John is tired, Alison is listening to music, and Liz is catsitting.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Bluesky or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Clowns (Chapter 1), Hugo Award statistics (Chapter 3)

• Worldcon 2026: LAcon V
  • Hugo Awards
    • Results
    • Full Statistics
    • Administrator’s Report
    • Hugo Awards Ceremony on YouTube
    • Southside Symphony
    • Robert Jackson Bennett on the award speeches
    • Hugo, Girl!
  • Program guide
  • Worldcon Photos on Flickr
• Worldcon 2028: Aussiecon 5
• Picks
  • John:
    • The Prestige by Christopher Priest
    • The Recollections by Christopher Priest
  • Alison: Little, Big by John Crowley
  • Liz: Sublimation by Isabel J Kim
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Love Is In the Air” by IHOP Photographer
    • Alt text: A photograph of John and Duncan MacGregor taken at an IHOP near the Hilton Anaheim. They are turned to look at each other in a booth. Their facial expressions are difficult to read, but hearts overlay the picture and so we surmise they are in love. Faces of bystanders are pixellated for privacy purposes. Words above the photo read “Octothorpe 168” and below read “Love is in the air at LAcon V”.
  • Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)