Picocon
{{Citation style|date=February 2023}}
Picocon is the name given to a series of British science fiction conventions run by the Imperial College Science Fiction and Fantasy Society (ICSF).{{cite web | url=http://boingboing.net/2011/02/03/picocon-londons-love.html | title=Picocon: London's lovely little sf convention | date=3 February 2011 }} Taking place on a Saturday (occasionally extended to Sunday), in February or early March in Imperial College's Blackett Building since 1984.
T-shirts and other merchandise related to the convention are typically emblazoned with the Greek letters {{lang|el|ΨΦ}} (psi, phi), which can be read as Sci-Fi. Roles in organising the convention include the Sofa ("like a chair, only comfier") and the Beanbag.
The reason for the event numbering (Picocon, Picocon Pi, Picocon 4, ⋯) of the first conventions is unclear. One suggestion is that there was a predecessor Picocon event watching videos and playing board games, and that the first formal event with a guest speaker is therefore Picocon 2.
List of Picocons
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Date(s) !Name !Location !Guest(s) of Honour |
| 1984
|2 February |Picocon |Imperial College |
| 1985
|9 March |Picocon Pi |Imperial College |Dave Langford, Gerry Webb |
| 1986
|15 February |Picocon 4 |Imperial College |
| 1987
|21 February |Picocon 5 |Imperial College |
| 1988
|6 February |Picocon 6 |Imperial College |
| 1989
|4 February |Picocon 7 |Imperial College |Dave Langford, Terry Pratchett, Gerry Webb, Dave Lally |
| 1990
|3 March |Picocon 8 |Imperial College |
| 1991
|2 March |Picocon 9 |Imperial College |
| 1992
|7 March |Picocon 10 |Imperial College |
| 1993
|6 March |Picocon 11 |Imperial College |
| 1994
|colspan="4"|No Picocon was held in 1994. |
| 1995
|12 March |Picocon 12 |Imperial College |Iain M. Banks, Dr. Arley AndersonDr Arley Anderson is a physics researcher who gave a talk about space travel through wormholes https://www.union.ic.ac.uk/scc/icsf/history/picocon/picocon12.html |
| 1996
|4 February |Picocon 13 |Imperial College |
| 1997
|2 March |Picocon 14 |Imperial College |
| 1998
|28 February |Picocon 15 |Imperial College | |
| 1999
|6 February |Picocon 16 |Imperial College |Stephen Lawhead, Jane Johnson, M John Harrison (who jointly write under the pseudonym Gabriel King) |
| 2000
|19 February |Picocon 17 |Imperial College |Juliet McKenna, Brian Stableford, Garry Kilworth, Ian Watson |
| 2001
|10 February |Picocon 18 |Imperial College |Christopher Priest, Geoff Ryman, Juliet E. McKenna, Jane KillickJane Killick is a radio broadcaster, SF novelist and author of behind the scenes books for popular SF tv series such as Babylon 5 and Red Dwarf |
| 2002
|9 February |Picocon 19 |Imperial College |Anne Gay,Anne Gay is an author of SF novels, see the SF Encyclopedia for a bibliography https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/gay_anne China Miéville, Stan Nicholls, Geoff Ryman |
| 2003
|22 February |Picocon 20 |Imperial College |
| 2004
|7 February |Picocon 21 |Imperial College |
| 2005
|19 February |Picocon 22 |Imperial College |
| 2006
|18 February |Picocon 23 Picocon 2006 The Internet Book Database of fiction http://www.ibdof.com/viewtopic.php?t=112494 |Imperial College |
| 2007
|17 February |Picocon 24 |Imperial College |
| 2008
|23 February |Picocon 25 |Imperial College |
| 2009
|28 February |Picocon 26 |Imperial College |
| 2010
|27 February |Picocon 27 3^3 |Imperial College |
| 2011
|19 February |Picocon 28 |Imperial College |Juliet McKenna, Kari Sperring, Paul McAuley |
