Worldcon

Yes, this weekend sees the start of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (we can hear one lot of artists practising what sounds like a didgeridoo in a venue near the Edinburgh FPI) but through in the West Coast of Bonnie Scotland an equally important cultural event is now underway as Worldcon gathers pace in Glasgow. If you haven’t booked it is still possible to go along and pick up a day ticket over the weekend; rarely will you have a chance to see so many illustrious SF authors propping up a bar … Er, earnestly debating the future of the genre…(while propping up the bar, allegedly).

Cheryl Morgan, who wrote a splendid piece on Worldcon for the new FPI magazine (thanks, Cheryl!), has many links to the latest goings-on and various Blogs and Live Journals coming out of the Cydeside right now on the indispensable Emerald City.

Sunday is when the Hugos (an all British list this year, as even the BBC noticed) will be announced. Obviously we are totally impartial here and wish all nominees the best of luck, but can’t help but cross our fingers for one of our faves, Edinburgh-based Charlie Stross, who has multiple nominations and who may, if he doesn’t win, have to resort to hiding the awards under his beard to smuggle them out past Dave Langford’s watchful gaze.

Charlie’s latest, Accelerando, a seriously cool take on the Singularity, is being launched to coincide with Worldcon, as is Hal Duncan’s flabbergastingly good debut novel, Vellum.

Naturally FPI will be there too and my colleagues from the Glasgowbranch will be manning several tables stocked with all sorts of tempting wares for convention goers, from graphic novels to remote controlled Daleks, so please do swing by the dealer’s room and have a browse if you’re attending. And if you are attending and fancy a jaunt into the fine city of Glasgow, the FPI branch is to be found on Buchanan Street, right next to the Underground station.