Octocon

Sorry for the slowness of this reply! We are in negotiation with the hotel.

A wonderful interview with the very wonderful @diane.dianeduane.com, Octocon Guest of Honour in 2016 along with her much-missed husband Peter Morwood.

The full cover, back and front, of my novel, Steel-Plate Subversive. Overall, it’s a deep blue and sea green, the colour of sea at night. On the front, the view is from above, looking down at the deck of a small, steel-grey submarine at night. The hatch in the low-profile turret is open. A bearded white man in a green woollen jumper and brown flat cap is in the open hatch, holding a Thompson submachine gun. He’s lit from below by the red light inside the submarine. The title is vertical, in orange, down the left side, and the tagline is in white, much smaller to the right: ‘Irish revolutionaries, British spies, German mercenaries, and a submarine that shouldn't exist.’ My name is in white at the bottom. The back cover shows the same submarine in the harbour of a small town at night, racing away at speed. The blurb reads: There's something out there in the water. A shaky truce has been established in Ireland's War of Independence. In 1921, as negotiations begin in London to finally free the Irish from British control, a young intelligence agent named Esther Sinclair discovers that a nightmarish weapon has gone missing in France. Akiko Regan and her cousin Liam O'Leary have made their own discovery: Akiko's father, Michael, is the leader of the mysterious rebel group known as the Selkies. Michael is an engineer who trained under the famous John Philip Holland in New Jersey. At the start of the century, Holland's designs had established the submarine fleets of five nations. But the Irishman's very first submarines were built for the Irish republican movement. The Royal Navy have no idea that a Holland vessel has heen operating in the Irish Sea. Michael had hoped to shield Akiko and Liam from the ongoing violence. Now, however, the family find themselves drawn into a crisis that threatens not just their lives but the future of their country. There’s an Arts Council of Ireland logo across from the barcode, to acknowledge funding for the writing of the book.

I've never understood how nobody has ever written a novel about this before, but there was a brief time when the *Irish republican movement* possessed the first fully functional submarine.

Yes, you heard that right.

A short thread . . . 1/

#SpeirGorm #JohnPhilipHolland #Submarine

My short story "The Cold Moon Crown" will be appearing in the Winter edition of WAXEN, which goes on sale February 1.

If you're into Christmas stories involving weird old-money families with skeletons in the closet, I daresay you might enjoy it.

Our early bird memberships for Octocon 2026 are selling fast! (Weekend Attending & Concession only.)
Get yours asap to make sure you can join in all this year's activities.
octocon.com/join-us
#Octocon #SciFi #Fandom #Fantasy #conventions #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #SpeirGorm

Book cover of my novel, The Call. Shows creepy hands grabbing at a young girl holding a spear and the legend, "You have three minutes to save your life..."

Just in the door from the lovely folks at @dfbstoryhouse.bsky.social This new edition will be available in Ireland and the UK from February 12 😊

Congratulations to our 2026 GOH @aptshadow.bsky.social, last year's guests T.L. Huchu, @justmarvewrites.bsky.social and @khanwong.bsky.social, and all other past guests of Octocon who are on this year's BSFA Awards longlist!

Thanks Carol! We've flagged this with the necessary people - unfortunately our main website is a bit fragile and we're trying to stop this happening as often as it does (or at all).
registration.octocon.com usually works.

Great news for a member of our Octocon team, the very fantastic @davidgreenwriter.bsky.social! It's a lovely book and we wish it very well.

Our friends at Sci-Fi Ireland are still open for short story submissions for the first issue of their new magazine - don't miss your chance to be in the TOC alongside Ian McDonald, RB Kelly and Sam Thompson. #ireland #sciencefiction

Join Us - Octocon Registration for Octocon is now open! Join us and become a member of the Octocon community.

First Octocon committee meeting of the calendar year 2026 is done and dusted - we have a lot of planning to do, and not just for one weekend in October! Join us now on an early bird special rate to be sure not to miss out on exclusive events throughout the year. #Octocon
octocon.com/join-us

You can also reach our registration page directly at registration.octocon.com - note that this year you'll need to register your email address before you can buy a membership.

Poster states: Octocon 2026. Saturday 3rd October – Sunday 4th October. Clayton Hotel Cork City and Online. Registration is now Open! €10 off limited Early Bird memberships. octocon.com. Poster includes the Octocon logo and our mascot, Octo the Octopus with a programme book and a badge.

