John is going to Smofcon, Alison has FOMO, and Liz is a horrible person.

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
  • Andreas Davour (email)
  • Chris Garcia (email)
  • Ed Morland (BlueSky on 147, 148)
    • Cyclo-cross
    • Mathmo.org
  • Emily January (email)
  • Karen Schaffer (email)
    • Literal antivirus
  • Paul Weimer (email)
    • Centrale Montemartini
  • We also heard from Alan Fleming, Ali Baker Brooks, Andrew Thompson, Brian Nisbet, Bridget Bradshaw, DC, Duncan MacGregor, Ivan Sinha, Jan Harley, Kev McVeigh, Malcolm Hutchison, Mike Scott, Neil Ottenstein, Shi Lala, and Tommy Ferguson
  • Famous Belgians: Simon Stevin
• Smofcon 2025: Smofcon 42 in Stockholm, Sweden
  • Smofcon Q&As
    • Salute of the Jugger
    • How to stream it in the UK
  • John would like to thank Glasgow 2024 for a travel bursary allowing him to attend!
• Novacon 2026: Novacon 55 in Buxton
  • Una McCormack
• Picks
  • John: The Truman Show
  • Alison: Pluribus
  • Liz: The Summer War by Naomi Novik
• Credits
  • Cover art: ”Archaeologists“ by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: John and Alison, dressed in clothes reminiscent of The Mummy, look down some stairs upon Liz’s tomb, in which her skeleton still holds her Hugo Award, framed by stonework. The words “Octothorpe 149” appear at the top of the image.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison, and stunt Liz Emily Tesh are live from Novacon 54!

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!

• Thanks to Emily Tesh for being our stunt Liz!
  • You can find Emily at her website, with links to socials at the bottom of the page
  • Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones
• Visit Stow Shirts for all your Octothorpe merchandise needs
• Picks
  • John: The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
  • Alison: Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler
  • Emily: The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Live from Novacon” by Steven Cain and Alison Scott
    • Alt text: Emily Tesh, John, and Alison stand in front of a suspiciously purple background which may indicate that the real background has been subtracted by nefarious photo editing. The words “Octothorpe 148 Live from Novacon” are overlaid.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is on holiday, Alison said she’d have T-shirts ready, and Liz is back!

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
  • Doug Faunt (Facebook)
    • Corflu 2026: Corflu Pickled in Santa Rosa, CA, USA
  • Ian Hillman (DM)
  • Jonny Baddeley (Facebook)
• Eastercon 2026: Iridescence in Birmingham
  • Hotels are open: Check your emails for the link
  • Merch should be available by the time you read this
  • Bursaries are open for applications, deadline of 31 October
  • The volunteer form is open
  • Haruhicon 2026: Birmingham
  • Carrots, vitamin A, radar, and British propaganda
• BristolCon 2025
• World Fantasy Con 2025: Brighton
• Armadacon 2025: Plymouth
  • British Firework Championships
• Novacon 2025: Novacon 54 in Buxton
• Pictcon 2025: Pictcon1 in Perth
• Satellite 2026: Satellite 9 in Glasgow
• Worldcon finances
  • Worldcon 2013: LoneStarCon 3 in San Antonio, TX, USA
  • Worldcon 2015: Sasquan in Spokane, WA, USA
  • Worldcon 2016: MidAmeriCon II in Kansas City, MO, USA
  • Worldcon 2020: CoNZealand in Wellington, New Zealand (but mostly online)
  • Worldcon 2023: Chengdu, China
  • Worldcon 2024: Glasgow, UK
    • Smofcon 2025: Smofcon 42 in Stockholm, Sweden
• Picks
  • John: Tactical Breach Wizards
  • Alison: Here East
    • Conrad Shawcross – Umbilical (The Nervous System)
    • V&A East Storehouse
  • Liz: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Treasures of the V&A Storehouse” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: The Torrijos Ceiling at the Victoria & Albert East Storehouse. An elaborate, gilded and octagonal ceiling. Why yes, Alison has a new phone, how could you tell?
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison and Liz watch Dredd (2012).

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: Justice.

• Things that happened since we recorded:
  • Going Rogue released an episode about Dredd
  • Taika Waititi is making a Judge Dredd movie
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Judge Coxon Pain Scale” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: Six cartoons of John as a Judge from MegaCity One with the Clarke Award logo on his helmet, all of which are identical. Beneath them follows text. 0: NO HURT. 1: HURTS A LITTLE. 2: JUST A FLESH WOUND. 3: MINOR GUNSHOT. 4: BULLET THROUGH GUT. 5: FALL OFF SKYSCRAPER. The JUDGE COXON Pain Scale™. The words “Octothorpe 144” appear at the top of the cover.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

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)

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)