Octothorpe John Coxon, Alison Scott, Liz Batty
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- Fiction
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A podcast about science fiction and SF fandom from John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty.
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105: Scorching Hot Month-Old Takes
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) -
104: Groundbreaking and Great
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) -
103: Just This Guy, Y’know?
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) -
102: I Fully Comprehend the Mysteries
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) -
101: John Has Developed Precognitive Abilities
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) -
100: I Don’t Have Show Notes or Alcohol
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)
Customer Reviews
A must for British fandom
So much fun. I often snort on public transport, and people give me space even though I am wearing a mask. Win!