FictionScience Fiction

Octothorpe

John Coxon, Alison Scott, Liz Batty

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

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#172
November 5 · 58 min
172: Liminal Recollection of Eastercon-ness
John is in the hallways, Alison is at an auction, and Liz is in the archives. 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 Thanks to Teddy Harvia for this week’s artwork! Letters of comment Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook) Kate Macdonald (email) Louise Hughes (Bluesky) Intergalactic Mixtape We also heard from DC, Ivan Sinha, Jonathan Baddeley, Scott Edelman Worldcon 2026: LAcon V Tammy Coxen has thoughts on the low attendance Worldcon 2027: Montréal, Canada They have a new child policy, updated from the previous child policy Tyneside Games Expo Murderbot: The First Graphic Novel on Kickstarter Archive of Our Own (AO3) has gone down for 2–4 weeks Swim headphone corner Shokz Swim Pro Carbon Copy Cloner Picks John: Hokum Terror on Tyne Alison: Tabletop Rescue on eBay Live Liz: Cupertino Credits Cover art: “Wingnut Logic in Orbit” by Teddy Harvia Alt text: An orange-and-red space station with blue and yellow windows floating above a planet with green terrain and a blue atmosphere. Various wingnuts sit, walk, and stand on the space station in various orientations. The words “Octothorpe 172” appear at the top and the words “Wingnut Logic in Orbit” down the right-hand side. The artist’s signature is at the bottom-right. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#171
October 22 · 1 hr 3 min
171: No, We Don’t Want Free Jam
John is at Fantasycon, Alison is wrong, and Liz is right. 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 Garcia (email) Paul Weimer (email) Renay! (email) Roseanna Pendlebury (Bluesky) Scott Edelman (email) Simon Bubb (email) Dismaland & Banksy We also heard from Heather Rose Jones, Kevin Anderson, Lilian Edwards, Lori Anderson, Shi Lala, and Tero Ykspetäjä. Fantasycon 2026: Glasgow, UK British Fantasy Award winners 2026 Worldcon 2027: Montréal, Canada The WSFS Business Meeting will be virtual Cory Doctorow and Linda Addison have been added as Toastmaster and Guest of Honour respectively Code of Conduct and Policies SFFCONZ statement on CoNZealand 2 Their website has gone dark but the Wayback Machine sees all Malcolm Edwards has died Malcolm Edwards on Fancyclopedia We know there was only one Malcolm Edwards, but there wasn’t a good edit point to take the mistake out! Picks John: Hope Alison: Into the Woods Liz: Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma Credits Cover art: “Cross Stitch” by Roseanna Pendlebury Alt text: Beautifully cross-stitched depictions of John, Alison and Liz with black, pink and purple Octothorpe T-shirts on. They have a speech bubble above them reading “Octothorpe #171”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#170
October 8 · 53 min
170: Maybe We Should All Have Bells
John, Alison and Liz are live from Octocon! 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! The Ultimate Gene Wolfe Library on Humble Bundle Barry’s Tea and Lyons Tea Conventions Octocon: 3–4 October 2026 in Cork, Ireland Shake, Battle and Roll: 10–11 October 2026 in Southampton, UK Tyneside Games Expo: 17–18 October 2026 in Gateshead, UK PictCon 2026: 17 October in Perth, UK Stabcon 2027: 8–10 January in Stockport, UK Airecon 2027: 11–14 March (the last one!) in Harrogate, UK Picks John: The Waiter by Kwan Ann Tan The Emma Press Alison: (is a bit short of a pick) Liz: CONTROL Resonant Credits Cover art: “Live from Octothorpe” by Liz Batty Alt text: Three crocheted Octos – one purple, one green, and one red – sit against a white background. The words “Octocon 170” appear at the top and “Live from Octothorpe” appear at the bottom. (Octo is the Octocon mascot and is an octopus, so these are made from the official Octo crochet pattern.) Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#169
September 24 · 1 hr 29 min
169: The Helsinki Problem
