ICSF do Picocon!

After an exciting year of festive socials, leaky libraries, and trips to see some of the biggest film releases in decades, Imperial College Science Fiction and Fantasy Society (ICSF) is finally approaching their biggest event of the year. Bringing together over 100 fans of science fiction and fantasy from within Imperial and without, the 35th annual Picocon – our very own science fiction convention – will happen on Saturday the 17th of February.

This year, ICSF is playing host to the creative partnership of Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, whose most notable creations include The Edge Chronicles series and Muddle Earth; the award winning and multi-talented Emma Newman, who has worked with both novels and audiobook narration; and the eternal favourite Ben Aaronovitch, whose work includes two Doctor Who serials, several spin-off novels, and his best-selling series Rivers of London. Featuring talks from our guests of honour and a panel event where you can put your own questions to the assembled authors, this year’s con promises to cover diverse topics from the written and spoken word to illustration and the silver screen. There’s also an opportunity to smash some truly reprehensible merchandise with a giant hammer and a bucket of liquid nitrogen whilst being egged on by Stuart Ashen, as well as to contribute money to charity in order to stop people reading sections of There’s a Bitcoin in my Butt and He is Handsome. The day is rounded off by a pub quiz featuring an edible prize, and definitely no fish duels take place.

“The Picocon subcommittee is currently looking for volunteers to help run the event”

The Picocon subcommittee is currently looking for volunteers to help run the event, so if you fancy free entry in exchange for a few hours of moving tables around, get in touch with the chair of the subcommittee at picocon@icsf.co.uk.

Tickets (£10 for students) are available on the Union Website, but if you can’t buy online they’re available at the door outside Blackett on Saturday morning. The event is open to all, and as always tickets are cheaper for society members – membership also comes with the ability to borrow any of our 10,000 books or 600 DVDs (including work by all of this year’s guests of honour) from our dedicated library, which is located off Beit Quad and is open every weekday lunchtime. We also run subsidised cinema trips for our members, as well as regular free movie evenings in the library – join our Facebook group for further details of our events. We hope to see you at the con or around the library!