hunting (chapter 7)

Letters of comment
- Malcolm Hutchison: ‘Listening to the sound John makes at start of this episode made me visualise John as a Muppet (in a good way)’
- Chris Garcia
- Roman Orszanski
- Jersey Gryphon: ‘The Hello Internet podcast did a vinyl edition episode before jumping the shark and doing a 4–5 minute wax cylinder episode.’
Reclamation 2022
- 74 cases before tracing stopped,, all over the convention, lots of different fan networks
- ‘One-woman superspreader event Alison Scott has absolutely no regrets’ – Shona (Prufrax)
- Norwescon had case 3 and case 5 which will pass into fannish infamy
- A journal article discussing Omicron attack rates
Fia Karlsson has won TAFF!
- The announcement
- The fanzine with the stats
- Follow Fia on Twitter
Chicon 8
- We’re all going!
Picks
- John: Detroit-style pizza from Square
  - John also likes this Detroit-style pizza from San Francisco that he didn’t mention
- Alison: Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve (paperback, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
- Liz: Horizon Forbidden West (digital, PS4 disc, PS5 disc)
Credits
- Cover art: Alison Scott
- Theme music: ‘Fanfare for Space’ by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison, and Liz are live from Reclamation, the 2022 Eastercon!

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Conversation 2023
Levitation 2024
Nicholas Whyte’s blog, From the Heart of Europe
- No merchandise (yet)
This Never Happened
- John’s Untappd check-in
Taste of Mold
Victoria Line moquette sofa
Picks
- Liz: The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk (paperback, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
- John: A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger (hardback, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
Credits
- Cover art: Duncan MacGregor
- Theme music: Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

A Snake Falls to Earth

John is a Hugo Award finalist, Alison is a Hugo Award winner, and Liz’s mum got a folk award once.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: classism (chapter 2)

Hugo Awards
- We are a finalist for Best Fancast
  - We are SO EXCITED
  - John and Alison are almost certainly going to Chicon 8 (Liz is a “maybe”)
  - We will be thrilled to lose to any of the other finalists (especially Hugo, Girl!)
Letters of comment:
- Ali Baker
  - A whole emergency episode of Fantasy Book swap!
- Malcolm Hutchison
- DC
- Duncan MacGregor
- Nick Gibbins
- Jonny Baddeley
Eastercon
- We are live from Eastercon at 1:30pm on Monday!
- The fan funds are having “amazeballs” and a silent auction
  - Auction catalogue
  - Register to bid
  - Place bids
The Hugo Awards
- Do these all look Chinese?
Liz has been listening to Lifewriting by Tananarive Due and Stephen Barnes - Brandon Sanderson
- Alex Holden’s concertinas
- Brandon Sanderson’s YouTube channel
  - His confession
  - They backed every publishing Kickstarter
- The project on Kickstarter
  - It made $41m!
- Sanderson’s blog post about the Kickstarter
  - Including details about how he wanted to have an alternative platform away from Amazon dominance
  - His team is so big he has an HR director, he’s splitting that cash quite a lot of ways
Tolstoy on wax cylinder
Picks
- Rossum’s Universal Robots on BBC Radio 4
- Liz: Base Notes by Lara Elena Donnelly (paperback, Kindle, John can’t find an alternative ebook vendor)
  - Nice review from Lee Mandelo
- John: Moon Knight vol. 7 (comiXology, Marvel)
Credits
- Cover art: WSFS/The Hugo Awards (!)
- Theme music: Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

None

John is dancing, Alison is listening, and Liz is Batman.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 1), war and human rights (chapter 2)

Letters of comment:
- Chris Garcia
- Everyone liked Sue’s art and everyone wants John to get better soon
- Liz saw a cat
- Jonny Baddeley is giving John his old Netrunner stuff
- Jonny Baddeley has questions about discos in COVID times
- Lori really liked Six Wakes and is going to try to convince her cohosts to add it to her schedule eventually
Chengdu 2022
- Human rights
  - GoH Sergei Lukyanenko signed a letter on Ukraine
  - Netflix distance from Cixin Liu
  - Open letter to try and revoke the 2023 site selection
  - Liz’s links to different indices for measuring this
    - Democracy Index
    - Freedom in the World
- Membership rates
  - Cheap and cheaper
  - But they are selling one without WSFS voting rights
  - To the WSFS constitution, Bat-Liz!
  - If you simply define a single programme item that the non-WSFS members can’t attend you don’t break the rules – win!
FAAn awards
- The Incompleat Register has the results
- Congratulations to the winners!
- Thanks to the people who voted for us anyway even after we told you not to
Picks:
- John bought a house
- Alison is listening to My Real Children by Jo Walton (paperback, epub, Kindle, Audible)
- Liz has read The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik (hardback, paperback, epub, Kindle, audiobook)
Credits
- Cover art: Alison Scott
- Theme music: Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John has COVID, Alison wanted to do a podcast, and Liz had no better offers.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Find a text version of our answers to Cora’s questions here!

Cover art: Sue Mason

Theme music: Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison and Liz have been nominated for a BSFA Award! (Also, Liz is on holiday, naturally.)

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
  - The Flying Fantastical Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
- Peter Sullivan
  - Chris for TAFF
- Kin-Ming Looi
- Duncan MacGregor
- Lori Anderson
Hugo deadline is March 15th
- We recommended some things on Cora Buhlert’s blog
- Tears of the Anaren by C. W. Longbottom
Eastercon: What do you want from your bids?
- Liz:
  - Who’s running it and why?
  - Where and why?
    - Are there significant drawbacks?
  - Commitment to having code of conduct/access policies, even if they’re in progress
  - Why will it be particularly fun?
  - What bits of Eastercon tradition don’t you plan to implement (if any)?
  - What are your plans for hybrid/virtual content?
  - Do you have a good presentation that shows you have organisational nous?
- Alison:
  - Expanding on who’s running the convention a little
  - Are you running at Easter? (See Eastercon tradition)
  - What about real ale?
  - What are your provisions for children?
- John:
  - How much will it cost?
Picks
- Liz: The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams: The Complete, Uncensored, and Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek (hardback, epub, Kindle)
- John: Android: Netrunner (eBay)
- Alison: I Didn’t Do the Thing Today by Madeleine Dore (paperback, epub, Kindle)
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri (paperback, epub, Kindle)
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

John is a spoilsport, Alison is promoting and Liz might come to Eastercon.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID-19 (chapter 2), Spider-Man: No Way Home casting spoilers (chapter 6)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Ali Baker
- Mark Plummer
  - TAFF ebooks
- Geri Sullivan
  - TAFF administrators’ FAQ
COVID-19
- Reclamation are requiring vaccination for all attendees
- Hotel bookings are open, and the booking code has gone out to members
Podcast corner:
- The Incomparable Gameshow
- The Incomparable #600
- Become the Teapot
DisCon III Tweet from Mary Robinette Kowal
The proposal for Game Hugo is out!
Jason Sanford is doing a survey on SF&F magazines and the pandemic to compare to his pre-pandemic data
Picks
- Liz: Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson (paper, epub, Kindle)
- Alison: Loki (Disney+)
- John: Spider-Man: No Way Home (in cinemas)
  - tick, tick… BOOM! (Netflix)
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

John is exchanging, Alison is rekindling her sensawunda, and Liz is watching the builders.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