John parties, Alison queues, and Liz betrays. 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: Letters of comment Andrew January (email) Chris Garcia (emails) DC (Bluesky) Ed Morland (Bluesky) Henry Balen (Facebook) Kevin Anderson (Bluesky) Malcolm Hutchison (Facebook) Steve (email) Trish Matson (email) We also heard from Bridget Bradshaw, Farah Mendlesohn, Ivan Sinha, Jake Casella Brookins, Kev McVeigh, Kin-Ming Looi, Mike Scott, Paul Weimer, Roseanna Pendlebury, Scott Edelman, Shi Lala, and Tammy Coxen Octocon 2026: Cork and online Octocon Programme Bristolcon 2026 Left Handed Giant The University of Liverpool’s Science Fiction Collection has been awarded Designated status by Arts Council England Special Collections & Archives: Science Fiction Hub Cameron Kunzelman in the Ancillary Review of Books on Joanna Russ and archives “Archiving the Future: Preserving African Speculative Fiction” at LAcon V Worldcon 2026: LAcon V <plokta.con> 4 Picks John: Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 Alison: The Bayeux Tapestry Alison writes about queues The copy held at Reading Museum Liz: Foreigner by CJ Cherryh Humble Bundle Swimcast Credits Cover art: SKULK! by Sabrina L. Nelson, used under a CC BY-ND licence (original here) Alt text: A photograph of various fans at LAcon V cosplaying foxes to varying degrees, including John wearing some fox ears and his wife España Sheriff wearing a fox mask. Above, orange text on a white background reads “Octothorpe 169” and below it reads “Foxes skulk at LAcon V”. For some reason, Adobe Photoshop is convinced I’ve used an AI-generated image, but given it’s a photograph and some text Adobe Photoshop can get in the sea. Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#168
September 10 · 52 min
168: It’s a Very Little Cat
John is tired, Alison is listening to music, and Liz is catsitting. 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: Clowns (Chapter 1), Hugo Award statistics (Chapter 3) Worldcon 2026: LAcon V Hugo Awards Results Full Statistics Administrator’s Report Hugo Awards Ceremony on YouTube Southside Symphony Robert Jackson Bennett on the award speeches Hugo, Girl! Program guide Worldcon Photos on Flickr Worldcon 2028: Aussiecon 5 Picks John: The Prestige by Christopher Priest The Recollections by Christopher Priest Alison: Little, Big by John Crowley Liz: Sublimation by Isabel J Kim Credits Cover art: “Love Is In the Air” by IHOP Photographer Alt text: A photograph of John and Duncan MacGregor taken at an IHOP near the Hilton Anaheim. They are turned to look at each other in a booth. Their facial expressions are difficult to read, but hearts overlay the picture and so we surmise they are in love. Faces of bystanders are pixellated for privacy purposes. Words above the photo read “Octothorpe 168” and below read “Love is in the air at LAcon V”. Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#167
August 27 · 1 hr 14 min
167: Way More Fun Than the Actual Hugos
John, Alison, and Liz fix the Hugo Awards once and for all. 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: Letters of comment Alison: Mike Scott (Facebook) “How is Inventing the Renaissance an SFF-Related Work?” by Ada Palmer Liz: Tammy Coxen (Bluesky 1, Bluesky 2) John: Heather Rose Jones (Facebook) The Brand-New, Definitely-WSFS-Approved Hugo Award® Rosters! Alison Novel: Redefined to be 60,000+ words, awards to author and editor Dramatic Presentation (Short Form): Redefined to standalone works Vibes: Best thing that seems like it should be genre but isn’t New Writer: Redefined as a debut in the last three years, has never won a Hugo Award (!) Fan: No previous winners, no professionals (with some caveats) Original Artwork: Flat art and sculpture John Game or Interactive Work Dramatic Presentation (Television): Nominating series, no standalone episodes Novella: Refined to be up to 60,000 words, awards to author and editor Related Work: Redefined to render conventions and things that exclusively happen at conventions ineligible Fancast: It’s perfect just the way it is Fan Artist: Defined “properly” Liz Dramatic Presentation (Moving Picture): Redefined