Registration for Octocon 2026 is now open! Clayton Hotel, Cork City & Online on 3rd-4th of October with GOHs @cemurphy.bsky.social y.bsky.social & @aptshadow.bsky.social.

€10 off limited Early Bird memberships:
octocon.com/join-us/

#Octocon #Fantasy #SciFi #Fandom #CorkCity

Octocon 2025 Cosplay Showcase Gallery - Octocon Cosplay showcase gallery with our in-person guests Fenek and Przysto * Please note that alt text / captions are not available for this gallery. Photos by

Check out our cosplay gallery of #Octocon2025 where you can see how awesome and creative our members can be!

https://octocon.com/octocon-2025-cosplay-showcase-gallery/

#Octocon #cosplayers #fandom #scifi #fantasy #anime #gaming #KPop

Our 2025 Guest of Honour Francesca Barbini of @lunapress.bsky.social will be the guest of honour at #Pictcon1 taking place in Perth, Scotland. Be sure to check out the details below.

#scifi #fandom #gaming #ReadingCommunity #books

Hi all! If you attended #Octocon2025 and have subscribed to our newsletter, you'll know we are looking for feedback on our event.

Be sure to follow the link in our newsletter and make sure your voice is heard.

#octocon #SciFi #fantasy #fandom #readingcommunity #scificonvention #cosplay

Me, to myself: if I'm gonna be Captain Pike at @octocon.bsky.social I'll need someone with the skills to make ALL of my hair stand up instead of just the front

Me: well, @gailsimone.bsky.social could do it

I need you all to now imagine my eyes ejecting from my head & turning around to stare at me.

I've set a goal of reading it all before @octocon.bsky.social next October.

Poster stating: Happy Halloween from all at Octocon, Image includes pumpkins and our mascot, Octo the Octopus

Happy #Halloween to all our members and friends. Hope you have a #spooky and safe night and weekend!

#Octcocon #MonsterMash #Samhain #ReadingCommunity

Check out this #Octobook book review of Archibald Lox - The Missing Princess by Darren Shan. A portal fantasy you can get lost in. Fans of Shan should definitely give these books a read.

#Octobooks #Octocon #PortalFantasy #YAFantasy #MiddleGradeFantasy #BookSky #ReadingCommunity

So I am delighted that she is one of @octocon.bsky.social guests of honor for next year. She is a long time attendee of #Octocon always generous with her time, esp on panels and her cosplays have been excellent.

After all the excitement of last weekend at @octocon.bsky.social it's time to answer the question - What is Sci-Fi Ireland?

See photos below for details!!

Stay tuned for info over the next few days as we introduce our team and announce dates for open submissions!!

#sciencefiction #ireland

Would love to see you there @emmanewman.bsky.social

Cork City FC crest. Background flag is Green and red with a white stripe cutting through diagonally.

Inspiration for #Octocon2026 poster @corkcityfc.ie

#Octocon #SciFiConvention #Fantasy #SciFi #Fandom #Cosplay #Comics

Delighted to have you, Paul! Looking forward to seeing you next year for #Octocon2026

Poster states: Octocon 2026. Saturday 3rd October – Sunday 4th October. Clayton Hotel Cork City and Online. Guests of Honour: C.E. Murphy and Adrian Tchaikovsky. www.octocon.com. Poster includes images of the guests of honour, the octocon logo and our mascot, Octo the Octopus.

We are delighted to announce that #Octocon2026 will be taking place in Cork City with special guests @cemurphy.bsky.social and @aptshadow.bsky.social.

Find out more at
https://2025.octocon.com/announcing-octocon-2026/

#Octocon #Fantasy #SciFi #Fandom #ReadingCommunity #SciFiConvention #CorkCity

Such a fun panel to speak on! Thank you to @cometarytales.com for moderating!

My final contribution to @octocon.bsky.social 2025

Online panel entitled Small Press, Big Books with Catherine Sharp, Francesca T Barbini, Cheryl Morgan and Khan Wong.

Just after attending a great panel entitled Small Press, Big Books. Thanks @csharpwords.bsky.social , @lunapress.bsky.social , @khanwong.bsky.social and @cherylmorgan.bsky.social for putting on a great panel.

#Octocon #Octocon2025 #SmallPress #Fantasy #SciFi #ReadingCommunity #WritingCommunity

Thanks @eoindooley.bsky.social . You were a fantastic moderator!

Done my panels on @octocon.bsky.social hoping people enjoyed them