We are fifty! That’s kind of unbelievable.
Letters of comment
- Bill Burns
- Dave Coxon
  - You can follow us on:
    - BoardGameGeek (John, Alison)
    - Goodreads (John, Alison, Liz)
    - Letterboxd (John, Alison)
    - Untappd (John, Alison, Liz)
  - What’s our favourite beer style?
- Chris Garcia
- Peter Sullivan on Twitter
Podcast corner:
- Liz has been listening to the Caribbean SF Podcast
  - Brandon O’Brien Can You Sign My Tentacle?
  - Karen Lord The Plague Doctors
Convention corner:
- Redemption has been postponed by a year
- Corflu Pangloss has been postponed by six months
- The FAAn awards have not moved
  - The TAFF Free eBooks page
TAFF voting is here
- Alison says “Anders for TAFF!”
- John is pro-Dill Chips (Fia)
Professor Esther MacCallum-Stewart’s inaugural lecture is on Dungeons and Dragons and is being streamed online
The BSFA Awards Long List
- Thank you to whoever nominated us!
The Vimes Boots index
Picks
- John: Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey (hardback, epub, Kindle)
- Alison: The Actual Star by Monica Byrne (hardback, epub, Kindle)
  - Tweet
- Liz: Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky (paperback, epub, Kindle)
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

John is demanding, Alison joined a Discord, and Liz knows a lot about the WSFS Constitution.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Genocide and war (chapter 1), racism and capitalism (chapter 2), sexism (chapter 5)

Letters of comment
- Liquid of comment from This Never Happens (Cornish branch)
- Jonathan Baddeley: “Tedious NPC” would make a great badge ribbon
- Ali Baker
- Dave Coxon
- Chris Garcia
- Kat Tanaka Okopnik says Nice is not bidding for 2026
- Crying movies
  - Fran Dowd: Platoon
  - Farah Mendlesohn: Fried Green Tomatoes
  - Ang Rosin: Dead Poets Society
- Alison very much appreciated this sponsor read on Podside Picnic
Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction edited by Otherwise Award-winning author Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
- Kindle Direct Publishing took down Ekpeki’s account shortly before having to pay him royalties
- File 770 reports on the eventual end of the saga
- This is a continuation of Jason Sanford’s discussion of financial barriers to global authors
The DisCon III Site Selection fiasco
- Salon Futura’s write-up of DisCon III
- File 770’s comment thread with a lot of inside baseball
- Steve Cooper has set up a mailing list on groups.io to look at Electronic Site Selection
Chicon 8 says:
- “Hugo nominations will open later in January, and will run through mid-March. All members of DisCon III and anyone who joins Chicon 8 before the 31st of January 2022 will be eligible to nominate in this year’s Hugo Awards.”
- Section 3.7.1 of the WSFS constitution, fact fans
Awards!
- Nicholas Whyte answers our questions
- Nerds of a Feather has recused itself from the 2022 Hugo Awards
  - Commentary and interesting history courtesy of File 770
- We listened to Hugo, Girl!, a fancast in which feminists read and discuss SF
- The FAAn Achievement Awards 2022
  - The Incompleat Register 2021
  - “A ‘fanzine’, for our purposes, is defined as an immutable artefact, once published not subject to revision or modification. The fanzine might not exist in a physical form. A PDF, for example, is an artefact.”
  - “[A perzine is a] fanzine which typically has few, if any, contributors other than its editor(s).”
- Alison has joined the Hugo Award Study Committee which is a Discord server
  - If you’d like to join then contact the chair, Cliff Dunn
  - Their last report was in 2018 at the San Jose Worldcon
New Year’s resolutions
- John: Publish more fanzines and make an app
- Alison: Have at least one SFF book a month ready to talk about on Octothorpe.
  - Alison’s super nerdy iPad board game challenge
- Liz: Read 80 books on Goodreads (maybe)
Picks
- Alison: Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction translated and edited by Xue Christine Ni (epub, Kindle)
- Liz: She Who Became The Sun by Shelly Parker-Chan (epub, Kindle, hardback, paperback pre-order)
- John: The Expanse (Amazon Prime)
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

John and Alison are watching cutting-edge TV, and Liz is hungry.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: genocide (chapter 2); war and defence contracting (chapter 4)

Letters of comment
- Farah Mendlesohn asks “but what did you think of DisCon III?”
- Doug Faunt asks about the opening ceremony’s Christmas music
- Flick asks why we didn’t mention the Xinjiang region
  - UK House of Commons motion
  - Tahir Hamut Izgil writing at The Atlantic
- We’re sorry to Ira Alexandre for mispronouncing their name in episodes 20 and 21
Hugo Awards
- Octothorpe was almost nominated for the Hugo Awards
  - Octothorpe was the last fancast to be eliminated from the ballot!
  - We were surprised and very thrilled and thank you so much for nominating us
- E Pluribus Hugo
  - Helsinki’s explanation of how this works
- Nicholas Whyte analyses the Hugo Awards in detail
- Camestros Felaptron’s Hugo posts: 1, 2, 3
- The Hugo Awards long list
  - It always has delights on it and this year is no exception
    - Best Series: Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London
    - Best Related Work: The Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom 2021 (presumably it was actually 2020 that was nominated now that we think of it)
      - 2022 open for your suggestions now. Get those fanzines and fan writers and fan artists and fancasts that you think are absolutely great on there!
      - Direct link: https://bit.ly/hugoaward2022
    - Fanzines just below the line included Bill Bowers’ Outworlds, William Breiding’s Portable Storage and Chris Garcia’s The Drink Tank
Sponsorship
- Shaun Duke points out that Raytheon was one of the contractors that was employed in launching the James Webb Space Telescope
NASFiC
- File 770 reports that Winnipeg are pivoting to a 2023 NASFiC
- Orlando in 2026 is also pivoting to a 2023 NASFiC
  - File 770
  - Official site
  - This leaves the 2026 field
    - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
    - Los Angeles, CA, USA
    - Nice, France
      - Brice de Nice
Glasgow has launched a lovely "move 500 miles poster
- John can walk 804.672 kilometres
- Earworm
- A fantastic edit
- Play along on Strava
Picks:
- Alison: The Expanse (Amazon Prime)
  - OK she is a bit behind but it is a 2022 Plan
- Liz: Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergei Dyachenko, translated by Julia Meitov Hersey (paperback, epub, Kindle)
- John:
  - Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Coco (Disney+)
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

John is sleepy, Alison is talking to Chinese fans, and Liz went to the Hugos.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID-19 (chapter 2); racism (chapter 3); foreign policy and sexism (chapter 4)

Letters of comment
- Farah and Fran talking about masking at Novacon
- A big discussion about BSFA
  - You can get by just NOT TELLING THE BSFA your address (DON’T TRY THAT WITH THE WORLDCON)
- Chris Garcia
Site selection at DisCon III
- Chengdu in 2023 won
  - File 770’s reporting on the win
  - Chinese fans seem nice!
  - The livestream was good, and had 106,000 viewers
  - Lots of different Chinese university SF societies encouraging the bid; spot the flag in Gallifreyan and the monolith
- WSFS Business Meeting
  - The video of the session we discuss
  - Kevin Standlee’s LiveJournal post about it
  - File 770’s reporting on the session
- There are legitimate concerns about China
  - John found he generally agreed with these tweets from Jeannette Ng
    - Tweet
    - Thread #1
    - Thread #2
  - The guests are Liu Cixin, Sergei Lukyanenko and Robert J. Sawyer
    - A File 770 commenter outlines the issues with Lukyanenko
Hugo Awards
- If Fanzine had 53 fewer votes and Fancast had 42 fewer votes they would not have been awarded
Picks
- John: The Psychopath Club by Sandra Bond (paperback, Kindle)
- Alison: Sibilant Fricative by Adam Roberts (paperback, Kindle)
- Liz: The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison (epub, paperback, Kindle)
Picks for Christmas song
- Alison: Chiron Beta Prime by Jonathan Coulton
- John:
  - California Christmastime by Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
  - Oh Santa! by Mr.B the Gentleman Rhymer
- Liz: Bethlehem Down
- Alison’s playlist of Christmas songs which do not presuppose God or Santa
Music credits
- Our theme music is It’s Christmas Time by Frank Schröter, used under the Simplified Filmmusic.io Standard License

John is afraid, Alison is in Portugal, and Liz is an absolute unit.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID-19 (chapters 1 and 2, but particularly chapter 2)

Thanks to Stow Shirts for sponsoring this week's episode! Use code OCTOTHORPE for a 10% discount.