to exclude TV series somehow Publisher Neon Hemlock Haikasoru Series: Redefined to let series of above a number of volumes on, even under the 240,000 word count (the Nghi Vo amendment) [I SAID IT AND I MEANT IT—John] Short Story/Novelette: Redefined to be shorter than 15,000 words, award to author only Community Benefit: Works by the community which exist to benefit the community Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom AO3 Con or Bust Video Essay: Non-fiction works in video format Credits Cover art: “Summer of Fungi” by España Sheriff Alt text: An watercolour of three pink mushrooms growing on the trunk of a tree. The words “Octothorpe 167” appear at the top, and “summer of fungi” appear at the bottom. The listener is left to discern which mushroom represents which co-host. Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#166
August 14 · 43 min
166: Writings of Greeks and Romans
John, Alison, and Liz have stopped talking about it now. 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. Letters of comment Andrew January (email) Chris Garcia (email) Dave Langford (email) Reginald’s Rubaiyat by Saki Doug Faunt (email) Nando’s menu Perrianne Lurie (email) Simon Bubb (email) 21Moon Railway Rivals Trains Zara Baxter (email) We also heard from Jesi Lipp, Nicholas Whyte, and Paul Weimer Worldcon 2026: LAcon V WSFS Business Meeting recaps Chris Garcia is running WOOF John’s programme items Octocon 2026: 3–4 October We are online guests! (Blog, Bluesky) Picks John: A Thousand Blues by Cheon Seon-ran, translated by Chi-Young Kim Alison: Spain Liz: Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman Credits Cover art: “Summer of Sun” by Alison Scott Alt text: A photograph of a total solar eclipse above a beach in Northern Spain. Text reads “Octothorpe 166” in purple at the top and “SUMMER of SUN” in white at the bottom. Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0) Incidental music: “Local Forecast – Elevator” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#165
July 30 · 59 min
165: E Ese Efe Ese
John is big-headed, Alison has a right of reply, and Liz explains how voting should work. 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. Letters of comment Brian Nisbet (Facebook) Chris Garcia (email) Eurocon 2029: Bid for Warsaw, Poland Constanze Hofmann (email) ESFS ESFS statues Gareth Kavanagh (Facebook) Ivaylo Alekseev (email) Leigh Edmonds (email) Digger by Ursula Vernon Neil Ottenstein (Facebook) Renay (Bluesky) Shi Lala (Facebook) Alison: Scott Edelman (Bluesky) We also heard from Constanze Hofmann, Farah Mendlesohn, Ivan Sinha, Jonathan Cowie, Kev McVeigh, Lilian Edwards, and Paul Weimer Worldcon 2026: LAcon V The WSFS Business Meeting Agenda WSFS Business Meeting Recaps from LAcon V F.7 Limitation on Listed Contributors for Hugo Award Finalists This was withdrawn by Olav Rokne at the Preliminary Business Meeting “Role Creep in the Hugo Awards Semiprozine Category” by Tammy Coxen on File 770 “Role Creep and the Numbers Game: A Measured Response” by Kat Kourbeti on File 770 F.8 Purposeful Proportionality [Alison told me that we should link a CGP Grey video here but then didn’t put it in the show notes, so good luck finding it, listeners—John] History of Hugo Category Definitions by Tammy Coxen Unofficial WSFS Business Meeting Browser by Andrew January Locus Locus Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year: Volume 1 on Kickstarter Picks John: Mothership Companion Alison: Strange Horticulture Liz: Moderation by Elaine Castillo Credits Cover art: “Stand Up and Be Counted”, found art détourned by Alison Scott Alt text: 72 assorted LEGO minifigs in a 6x12 grid. Words above read “Octothorpe 165” and below read “WSFS Business Meeting Register: Stand up and be Counted”. The title case on the part of the sentence after the colon is, frankly, bananas, and it certainly isn’t aligned with the Octothorpe style guide. Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#164
July 16 · 1 hr 17 min
164: WSFS and ESFS and All Sorts of SFSes
