Octocon, is the name of events organised by and for fans of science fiction (and fantasy). Octocon, Santa Rosa, California, was first held in October 1977. Octocon, the National Irish Science Fiction Convention, first held in 1989, is held (almost) annually in October. It has mostly been staged in Dublin, but for four years was in the university town of

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...

. It was not held in 2003, and in 2014, when Ireland hosted that year's

Eurocon Eurocon is an annual science fiction convention held in Europe. The organising committee of each Eurocon is selected by vote of the participants of the previous event. The procedure is coordinated by the European Science Fiction Society. The first ...

, Shamrokon, in Dublin.

Octocon, Northern California

First held, on 1977-10-27, at ''El Rancho Tropicana'' Hotel,

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

Octocon, Dublin, Ireland

*1989/1990: The convention was initiated by members of the

Irish Science Fiction Association Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and named by artist Peter McCanney, who created the convention's first logo. *1990:

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...

was the first Guest of Honour of the convention. *1995: Advertised Guest of Honour

Mary Gentle Mary Rosalyn Gentle (born 29 March 1956) is a UK science fiction and fantasy author. Literary career Mary Gentle's first published novel was ''Hawk in Silver'' (1977), a young-adult fantasy. She came to prominence with the '' Orthe'' duology, w ...

had to cancel her appearance at the last minute, leading to the appointment of

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula (1931 ...

in her place. *1997: This was also the year's official Eurocon, and consequently the largest Octocon to date. *1998: The only one-day Octocon to date. *2003: The convention took a break for a year. *2004: For the first time, Octocon was held outside Ireland's capital of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, in

Co. Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Cou ...

, where it was held for 3 further years. *2008: The convention returned to

. *2009: The first Golden Blaster was awarded. *2014: There was no October convention this year. Instead a lot of the regular organizers helped run the official Eurocon, Shamrokon, in August.

Golden Blasters

The Golden Blasters are the National Irish Science Fiction Awards for short science fiction, fantasy or horror films. Submissions can and have come from anywhere in the world, and the winners are selected by audience vote and a panel of judges. The awards now include the Golden Blaster, The Silver Blaster and the award for the best script. In 2018 it was decided to have a "Best of best" award given in place of the usual structure. The overall winner was the 2017 Einstein Rosen short film.

Events

Locations

* Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin * Dublin Castle * Royal Dublin Hotel, Dublin * Doubletree by Hilton, Dublin * Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Co. Kildare * Camden Court Hotel, Dublin * Crowne Plaza Blanchardstown, Dublin

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.octocon.com Science fiction conventions in Europe Entertainment events in Ireland Irish science fiction Autumn events in the Republic of Ireland