No letters of comment this week, we will do them next week!
Smofcon Europe
COVID round-up
- World Fantasy Convention
  - The person who got COVID Tweeted
- Novacon
  - Alan Bellingham
  - Tony Cullen
  - Dave Lally
  - Caroline Mullan
  - Colette Reap
  - Nicholas Whyte
Worldcon site selection
- Deadline on 14 December for returning PDF ballots
- PDF ballots are available here
- Future Convention Q&As from Worldcon/Eurocon/Smofcon bids
Join the BSFA
Picks
- Liz: Did Alison already have Hades or can I have Hades?
  - Roguelikes vs Roguelites
- John: Playing board games with friends
  - Sushi Go Party!
  - Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space
  - Zombie Dice
  - EXIT: The Game: Advent Calendar: The Mystery of the Ice Cave
- Alison: The Man in the High Castle (Amazon Prime)
  - Based on the Philip K. Dick book (paperback, ebook, Kindle)
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

The Man In The High Castle

John, Alison, and guest Marguerite Smith are live from Novacon 50!

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: women’s body shapes (we are very positive about all body shapes but we wanted to let y’all know we touch on it)

Novacon
Worldcon
- DisCon III
- Glasgow in 2024
- Dublin in 2029
Picks
- John: Voting in the Hugo Awards because he’s insufferably smug about having done the reading
- Alison: Daangerous Visions: A Faanfiction Faanthology, 1939–2009
- Marguerite:
  - A book by Joseph Elliott-Coleman (and apologies that we got the surname wrong in the episode)
  - Burning Brightly: 50 Years of Novacon
How to pronounce the word “grimace”
Music credits
- Our theme music is Rattlesnake Railroad by Brett Van Donsel, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

John might hire a camper van, Alison might wee twice before bed, and Liz might not plot enough graphs.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID-19 (chapter 4), sexism (chapter 5)

We’re doing Octothorpe Live at Novacon at 1pm on Sunday!
Letters of comment
- Carved turnip
Eastercon
- Reclamation has a hotel
- Tasha Suri is their new Guest of Honour
- Zen Cho has sadly had to step down
Eastercon in a post-coronavirus world
- There was a thread on the future of Eastercon venues
  - UK Eastercon Community Group
  - Not to be confused with the old Future of Eastercon group
- Eastercons may need to move beyond hotels
  - University accommodation
  - Camp sites such as Butlins or Pontins
    - Electromagnetic Field (EMF)
    - It was pointed out that this has issues with dates
      - Easter may be cold/windy/rainy
      - Bank holidays and warm weather are a busy time for these sites
    - SFX Weekender already does this sort of thing so it is feasible!
- Some hotels have been asking for huge deposits
  - This is probably due to increased risk and not enough Government guidance
    - It might go away again when these change
    - Would a central Eastercon organisation help? (Probably not)
Redemption 2022
Picks
- Alison: Dune (outside) and Black Widow (Disney+)
  - Liz’s comment on the Dune soundtrack
- John: Unfathomable and the Ludoquist
- Liz: The Empress of Salt and Fortune (epub, Kindle, paperback)
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

John is critically bereft, Alison made a mistake, and Liz is carving papayas.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID-19 (chapter 4) and problematic behaviour such as racism, sexism, and abuse (chapter 6).

This episode is sponsored by Stow Shirts. Use promo code OCTOTHORPE for 10% off!
We’re doing Octothorpe Live at Novacon at 1pm on Sunday!
Letters of comment
- Facebook: Ali Baker, Dave Mansfield, Ang Rosin
- Bridget Bradshaw
- Chris Garcia
Papaya carving
COVID policy roundup
- Smofcon Europe
- Corflu Concorde (in PR5)
Theme songs
Guests of Honour
- Disinvitations
  - File 770 reporting on Toni Weisskopf
  - Frank Miller disinvited from Thought Bubble
  - Elizabeth Moon disinvited from Wiscon
- Reflections on Racefail
  - N. K. Jemisin
  - Jaymee Goh
  - Fanlore write-up
- Ghosts of Honour
  - H. G. Wells’ speech at Beccon (the 1987 Eastercon)
- Paul Cornell suggested the “foetus of honour”
Picks
- John: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Disney+)
  - Always Be My Maybe (Netflix)
  - Dune
- Alison: irrelevant waffle [Alison wrote that—Ed]
- Liz: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4)
  - Some pretty cutscenes from Uncharted 4
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

John used to have a different face, Alison is going to Smofcon, and Liz is in disguise.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID-19 discussion (chapter 2)

We’re doing Octothorpe Live at Novacon on 1pm at Sunday!
Letters of comment
- COVID: Jonathan Baddeley, Ali Baker, Bill Burns, Chris Garcia, Ang Rosin
  - Dragonmeet’s COVID policy
- High-school movie round-up: people on Facebook, Bridget Bradshaw, Farah Mendlesohn
  - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  - Election
  - The Faculty
  - Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion
- Karen Schaffer
Smofcon Europe
- Cheap flights by Fascinating Aida
Douglas Adams content!
- Chris Garcia
- Alex Holden
- Everyone else
- Liz had these covers
- The BBC Big Read
Dublin 2029 was announced at Octocon
- File 770
- Ed Fortune’s Tweet
Sara Felix is bidding Texas (in 2031?)
The Science Fiction Encyclopedia
- Edited by friend of the show Dave Langford and John Clute, with Graham Sleight as managing editor and remembering the late Peter Nicholls as founding editor
- The new fourth edition is now self-published, having moved on from Gollancz and SF Gateway
Octothorpe Live will be at Novacon
- How to get from Thailand to London by train
Picks
- John: Lovecraft Country (on Now)
- Alison: Foundation (on Apple TV+)
  - Women
- Liz: Children of Ruin (epub, Kindle, paperback)
  - Arrival (on Netflix)
  - Embassytown (epub, Kindle, paperback)
  - The Embedding (epub, Kindle, paperback)
  - Native Tongue (epub, Kindle, paperback)
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

John is going on holiday, Alison had a cold, and Liz is sleepy.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment
- Bug Bradshaw
- Dave Coxon
- Fran Dowd (in the Octothorpe Facebook group)
- Chris Garcia
- Emily January
Novacon has a COVID policy
FantasyCon has two webpages
- FantasyCon 2021 on the FantasyCon 2022 website
- FantasyCon 2021 on the HWS events website (which has the programme with the karaoke on)
Ignyte Award winners
Picks
- John: Constelación #1
- Liz: Nailed It! on Netflix
- Alison:
  - Three Men in a Boat on iPlayer
  - Blast off at Woomera by Hugh Walters
  - Simon Plays The Witness on Cracking the Cryptic
    - GoodNotes for iPad
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

John is listening to podcasts, Alison is reading stories, and Liz is watching TV.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID-19 discussion (chapters 3 and 7)

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Roman Orszanski
  - Heathers
- Mark Plummer
  - Edge of the Earth
  - Get your DisCon III virtual membership
  - DisCon III was unopposed
Convention COVID-19 policies
- John forgot to mention the NHS Covid Pass last week
  - NHS page (for England and Wales)
    - Scotland
    - Northern Ireland
- Eastercon Community Facebook group post about convention COVID-19 policies
- BristolCon has released a COVID-19 policy
  - Please wear a mask if you can, no requirement for vaccines or negative tests
- Corflu has updated their website
  - They will announce a policy but not until closer to the time
Upcoming conventions
- FantasyCon
- FIYAHCON
- Octocon 2021
Picks
- The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
  - The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft (paperback, ebook, Kindle)
  - The Lovecraft Investigations: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
    - iPlayer
    - RSS for all good podcast apps
- Alison’s pick
  - The Otherwise Award
  - Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora (paperback, ebook, Kindle)
- Liz’s pick
  - Star Trek: Lower Decks (on Amazon Prime in the UK)
File 770 reports the UK has a new National Film and Sci-Fi Museum
The UK’s rocketry programme
- The Needles Old Battery and New Battery is maintained by the National Trust
  - Alison notes “they are super misleading – the [page] has a photo of Woomera on it."
- Black Arrow Replica at the Wight Aviation Museum
- High Down Rocket Test Site
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license

Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora (PRIDE Anthologies)

John is at his usual podcasting setup, Alison is in a cauldron, and Liz is on Plague Island.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: death (chapter 3) and COVID-19 discussion (chapter 4).