John is not quite awake, Alison’s off to the cricket, and Liz is doing it in an unusual order. 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: Letters of comment Ali Baker Brooks (Facebook) Chris Garcia (email) Farah Mendlesohn (Bluesky) Jake Casella Brookins (Bluesky) Paul Weimer (email) Kevin Anderson (Bluesky) Roseanna Pendlebury (Bluesky) GeForce NOW We also heard from Doug Faunt, Jonathan Baddeley, Kev McVeigh, Kin-Ming Looi, Lilian Edwards, and Scott Edelman Eurocon 2026: Metropol Con in Berlin, Germany Thanks to James Bacon for some fantastic reporting on File 770: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 Eurocon Eurocon 2027: Forum Fantástico in Lisbon, Portugal (23–26 September) Eurocon 2028: SFeraKon 50 in Zagreb, Croatia (probably the second weekend in May) Eurocon 2029: Bids for Warsaw, Poland and Sofia, Bulgaria Eurocon 2030: Bids for Birmingham, England and Fuiggi, Italy Eurocon 2031: Bid for Belgrade, Serbia Eurocon 2032: Bid for Copenhagen, Denmark The Andreas Kuschke Prize was awarded to Constanze Hofmann Berlin Ehl-i Kebap FABELEI Wombats Worldcon 2026: LAcon V The WSFS Business Meeting Agenda Picks John: On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara Haveland (I and II) and Jennifer Russell & Sophia Hersi Smith (III) Alison: Abstract Play BoardGameArena Gerrymandle Tabletopia Yucata 18xx.Games Rollway Station Liz: Cinder House by Freya Marske Credits Cover art: “Summer of Fun” by Alison Scott Alt text: John and Liz are behind two large stacks of paper with text reading “WSFS Agenda… D… E… E… F… F7… more F7… secret squirrel” whilst Alison sits in the stands of Lord’s. Words above say “Octothorpe 164” and “It’s the summer of fun!”. Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#163
July 2 · 1 hr 3 min
163: Board Games 💋
John couldn’t check, Alison was wrong, and Liz is accurate. 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 Ali Baker (Facebook) One-day Frances Hardinge symposium Chris Garcia (email) Frederik Coulter (Facebook) Jake Casella Brookins (email) “Hugo Overlaps: Some Comparisons” on Ancillary Review of Books Casella’s SFF Award Comparator Kate Macdonald (email) Kin-Ming Looi (Facebook) Mike Scott (Facebook) Neil Ottenstein (Facebook) Niall Harrison Paul Weimer (email) Raj (Mastodon) The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops European Coffee Trip Scott Edelman (Facebook) Broken Clock Café (Facebook, Instagram) Tantrum Doughnuts Pastéis Lisboa Tammy Coxen (Bluesky and Facebook) Meg MacDonald’s offer on Bluesky Trish Matson (Bluesky) We also heard from: DC, Farah Mendlesohn, Ivan Sinha, Karen Schaffer Worldcon 2026: LAcon V in Los Angeles It’s that special time of year again, the WSFS Business Meeting Agenda is out! Business Meetings at LAcon V 17 July, 26 July, 1 August, 9 August, 30 August Eating the Fantastic Tammy Coxen wrote about TGI Fridays being American and how Alison “couldn’t be more wrong” Eurocon 2026: Metropol Con in Berlin, Germany Eurocon 2027: Fórum Fantástico in Lisbon, Portugal Fantasycon/World Fantasy Con Eurocon 2028: Bid for Croatia Eurocon 2029: Bid for Warsaw, Poland Eurocon 2030: Bid for Birmingham, England Bid for Copenhagen, Denmark Other things Liz thinks are neat: Eddie Clark has finished the Queersar not-an-award blog series Picks John: Widow’s Bay Katie Dippold as the Babadook Hugo, Girl!’s episode on Widow’s Bay Alison: Portmeirion Liz: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Credits Cover art: “Alison the Goldfish” by Sue Mason Alt text: A goldfish with the head of Alison wearing goggles and swim headphones. The words “Moist Ear Tunes*” appear at the top and the words “SF Fandom’s Premier Swim Headphone Podcast”, “Fun Fact: Moist Ear Tunes is a nonogram of Octothorpe 163” and “Sue Mason art appears courtesy of Plokta (thanks guys)” appear at the bottom. I know that Alison has forgotten to include the asterisk on the footnote, but since she also has the memory of a goldfish maybe it’s a delightful and multilayered joke. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#162
June 18 · 1 hr 10 min
162: Do You Have Stirrups on Your Bicycle?
