Thursday
17:00 Welcome
17:30 Guest of Honor Speech (Zen Cho)
19:00 Books aren’t as good as they used to be! – Or are they even better? (Tommy Persson vs. Sari Polvinen, Jukka Halme mod.)
– Why are nearly all books that people rave about nowadays just so and so? They are almost never as good as people say. Is it because SF has become wider so you cannot be expected to like everything? Or is it that people have become older and have read a lot, and just do not get impressed by the stuff that younger readers rave about? And does the observation that a lot of SF fans seem to stop reading SF when they become older — and read crime instead — fit in here?
21:00 William Shatner karaoke!
Friday
12:00 Book recommendations (You)
– Members are invited to gather and recommend good books!
13:30 Marvel’s female superheroes (Marianna Leikomaa mod., Elisa Wiik, Nahal Ghanbari, Fia Karlsson)
– We’re still a long way from having a female main character in a Marvel movie, but luckily we have Netflix. The new Marvel tv-shows, Jessica Jones and Agent Carter, depict different types of female characters from different eras. Our panel explores this strange phenomenon!
15:00 Guest of Honor interview (Zen Cho, Sari Polvinen)
16:30 Hugo comics (Marianna Leikomaa, Jukka Särkijärvi, Mikko Seppänen mod.)
– The tribe has spoken and the very best graphic novels and comic books have been selected as nominees. Or have they?
17:30 Break
19:30 Pros of going to cons (Karoliina Leikomaa, Crystal Huff, Johan Anglemark mod.)
– Why do we do this?
21:00 Never Mind the Buzzaldrins
– Mostly harmless quiz show about the general ignorance of the participants.
22:30 Book of the Night
– Come join the discussion on Naomi Mitchison’s Travel Light!
Saturday
13:30 On Blindsight (Merja Polvinen)
15:00 Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey (Tommy Persson, Åka Davour, Shimo Suntila, Fia Karlsson mod.)
– Time Travel – Making History Fun Since 2060! Some people time travel with caution. To others, time is just this wibbly wobbly timey wimey thing. But what’s so bad with changing history? Why do we need temporal mechanics, anyway? Join us while we discuss non-linear narratives, blasts from our pasts, destiny schmestiny and paradoxes in telephone boxes!
16:30 Romance and fantasy (Zen Cho, Marianna Leikomaa, Tommy Persson, Merja Polvinen mod.)
17:30 Break
19:30 What to watch 2016: The Best and The Worst (Mikko Seppänen, Elisa Wiik)
– Our self-appointed experts are back to give you The Truth (aka their opinions) on the new science fiction and fantasy series from the 2015–2016 television season. So come hear our point of view and debate if series like The Expanse, Lucifer, The Magicians, or Ash vs The Evil Dead are worth watching!
21:00 History and writing (Zen Cho, Shimo Suntila, Vesa Sisättö, Petri Hiltunen, Sari Polvinen)
– What does it take to turn history fantastical? Is it really as easy as making soap? Is making soap easy? Really? What are some of the things you need to take into consideration when combining fantasy with history? Are there no-no’s?
22:30 Beer and Philosophy: A Talk about Taste (Tommy Persson)
– Some thoughts about the relationship between beer and philosophy. Both serious and entertaining, and some of the theories are applicable to books, too.
23:00 Just a Speculative Fiction Minute!
– A silly game show, where a panel of experts has 60 seconds to explain, in a way they feel is best, a story based on a title, a genre and couple of additional clues provided by the host and the audience.
Sunday
11:00 Recommendations (comics, films, tv-series)
– Your recommendations for what to read and watch are welcome!
12:30 Gripety-gripe
– Feedback session for the members.
Åcon 8 