Octothorpe

143: A Major Movie in the Sand Genre

John skips leg day, Alison skips art day, and Liz skips opinions.

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

• Letters of comment
  • Alan Fleming & David Bamford (email)
    • Eastercon 2027: Unconfined in Glasgow
  • Christopher J Garcia (email)
  • Doug Faunt (Facebook)
  • Fredrik Coulter (Facebook)
  • Jake Casella Brookins (email)
  • Jesi Lipp (Facebook)
  • Meg MacDonald (Facebook)
  • Paul Weimer (Bluesky)
  • Raj (Bluesky)
  • Sari Polvinen (email)
  • Shi Lala (Facebook)
• Next episode, we are going to watch Dredd!
• 2025 Worldcon: Seattle
  • Seattle apologised after we recorded
  • The Hugo Awards longlist is now out!
  • Donald E Eastlake III at the MPC
• 2026 Worldcon: LAcon V in Los Angeles
  • ‪Weyodi OldBear‬: first post, second post
  • Apology from the chair
• 2027 Worldcon: Montréal
  • Old bid site
  • Jeph Jacques’s Questionable Content
• Picks
  • John: FlickFleet
    • Eurydice Games
  • Alison: Slay the Spire again
  • Liz: Luminous by Sylvia Park
    • “More Real Than Him”
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Inside Coverage” by Arthur Thomson
    • Alt text: An abstract, geometric figure stands, their torso through a panel which has various trailing wires. There is a radio or walkie talkie on the floor and a textured background which is also geometric. The words “Octothorpe 143” appear at the top, “Walt Willis” appear at the right, and “Inside Coverage” appear at the bottom.
    • Explanation: This is a previously unused piece of art by Atom (Arthur Thomson), originally intended for a Walt Willis column in Hyphen that never happened. Alison wants to use it as an Octothorpe cover to make Atom eligible for Best Fanzine Cover in the FAAn awards. Except, you know, not.
  • Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

142: A Lot of Double-Sided Bra Tape

John is going to have lunch, Lori is going to brunch, and Liz is not hungry?

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: Mispronounced names (chapter 4), class structures (chapter 7)

• Worldcon 2025: Seattle
  • Hugo Awards
    • The ceremony
      • Pronunciations
      • Grigory Lukin
      • Nisi Shawl on Bluesky: first, second
      • K Tempest Bradford on X in 2020: first, second
      • K Tempest Bradford on Bluesky
    • The winners
    • Billy on the Street
      • “For a dollar, name a woman!”
    • Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
• Worldcon 2030: Edmonton bid
• Picks
  • John: The Sentence by Gautam Bhatia
    • The Wall and The Horizon
    • Andrew Openshaw’s review
  • Lori: The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
  • Liz: The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Ceremony Script Revealed” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A picture of a book entitled “Hugo Award Pronunciation Guide” written by George R R Martin. The cover design is in the style of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, with an Iron Throne made of Hugo Awards. The words “Octothorpe 142” are at the top in a Game of Thrones-y typeface.
  • Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

141: A Whole Episode Without Business Meeting Content

John is worried, Alison volunteers, and Liz is warm.

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

• Letters of comment
  • Chris Hurley (email)
  • Dave O’Neill (Bluesky, DM)
  • Ivan Sinha (Facebook)
  • Jesi Lipp (email, Facebook)
  • John Hertz (typewritten letter with pasted image from File 770 scanned by Fedex and sent by email)
  • Mike Glyer (email)
  • Neil Ottenstein (Facebook)
  • Nicholas Whyte (email)
  • Nuala (Bluesky)
  • Paul Weimer (Bluesky)
  • Rory Hennell James (Bluesky)
  • Tammy Coxen and Jesi Lipp (Bluesky)
  • We also heard from Doug Faunt and Farah Mendlesohn
• Worldcon 2025: Seattle
  • Business Meeting
    • Jesi Lipp posted some excellent infographics on JOF
    • Jesi also posted a small table on our Facebook of attendances back to 2014 and John made them into a graph
    • NASFiC is gone
      • The USA has a national con now and it’s Dragon Con, so why compete? We will return to this question…
      • The end of fan-run conventions in the USA
        • NASFiC is gone, leaving Dragon Con as the de facto national convention
        • The Westercon by-laws have been repealed
        • Wiscon has not got enough volunteers to run an in-person convention
        • Gallifrey One is coming to an end, Showmasters Events are running a commercial replacement
        • GeekGirlCon and Penguicon are struggling
        • Arisia, Baycon, Boskone, Loscon have all shrunk (anecdotally)
      • The end of fan-run conventions more widely?
        • New Zealand: Fan-run conventions have been struggling since CoNZealand
        • Finland: SMOF News recently reported that Finncon is not running due to lack of volunteers
      • More widely to do with volunteering?
        • Maybe more true in the UK?
• Picks
  • John: The Tyrant Philosophers by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • Alison: Control Room B at Battersea Power Station (and Battersea Power Station Station)
  • Liz: Woodworking by Emily St. James
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Mildly Wes” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A photograph of a cocktail bar at Battersea Power Station. The words “Control Room B” are above the cocktail bar, and the words “Octothorpe 141” overlaid in similar style.
  • Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

140: Nerdiest Nerds Who Ever Nerded

John is laughing, Alison is coughing, and Liz has already eaten.

