Dysprosium, the 2015 British National Science Fiction Convention, to be held April 3-6 at Heathrow, reports they are close to selling out their maximum number of memberships but are releasing a limited number of dailies.

With Jim Butcher of Dresden Files fame (books & TV series) making his first European convention appearance, full weekend memberships have been in high demand.

Dysprosium has fewer than 175 membership spaces remaining, due to fire regulation limits in the venue.

There will be no memberships available on the door.

The full press release follows the jump.

Dysprosium Announces Limited Day Membership Release on March 5, 2015

Dysprosium, ( http://www.dysprosium.org.uk ), the 66th British National Science Fiction Convention, to be held over the 2015 Easter weekend (April 3 – 6) at the Park Inn Heathrow, is pleased to announce that they will be making available a limited number of day memberships, with the release to be announced on social media during March. With Jim Butcher of Dresden Files fame (books & TV series) making his first European convention appearance, full weekend memberships have been in high demand. As a result of this demand Dysprosium has fewer than 175 membership spaces remaining, due to fire regulation limits in the venue. Despite being close to selling out, Dysprosium has decided to have a limited release of day memberships for those unable to afford the cost of a full weekend membership or who wish to just try Eastercon for a day. No memberships will be available on the door so those wishing to attend will need to pre-purchase a membership before sales end. These limited-release One-Day Memberships will include everything a normal weekend membership would, restricted only to a single calendar day defined by choice at time of purchase. That means a day member could go to a kaffeeklatsch with their favourite author, attend a variety of panels, workshops and talks, and shop in any of the dealers’ rooms for that day. Day memberships are £20 per day for a one-day Friday or Monday membership or £30 per day for a one-day membership on Saturday or Sunday. A full weekend membership remains £80 until March 30, 2015. There will be fewer than 100 day memberships available per day as this is a very limited release. Dysprosium will be Jim Butcher’s first European convention appearance and he is not scheduled to appear at any others in the near future. Unlike some other conventions, all one-day or weekend members will have the opportunity to get books signed, attend panels and meet Jim Butcher and Seanan McGuire without additional cost (subject to events scheduled for that day). – ENDS –

For Editors:

ABOUT JIM BUTCHER

Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in his home town of Independence, Missouri.

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 do¬es not sleep.

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.

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.