Coded messages appeared in This Here… #45
Letters of comment
- Ali Baker
  - Alison appeared on episode 3 of Ali’s podcast
- Fran Dowd
- Chris Garcia (twice)
  - American Vandal
  - Brick
- Pat McMurray
- Caroline Mersey
  - Recipe for fifteens
- Karen Schaffer
  - Recipe for bar cookies
- Peter Sullivan
Erle Korshak has died
- John’s TAFF trip report, Best. Trip. Ever.
Convention COVID-19 policies
- DisCon III have released a new COVID-19 policy
  - Vaccination required (no exemptions)
  - Masks required
- Liz found Dragon Con’s COVID-19 policy
  - Vaccination required (medical/child exemptions mean you can test instead)
  - Masks required
  - 50% maximum capacity
- Novacon are planning to have a COVID-19 policy
  - Dave Hicks will be in charge of this
- Corflu do not have a policy on their website and did not respond to a request for comment
- Fantasycon do not have a policy on their website but responded to a request for comment
  - No vaccination policy (!)
  - Asking attendees to wear face masks and socially distance
  - Encouraging attendees to take lateral flow tests
- UK Games Expo
  - There was widespread criticism of the early-June plans
  - They capitulated a week later in the face of the gaming fandom
- CONvergence had a similar policy to DisCon III
  - File 770 linked to CONvergence’s Twitter thread outlining a COVID case in a convention attendee
  - There are also reports on Facebook
    - First
    - Second
  - This does not appear to have led to any at-con transmission
    - By which we mean, we haven’t found any reports thereof
The mysterious case of the toilet on the plane
Alison is officially part of an Eastercon 2023 bid which is forthcoming!
- Caroline Mullan is the chair
- If selected, the convention will be called Conversation
Futurecon 2021 is coming up
Aftershow: Horizon Zero Dawn is quite good
- Aloy and unrealistic depictions of beauty
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license.

John, Alison, and Liz are recording around a dining room table.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment
- We didn’t discuss them again but we swear we will next week
Apologies
- Sorry we don’t really have any topics
- Sorry for the bad sound quality
- Sorry for the interruptions
Being in person
- Thank you very much to our hosts Steve and Giulia!
- We went to the Double-Barrelled taproom
  - It does have a hyphen
- Alison and John might go to Corflu and to Novacon
- We will probably do another Punctuation but we have no firm plans yet
  - We might run an in-person Punctuation
Music credits
- Our theme music is Surf Shimmy by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license.

John, Alison and Liz didn’t record this week.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

There are no letters of comment this episode because we recorded this episode OUTSIDE LINEAR TIME.
Retro Hugo Awards
- File 770 post by Hampus Eckerman on the Retro Hugos
- Cora Buhlert defends the Retro Hugos
- Memphis in 2023 won’t run the Retros due to their diversity and inclusion policies
- Nicholas Whyte discusses CoNZealand’s Retros from the perspective of the Hugo administrators
Graham Linehan has been booted off Twitter since we recorded
Ali Baker has started the excellent Fantasy Book Swap podcast since we recorded
- The Magic Faraway Tree features in the first episode
Music credits
- Our theme music is Surf Shimmy by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license.

John is wrong, Alison is putting out fires, and Liz is in lockdown.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment
- Ang Rosin
- Chris Garcia
File 770 reports that Mary Robinette Kowal is the new chair of DisCon III
- This piece contains links to some of the previous events which led to this occurring
Convention communications
- Alison has a role in the Glasgow in 2024 Promotions Division
- No real links, but a lot of opinions!
- Liz claimed not to have strong opinions before the podcast: fact
- After we recorded, DisCon III renamed their Outreach Division; it is now called Communications
Fantasy Book Swap (Ali Baker’s new podcast)
- Facebook page
- Podcast website
- Link for your podcatcher (right-click or tap and hold, copy the URL, and your podcatcher should have an option for “Add URL”)
- Books we read as kids:
  - Rebecca’s World by Terry Nation is on Audible for a credit
  - Books about boarding schools:
    - The Finishing School Facebook group
    - The series about ballet boarding school that Liz mentioned
  - Threads by Foz Meadows on why Anne McCaffrey is inappropriate:
    - First Foz Meadows thread
    - Second Foz Meadows thread
Music credits
- Our theme music is Surf Shimmy by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 4.0 license.

John likes carrot cake, Alison is not resigning, and Liz is coming home.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Fran Dowd
- Hal O’Brien
- Peter Sullivan
- Spike
  - ”Commas”
DisCon III and the Hugo Awards
- Jason Sanford’s first primer
- Jason Sanford’s second primer
- Mary Robinette Kowal helping at San Jose
- CoNZealand’s programme woes
- Mary Robinette Kowal was announced as the new chair of DisCon III after we recorded
Online Business Meetings
- Looking for people/suggestions for the working group on remote business meeting attendance
ConSpire
- John Clute’s interview
- Tade Thompson’s interview
- Alison Scott’s talk
  - For anyone who thinks the issue with Octothorpe is that John and Liz occupy too much air time
- BSFA Discord
Good Omens S2 with JOHN FINNEMORE
- John Finnemore’s blog
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

John, Alison, and Liz are live from Punctuation 2.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- DC
  - How to know when the pandemic is over
- Roman Orzanski
  - Wild Goose
- Irwin Hirsh
  - Procrastinations (John’s fanzine)
  - Lulzine (John and España’s fanzine)
  - Dante’s Cardigan (Alison’s fanzine)
- James Shields
  - John’s new dice
Food and drink
- Fabrique recipes:
  - Cinnamon buns
  - Cardamom buns (US measurements, sorry folks)
- The four stages of eating cheese
Sponsored by Stow Shirts
- Octothorpe merchandise
- Punctuation 2 merchandise
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

John can’t cope with any, Alison can cope with one, and Liz has excellent mental health.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment
- Ang Rosin
- Chris Garcia
- DC
- Duncan MacGregor
  - Podcasts with adjacent communities you can join and interact with:
    - Drawn to the Flame
    - Mythos Busters
    - The Rebound
    - Relay.fm
    - Six Colors
- Karen Schaffer
- Maggie
- Mark Plummer
- Peter Sullivan
- Phil Dyson
  - A YouTube link on which Alison insisted
Fanzines
- The MT VOID
- Evelyn C. Leeper
- The Shield of Umor
- Fanzines by email:
  - Feedbin
  - Astrolabe
  - Transfer Orbit
TorCon 2021
SFSFC settlement
- SFSFC
- ~~Con Jose 2~~ Worldcon 76
- File 770’s report
CONvergence 2021 is going ahead
Worldcon site selection is open, and the fee is $50
- Chengdu in 2023
- Memphis in 2023
- Winnipeg in 2023
Punctuation 2 is imminent!
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

John is insidious, Alison is simmering, and Liz was on committees.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment
- Ang Rosin
- cDave
- Chris Garcia
  - The Rolling Donut
  - Dollard and Co. (2am pizza)
- España Sheriff
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Peter Sullivan
- Spike
  - Garcia Turner Overdrive
Alison is a guest of honour!
- ConSpire 2021
- Science Fiction Foundation
- British Science Fiction Association
Fanzines
- This year’s Hugo Award finalists for Best Fanzine
- Banana Wings
- Dante’s Cardigan
- File 770
- Lulzine
- Procrastinations
Solid shapes definitely have sides and John will die on this hill
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John has bad Internet, Alison is monologuing, and Liz is the long-suffering one.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

(We know Alison sounds a bit unusual during the first eight minutes or so, but she was very happy in her cave and we felt like it would be mean to make her come out before she was ready.)

