SECCON ProgrammePlease note that this programme is provisional, and the content and time of items may change right up until they happen (or even afterwards).Friday Evening7.40 - 8.00: Opening CeremonyMeet the Committee and Guest of Honour, plus an introduction to what’s on at Seccon. 8.00 - 9.00: Ask Stephen BaxterStephen Baxter interviewed on the basis of questions sent in by Seccon members. 9.00 - 10.00: Sharp Dressed FanThe stereotype of the SF fan is of the scruffy nerd whose sartorial discretion is limited to which old con T-shirt to wear. However, there seems to be a growing trend for fans to positively dress up during cons. Are fans really are changing the way they look? 10.00 - 11.00: Fan Fund AuctionAn auction in aid of the United Fan Funds. Cough up your readies for everything from classic books to weird tat. Saturday10.00 - 11.00: Isn’t It About Time You Gave SFX Another Chance?On the one side we have glossy media magazines, on the other periodicals publishing and reviewing written sf. At least one magazine has tried to bridge the gap, but is it a futile gesture? 11.00 - 11.30: Author ReadingStephen Baxter reads from his latest novel. 11.30 - 12.30: Planned Utopias in SFStevenage is a planned town. So are nearby Letchworth and Milton Keynes - different eras’ idea of how a community should be organised. How have concepts of such communities evolved in sf? 1.30 - 2.30: Four Loud Women Argue About FanzinesOur panel, er, argue about fanzines. Loudly. 2.30 - 3.30: Guest of Honour TalkStephen Baxter takes us 'All Aboard for the Eschaton', a talk about Science Fiction and the End of the Universe. 4.00 - 5.00: Read Any Good Books Lately?Our panel talk about the best SF of the last year. 5.00 - 6.00: Seccon QuizForm your own teams and compete to be the Seccon Inky Swots. 10:00 - 11.00: FundamentA musical staging of Asimov’s Foundation trilogy in one act. Last (and first) performed at Conine in 1988, this OUSFG masterpiece was long thought lost. Sorry, but we’ve found it again. Sunday11.00 - 12.00: Cosmic SFHow to cover the whole lifetime of the Universe in your novel, and still have three chapters to spare. 12.00 - 1.00: Fannish Question TimeYou’re chance to quiz our panel on the burning issues in fandom today. 2.00 - 3.00: How Do You Know When The Future Has Arrived?Back in the Golden Age of sf, it was obvious what the future would be like - personal helicopters and holidays on Mars. But what is today’s perception of 'the future'? 3.00 - 4.00: Mars DirectMars Society UK on the latest news regarding thoughts on a manned mission to Mars. 4.30 - 5.30: What’s My Line?Twenty yes-or-no questions to fathom the identity of a series of famous science-fictional characters. 5.30 - 6.30: The Third Age of TV SFSo, Babylon 5 is finally over. Was it an epic turning point in the the way TV handled science fiction, or just five years of dodgy dialogue? 6.40 - 7.00: Closing Ceremony |