Picocon is a small, annual convention hosted by ICSF, the science fiction society of Imperial College in London. For one day a year, the entire student union building plays host to fans from across london who come to see author talks, panel discussions and the usual selection of silly games and entertainment. In the past, guests of honour have included such luminaries as Terry Pratchett and Iain Banks.
Picocon 19 was held on Saturday 9th February 2002, and events included:
Talk by China Miéville - A 3 part discussion of the science fiction genre, its relationship with 'conventional' literature and the author's personal opinions on the subject
Talk by Geoff Ryman - A discussion of entertainment in its purest forms
Panel Discussion - Featuring China Miéville, Geoff Rymann, Stan Nicholls and Anne Gay
Killer - a constantly running live action rpg of sorts, in which attendees were assigned targets to assassinate using a variety of fake weaponry
Destruction of dodgy merchandise - the ever-popular auction which decides who gets to instigate the deaths of several pieces of dubious merchandise. Favourite methods of destruction included the liquid nitrogen, a big rubber bonker (hammer) and bolt croppers
Pub Quiz - a selection of challenging questions on everything from trashy TV SF to Tolkien
Stalls - London booksellers and ZZ9, the hitchiker's guide fanclub, had stalls where they displayed and attempted to sell their wares to unsuspecting attendees.
The day closed with the eating of a 25th anniversary cake for the society and a showing of the film Pitch Black.