169: The Helsinki Problem

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 [email protected], 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)

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 [email protected], 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)

John, Alison and Liz are live from Octocon! An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to [email protected], 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)

John parties, Alison queues, and Liz betrays. An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to [email protected], 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)

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 [email protected], 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)

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 [email protected], 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)

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 [email protected], 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)

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 [email protected], 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)

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 [email protected], 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)

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 [email protected], 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)