Letters of comment
- Jonathan Cowie
- Phil Dyson
- Chris Garcia
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Roman Orzanski
  - Ditmar for Best Cat
- Mark Plummer
Worldcons
- Winnipeg in 2023
  - Kevin Standlee’s blog post about this coming to be
- Memphis in 2023
- Chengdu in 2023
Punctuation 2 is go!
- You can join here today
- Non-binding consultative referendum
- Volunteer and programme survey
We spent longer than we intended talking about the WSFS Business Meeting!
- Curious about binge watching? WSFS has you covered
Octopicks
- John: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
  - Which is actually nominated for a Lodestar Award and not a Hugo Award
- Alison: The Mitchells vs the Machines
- Liz: Detransistion, Baby by Torrey Peters
Aftershow
- Glasgow in 2024 did an excellent riff on their logo for Star Wars day
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John can’t make a poll, Alison knows the religious forms, and Liz has one more games thing (sorry).

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment
- Ang Rosin
- Chris Garcia
- Claire Brialey
- DC
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Ian Snell
- Mark Plummer
- Pat McMurray
- Peter Sullivan
Swancon had to cancel the day before the con due to three-day lockdown (ouch)
DisCon III
- They’re changing dates to December!
- This has raised questions about the deadline for site selection
  - These questions were not as academic as they initially seemed
- Baen’s bar is back
  - Toni Weisskopf (former DisCon III Guest of Honour) thinks all the disputed posts are okay (including the ones that are advocating armed insurrection)
  - Mike Glyer makes a stand
Hugo Awards
- Best Video Game
  - What is a Let’s Play?
  - Minesweeper: The Movie
  - Pokémon Detective Pikachu
FIYAHCON
- A FIYAHCON retrospective
- FIYAHCON published details about their platforms and costs
- FIYAHCON 2021 registration is open, including options to donate memberships
  - You can donate to the General Fund for running costs, but they have hit their membership donation target
  - Reclamation 2022 have also implemented donations to allow less able fans to attend, with a recommended amount of £10 (if you can afford it)
  - DisCon III and Chicon 8 have similar funds; so did Dublin 2019
- FIYAHCON also announced Ignyte Award nominees
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

John is not Chris Garcia, Alison is full of beans, and Liz is T. S. Eliot.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Congratulations to Reclamation 2022!
Letters of comment
- Claire Brialey
- DC
- Gwen
- Peter Sullivan
- Jersey Gryphon
- Duncan MacGregor
An Ode to Badger:
- Oh Badger cat, you are so large,
- and fond of sunbeams, to recharge
- your energy, so when it’s late
- and Esther’s jigsaws lie in state
- you sit on them with mighty weight,
- because you are the best room-mate.
We talked a lot about ConFusion…
- Read the newsletters!
- Alison’s speech at the bid session
Other people’s reports:
- Ang Rosin
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Ian Moore
- Jo Van Ekeren
Doc Weir
- eFanzines’ page about Doc Weir
- Alison’s acceptance speech
- Alison's certificate
We are doing Octothorpe live in two weeks (25 April 2021)!
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John is communicating, Alison’s head is spinning, and Liz is a programme operator.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment
- Claire Brialey
- Chris Garcia
- Mark Plummer
Confusion 2021
- Fan Fund Auction (7pm-9pm Sunday)
  - There will be some cool things like unique dice and one of Esther’s shawls, and there is probably just time to donate something if you would like to (get in touch with Alison).
  - One of the items will be “Make the Octothorpe cast say whatever you want as long as it’s under a minute long (we get a veto on grounds of taste, offensiveness and legality)” – thanks to Crazy Dave for the idea!
- Octothorpe Live! (10am on Monday)
  - We will read your minute-long thing LIVE AT EASTERCON.
- Volunteering
  - Alison and John are volunteering on newsletter. Watch out for the newsletter (Happy Daze) being published daily and distributed around the con and on the smeeds.
  - Liz is on programme ops.
- Programme items
  - Beer/cider
  - Baking
  - The Dark Room
  - Alison is on panels about bad technology where she’s going to tell you that the solution is to stop buying non-Apple products; and on pandemic pastimes
  - John on panels about games and Star Wars, and moderating a panel about AI
- Liz is in the bar
- Alex Storer is providing “design and music” for Confusion’s Gather.town environment
Eastercon 2022
- Phil Dyson will be telling all at Confusion
Eastercon 2023
- There have been some whispers since we recorded but we don’t know anything
Eastercon 2024
- John is heading up their communications
First Thursday Facebook group
Alison went to Gillian’s Passover Seder
The seven words you can’t say on television (of which I bleeped five and hope we don’t get arrested)
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John is excited, Alison is oh boy oh boy oh boy, and Liz… isn’t.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment
- Pat McMurray
- DC
- Chris Garcia
- Mark Plummer
- Karen Schaffer
- Geri Sullivan
- Claire Brialey
Poetry Corner
- Chris Garcia
Octothorpoetry #1 and Loctothorpe #1 will be coming to eFanzines!
Eastercon
- ConFusion 2021 announced they are using Gather.town
- ConFusion 2021 gave some details about programme, which can be accessed through TV/phones/tablets as well as through Gather
- Gather has come under fire for some accessibility issues
Alison is UK Fanzine liason for Glasgow in 2024
NEW DOUGLAS ADAMS BOOK
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John is an annoying prick, Alison is not sure she’s staying sane, and Liz is going to a beach.

Please email us poems for our first anniversary Octothorpoetry Anthology!

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment
- Roman Orszanski
- Chris Garcia
- Claire Brialey
- Ang Rosin
  - Follow-up Tweet
Eastercon
- Star Crossed
  - Buy an electronic copy
  - Buy a physical copy (UK supplier)
- Dread
- Fog of Love
DisCon III
- Scalzi’s take
- Alison’s take
Picocon 38: Automata
- Excellent transfer of Picocon traditions into a virtual arena
- It really felt like a virtual Picocon
Punctuation
- The financial report
- The feedback report
Staying sane in the apocalypse: A retrospective
- John has been using:
  - 100 Days of SwiftUI
  - Anki
  - Streaks
- John cried the day before the episode came out because he listened to this song
- Alison
  - Spaceship You
  - Mousie Mousie
  - A review of Mousie Mousie
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John has cats, Alison has a milkman, and Liz has a gecko.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Picocon is on 20 February 2021
- Programme on Crowdcast
- Social space (with games and pub quiz) on Discord
- “Picocon 38 celebrates all things robot in Sci-Fi and Fantasy. This year the guests of honour are Jeff Somers, Dan Moren, SJ Kincaid and David Brian Johnson. Games will be starting at 11:00, with the first guest talk scheduled for 2pm.”
Letters of comment
- Letters: Bridget Bradshaw; Chris Garcia; Mark Plummer; Claire Brialey; Christina Lake
- Tweets: Ang Rosin; DC; Duncan MacGregor
- No Gecko Spray
- The Weetabix and Beans Tweet
Boskone
- Jane Yolen’s Skylark story
Eastercon have announced they’re using a platform which is neither Discord nor Zoom
- The YouTube video/podcast episode in which this was announced
- The discussion on JOF about online convention platforms
Music credits
- Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license
- Dun Dun Dun Brass is by Orange Free Sounds, used under a CC BY NC 4.0 license

HI CLAIRE

John wants Palm Springs to win a Hugo, Alison is lonely, and Liz is not going to buy a Nintendo Switch.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment:
- Duncan MacGregor
  - Anonymous Claire
  - Sheffield SF and Fantasy Society
  - First Thursday Fandom Drinks
  - A party in a Google Sheet
- Claire Brialey
- Chris Garcia
- Mark Plummer
DisCon III
- They announced that they were going to make an announcement, but not what it was
- Then it turned out that the announcement they had announced was an announcement regarding the lack of anything to announce
- Their hotel is going bust
  - This is not particularly recent news though
Capricon
- The 2021 UK filk convention Long (Distance) Play
Boskone
Mass Con ’21
Hugo reading/nominations
- John’s reading list:
  - The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
  - The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  - Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
  - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
  - Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  - Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang (translated by Ken Liu)
  - Network Effect by Martha Wells
  - A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
  - The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
  - The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
- Movies
  - Palm Springs (coming soon to Amazon Prime)
  - The Vast of Night
  - Ice Cold in Alex **(buy or rent)
- The big Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.
Dun Dun Dun Brass is by Orange Free Sounds, used under a CC BY NC 4.0 license.