John wasn’t overcrowded, Alison likes it small, and Liz has never been. 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: Drug use, war (John’s pick) Letters of comment Christopher J Garcia (email) DC (Bluesky) Els (Bluesky) Ivan Sinha (Facebook) Premier Inns in Llandudno Jonathan Harden (Bluesky) Nicholas Whyte (email) “Best Related Work eligibility for the Hugo Awards” Scott Edelman (Bluesky) Eating the Fantastic Tommy Ferguson (email) Trish Matson (Bluesky) Shokz OpenSwim Pro Alison: Raj (Mastodon) We also heard from Ali Baker Brooks, aoanla, Jonathan Baddeley, Neil Ottenstein Satellite 9 Ottoman Coffeehouse Blood on the Clocktower Bristol 1350 Codex Naturalis Farah Mendlesohn is running a one-day event about Frances Hardinge Worldcon 2028: Former bid for Nuremberg, Germany Worldcon 2028: Bid for Brisbane, Australia Paul Weimer (email) Clouds and stuff UK Games Expo 2026 “UK Games Expo 2026 breaks NEC attendance records as infrastructure buckles under massive crowds” at GeekNative by Andrew Girdwood “Stupid Games, Stupid Prizes” by Tim Clare Some discourse on Bluesky Picks John: Starship Salvager by Jarrom Strong Alison: Hades II Liz: Play Nice: The Rise, Fall and Future of Blizzard Entertainment by Jason Schreier Game Over by David Sheff Credits Cover art: “Scenes of the Village” by Alison Scott Alt text: A photograph of Portmeirion made to look like a stamp or a postcard, with words overlaid saying “Holiday greetings from Portmeirion, be seeing you…”. Above reads “Octothorpe 162” and below reads “Alison has gone on holiday again”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#161
June 4 · 48 min
161: You Pay Your Money, You Send Your Books
John, Alison and Liz read the Clarke Award shortlist. 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: Gun control and dystopian government (The Dream Hotel), body dysmorphia (Luminous), child abuse (The Salt Oracle) The Arthur C Clarke Award Medium Substack Website This year’s shortlist Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami Luminous by Sylvia Park There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm When There Are Wolves Again by EJ Swift The Salt Oracle by Lorraine Wilson This year’s submission list Credits Cover art: “Judge Coxon’s Last Stand” by Alison Scott Alt text: John, wearing a Judge Dredd-style helmet with the Clarke Award logo on it and holding a lightsaber, dispenses judgement from behind a wall of books. The words “Octothorpe 161” appear above him, whilst words below say “Arthur C. Clarke Award 2026: Judge Coxon’s Last Stand”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#160
May 21 · 59 min
160: Global Nando’s Correspondents
John is not firing on all cylinders, Alison has a code, and Liz downloaded the packet. 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: Worms (Alison’s pick) Letters of comment Andrew Thompson (Mastodon 1, 2) Chris Garcia (email) Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook) BSFA accounts Jake Casella Brookins (Bluesky 1, 2) Kate Macdonald (email) Kiesa (Mastodon) Mike Scott (Facebook) Patrick Garvey (email) Paul Weimer (email) The Theory of Related-ivity by Heather Rose Jones “Seattle Worldcon Poet Laureate Brandon O’Brien’s Opening Ceremonies poem” Also pointed out by Kathy Bond (Bluesky) Raj (Mastodon 1, 2) We also heard from Ali Baker Brooks, Ang Rosin, Caroline Mullan, Constanze Hofmann, Dave Mansfield, DC, Duncan MacGregor, Els, Ivan Sinha, James Shields, Jonathan Baddeley, Kev McVeigh, Lilian Edwards, Phil Dyson, Tammy Coxen Hugo Awards Intergalactic Mixtape #50 Intergalactic Mixtape #53 Tim Vine is Plastic Elvis as Sam Salono in Rocker ‘Brella Fella Picks John: Citizen Sleeper Alison: Falmouth Worm-Charming Championships Liz: Hades II Credits Cover art: “Cover-Mounted CD-Rom” by Alison Scott Alt text: A drawing of a CD-Rom with the words “Octothorpe 160” and “New!! Exclusive Octothorpe cover-mounted CD-Rom”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#159
May 7 · 1 hr 10 min
159: Taking a Stand
John ran the Games Room, Alison ran the Newsletter, and Liz was on holiday. 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: Ancillary Review of Books Kickstarter ending at 04:59 BST (UTC+1) on 14 May 2026 “First of May” Eastercon 2026: Iridescence in Birmingham Batik ConRunner Daves Hot Chicken [do not get me started on the lack of apostrophe—John] HaruhiCon Alison’s 365 Play challenge Eastercon 2027: Unconfined in Glasgow Eastercon 2028: Contract in Birmingham Guests of Honour: Adam Roberts, Aliya Whiteley and Chris Lintott Eastercon 2029: Bid for Chronologicon in Chester Aiming to cap at ~650 people Eastercon 2030: Bid from BSFA to join with Eurocon British Science Fiction Association Eastercon “early 2030s”: Rumblings from Northern Ireland Picks John: Scavengers Reign Alison: What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed The Fortunate Fall by Cameron Reed Liz: Slow Gods by Claire North Credits Cover art: “Thanks Guys” by Alison Scott (comic by Randall Munroe used under a CC BY-NC 2.5 licence, typeface by Phil Elson used under a CC BY-NC 3.0 Unported licence) Alt text: A stack of grey blocks being held up by two small stacks underneath. The stack is labelled “all current Eastercon digital infrastructure”, while the two small stacks are labelled “bits being thanklessly maintained by Andrew January” and “bits being thanklessly maintained by James Shields”. The words “Octothorpe 159” appear at the top. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#158
