2015 British Eastercon Update

Entertainment reigns at Dysprosium, the 2015 Eastercon, being held April 3–6 at the Park Inn Heathrow.

Guest of Honour Seanan McGuire, supported by Talis and her band, will give an evening concert on April 4. McGuire’s record as an award-winning singer/songwriter parallels her success as a fiction writer and podcaster.

Professor Elemental, a “steampunk-flavoured mad Professor,” will perform live on Friday April 3. His act combines comedy and music, friendly audience banter, and plenty of improvisation.

Attendees also can look forward to the Masquerade Ball on April 5.

The convention’s other events will include:

  • “Unseen London” –  Showing how some of the real bits of London can be included in a fantasy story, and how some bits are even stranger than fiction;
  • “Justice and the Home Department Way” – After all, people who blow up vampires and evil lairs don’t have a problem with the Police, Fire Service and Urban management, do they?;
  • “Colonies in Space – Is Pluto a Planet” – Note that the exact status of Pluto at the time of the convention is liable to change without warning;
  • “Swashbucklers and Bravoes” – this will likely involve some demos of swordplay to accompany the talk.

These are just some examples of the talks and panels happening during the convention.

Eastercon has been an annual event since 1948.Recent Eastercons were in Bradford (2013) and Glasgow (2014). Attendance ranges from 800-1,200.

The full press release follows the jump.

Dysprosium, ( http://www.dysprosium.org.uk ), the 66th Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention, to be held over the 2015 Easter weekend (April 3 – 6) at the Park Inn Heathrow, is pleased to announce that Professor Elemental will be performing live on Friday April 3rd.  This is in addition to an evening concert by Guest of Honour Seanan McGuire supported by Talis Kimberley and her band on April 4th, and the Masquerade Ball on April 5th. Entry to all of them is included in a membership to Dysprosium. The pub quiz will be making a comeback as well.

Professor Elemental is a Steampunk-flavoured mad Professor.  His act is a lively combination of comedy and music, with some friendly audience banter and plenty of improvisation. The performance by Professor Elemental at Dysprosium on April 3rd is the night before the concert by Guest of Honour Seanan McGuire supported by Talis and her band. Seanan McGuire is an award-winning singer/songwriter with unique original songs.  These two great entertainers perform during the two evenings leading up to the Masquerade Ball which will complete the trio of excellent evening entertainment on April 5th. Dysprosium has many more events throughout the days and evenings of the convention such as:

·         “Unseen London” –  Showing how some of the real bits of London can be included in a fantasy story, and how some bits are even stranger than fiction;

·         “Justice and the Home Department Way” – After all, people who blow up vampires and evil lairs don’t have a problem with the Police, Fire Service and Urban management, do they?;

·         “Colonies in Space – Is Pluto a Planet” – Note that the exact status of Pluto at the time of the convention is liable to change without warning;

·         “Swashbucklers and Bravoes” – this will likely involve some demos of swordplay to accompany the talk. These are just some examples of the talks and panels happening during the convention.

Dysprosium has a number of streams from Science to Science Fiction, and from Fantasy to Steampunk. The great number of talks come from members who volunteer to give them. Dysprosium is particularly keen to hear from women in STEM and others who may not have participated before and who are members of the convention. Dysprosium will assist any one new to speaking with tips, tricks, pointers and helpful moderators.

For information on how to join the more than 1,000 fans of science fiction and fantasy who will be attending Dysprosium, visit http://www.dysprosium.org.uk/join.

– ENDS –

For Editors:

ABOUT EASTERCON Eastercon has been running every year since 1948. Eastercons are fan-run/not-for-profit events, with the money raised from memberships, advertising etc. being spent on running the convention. Surplus funds are passed along to future conventions. Convention committees are non-incorporated and independent, and bids to run a convention are voted for by members of previous conventions. Any financial risks are guaranteed by the volunteer committees who are not compensated for their efforts and are, in fact, full paying members of the convention. The voting process means that Eastercons move around the country. Recent Eastercons were in Bradford (2013) and Glasgow (2014). The 2015 committee chose a London venue to build on the success of the 2014 SF Worldcon held at the ExCel centre last August (Loncon 3 was one of the largest completely volunteer-run events in the world). Bids to run the next Eastercon will be voted on at Dysprosium and it is expected that Eastercon 2016 will be held in Cardiff. Eastercon attracts 800-1,200 fans of Science Fiction, Fantasy and similar genres. Programme events usually include a fancy dress competition, an Art Show, a large Dealers Room selling books and other items, panels, quizzes, workshops, competitions and talks. Items range from hard science through writing workshops to the fun and silly. Unlike some other conventions, Eastercon sells full memberships, not tickets. Many professional authors, artists and editors attend Eastercons as paying members. The convention bar and social areas enable fans to informally meet and greet the artists/authors/editors they admire.

ABOUT PROFESSOR ELEMENTAL Paul Alborough, more often known as Professor Elemental, is a steampunk and chap hop musical artist. After being approached to do a concept album of hip-hop as it would sound in different time periods, Emcee Elemental created the character of Professor Elemental. While the album never came to fruition, the character stuck. Professor Elemental has since been seen performing as a solo act or in theatre acts such as Come into My Parlour. He is also popular at steampunk events and has been a headliner at the Steampunk World’s Fair and the Waltz on the Wye. (from Wikipedia)

ABOUT SEANAN MCGUIRE Seanan McGuire is an American author and filker. She has released thirteen books under her own name and five books under the name “Mira Grant”. In 2010, Seanan won the Campbell Award for Best New Author. This was presented to her in Australia, and she still maintains that this makes her the Princess of the Kingdom of Poison and Flame. In 2012, she became the first woman ever to appear on the Hugo ballot four times in a single year, and followed this up in 2013 by becoming the first person ever to appear on the Hugo ballot five times in a single year. It is widely believed that she does not sleep.

ABOUT FILK Filk music is both a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labour. The genre has been active since the early 1950s, and played primarily since the mid-1970s. The term (originally a typographical error) predates 1955. Filk has been defined as folk music, usually with a science fiction or fantasy theme, but this definition is not exact. Filkers have been known to write filk songs about a variety of topics, including but not limited to tangentially related topics such as computers and cats. In addition, while the majority of filk songs are in the folk style, other styles such as blues, calypso, and even rock appear from time to time. (from Wikipedia)