John thinks that arguments should be more nuanced, Alison disagrees in every conceivable way, and Liz summarises.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

A graph of Hugo finalists with more than four names:

Letters of comment:
- Ang Rosin
- Claire Brialey
- Mark Plummer
- Chris Garcia
Upcoming events:
- FANAC are hosting an Interview of Ted White by John D. Berry
  - 23 January 2021, 4pm (Eastern Standard Time)
- Critical Mass are hosting a single-day mini convention!
  - 31 January 2021, Noon to 8pm (Adelaide time)
  - John will be appearing on a panel about podcasting at 7:30pm (Adelaide time, 9am UTC)
- Capricon: 4–7 February 2021
- Boskone: 12–14 February 2021
All of Fandom is Plunged Into War
- DisCon III posted a Tweet about the numbers of people allowed to be Hugo finalists
- Chris Garcia discusses the effect on JP in previous years
- Colette H. Fozard posted a statement on File 770 about her resignation from DisCon III
- Jared Dashoff statement on his resignation
Are the Hugos a massive cankerous boil on the Worldcon that just needs to be completely purged?
- Steve Cooper posts to JOF on how much the Hugos cost a Worldcon and some of the considerations therein
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.
Dun Dun Dun Brass is by Orange Free Sounds, used under a CC BY NC 4.0 license.

John edited a podcast, Alison ran all the parties, and Liz programmed a convention.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment:
- Mark Plummer
- Roman Orszanski
- Andrew Hogg
  - The Upgradies
- Dave Mansfield
- Maggie
- Claire Brialey
What was 2020 like?
- Alison ran some Zoom parties
  - First Thursday meetings
  - Went on a three-week virtual GUFF trip
  - Made a lot of tissue paper art which was very good
- John did some fanac
  - Wrote his TAFF report
  - Interviewed Anna Raftery for her TAFF report
  - Edited Journey Planet #56 by James Bacon, Christopher J. Garcia, and Alissa McKersie
  - Edited Lulzine #5–6 with España Sheriff (feel free to subscribe!)
  - Did a small podcast with some mates
- Liz lived in a country which might have dealt slightly more effectively with COVID–19
  - Liz did more work for Punctuation than anyone else
Eastercon
- You can become a member for £50
Boskone is now selling memberships for $25
- Why isn’t Boskone 58 free?
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

John was on time because he’s stuck at home, Alison was on time because she’s stuck at home, and Liz was late because she was having her toes done.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment:
- Peter Sullivan wrote to us about virtual conventions
- Claire Brialey (of Croydon)
Less hot takes on the Hugo Award for Best Video Game:
- What we reckon
- The Games Hugo website
- DisCon III’s announcement of the Best Video Game Special Hugo Award
- MJ Newman’s discussion of ludonarrative in games
- F. Murray Abraham Totally Looks Like Tony Amendola
- The Best Game Writing category at the Nebula Awards
The music is It’s Christmas Time by Frank Schröter, used under the filmmusic.io standard license

John went to bed before Alison, Alison is not at all sleepy or hungover, and Liz had a better offer.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast or tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Buy our merchandise!
- T-shirts and other apparel
- Fridge magnets
Letters of comment:
- Claire Brialey wrote to us and used the word “onfridge”
- Duncan MacGregor told us that Boxing Helena was directed by Jennifer Lynch
- Ang Rosin tweeted to tell us that she doesn’t like “key learnings”
- Jerry Kaufman commented on John’s TAFF report
Gather
- A recent article which nicely explains what’s nice about spatial socialising/proximity chat
Virtual Reality
- Hubs by Mozilla
- AltspaceVR
- Rec Room
- How to pronounce Mozilla
DisCon III polled members on a potential date change to December 2021
- See the first story in this Pixel Scroll
Hugo for video games? We like video games
- DisCon III can do a thing (and they are)
- If you prefer more informed takes, check out the Games Hugo website
Poetry corner!
- You might have just run an online Punctuation
- But Octothorpe still had a clear obligation:
- What must you do in the con’s aftermath?
- Ducking a challenge would seem quite pathetic;
- So would a lie – but here’s proof, quite magnetic:
- Covered in Weetabix, John in the bath…
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

John is bathing with Weetabix, Alison is eating a croissant, and Liz has good hearing.

Letters of comment:
- Claire Brialey collects her point
- Helena McCallum
- Roman Orszanski
Mark Plummer commented on John’s TAFF report
Punctuation:
- Fanzines came out for the convention!
  - Lulzine #5
    - Available for the usual
  - BW #8
    - Full of Widowers poems
    - Available at editorial whim
  - Cloud Chamber #164
- We won against This Never Happens, ya boo sucks to them (love them really)
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

John, Alison, and Liz are QUITE BUSY

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

You can now join Punctuation.
Letters of comment:
- Jo’s Tweet about social spaces
- Ang Rosin’s flurry:
  - Tweets about mushrooms and poached eggs
    - Gordon Ramsay’s
  - And a letter of comment with a poem!
    - Oh bugger I forgot
    - I was told to write a rhyme
    - This is the best I’ve got
    - In the available time.
- Max thinks vigorously about The Thrill of the Fight
- Claire Brialey of Croydon:
  - Claire would like to discourage us from encouraging the people reading this to nominate her fanzine (Weekend Weetabix) for a Hugo Award
  - Claire sent a poem! (You may want to read this first)
    - Online strain can mean physical pain
    - So you stretch but say ‘Ow’ – is that blood?
    - You won’t hurt your necks if you just enter text
    - In WIDOWER’S WONDERFUL MUD.
  - People set lakes on fire
- Mark Plummer of Croydon is a very gifted fan writer and a very gifted LEGO engineer
- Alex Holden listened to most of Octothorpe while making Alison’s concertina
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.
- Thanks to Max for recommending we separate the audio credit from the music!

