John doesn’t want to pass out, Alison is a wuss, but Liz doesn’t think it’s gratuitous. 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: Gore and vampirism (Liz’s pick) Letters of comment Chris Garcia (email) Fredrik Coulter (Facebook) Ivan Sinha (email) Nicholas Whyte (email) Paul Weimer (email) Roseanna Pendlebury (email) Tammy Coxen (Bluesky) We also heard from Ali Baker Brooks, Farah Mendlesohn, Kev McVeigh, and Mike Scott Chris Barkley got his Hugo Award! Smofcon 2025: Smofcon 42 in Stockholm, Sweden The Q&A Videos of the Q&A on YouTube Kayla Allen notes on File 770 that the sound is very poor in places Smofcon 2026: Smofcon 43 in Lisbon, Portugal The Worldcons that presented: 2026: LAcon V in Los Angeles, USA 2027: Montreal, Canada 2028: Brisbane, Australia Nuremberg, Germany Kigali, Rwanda 2029: Dublin, Ireland 2030: Edmonton, Canada 2031: Texas, USA 2032: Nantes, France Nantes Utopiales 2033: No interest 2034: Glasgow, Scotland Vision statement 2035: Poland Unknown: Czechia Festival Fantazie Picks John: Your Wish is My Command by Deena Mohamed Alison: The Lost Nose by John Sladek Sort of collected in Maps: The Uncollected John Sladek by John Sladek Liz: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones Credits Cover art: “Alison is Still Obsessed with Ukuleles” by Alison Scott Alt text: A Mahalo Flying V, an Uma Blue Pineapple, and a Brunswick soprano are hanging on a Christmas tree beneath the words “Octothorpe 150”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)