April 21 · 1 hr 18 min
158: I Am the Worldcon Chair in Avignon
John, Alison and Liz dissect 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 Bluesky or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media. Content warnings this episode: None Hugo Awards Best Novel A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow The Incandescent by Emily Tesh The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson Best Novella Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz Cinder House by Freya Marske Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar The Summer War by Naomi Novik What Stalks the Deep by T Kingfisher Best Novelette “Kaiju Agonistes” by Scott Lynch “Never Eaten Vegetables” by H H Pak “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy” by Martha Wells “The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For” by Cameron Reed “The Millay Illusion” by Sarah Pinsker “When He Calls Your Name” by Catherynne M Valente Best Short Story “10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days” by Samantha Mills “In My Country” by Thomas Ha “Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything” by Effie Seiberg “Missing Helen” by Tia Tashiro “Six People to Revise You” by J R Dawson “Wire Mother” by Isabel J Kim Best Series Emily Wilde by Heather Fawcett October Daye by Seanan McGuire Old Man’s War by John Scalzi The Chronicles of Osreth by Katherine Addison The Craft Wars by Max Gladstone White Space by Elizabeth Bear Best Graphic Story or Comic Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 1: The Last Amazon A Girl and Her Fed A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel The Invisible Parade The Power Fantasy Volume 1: The Superpowers The Space Cat Best Related Work Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction by Paul Kincaid Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age by Ada Palmer Last War in Albion: “The Cuddled Little Vice (Sandman)” by Elizabeth Sandifer Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E Butler by Susana M Morris History of Westeros: “Ragnarök vs the Long Night” The Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom, maintained by Renay Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Andor (season 2) Frankenstein KPop Demon Hunters Mickey 17 Sinners Superman Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Doctor Who: “The Story & the Engine” Murderbot: “All Systems Red” Murderbot: “The Perimeter” Pluribus: “We Is Us” Severance: “Cold Harbor” The Wheel of Time: “The Road to the Spear” Best Game or Interactive Work Blue Prince Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector “Tabletop roleplaying in the world of Citizen Sleeper 2!” on Quinns Quest Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Dispatch Hades II Hollow Knight: Silksong Best Editor Short Form Scott H Andrews Jennifer Brozek Neil Clarke Lee Harris Michael Damian Thomas Sheila Williams Best Editor Long Form Carl Engle-Laird Jaymee Goh Lee Harris Jenni Hill Joe Monti Diana M Pho Best Professional Artist Lulu Chen Kelly Chong Dave Kellett Tran Nguyen John Picacio Tom Roberts Best Semiprozine Escape Pod khōréō magazine On Spec: The Canadian Magazine of the Fantastic Strange Horizons The Deadlands Uncanny Magazine Best Fanzine Ancillary Review of Books An Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog Galactic Journey Intergalactic Mixtape Journey Planet nerds of a feather, flock together Best Fancast A Meal of Thorns Eating the Fantastic Hugo, Girl! Octothorpe The Coode Street Podcast Worldbuilding for Masochists Best Fan Writer Jay Brantner for “Tar Vol” Alex Brown James Davis Nicoll Roseanna Pendlebury Jason Sanford Örjan Westin Best Fan Artist Terri Ash Geneva Bowers Sara Felix Richard Man España Sheriff Yuumei Best Poem “Care for Lightning” by Mari Ness “Hex Supply Customer Support Log” by Elis Montgomery “How to Become a Sea Witch” by Theodora Goss “Landing: Seattle” by Brandon O’Brien “The Mourning Robot” by Angela Liu “The World to Come” by Jennifer Hudak Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C B Lee Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen Oathbound by Tracy Deonn Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran Astounding Award for Best New Writer Sophie Burnham Kamilah Cole Antonia Hodgson Molly O’Neill H H Pak Jared Pechaček Credits Cover art: “Vibrant Award Culture” by Alison Scott Alt text: A cartoon. John, Alison and Liz are wearing Octothorpe T-shirts and matching purple baseball caps while standing behind a market stall clad in a very slightly different purple and with various delicacies upon it. The sign above the stall reads “Octothorpe 158 Hugo HOT takes”, with “HOT” in a little tiny fire. The sign below the stall reads “Always half-baked! Fresh off the griddle! Three-pack special!” Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#157
April 9 · 57 min
157: Moist or Shiny?