John has finished his TAFF report, Alison wants you to upgrade to Zoom 5.3, and Liz ate a cake.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

You can now join Punctuation.
Letters of comment:
- “Crazy” Dave Mansfield
  - I have a longer form of this in draft, but just wanted to say that I’ve listened to 11 to 14 this morning. And it was really amusing hearing the shift from reviewing online conventions, to worrying that the wrong format was getting to be a tradition, to it being clear (with hindsight) that you were going to run one. Then episode 15 running with that as an accidental gag of failing to announce it was perfect. Hopefully I’ll finish the actual LOC today.
  - If Zoom is methadone for con social spaces, and Discord paracetamol, is Octothorpe one of those double blind trials, where it turns out placebo is better than the current version?
- Claire Brialey of Croydon
  - ”…the Discord chat has already made me feel quite fannish - i.e. interested and engaged and amused and occasionally irritated.”
  - “…please continue with your attempts to baffle Neil Gaiman by sending him a corner of a completed jigsaw puzzle.”
  - “If that all becomes too difficult, you could probably achieve the same immediate effect by sending him some Weetabix.”
FIYAH Literary Magazine
- FIYAHCON 2020
- Vida Cruz on #FiyahConFringe
Essence of Wonder’s weekendly panels
Ineffable Con 2
- Rachael’s Twitter thread on the unnamed technology used
Using Game Design to Make Virtual Events More Social
- Multi-User Dungeons
- Play the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy here
- Read John’s walkthrough here
Punctuation has a venue to tell us what you miss about conventions and socialising in the pandemic.
Staying sane in the apocalypse
- Using Buddymove to stretch throughout the day
- Alison has bought a concertina from Alex Holden
  - Alex’s Instagram
  - Alex’s photo of Alison’s concertina
  - The history of the concertina according to Wikipedia
- Liz had a cake spray-painted with rum
- John has had (whisper it) friends over for tea
  - John has an outdoor heater
  - John has finished his TAFF trip report
  - John spent 14 hours playing Arkham Horror: The Card Game yesterday
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

John is an internet historian, Alison is an investigative journalist, and Liz is a time-traveller.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment:
- Steven Cain writes “TwillTone sounds like a record label”.
- Karen Schaffer
  - DaVICI made Karen’s Russian puzzle
  - Alison’s puzzles on Jigsaw Planet
- Claire Brialey
  - We didn’t mention this in the podcast, but she writes “I’m not sure that I’m strong enough for the crossover podcast ‘Alison and Lilian shout at movies’, though,” which is a shame given that the Alison/Lilian project now has Christina editing and appears to be A REAL PODCAST.
Futuricon and Octocon happened!
- Alison presented a talk at Futuricon on her GUFF trip with mmhmm (which John recommended to her, and which requires macOS Catalina or later)
Alison is going to/has been to Zoomtopia
Eastercon will happen!
- Online-only memberships are £50, £30 for concessions.
FIYAH are running a convention.
Finland (The Åland Islands) is bidding for the ’25 Eurocon.
You can now join Punctuation.
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

John, Alison and Liz are running a convention.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Letters of comment:
- Claire Brialey #1
- Mark Plummer #1
- Claire Brialey #2
- Lilian Edwards & Alison Scott
  - Zoom breakout rooms are now available
- Mark Plummer #2
- Bridget Bradshaw
Eastercon
- The Tweet
Punctuation.
- Website.
- Email us.
- Follow us.
- Like us.
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

Poetry corner! Claire Brialey’s poem: This isn’t prose; perhaps it makes it better.

At least it’s all in email, not a letter.

Discussing podcasts makes you rather meta,

And less is more, so let’s not get courgetter.

Mark Plummer’s clerihew: Alison Scott’s erudition

Does not enslave her to tradition

But John’s misuse of the word “plethora”

Will be the death of her

John is making a podcast, Alison is gone again, and Liz is chairing GlobeCon™.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

Letters of comment:
- Mark Plummer
  - Researching the Golden Age starts at ~49 minutes on the Scioto Sunday recording
  - The Technological Dreams of AfroFuturism starts at ~1h50m on the Olentangy Sunday recording
  - John didn’t put these links in the show notes last week
- Lilian Edwards
  - High Fidelity
  - Gather Town
  - Tammy Coxen’s JOF post about Zoom breakout rooms
- Karen Schaffer
  - A Liberty puzzle of Barcelona
  - There was a Eurocon in Barcelona in 2016
- España Sheriff
International conventions
- FUTURE•CON
- It’s possible to stream from Zoom to Twitch
Will Eastercon happen?
- ConFusion has released Progress Report 1
- We’ve heard rumours of a convention on Novacon weekend (shhh)
Aftershow
- John lied about Marvin being in it
- John has a new podcast!
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

John is in the wrong Zoom, Alison is tactful, and Liz went to her first online convention.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

Letters of comment were sent from Mark Plummer, Claire Brialey and Ian Sorensen
Chadwick Boseman has died of cancer
- Ryan Coogler expresses his sorrow
- Chadwick Boseman surprises fans
- Shuri has been the Black Panther
- M’Baku has not been the Black Panther
- The Marvel Symphonic Universe
- New York Times: The Week Old Hollywood Finally, Actually Died
NASFiC 2020 was held online
- Liz attended:
  - Researching the Golden Age with Alec Nevala-Lee and Farah Mendlesohn
  - The Technological Dreams of AfroFuturism with Dan Tres Omi, Eboni Dunbar, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Sheree Renée Thomas
- Panel recordings do not appear to be available, but the schedule is here
Virtually Expo was the online UK Games Expo
- John got a lot of badges
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

John is sort of John-shaped, Alison quite fancies a fantastic beach holiday, and Liz is compensating.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

Upcoming site selection
- Chicon 8 (Chicago, USA) was voted in as the 2022 Worldcon, beating Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
  - An open letter was coordinated by Anna Smith Spark to criticise WSFS for allowing Jeddah to bid
  - Cheryl Morgan argues that an incorporated WSFS might address some of these issues
- Chengdu (China) is bidding for 2023
- Jeddah is bidding in 2026
George R.R. Martin hosted the Hugo Awards
- When the Toastmaster Talks Less
- Aurealis Awards
reCONvene 2020
- Bertie Smith
Upcoming conventions:
- Virtual NASFiC 2020
- Virtually Expo (the online edition of the UK Games Expo)
- Futuricon
Please send us more poems!
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John, Alison and Liz are live from Liz’s house!*

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

Letters of comment:
- Andrew Hogg sends us a link to Kieron Gillen’s manifesto on New Games Journalism
- Pat McMurray reports that if you search for Oglethorpe you find a shopping mall, rather than our podcast
- Claire Brialey sent us an excellent poem
- España Sheriff sent us an excellent meme
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

*May be a lie.

John is channelling Ian Sorensen, Alison is on Sydney time, and Liz has written a poem.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

Letters of comment:
- Max Harden tells us she listens at 3x speed, and says “If only we could speed up pub chats too”.
  - This gives John the idea for a panel show; have people listen to podcasts at various speeds, see how much they understood, and then have them drink alcohol and repeat!
- Dave Mansfield says he often doesn’t have time to read all the BSFA nominees and thanks us for reminding him you can abandon books you dislike
- Mark Plummer sent a clerihew to John which cannot be broadcast, and a triptych which can
  - The triptych is printed below
  - Liz wrote a limerick in response to Mark’s clerihew, also below
Alison’s GUFF trip has started!
- Video diaries on YouTube
- GUFF trip VR playlists on YouTube
Virtual conventions
- The open letter to the CoNZealand committee signed by a number of Hugo finalists
- Eurocon in 2020 – membership is €10
- MIT Puzzle Hunt
Hugo Awards
- Alison wrote about the Best Fancast
- If you’re looking here for a picture of Alison looking confused, I misspoke: look at the album art instead
- Anki
Aftershow
- An Irish Goodbye
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

Liz’s limerick

The poems of Croydon fan Plummer,
Entertain Octothorpe for the summer.
Though his rhymes are first class,
They’re too rude to broadcast,
Which is really a bit of a bummer.