| 2012
|18 February |Picocon 29 |Imperial College |
| 2013
|16-17 February |Imperial College |Peter F. Hamilton, Kate Griffin, Steph Swainston, Richard K. Morgan |
| 2014
|22 February |Picocon 31 Survival |Imperial College |
| 2015
|14-15 February |Picocon 32 Duality |Imperial College |Cory Doctorow, Frances Hardinge, Ian McDonald, Kari Sperring, Stuart Ashen |
| 2016
|20 February |Picocon 33 Appearances picocon-33 https://www.paulcornell.com/appearances/picocon-33/SFrevu "Picocon" http://www.sfrevu.com/php/Column.php?Search=201602&ColumnType=CONVENTION |Imperial College |
| 2017
|18 February |Picocon 34 Futurism: Oh, the humanity |Imperial College |Jaine Fenn, Paul McAuley, Al Robertson, Justina Robson, Stuart Ashen |
| 2018
|17 February |Picocon 35 Harmony |Imperial College |
| 2019
|16 February |Picocon 36 |Imperial College |Alexis Kennedy, Lottie Bevan, Simon Morden, Andrew Bannister, Gavin Smith |
| 2020
|22 February |Picocon 37 PridePicocon 37 https://www.union.ic.ac.uk/scc/icsf/history/picocon/picocon37.html |Imperial College |Juliet Kemp, Roz Kaveney, Tamsyn Muir |
| 2021
|20 February |Picocon 38 <automata>Picocon 38 https://www.union.ic.ac.uk/scc/icsf/history/picocon/picocon38.html |(online) |Jeff Somers, Dan Moren, S.J. Kincaid, Brian David Johnson |
| 2022
|5 March |Picocon 39 ApocalypsePicocon 39 -Apocalypse – announced for March 2022 https://www.starburstmagazine.com/picocon-39-announced-march-2022Picocon 39 timetable of streamed talks https://twitter.com/picocon/status/1500021113421811714 |Imperial College, online |Bryony Pearce, Louise Mumford, A.J. Flowers, Brendan DuBois, Gareth L. Powell, Matthew Wraith |
| 2023
|11 March |Picocon 40 Twisted |Imperial College, online |Alma Alexander, Gav Thorpe, Mark Lawrence, Jonathan Sims,Jonathan Sims is the writer and narrator of the horror fiction podcast The Magnus Archives Tim Klotz,Tim Klotz is an actor & fight director for film, theatre, games etc. IMDb has a filmography https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1238088/ Allan HenryAllan Henry is an actor, fight director, stunt performer and the motion capture artist for the title character in the 2023 movie Cocaine Bear |
| 2024
|23 March |Picocon 41 Menageriehttps://www.instagram.com/p/C40av_iolI2 |Imperial College, online |Christopher Paolini, Jonathan Sims, Gita RalleighGita Ralleigh is a poet, writer, and doctor who teaches creative writing to science undergraduates at Imperial |
| 2025
|1 March |Picocon 42 Sentiencehttps://www.instagram.com/imperial_scifi/p/DGLWMjCs6qG |Imperial College |qntm, Kevin Jon Davies, James FlanaganJames Flanagan is an author of speculative fiction and a Professor of Cancer Informatics at the Imperial College Department of Surgery & Cancer |
GoH Notes
One line introductions for a Guests of Honour who don't (yet) have a Wikipedia biography page, e.g. linking a creator to a bibliography, filmography or an example book (series), podcast, piece/series of art, etc. {{char|…}}
{{reflist|group="GoH note"}}
References
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External links
- [https://www.union.ic.ac.uk/scc/icsf/picocon/ Convention home page]
- Review of Picocon from 2000 [http://ansible.uk/cc/cc103.html]
- text of a talk given at Picocon in 1996 by author Stephen Baxter [http://erkelzaar.tsudao.com/books/Baxter2.htm]
Category:Science fiction conventions in the United Kingdom
Category:1984 establishments in England
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