John is gaming, Alison is a pirate, and Claudia is dancing. 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! Also, we say the words “dicks” and “moist” a lot; sorry about that. Claudia Rapp: Website Bluesky Facebook Instagram The Hay lecturer was Tasha Phillips, and the lecture was “Stranger than Fiction: Creatures of the Deep” John was wrong about that sketch, it was on the radio and is also on YouTube Eurocon 2026: Metropol Con 2026 in Berlin, Germany Gamma Rats Die Leere im Kern deiner Hoffnung Worldcon 2028: Bid for Nuremberg, Germany Worldcon 2028: Bid for Brisbane, Australia Picks John: World on a Wire/Welt am Dracht Alison: The Eastercon Business Meeting Claudia: Lyneham by Nils Westerboer Athos 2643 by Nils Westerboer A movie is underway! Credits Cover art: “Best panel confirmed” by Simon Bubb Alt text: A picture of John, Alison and Claudia sitting behind the panel tables during the live recording. A thread from the convention Discord is being projected onto the screen behind them, with messages reading “Malcolm H: Song for Alison… Da Da Da”, “Roseanna: We’ve passed the discord comment count for the highest other item!! Best panel confirmed [rocket emoji]”, “Meg MacDonald: Teach us your wisdom”, “Frances Dowd: Drink drink drink your Heineken, oodles and oodles for everyone!”. Words have been added to the top reading “Octothorpe 157” and to the bottom reading ‘Live from Iridescence: “Best panel confirmed”’. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#156
March 26 · 58 min
156: Surprisingly Well-Adjusted Young Gentlemen
John has a headache, Alison has a cold, and Liz is fine, thanks for asking. 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 Liz said “RoboCup world championship” not “RoboCop world championship” RoboCup Germany RoboCup Federation RoboCup on Wikipedia Alexandra Lanes (Bluesky) Ali Baker Brooks (Facebook) Ang Rosin (Facebook) Ed Morland (Bluesky) Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook) Fredrik V Coulter (Facebook) Juan Sanmiguel (email) Kin-Ming Looi (Facebook) Neil Ottenstein (Facebook) Paul Weimer (Bluesky, email) Phil Dyson (Facebook) Renay (email) Hugo Award Recommendations! We also heard from Alex Holden, Finbarr O’Reilly, Kev McVeigh, Roseanna Pendlebury, Shi Lala GUFF result Farah’s Facebook group: From Perth to Perth! Nebula Awards The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association This year’s nominees “How SFWA Is Administering the Nebula Awards Policy Against LLM-Use” on File 770 “Indie Game Awards rescinds Clair Obscur’s GOTY wins over use of generative AI” on Polygon G Willow Wilson’s thoughts on the Best Comic category Locus 2026 fundraiser Eastercon 2026: Iridescence The program is out You can find John here and Alison here and Liz here “Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names – With Examples” Picks John: Vantage Alison: Slay the Spire 2 Liz: Formula 1: Drive to Survive Credits Cover art: “Eastercon Planning” by Alison Scott Alt text: A black-and-white cartoon. John is behind a stack of games, saying “Games Room”; Alison is behind a stack of printers and paper, saying “Newsletter”; Liz is on a beach reading with sunglasses and a cocktail. In purple, the words “Octothorpe 156 Eastercon Planning:” appear at the top and “questioning our life choices” at the bottom. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#155
March 12 · 1 hr 5 min
155: Ed! Ed! ED!