Mark’s triptych

Doctor John the boy Coxon
Didn’t notice several LOCs on
Octothorpe because he hadn’t checked
And thus he failed to Mark protect
Liz Batty (also Doctor)
Didn’t know so many people had LOCced her
Octothorpe’s a fannish gestalt
But in this respect it’s all John’s fault
GUFF winner Alison Scott
Has several Novas and she has also got
Two Hugos for the fanzine Plokta
But unlike John and Liz she’s [Fremulon] not a doctor

John is an entryist from the Mark Neglection League, Alison is podcasting from a Secret Remote Location, and Liz would like to see the cats.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

Letters of comment:
- Claire “Correct” Brialey, Lilian “Time-Traveller” Edwards, “Crazy” Dave Mansfield, Helena “Not Andrew or Mark” McCallum, Mark “Neglection League” Plummer
Alison is preparing for her virtual GUFF trip
- 11 July–2 August
- We are going to be doing a live recording from virtual Liz’s house, with real Liz and virtual Alison and John
CoNZealand
- How does accessibility change on Zoom?
- Hugo voting will open no later than 8 July
- The Colonised, Marginalised, and Historically Underrepresented People Inclusion Initiative
  - Aotearoa Inclusion Initiative Scholarships
We discuss the new wave of #MeToo in the SF/comics/gaming communities
Staying sane in the apocalypse:
- Liz is reading New Suns
- John has printed the following on Dox Direct:
  - An official Arkham Horror print-and-play
  - An unofficial Arkham Horror print-and-play
  - Polyhedral Park Planner
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John is bad at emails, Liz is bad at Twitter, and Alison is going to be quieter this week.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

We are really sorry to the following people who we inadvertently ignored for ages:
- Andrew January
- Andrew Hogg
- Mark Olson
- Mark Plummer
Black Lives Matter follow-up:
- 50 Brilliant Speculative Works by Black Authors
- BlackInTheIvory
- N. K. Jemisin asking for black SF authors to reply on Twitter
The WSFS Business Meeting “cannot” go online
- (Our perspective on this is perhaps quite British)
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

Black lives matter.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

Black Lives Matter:
- Black UK racial justice organisations
- Anti-racism resources
- FIYAH Magazine
- The 2017 #BlackSpecFic Report
- The 2018 FIYAH Black SFF Writer Survey Report
Virtual conventions:
- Balticon:
  - A mixture of Zoom and Discord with Twitch and YouTube
  - España Sheriff attended Balticon
- CoNZealand:
  - The platform announcement: Using a similar pattern to Balticon
- The Nebulas:
  - Alison spoke to Steven H. Silver about how the Nebulas went
  - John Scalzi posted his set list from the disco
- Wiscon:
  - We did not attend! If you did, send us locs!
- Virtually Expo (UK Games Expo)
  - 21–23 August 2020
  - Free at the point of use, but you can donate
Hugo Voter Packet
- It has been made available
- What’s in the HVP
- ALL THE COMICS
Staying sane in the apocalypse
- Oculus Quest
- Calla: Specialized Voice Chat for Meetups
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John has seen it all, Alison hasn’t seen Us, and Liz hasn’t seen Star Wars.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

Letters of comment
- España went to WiFi SciFi
Two Chairs Talking
- A podcast from two Australian ex-Worldcon chairs about SF
- Let us know about any other fannish podcasts!
BSFA
- Awards
- Vector Readings
- Discord
Hugo Award finalists for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Michael Sheen and David Tennant are to star in Staged on BBC One
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John needs validation, Alison hatches a scheme, and Liz is definitely never going to run a Worldcon.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

The tiles that Alison helped make
CoNZealand
- They have announced they will hold Worldcon virtually
- They have a streaming partner
- Memberships are $300 (NZ): approximately £150
The SFWA Nebula Conference 2020 is also being held virtually
- Registration is $150 (US): approximately £120
Alison’s virtual GUFF trip is on Facebook!
- If you’re not on Facebook, email us and she’ll send the itinerary to you
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John got drunk, Alison threw a party, and Liz was awake early.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

ConFusion 2021 is the next Eastercon
- We were right about the Guests of Honour:
  - Dan Abnett
  - Nik Vincent
  - Dave Lally
The provisional bid for 2022 is to be launched at Novacon
Fan fundery:
- Alison won GUFF
- Anna Raftery’s trip report is being streamed on Zoom and will be available afterwards
  - The next instalment is on Friday 8 May
- John’s trip report is (almost) finished
- We got trip report bounties wrong:
  - SCIFI (in California) awards $500 within five years
  - FANAC (in Florida) awards $500 within five years or $250 thereafter
  - Notably, neither California nor Florida is in Canada
Staying sane in the apocalypse
- The Arkham Horror Tabletop Simulator mod got taken down after we recorded
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John has a pin, Alison has a lot of pins, and Liz has opinions.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

Letters of comment
- Kevin MacLeod also does excellent graph paper
Easter without Eastercon
- “A Toast for Alison Scott” (the Facebook group)
- The card for the Concentric 2020 committee
- John Robertson did The Dark Room for 48 hours
  - His website
  - His Twitch channel
- Alison’s Zoom party was a great success
- Bid session
  - ConFusion 2021 won the bid for that year
  - Phil Dyson is head of a 2022 bid which will launch at Novacon
- Drawn to the Flame did a live podcast which John listened to
Hugo Awards
- 2020 Finalists
- Fanzines:
  - The Book Smugglers
  - Galactic Journey
  - Journey Planet (John edited Journey Planet #45, on The Matrix)
  - nerds of a feather, flock together
  - Quick Sip Reviews
  - The Rec Center
- 1945 Retro-Hugo Finalists
Staying sane in the apocalypse
- Virtual exercise
  - Team Body Project
  - Dancing Stage Fusion
  - Ring Fit Adventure
  - Beat Saber
    - PlayStation VR
    - Oculus Quest
- Board games
  - Tabletop Simulator
  - Arkham Horror: The Card Game
    - Buy online
    - Play on Tabletop Simulator
  - Marvel Champions: The Card Game
    - Buy online
    - Play on Tabletop Simulator
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John grumbles, Alison parties, and Liz can’t stay awake.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

The BSFA have a Discord server
First Thursday London pub meetings (“the Tun”)
CoNZealand announces they’re going online
Alison is still running for GUFF
Concentric 2020 is hosting a virtual Eastercon bid session on Easter Sunday
WiFi SciFi
- Panel 1: Fear, Hope and Speculative Fiction
- Panel 2: The Plague-Writer’s Tale
Zoom has had some problems with respect to privacy concerns:
- Every Zoom Security and Privacy Flaw So Far, and What You Can Do to Protect Yourself
- The Washington Post was able to view private, archived Zoom videos
- Bruce Schneier goes in-depth on Zoom’s relationship with marketing
- Zoom’s response to the technical issues that have been highlighted
Our theme music is Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod, used under a CC BY 3.0 license

John is bad at Twitter, Alison discovers jigsaw puzzles, and Liz exercises.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and use #OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media!

Eastercon
- Concentric 2020 cancelled
  - This episode was recorded on Sunday 22 March, before gatherings of more than two people were banned in the UK
- Convoy (the cancelled Liverpool Eastercon)
- Contemplation (the last-minute Chester Eastercon)
Fan funds
- The funds are:
  - The Transatlantic Fan Fund (TAFF)
  - The Down Under Fan Fund (DUFF)
  - The Going Under/Up-and-Over Fan Fund (GUFF)
- A primer: “TAFF in Thirteen Paragraphs” by Teresa and Patrick Nielsen Hayden
- Michael Lowrey is cancelling his TAFF trip
- Alison is running for GUFF
  - CoNZealand is the 2020 Worldcon in New Zealand
Online fandom
- Concellation 2020
- Journeyfolk of Fandom
Staying sane in the apocalypse
- The Metropolitan Opera and Royal Opera House are offering free streams
- Games:
  - Joy Con drift
  - Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo Switch)
  - Polyhedral Park Planner (tabletop)
  - Free print-and-play games on PNPArcade (tabletop)
  - One Shot Safety Net on GoFundMe (tabletop)
  - Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4)
  - The Last of Us (PS4)
  - Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture (PS4/PC)
- Books:
  - A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe
  - The Labyrinth Index by Charlie Stross
  - The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
    - Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies are the first and second instalments
  - Europe in Autumn by Dave Hutchison
  - Bare-Faced Messiah by Russell Miller
- Toilets:
  - How to use bidet sprayers