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: Coughing (aftershow)

• Letters of comment
  • Ali Baker Brooks (Facebook)
  • Constanze Hofmann (Facebook)
  • David Bamford (Bluesky)
  • Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook)
  • Jake Casella Brookins (Bluesky)
  • Jonathan Baddeley (Facebook)
  • Tommy Ferguson (email)
  • We also heard from Olav Rokne, Shi Lala, Tammy Coxen
• 2025 Worldcon: Seattle
  • Business Meeting
    • Business Meeting Agenda and Recaps
      • File 770 reporting: 4 July, 19 July, 25 July
      • YouTube recordings: 4 July, 19 July, 25 July
      • 13 July was not reported/recorded because of executive session
    • Trial Committee
      • Doctor Science, España Sheriff, Ian Stockdale, Kat Kourbeti, Kris “nchanter” Snyder
    • Mark Protection Committee
      • Nicholas Whyte, Alan Bond, and Chris Rose have benefitted quite massively from shortcomings in the WSFS voting mechanism, reports Nicholas Whyte
      • University of Cambridge’s Single Transferable Vote regulations
      • There’s a new way to remove MPC members
        • Ben Yalow jumped before being pushed
    • E.2 got ratified and then un-ratified again
      • Andrew January visualised what the changes imply
      • Nicholas Whyte pointed out this would accidentally hugely disenfranchise Attending Memberships
      • Meg MacDonald pointed out in the Business Meeting that Glasgow had 1390 “First Worldcon” members
    • We should vote with “Everybody Votes” style
  • Smofcon 42 bursaries are available
• 2027 Worldcon: Montreal bid
  • The prospective co-chairs have been announced
• Picks
  • John: One Soul by Ray Fawkes
  • Alison: Bitter
  • Liz: Superman
• Credits
  • Cover art: “WSFS Everybody Votes Channel” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: Three Miis in the style of John, Alison and Liz on a background reminiscent of the Everybody Votes Channel from the Nintendo Wii. The words “Octothorpe 140” appear at the top and “WSFS Everybody Votes Channel” at the bottom.
  • - Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

139: Mostly Just a Wide Spot on the Road

John was at the business meeting, Alison was at the cricket, and Tammy is Liz.

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

• Find Tammy at her podcast, my tiny bottles
• Letters of comment
  • Chris Garcia (email)
  • Colette Reap (email)
  • Farah Mendlesohn (email)
  • Ivan Sinha (Facebook)
  • Mike Glyer (email)
  • Niall Harrison (email)
    • Here are Niall’s 10 recommendations for you, listeners! [Interestingly, Niall did not mention any of the translators except for one, and so I had to go and look them all up—John]
      • A Thousand Blues by Cheon Seon-ran, translated by Chi-Young Kim
      • Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
      • Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Asa Yoneda
      • Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva, translated by Rahul Bery
      • Sea Now by Eva Meijer, translated by Anne Thompson Melo
      • House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
      • The Place of Shells by Mai Ishizawa, translated by Polly Barton
      • Sympathy Tower Tokyo by Rie Qudan, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
      • Blood for the Undying Throne by Sung-Il Kim, translated by Anton Hur
      • Ice by Jacek Dukaj, translated by Ursula Phillips
  • Raj (Mastodon)
  • We also heard from Ali Baker Brooks, Brian Nisbet, Fredrik Coulter, Neil Ottenstein, and Sandra Bond
• 2027 Worldcon: Montreal bid
  • The timeline so far:
    • Terry Fong steps down, replaced by Darin Briskman
    • CanSMOF adds Bruce Farr as bid co-chair
    • Tammy writes “The Worldcon is in Trouble” on File 770
  • Site selection
• 2025 Worldcon: Seattle
  • Business Meeting, part 1
  • Business Meeting, part 2: this was entirely in executive session and so none of it ended up on YouTube. Sorry, listeners! You had to be there…
  • Further meetings will occur on 19 July and 25 July at 17:00 BST/09:00 PDT
• 2023 Worldcon: Chengdu
  • Chris Barkley’s 100th column
• Picks
  • John: DIE by Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans and Clayton Cowles
    • Read the first issue free!
    • Future issues will eventually be available on Sweet Shop
    • My First Dungeon
  • Alison: After Us, the Flood and We Are Aliens
  • Tammy: The Nine Worlds by Victoria Goddard
    • The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard
    • The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Our Tiny Bottles” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: The words “Octothorpe 139” appear at the top and the words “…our tiny bottles…” appear at the bottom. Three bottles are drawn in the middle. The left-hand bottle is a Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Coca-Cola bottle. The middle bottle is a bottle that looks a bit like a moose. The right-hand bottle is Bottle #18, “The Original Canton Delicate Ginger Liqueur”.
  • Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

138: A Tedious Number of Questions About What It’s Like to Run a Games Shop

John chaired, Alison is off on holiday, and Liz has the agenda.

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

• Letters of comment
  • Ang Rosin (Facebook)
    • Andrea Bell and Derek Hockridge
  • Bridget Bradshaw (Facebook)
  • Chris Garcia (email)
  • Farah Mendlesohn (email, Facebook)
  • Jake Casella Brookins (Bluesky)
  • Louise Hughes (Bluesky)
  • Neil Ottenstein (Facebook)
  • Paul Weimer (email)
  • Roseanna Pendlebury (Bluesky)
  • Shi Lala (Facebook)
• Worldcon 2027: Montreal bid
  • Terry Fong has stepped down
  • There has been some news since, but we’ll discuss it next episode…
• Worldcon 2025: Seattle
  • The results of the consultative votes
  • The Business Meeting agenda
  • Instructions on how to attend the virtual Business Meeting
  • Kate Secor’s annotated Business Meeting agenda
• Picks
  • John: All the Ghosts in the Forest by Lorraine Wilson
  • Alison: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
  • Liz: Old Soul by Susan Barker
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Whizz-Fizz Agenda Time” 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 138” and “Whizz-Fizz Agenda Time!”.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

137: My Brain Automatically Goes to Sandwiches

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)

136: When Do You Not Want to Talk About Games?

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)

135: Very Slightly Soggier

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)

134: In the Framework of Linear Time

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)