Guests of Octocon

Alastair Reynolds is a science fiction writer based in the Netherlands. Former European Space Agency scientist, he is now a full-time writer.

He is most widely known for his Revelation Space series of novels, of which there is seven novels to date. The next to appear is the SF thriller The Prefect (UK 2007; US 2008). Two independent short story collections, Zima Blue (US) and Galactic North (UK) appeared at the end of 2006. The latter will appear in the US in June. He is now approaching the half way point on House of Suns, a novel set five million years in the future, in a humans-only galaxy.

While not his first Irish con, this will be his first appearance at Octocon, and we're all very excited :)

Michael Carroll is thirty-ten years old and has not had a proper job since before the turn of the century.

Michael has written a large number of SF and fantasy novels for the Young Adult market, as well as one for the Old Adult market. Under the name Jaye Carroll he has written four not-entirely-rubbish romance novels.

His most recent work is the very successful and highly-praised YA novel Sakkara, the second in the New Heroes series. The much-anticipated second volume, Absolute Power, will be published on July 2nd (visit the New Heroes website at www.TheNewHeroes.co.uk for lots more information about the series!).

Like many writers of imaginative fiction, Michael suffers from single-personality disorder. Despite this, he has had some success with his novels, especially the ones that have been published.

Michael has contributed to a huge number of newspapers, websites, magazines, comics and small-press publications, many of which are actually quite respectable.

Michael lives in Dublin with his staggeringly beautiful wife Leonia.

Robert Curley has been selling comics for over a decade. From humble beginnings in the Grafton Flea market in 1993, to opening up Sub - City in 1994 and then a second branch in Galway in 1997. Sub - City is the only comic store in Ireland with 2 branches.

I started working for Rob in 1997, Christmas in fact. But enough about me.

Rob set up Atomic Diner in 2003 and released In Dublin City and the fantastic Naked Lunch. In 2004, he launched his flagship title, Freak Show, which garnered international success and got him nominated for an Eagle award, the comic book Oscars. He is the first and so far only Irish writer to be nominated for one of these babies!!

So far, Freak Show has sold in excess of 18000 copies, the majority of sales in America.

Other projects he has planned for the future include Atomic Rocket Group 66, a 1950s superhero pastiche, and a new ongoing title set in Ireland in the 1860s called Hibernia which will weave together Ireland's political past, her rich history and numerous fables. Oh yeah!!

For more info on Rob, go see him at the Atomic Diner stand. You KNOW it makes sense.

A full-time writer since 1979, James P. Hogan was born in the UK, and lived in the US before settling in Ireland.

A complete biography will appear here shortly. In the meantime, please visit James's official site above!

Anne McCaffrey was born on April 1st, 1926, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at 1:30 p.m., in the hour of the Sheep, year of the Fire Tiger, sun sign Aries with Taurus rising and Leo mid-heaven (which seems to suggest an early interest in the stars). Anne was educated at Stuart Hall, Staunton, Virginia, Montclair High School, Montclair, New Jersey, and graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College, majoring in Slavonic Languages and Literatures.

Anne McCaffrey has tried to live up to her auspicious natal day. Her first novel was written in Latin class and might have brought her instant fame, as well as an A, if she had written it in that ancient language. Much chastened by teacher and father, she turned to the stage and became a character actress, appearing in the first successful summer music circus in Lambertsville, NJ. She studied voice for nine years and, during that time, became intensely interested in the stage direction of opera and operetta, ending that phase of her experience with the direction of the American premiere of Carl Orff's "Ludus de Nato Infante Mirificus" in which she also played a witch. Anne McCaffrey's first story was published by Sam Moskowitz in Science Fiction + Magazine and her first novel published by Ballantine Books in 1967. Her first novel, Restoree, was written as a protest against the absurd and unrealistic portrayals of women in science-fiction novels in the 50s and early 60s. It is, however, in the handling of broader themes and the worlds of her imagination, particularly the two series, The Ship Who Sang and the fourteen novels about the Dragonriders Of Pern, that Ms. McCaffrey's talents as a storyteller are best displayed.

She lives in a house of her own design, Dragonhold-Underhill (so called because she had to dig out a hill on her farm to build it) in Wicklow County, Ireland.

Anne runs a private livery stable and her horses have been successful in Horse Trials and showjumping. She does not ride in competition, she hastens to add, but has enjoyed the success of horse and rider and, until recently, rode out on her black and white mare, Pi.

-Jack

Juliet E. McKenna has been interested in fantasy stories since childhood, from Winnie the Pooh to the Iliad. An abiding facination with other worlds and their peoples played its part in her subsequently reading Classics at St Hilda's College, Oxford. While working in recruitment and personnel, she continued to read across all genres, and started to write herself.

