Locacon in Jyväskylä

Lokacon is a minicon that will be held in Jyväskylä on October 20, at the Writers House. The themes are the end of the world and steampunk, and the guests are YA authors Katri Alatalo and Magdalena Hai, and comics scholar Katja Kontturi. On the preceding Friday, there will be a literature and science fiction event at the Multia library. Both events are free to attend.

Turconen

The Turconen minicon started on Friday. There was a pre-convention reception at Turun Sarjakuvakauppa organized by the local sf society and the Turku comics society. I’m told it was one of the most popular events ever held at the store. The official pre-con pub night at Cosmic Comic Café was also a success, with hardly a chair left at the pub. The night went quite well: meeting friends over a few beers, accompanied by the cosmic soundtrack played by Dj Tekri.

Yesterday was the official convention day. The arrangements started quite early in the morning, and we were well set up by 10:30 when the doors were opened to the public.

Our great host at the library, Gunnar Högnäs gave a presentation on the e-books lending situation at the library, with lots of information about the hoops they have to jump through with publishers, and also some good links to resources for lending books.

Next up was our Guest of Honor, author J. Pekka Mäkelä, who gave an impressive performance, reading some texts accompanied with a guitar and some sound effects. Afterwards he was interviewed by Shimo Suntila.

The other program items for the day included a round-table discussion about pulp literature that was accompanied by delightful audience participation (mostly by Boris Hurtta, a pulp author, among other things, himself). There was also a discussion about favorite characters in science fiction that was plagued by a couple of unfortunate cases of cancellations due to illness, but luckily replacements could be volunteered, and the discussion was quite entertaining. The last item, a new books discussion, also went smoothly and produced a good list of sf books to check out. All in all, I think the programming was quite succesful, and the audience seemed to enjoy it.

Our goal was to have 30 persons attend the event, with an optimistic goal of 50 persons. The most people we counted in the programming room at one time was 54 (which filled out the room quite nicely), and since there were people coming and going the whole day, I’d say at least 70 persons visited the event, so we were very happy about the turnout.

After the convention, there was an opportunity to visit the comics store across the street. Mäkelä visited a local book store to sign some books, and we went to have dinner afterwards. In the evening, the con ended with another pub night, this time at Teerenpeli. The upstairs lounge was just big enough for the crowd that showed up, and many fun conversations were had. I noticed at least a few new faces at the event—I hope some of them liked what they saw and will stick around!

I would say the first Turconen was an unqualified success. Thank yous all around to everyone who made the convention possible!

more photos | Shimo’s con report | J. Pekka Mäkelä’s report

Elizabeth Hand in Helsinki

Elizabeth Hand is dropping by for a quick visit in Helsinki next week. There will be an extra mafia (fandom pub night) at St Urho’s Pub on Monday, September 17, starting around 8 PM. Hand is a wonderful author and a very nice person, so if you have a chance, pop by to meet her there!

Horror Event in Turku

“Kaiken maailman kauhua” is a horror-themed event that will take place in Turku-sali (Student house A) on October 13, from noon to 6 PM. The event will comprise short presentations, horror stories, etc., and after the program there will be a “ghost walk” in Turku. The event is meant for young adults, but everybody interested is welcome (not recommended for children, though). Attendance is free.

Turconen Program

The program for the Turconen minicon has been announced!

If you’re coming to Turku already on Friday, you’re most welcome to the pre-con pub night at Cosmic Comic Café, starting around 8 PM!

Ready Player Finland

Ernest Cline blogs about his trip to Finland.

I returned from trip my to Finland a few days ago, but I’m still recovering from jetlag and a significant hangover. The primary piece of wisdom I brought back from Finland is that Finnish science fiction fans love to drink even more than they love to talk about science fiction.

Turku Pub Meeting Today

Yes, it’s autumn again, and the Turku pub meetings move back to Teerenpeli. Meet you there today at six! (A new issue of the Turu Mafia Zine will also be published; come and get yours.)

MemoCon in Tampere

MemoCon is a minicon in Tampere on September 29 (from 2 PM to 5 PM), organized by the Tampere section of the Finnish Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. The theme of the event is memory and history in sf.

There will be a presentation on “The memory of a scene in fantasy”, discussion about the Turconen event, and publication of the Kosmospenaali fanzine issue 2/2012 (articles for the ish would be welcome).

The event is free to attend.

More information available from Markku Soikkeli.

Worldcon Dreams in Public

A moment ago, Eemeli presented the Helsinki Worldcon bid in the Chicago Worldcon. Some people (mainly Kevin Standlee) tweeted during the Q&A session. See the story for a synopsis of what was said.

Update: Video from the business meeting with the presentation is now also online.