John is a bit rum, Alison is taking a drink, and Liz is buying beer. 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: Letters of comment Abigail Nussbaum (email) Neon Hemlock Brian Nisbet (Facebook) Chris Garcia (email) Ed Morland (Bluesky) Elias Helfer (email) Roseanna Pendlebury on fan writer Florian Bailey (email) Nuremberg in 2028 Paul Weimer (email) Down Under Fan Fund (DUFF) Going Under Fan Fund (GUFF) Transatlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) European Fan Fund (EFF) Scott Edelman (email) Eating the Fantastic Chicken Shop Date Tammy Coxon (Bluesky: convention sports, deduplications, staff rates) Trish E Matson (email) The Skiffy and Fanty Show We also heard from DC, Farah Mendlesohn, Jonathan Baddeley, Kev McVeigh, Mike Scott, and Neil Ottenstein British Science Fiction Association BSFA members and Eastercon members can now vote on the shortlist Nicholas Whyte writes on this topic The Incompleat Register Eastercon 2026: Iridescence in Birmingham Lucky for None Lucky for None in Space Eastercon 2028: Bid for Birmingham by Marcus Streets Picks John: Alien and Aliens they’re small indie movies you probably haven’t heard of them Alison: Small Prophets Liz: Dark Winds Credits “Homunculeeses” by Alison Scott Alt text: Three homunculi in jars with cork toppers who look reminiscent of John, Alison and Liz. Alison’s has a little stick with a moose head on it and a cup of coffee. The jars are on a shelf. The words “Octothorpe 155” appear at the top and “Small Podcasters” at the bottom. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#154
February 26 · 54 min
154: At Least I’m Not Just Internet Shopping
John is nominating board games, Alison should read more, and Liz bought two memberships. 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 Andrew Hogg (Discord) Chris Garcia (email) Ivan Sinha (Facebook) Kev McVeigh (Facebook) Phil Dyson (Facebook) Esther MacCallum-Stewart (Facebook) Jonny Harden (Mastodon) Paul Weimer (email) We also heard from Brian Nisbet, Bridget Bradshaw, Els, Farah Mendlesohn, Kin-Ming Looi Worldcon 2026: LAcon V in Los Angeles, USA Staff memberships are $100 Hugo nominations are open Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom We’re not recusing this year! Best Novel: On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J Haveland A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino Every Version of You by Grace Chan The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami Slow Gods by Claire North Luminous by Silvia Park There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm We believe this is eligible because (a) the version published in 2025 is different to the previously self-published version and (b) there is precedent through Old Man’s War by John Scalzi When There Are Wolves Again by EJ Swift The Incandescent by Emily Tesh The Singing Hill Cycle by Nghi Vo The Salt Oracle by Lorraine Wilson Best Game/Interactive Work: Newfangled electric games: Blue Prince Hades II Good old-fashioned games: The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game Galactic Cruise The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship The Old King’s Crown Star Trek: Captain’s Chair Star Wars: Battle of Hoth Take Time Vantage Niall Harrison’s list of Best Translated Novels Fan funds Eurocon 2026: Metropol Con Berlin Natcon/Swancon 2026: Swancon 50 in Perth, Australia The TAFF candidates are Lisa Hertel and Kat Templeton, to Metropol Con The GUFF candidates are Farah Mendlesohn and Misha Sumra, to Swancon 50 EFF nominations close on 15 March, to Metropol Con Picks John: Murderbot Alison: The UFO 50 soundtrack VVVVVV Liz: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Credits Cover art: “Alison forgot she had to do the cover” by Alison Scott Alt text: Text reading “OCTOTHORPE 154* *See, it’s like this. This is the first day of 2026 that hasn’t been cold, or wet, or both, so instead of doing the Octothorpe cover I went for a nice walk. And bought no board games, but a jigsaw. And did the jigsaw. Sorry.” The text is on top of a photograph of a bridge and some trees underneath a blue sky. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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#153
February 12 · 53 min
153: Bowling Captain Kirk for a Duck
John is volunteering, Alison is saying “no”, and Liz read her first book! 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 Alexandra Lanes (Bluesky) Ali Baker Brown (Bluesky) Chris Garcia (email) Fiona Moore (Facebook) Ivan Sinha (Facebook) Kin-Ming Looi (Facebook) Kev McVeigh (Facebook) Paul Weimer (email) Roseanna Pendlebury (Bluesky) Scott Edelman (Bluesky) The convention never ends Tommy Ferguson (Facebook) We also heard from Farah Mendlesohn, Fredrik V Coulter and Mike Scott SMOFcon 2026: SMOFcon 43 in Lisbon, Portugal Worldcon 2028: Bid for Nuremberg, Germany “Nuremberg in 2028 Worldcon Bid Unveils Website” on File 770 Worldcon 2028: Bid for Kigali, Rwanda They are withdrawing from the process Join the “Worldcon in Africa” mailing list Worldcon 2029: Bid for Dublin, Ireland Fan funds Transatlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) Kat Templeton has announced her candidacy Ansible #463 reported that the ballot would be online “soon” Going Under Fan Fund (GUFF) Nominations are now open and close on 18 February! Picks John: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Alison: Anbernic RG 34XXSP Liz: There is No Antimemetics Division by qntm The SCP Foundation Antimemetics FAQ ROT13 Credits Cover art: “Alison the White” by Alison Scott Alt text: A picture of Alison with white hair, wearing a white dressing gown, and wielding a staff with a moose head. John and Liz flank her. She says “Behold! I am reborn as Alison the White!” John says “That’s a bit dramatic… it’s only a haircut” and Liz says “Pretty sure that’s a dressing gown… and are you standing on a box?” The words Octothorpe 153 are at the top. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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