More Schedule Highlights & Some Notes

Octocon Towers are smelling lovely this evening, as we prepare for our 21st birthday party! We keep burning the cakes, though, so we may just have to go to the shops...

Anyways, while we're waiting for deliciousness, let's take a look at some more not-to-be-missed items coming up on our schedule!

• Are Irish Comics Viable? - A panel hosted by Atomic Diner on the nature of the emerging comic book market in Ireland. Can you make a living from a comic book published in Ireland? Can a publisher here make a profit on comics? As Atomic Diner are at the forefront of the market, you'll want to go along to find out!
• Exquisite Corpse - Our second annual make-a-really-bloody-weird-comic-a-thon! Our panelists will draw and write a comic together before your very eyes, but with no idea what the others are doing! There will be live music. Perhaps even some dance. It's a cabaret, baby! :D
• How To Be An "Overnight" Success In The Comics Industry - One of the notable things about comics is that a large proportion of the readership also wants to make them. Perhaps it's the ease with which one can make a comic; all you need is a pencil and paper. This does, however, make it a bit of an uphill struggle to get to the top in comics. Our panelists discuss why there's no easy path to success, and the things that brought them to notoriety in comics.
• Essentials of Horror Fiction - Many people have a hard time getting into horror, for various reasons. Our hosts will let you on the horror that will get you into the genre, and the works they could not live without. Certainly a panel to watch out for whether you're curious about the genre or someone who's been reading horror since Vampyre came out!
• The Aeon Press Book Launch - Want some proper-good science fiction short stories? Go get yourself a copy of each of the anthologies Aeon Press are launching this weekend! Transtories and Box of Delights both look excellent. We did a post on this a while back, if you wanna know a little more.

That should do for now! :) But before we go, some notes!

If you're a musician, or a comedian, or a juggler, please join us at our birthday party and bring your instruments and jokes and balls! If you've got something to show off, we'll be having an open-mic session at the party. We'd love to see what you can do! :D

We're also looking for volunteers to help out every so often, so if you can, let us know. It would only be a couple of hours at most, and you'd get free sweets! Yay!

Oh, and one last thing: there will be workshops taking place over the weekend, with sign ups on the day. If you want to make some art, for example, we've got you covered. :)

We're sure we'll hear from you between now and then, but for now...

(r)OC(k)TOCON!