Juliet has two series published to date - The Tales of Einarinn and The Aldabreshin Compass, which has just concluded with Eastern Tide

This isn't Juliet's first visit to Octocon, as she is a stalwart supporter of Irish fandom.

For those who have seen him (Or rather experienced him)at previous Octocons will know John Vaughan is a one man entertainment engine , he’s fast, funny and often furious. A long time Octocon regular, John will be hosting his annual Vault of Horror Saturday Night. ( He swore to us this was a once off SIX YEARS AGO!)John started off as your more or less typical manic movie enthusiast, like so many others John used to spend a lot of time telling everyone how he would make his own movies, unlike so many others however John has since become a Award winning film maker , honing his craft with short films among which are the Boogieman and Valour A war story which recieved it’s world premiere at 2004’s Octocon and has been shown at Twenty Six International Festivals worldwide representing Irish Cinema His Latest film is “My Dad” which is currently in post production and will be shown on RTE early in the New Year, John claims the film was “inspired by Octocon so it’s all your fault!”

George Green was born in Dublin in 1956 and brought up in Tipperary, where he lived in a house built on an ancient burial mound. After university he embarked on a career in sport and leisure in the hope that it would not be too difficult and help him meet girls. Ten years later he realized his mistake, took an MA in Creative Writing, began teaching and now works for the Department of English and Creative Writing at Lancaster University.

He has two novels published to date, Hound and Hawk, historical adventure novels which have gotten universal praise for their imagination and storytelling. George is an educated and insightful panelist, and Octocon is delighted to have him on board.

Peadar Ó Guilín has been writing curious stories for as long as he can remember. One of his school reports claimed that he had 'a talent for communication, which he abuse[d].' Since then, he has written plays and sold short stories to such venues as "Black Gate" and " Weird Tales". He has performed very poorly as a standup commedian and has taken part in a project to translate the Linux operating system into Irish. Peadar lives in Dublin where he works for a giant computer company.

Peadars first book The Inferior is published in September, and we're all looking forward to a) checking the book out and b) seeing him at Octocon!

Though C.E. Murphy was born and raised in Alaska, she has never watched a single episode of Northern Exposure or helped a film crew simulate terrorist attacks on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. She has, though, been forced to convince people that she neither lives in an igloo, rides a polar bear, nor has a penguin for a pet. Those who are surprised by the last detail should consider perusing a National Geographic after they have finished reading her book.

C.E., who goes by Catie in real life, has held the usual grab-bag of jobs usually seen in an authorial biography, including public library volunteer (at ages 9 and 10; it's clear she was doomed to a career involving books), cannery worker, and web designer, the last of which her employers saw fit to dismiss her from just as she sold a new series of books and promised to turn them in every four months. She is grateful for the karmic justice done there.

Catie's preference is to wear her hair like a certain skunk-striped X-Man's. She is somewhat impatient for her hair to go white so she can accomplish this without having to bleach her bangs regularly, because that's bad for them. When they're not bleached, though, she tends to think her coloring is rather Snow-Whiteish, except for the freckles.

Catie has written the fantastic Walker Papers series, and has a new fantasy trilogy coming out, with the first book Heart of Stone coming out November 2007.

She also writes the action-adventure romance novels The Strongbox Chronicles as Cate Dermody.

Her hobbies include swimming, walking, travelling, drawing, and moose-wrestling.
Catie is always funny and bubbly, and you should have no problem tracking her down during the con - you'll be able to hear her laughing from some distance away...

Derek Gunn was born in Ireland in 1964. He lives in Dublin, Ireland with his wife and three children and by day works for a multi-national telecommunications company. An avid fan of Horror and Science Fiction from an early age, and dabblings at writing short stories as a teenager, he began writing again in earnest, in 2001.

Derek has had stories published in horror antholoogies from Black Death Books and Permuted Press and his debut novel, Vampire Apocalypse: A World Torn Asunder, was released in the US and UK last year by genre publisher, Black Death Books and has been described as “….one of the best debut novels.... an incredibly original piece of fiction that keeps the reader turning the pages. “ Horror-web, June ’07, ”This is the book that takes Vampires and turns them into a Summer Blockbuster..... If you want horror that is laced with action then go no further", Gorezone, September ‘07

Within 3 months of it’s release, Vampire Apocalypse was optioned for film/tv by veteren Hollywood producer/screenwriter, Richard Finney. “this novel puts forth a [new] take on the universe….The original concept will allow us as filmmakers to explore new terrain in the subgenre”.