Odyssey Con VIII

‘A Tale of Fire and Ice Cream’

Radisson Inn, Madison WI, April 4-6, 2008.

“ The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as dreams are alive, more real than real ... for a moment at least ... that long magic moment before we wake.” - George R. R. Martin

Odyssey Con is coming back for an eighth year! We return to the The Radisson Inn on Madison’s west side, April 4-6, 2008, with more great panels, dealers’ room, gaming, an art show, and new media programming.

Odyssey Con is a general interest Science Fiction and Fantasy convention. We feature literary guests, panel discussions, demonstrations, film reviews, art work, musical acts, and much more. With around 350 members, we have a great guest-to-attendee ratio. If you are a first time attendee, or a long time 'fan', you'll find OddCon is an enjoyable, entertaining and comfortable convention. It's easy to join, send in a registration form or register at the door, and enjoy a weekend of interesting ideas and fun events. Invite your friends to join! Everyone's invited! (well, except for the vampires, pretty sure we're not supposed to invite them...ah what the heck, they can come too...)

Announcements / Updates

Guest of Honor dinner - Thursday

Everyone is welcome! Dine with the Guests of Honor and the OddCon crew at 6:30pm on Thursday April 3 at the Roman Candle, 1920 Parmenter Street in Middleton. It's casual so drift in after work or when you arrive into town. We'll be there till at least 8:00pm.

Get involved! Let your opinion be known! Join the OddCon Yahoo Group!

Our Guests of Honor

Kage Baker is the best known as the author of the 'Company' series of science fiction time travel novels, In which members of The Zeus Company travel back through human history. Baker, who taught Elizabethan English as a second language for the humble, and now defunct, Living History Center, brings to her writing a wealth of historical detail. Other works, including Anvil of the World and Dark Mondays delve into fantasy.

George R. R. Martin is one of the most popular authors of fantasy writing today. Martin was story editor of TV's Beauty and the Beast Series and script writer for other series. Millions of readers around the world have been drawn into richly imagined world of his series, A Tale of Fire and Ice. The most recent entry in the series, A Feast for Crows was a popular and critical success.

Richard S. Russell of our very own Madison, Wiconsin, is our Fan Guest-of-Honor. There is so much to say about Richard that we are still distilling down the description.

Other Panelists

Among the 60 or more panelists at Odyssey Con VIII are science fiction and fantasy authors Richard Chedwyk, Sarah Monette, Patrick Rothfuss, Alex Bledsoe and Mark Rich.  Also attending are editorss Jim Frenkel and Erio Heideman, and Tolkien expert Richard West.

Programming

In keeping with the varied interests of our guests of honor, there will be a wide variety of programming and events in four separate tracks, plus special events. Krushenkos', which has been hosting casual literary salons at Minnesota SF conventions, returns to Odyssey Con. Odyssey Con will have a writers' workshop for science fiction and fantasy writers to share the first five pages of an unpublished novel and receive critique.  There will also be an open mic poetry reading and slam on Saturday night. On Saturday, 2 – 4 pm, there will be book signings by our authors.  More details on programming are available on this website through the Programming link.

Gaming

Responding to our members' request, gaming will focus on open gaming and game demo events. Special gaming events and guests are to be announced. Again this year there will be special LAN and X-Box gaming, and Dance Dance Revolution. Games based on the works of George R. R. Martin will be featured. For further info on gaming, e-mail Paul Wiesner at gaming8 at oddcon.com.

Art Show

Odyssey Con will be having an art show. Hanging fees are $0.50 per piece for pieces brought in or $1.00 per mailed piece. The art show is moving to a bigger space this year, but even so, due to limitations on space, there is a maximum of 20 pieces per artist, and display space is on a "first come, first served" basis. For more information, read our Artshow PDF or contact JJ Brutsman at oddcon_art@yahoo.com or (608)772-4455. In addition to Artists, the artshow can use volunteers. Please contact us if you'd be interested in helping.

Participating artists: Download the BidSheet or ControlSheet here.

Dealers' Room

We will have a dealers’ room with new and returning dealers. Our Dealers' room offers a wide selection of games, books, jewelery and collectables available for purchase. To find out more about being a Dealer at OddCon VIII, please click here.

Food and Entertainment

As with previous years, we are offering our crowd pleasing con suite, featuring pizza, hot dogs, soda, doughnuts, an espresso machine, and a special ice cream social Saturday afternoon with treats provided by The Chocolate Shoppe. There will also be independent party rooms sponsored by fan and local convention groups. Friday night will feature Odyssey Con's own Barista Liberation Army in a brief dramatic performance (i.e. skit),  "A Tale of Fire and Ice Cream: A Feast for Cows!” followed by comedy and parody music with local favorites the great Luke Ski and Art Paul Schlosser, as well as Possible Oscar from Minneapolis. You can also taste wine, cheese and chocolate Friday evening in the con’s Art Show Tasting. On Saturday night come dressed to the Masquerade as your favorite character, followed later by a middle-eastern music dancing workshop featuring the local band Salaam Shalom, and our annual Midnight Drumming Circle.

Masquerade

We will be having a Masquerade contest on Saturday night. If you want to enter, please fill out the Masquerade Entry Form and bring it with you to the con.

The entry form is available in both PDF format and MS Word ".doc" format.

Volunteering

Odyssey Con is a volunteer run convention. We particularly need people willing to work in the con suite and at the registration table, and to be on panels. We also encourage fans interested in throwing room parties or holding other events to contact us. If you are new to Odyssey Con, it's a great way to meet people and get orientated. Send an email to oddcon8 at oddcon.com to sign up.

Links

Oddcon 8's Page-O-Links