Finncon wouldn’t be Finncon without parties!
The official Finncon evening party is held at Panimoravintola Koulu on Saturday 14 July. The definite program will be finalised nearer to the actual event but the traditional awards ceremony for the masquerade contest, book launch parties as well as other relevant shenanigans will be part of it.
If you are at the area already on Friday, Cosmic Comic Cafe offers an unofficial kick-start to the con weekend on Friday 13 July.
N.B.! Dedline has been moved to June 20th!
The Fantastic Paper Workshop call for papers has now been released. Please submit your paper for the seminar to Jyrki Korpua (jyrki.korpua@oulu.fi) no later than June 3rd, 2018.
The Fantastic Paper Workshop on July 12 & 13 is a closed feedback session for students and researchers. The Academic track during the con weekend, however, will be open for everyone. Both the workshop and the academic track are organized by The Finnish Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Finfar.
Once again Finncon is organizing an amazing fantasy and science fiction flea market for our guests. We are offering wonderful books, direct from fans to fans!
Signing up by sending email to kirppis@2018.finncon.org before 9th July 2018.
Accommodation overview: there is still room in all of our room quota, but they will expire within a month, Centro Hotel on 13th May, Hotelli Helmi 31st May and City Börs 2nd June. Better book your room early!
We are now accepting program propositions for Finncon 2018. Loose theme for this year is “Encounters”. We primarily hope to receive propositions for program items you can put together yourself, complete with moderator and participants.
You can make your submissions by creating an account to Kompassi system, or sending us email. The deadline for program proposals is 31st of May, 2018.
Finncon 2018 table and ad sales have been opened. Reservations for sales tables and ads in the program book can be sent to myynti@2018.finncon.org.
There is no deadline for making table reservations, but the space available for sales is limited, so it is recommended to make yours as soon as possible. The deadline for actual ads is May 15th.
Would you like to support the con? By paying the supporting membership fee of 25 euros you will make the con committee happy and receive benefits like discount in the price of the con shirt and free access to the evening party with no waiting in line.
Photo: Pasi Karppanen
As autumn progresses, it’s a good time to turn our thoughts to next summer. Finncon can help you concretize those thoughts, because we now have a confirmation for the con venue. After fifteen years, the con will be returning to the University Hill in Turku. The event facilities consist of three interconnected buildings: Natura, Agora (previously called Natural Sciences Buildings 1 and 2 respectively), and Quantum.
The con will have in its use multiple lecture halls as well as plenty of outdoor spaces for hanging out. Student cafeteria Galilei serves visitors in the Agora building, and there are small shops within walking distance.
The con committee paid a visit to the facilities. Pasi Karppanen, co-chair of the con committee, and Johanna Junnila, press, in the Agora building.
Photo: Juhani Mönkkönen
The University Hill is located about 1,5 km from the Market Square, between the Turku Cathedral and the Turku University Hospital (TYKS). The distance to the Kupittaa railway station and the bus station is approximately 1 km, and the central railway station is located approximately 3 km away from the Hill.
Translation: Sanni Lappalainen
The Helsinki University Science Fiction Club has granted the Tähtivaeltaja Award of 2017 to Lauren Beukes, the guest of honour of Finncon 2018, for her novel Zoo City (2010).
Zoo City is a detective story and social criticism in alternative Johannesburg. It deals with themes of xenophobia, commercialisation, and polarisation of the society by skilfully combining reality and fiction. The central idea of the novel is that as a result of various events, some people now have animal familiars that they are associated with. This idea forms the basis for discussion of deeper themes of stratification of the society, atonement, adaptation, and conflict.
The award jury describes the novel as strong and unique and was impressed by its varied characters and lively setting. The translation into Finnish by Tytti Viinikainen was also praised by the jury for its ability to skilfully retain the speed and energy present in the original novel.
The Tähtivaeltaja Award is an award granted annually by The Helsinki University Science Fiction Club for the best science fiction book published in the previous year in Finnish. The winner is selected by an expert jury. This year the award jury consisted of critic Hannu Blommila, editor-in-chief of the Tähtivaeltaja magazine Toni Jerrman, critic Elli Leppä, and critic Antti Oikarinen.
The proud and delighted con committee wants to congratulate the author, translator, and the publisher of the winning novel.
More information:
