May Newsletter: Free Comic Book Day, Daniel Wallace, Mary Robinette Kowal, John Scalzi, and Mur Lafferty

Vol 3. No 5. May 3, 2013:

Well, it finally happened, the new issue of Bull Spec is actually out in the world! Some of the more remote bookstores I haven’t quite gotten to yet, but subscriber mailings are in USPS’s hands and quite a few Triangle bookstores are “in stock”. It’ll be a few days yet on the PDF edition, but look for an announcement on the website when it’s available. I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many supporters at the launch at Atomic Empire as part of NC Speculative Fiction Night as well, and I’m looking forward to reviews starting to trickle in over the coming weeks.

Meanwhile! There are several new books out from local and regional authors last month that I want to make sure to tell people about:

• Bitterwood: The Complete Collection by James Maxey (March 31) — “This omnibus edition collects the original three novels of the critically acclaimed Bitterwood Trilogy, Bitterwood, Dragonforge, and Dragonseed, plus the prequel short short story “Tornado of Sparks” that first appeared in the Solaris Book of New Fantasy. As an added bonus, this collection includes a complete, never before published fourth novel set 1000 years before the events of trilogy, Dawn of Dragons.” — That fourth novel, Dawn of Dragons, is also available standalone.
• Blood Trade (Jane Yellowrock, #6)  by Faith Hunter (Roc, April 2) — “The Master of Natchez, Mississippi has a nasty problem on his hands. Rogue vampires—those who follow the Naturaleza and believe that humans should be nothing more than prey to be hunted—are terrorizing his city. Luckily, he knows the perfect skinwalker to call in to take back the streets.”
• The Heretic (Raj Whitehall) by Tony Daniel and David Drake (Baen, April 2) –An all-new novel in this series, being re-launched through re-issues until: “Humanity settled the stars, only to fall into a catastrophic collapse. On one planet, a single artificial intelligence, a computer program known as Center, found a military genius of grit and daring in Raj Whitehall, and the Galactic Republic rose again.”
• Gnomaggedon by Tonia Brown (April 2013) — “Pack up your dice and character sheets and join us for the release of the goriest, goofiest, gnomeiest novel to ever hit your Kindle. Gnomaggedon has all of the elements of a traditional fantasy with just enough filthy humor and bloody conquest to make you want to wash your hands when you’re done reading it.”
• Rogue Descendant (Nikki Glass, #3) by Jenna Black (Pocket Books, April 30) — “No longer the leader of the Olympians, Konstantin has now gone into hiding. Konstantin is vulnerable, and Anderson believes now is the perfect time to destroy his nemesis. He orders private eye Nikki Glass to use her powers to locate Konstantin, and she balks at the idea until a series of attacks leads her to believe that Konstantin is gunning for her and Anderson instead of remaining safely in hiding.”
• Ending (Laurian Pentalogy, #4) by Danny Birt (Dark Quest Books) — “Alaris has enacted his continent-spanning plans, and he races against time to get to the ancient tower of mages, Pinnacle, to enact yet more.  But Pinnacle is not his ultimate goal: even mage-kind is but a tool to Alaris.  How much, then, do mere individuals matter to him?“
• … and! Mur Lafferty’s podcast of her forthcoming novel The Shambling Guide to New York City has already gotten started with Chapter One.

And! May is absolutely packed with events, from Free Comic Book Day on Saturday May 4th, to readings from Daniel Wallace, Mary Robinette Kowal, and John Scalzi, to more comics events, writing classes, and book discussion groups. Check out what’s going on this month, and spread the word!

-Sam

[grayscale PDF]

EVENT CALENDAR: Read the rest of this entry »

April Newsletter: Tony Daniel and David Drake, and NC Speculative Fiction Night with Bull Spec #8 Launch

Vol 3. No 4. April 4, 2013:

There is a lot to get to in this newsletter, from announcements, to local author publication notes, to new events, so: right to it, then!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• April 23 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Durham’s Atomic Empire (formerly Sci-Fi Genre Comics and Games) hosts a World Book Night / NC Speculative Fiction Night / Bull Spec #8 Launch Party event. Special Guests Rich Dansky, Steve Long, Justin Achilli, and Matthew Ross. Bull Spec Magazine Contributors Gwendolyn Clare, Rich Matrunick, Brenda Kalt, Peter Wood and Paul Celmer, and Alice Holleman. More info: http://bullspec.com/2013/03/21/announcement-world-book-night-nc-speculative-fiction-night-bull-spec-8-launch-party/
• August 3 (Saturday) 7 to 9 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts the annual Bull Spec summer speculative fiction event. This year it is an absolutely fantastic lineup with Karen Lord, Nathan Ballingrud, Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, and Will Hindmarch all coming up from the Shared Worlds Teen Writing Camp at Wofford College, being joined locally by Durham author Mur Lafferty. We had a blast hosting Ann and Jeff back in 2011 and it’s sure to be another great evening. More info: http://bullspec.com/2013/03/29/announcement-the-third-annual-bull-spec-summer-speculative-fiction-event/

PUBLICATION NOTES:

• I thought I would pass along to you that my short story “The Breath Thief” will be appearing in Volume 9, Issue 3 of the Tales of The Talisman, which will be the winter 2013/14 issue. — Karissa B. Sluss, Garner, NC
• Big Pulp is running my story “A Question of Storage” as the cover for the March issue and copies have just hit the stands and ebookstores [Kobo link here]. — John Bowker, Carrboro, NC
• Crowded Magazine‘s debut issue (which includes my short story “Athlete’s Foot”) got reviewed in Tangent Online. “…The story is lighthearted and an entertaining read and I love the way Ferris caught the mindset of [protagonist] Tyler as an athlete desperately trying to stay in the sport he loves; the character is a major strength of the story.” — Bill Ferris, Chapel Hill, NC
• Congratulations to Durham author Mur Lafferty on (again!) being nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer!
• Congrats to Bull Spec poetry editor Dan Campbell, whose short story “All the Distances” has been shortlisted for the 2013 James White Award: http://www.jameswhiteaward.com/archives/795 — additionally, Campbell has a story forthcoming in Something Wicked Volume Two

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED NEW EVENTS:

• April 6 (Saturday) 7 pm — Bull Spec art director Gabriel Dunston is launching his new illustrated children’s book “The Castle on the Crag” at All Fun N Games in Cary, Saturday April 6th from 7pm-9pm (or later): http://www.firelightsmedia.com/2013/03/20/new-book-castle-on-the-crag/
• April 19-20 (Fri-Sat) — The CRDM program at NC State is hosting a research symposium on April 19-20 titled “Emerging Genres, Forms, Narratives—In New Media Environments.” More info: http://crdm.chass.ncsu.edu/sites/symposium/schedule
• May 18 (Saturday) 10 am — Hillsborough author James Maxey will be teaching a class at the Orange County Library in Hillsboroug from 10 til noon called “Behind Every Great Book is a Great Rewrite.” From Maxey: “It’s going to start from the assumption that you’ve managed to write the first draft of a story or novel, and focus on the things that you should look to fix in later draft”
• June 1 (Saturday) 7 to 9 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts a launch party for Durham author Mur Lafferty’s The Shambling Guide to New York City, forthcoming in late May from Orbit.

Whew! And amidst all this, I hope people enjoyed getting out and about in March, and now I need to get back to those final touches on the next Bull Spec – for if it doesn’t finally finally FINALLY go to the printers REAL SOON NOW, well, I’ll be in a lot of trouble. So… I’ll need to lean on you guys a bit for spreading the word about the launch party on April 23, and about the summer event on August 3, and… well, a lot of things. Thanks for your continued support and interest, and I can’t want to start putting another issue into as many of your hands as possible.

-Sam

[PDF: handout-2013-04-04]

EVENT CALENDAR:

APRIL 2013

5-21 — NC Science Festival with events statewide. More info: http://www.ncsciencefestival.org/

NEW: 6 (Saturday) 7 pm — Bull Spec art director Gabriel Dunston is launching his new illustrated children’s book “The Castle on the Crag” at All Fun N Games in Cary, Saturday April 6th from 7pm-9pm (or later): http://www.firelightsmedia.com/2013/03/20/new-book-castle-on-the-crag/

9 (Tuesday) 7 pm — B&N of Cary hosts Tony Daniel and David Drake for The Heretic. More info: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/78969

13-14 (Saturday-Sunday) — Durham Arts Council’s Spring Art Walk. More info: http://durhamartwalk.com/

16 (Tuesday) 7 pm — RTSFS Hugo Book Club at the Barnes & Noble at The Streets at Southpoint, held every 3rd Tuesday each month. The April book is the 2003 winner, Robert J. Sawyer’s Hominids.

18 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — Science and Speculative Fiction Book Club at the NC Museum of Natural Science’s Nature Research Center, held every 3rd Thursday each month. The April book is Holy Fire by Bruce Sterling. More info: http://bit.ly/161TWtK

NEW-NEW: 18-19 (Thu-Fri) Duke University hosts a symposium entitled “Community and Emergent Order in Non-State Spaces” with talks from Kim Stanley Robinson, David Friedman, and Paul Cantor, among others. More info: http://english.duke.edu/news-events/archive/2013/04/15/symposium

NEW: 19-20 (Fri-Sat) — The CRDM program at NC State is hosting a research symposium on April 19-20 titled “Emerging Genres, Forms, Narratives—In New Media Environments.” More info: http://crdm.chass.ncsu.edu/sites/symposium/schedule

19-21 (Fri-Sun) — DeepSouthCon at JordanCon in Roswell, Georgia with guests Seanan McGuire, Eugie Foster, and Michael Whelan, along with the Phoenix and Rebel Awards.

NEW-NEW: 20 (Saturday) 10 am to 5:30 pm — Durham County Library presents its third annual Comics Fest with guests, prizes and activities for children, teens and adults at the Southwest Regional Library, 3605 Shannon Road. “This year’s guest cartoonists include Eisner winner Raina Telgemeier (Drama, Smile), Hugo winner Ursula Vernon (Digger, Dragonbreath), Harvey winner Scott Hampton (The Books of Magic, Batman), Eisner nominee Ben Towle (Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean) and Jan Burger (Uitke and the Magic Penny). Workshops and presentations will cover cartooning basics, visual storytelling and the comic art process from sketch to sales floor.” For details and a complete schedule, visit durhamcountylibrary.org/comicsfest or call 919-560-8590.

NEW: 23 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Durham’s Atomic Empire (formerly Sci-Fi Genre Comics and Games) hosts a World Book Night / NC Speculative Fiction Night / Bull Spec #8 Launch Party event. More info: http://bullspec.com/2013/03/21/announcement-world-book-night-nc-speculative-fiction-night-bull-spec-8-launch-party/

24-25 (Wed-Thu) — East Coast Game Conference at the Raleigh Convention Center. More info: http://www.ecgconf.com/

25 (Thursday) — Star Trek TNG episodes on the big screen continue on April 25th, with “Best of Both Worlds” parts 1 and 2. More info: http://trekmovie.com/2013/02/04/star-trek-tng-s3-best-of-both-worlds-film-single-discs-coming-april-30th-tng-theater-screening-april-25th/

NEW-NEW: 26 (Saturday) — Last day for the art exhibition Farfetched: Mad Science, Fringe Architecture & Visionary Engineering at NCSU’s Gregg Museum of Art & Design. More info: http://www.ncsu.edu/gregg/exhibitions.html

NEW: 26 (Saturday) 9 pm — Davenport & Winkleperry hosts THE CLOCKWORK BALL: A Steampunk Party: “Attention Pilots of Airships and their Crews, Mad Scientists, Explorers of the Unknown, Admirers of Verbosity, Respecters of the Strange, Those Lost in the Throes of Opium or Absinthe, Teetotalers, Scallywags, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dandies, Fops, and Urchins… Hosted by that darling duo, Emmett Davenport & Lady Nikolai Attercop. They will be spinning Jazz, Blues, Swing, Dark Cabaret, Gypsy Punk, & Dance music from times gone by or times that never were.”

MAY 2013 Read the rest of this entry »

March newsletter: Ariel Djanikian, David Drake, Nathan Kotecki, A.J. Hartley, Ursula Vernon, and more

Vol 3. No 3. February 25, 2013:

Welcome a bit early to the March newsletter! I’m sneaking this one in ahead of the end of the month to make sure everybody gets a chance to hear about the Office of Mercy reading event tomorrow (Tuesday, February 26!) as new Chapel Hill author Ariel Djanikian debuts her debut novel at Flyleaf Books. And just a few days away, for those not making the commute over to Greensboro-High Point for StellarCon, is David Drake’s signing at new Pittsboro bookstore Circle City Books on Saturday.

Looking back on February (so far!) it’s been quite a busy month, with Kim Harrison, Cory Doctorow, and Brandon Sanderson all bringing in packed, standing-room-only audiences. The Exploding Spaceship logged a report on the Harrison event, and Calvin Powers provided a video of the Doctorow event, and if you have some pictures, audio, or video of anything else going on last month, send it my way.

Meanwhile, there are some new local books which came out in the past few weeks:

• 2013 Campbellian Pre-Reading Anthology edited by M. David Blake (Rampant Loon/Stupefying Stories, Feb 8) — free e-anthology “Containing 80 complete short stories by 43 different authors, as well as additional information about another 58 potential candidates” for this year’s John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, including locals Rebecca Gomez Farrell, Mur Lafferty, Rich Matrunick, T.C. McCarthy, and more.
• Six Heirs (The Secret of Ji, #1) by Pierre Grimbert, translated from French by Matthew Ross and Eric Lamb (AmazonCrossing, February 19) — Translator Ross hails from the Raleigh-Durham area; also available in audio, read by Michael Page for Brilliance Audio — “From France’s most celebrated author of fantasy. The Known World is a sprawling region ruled by mortals, protected by gods, and plied by magicians and warriors, merchants and beggars, royals and scoundrels.”
• The Office of Mercy: A Novel by Ariel Djanikian (Viking Adult, February 21) — Debut novel for this new Chapel Hill author: “Weaving philosophy and science together into a riveting, dystopian story of love and adventure, The Office of Mercy illuminates an all-too-real future imagined by a phenomenal new voice in fiction.
• Star Trek: The Original Series: Devil’s Bargain by Tony Daniel (Pocket Books/Star Trek, Feb 26) — “Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise are sent to evacuate the Federation mining colony Vesbius, a frontier settlement that is on the brink of an extinction-level event, threatening the lives of all the colonists and the disruption of ore production vital to Starfleet. However, the colonists refuse to abandon this settlement, not wanting to leave their claims. It is after these irrational decisions that Spock suggests that perhaps an unexpected ally could aid the colony and help complete the mission….”

And for the impatient, here are some highlights from some of the NEW events below:

• NEW: February 26 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Ariel Djanikian reads from her science fiction novel The Office of Mercy.
• NEW: March 2 (Saturday) 11 am — McIntyre’s Books hosts Ariel Djanikian discusses her dystopian love story, The Office of Mercy.
• NEW: March 2 (Saturday) 2 pm — David Drake will be at Circle City Books in Pittsboro to sign the new paperback edition of The Road of Danger and read from a forthcoming work.
• NEW: March 9 (Saturday) 3 to 4 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts: “Two NC authors share their visions of the strange with us on Saturday, March 9, at 3 p.m. Nathan Kotecki brings us The Suburban Strange.
• NEW: March 19 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts A. J. HARTLEY – With Children’s Fantasy Darwen Arkwright & The Insidious Bleck.
• NEW: April 9 (Tuesday) 7 pm — B&N of Cary hosts Tony Daniel and David Drake for The Heretic.
• NEW: May 29 (Wednesday) — Quail Ridge Books hosts JOHN SCALZI – Hugo Winner With The Human Division at 7:30 pm.
• NEW: June 27 (Thursday) — A sf-themed even from the NC Symphony: ‘Join George Takei, “Mr. Sulu” of Star Trek fame, as he guides you through the galaxy accompanied by music from E.T., Star Wars, Close Encounters, and,of course, Star Trek.’
• NEW: July 28 (Sunday) — The annual NC Browncoats “Can’t Stop the Serenity” charity screening of Serenity at the Raleighwood Cinema Grill.
• NEW: August 3 (Saturday) 7 to 9 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts the annual Bull Spec summer speculative fiction event. This year it is an absolutely fantastic lineup with Karen Lord, Nathan Ballingrud, Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, and Will Hindmarch all coming up from the Shared Worlds Teen Writing Camp at Wofford College. We had a blast hosting Ann and Jeff back in 2011 and it’s sure to be another great evening.

-Sam

PS: Here’s a handout flyer in PDF and JPG:

FEBRUARY 2013

NEW: 26 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Ariel Djanikian reads from her science fiction novel The Office of Mercy. Author Djanikian now calls Chapel Hill home, so let’s get out to welcome this new local author! Here’s a Facebook event to pass around: https://www.facebook.com/events/539125676117811/

MARCH 2013 Read the rest of this entry »

February newsletter: James Maxey, Kim Harrison, Cory Doctorow, and Brandon Sanderson! More!

Vol 3. No 2. January 28, 2013:

Welcome a bit early to the February newsletter! I’m sneaking this one in ahead of the end of the month to make sure everybody gets a chance to hear about the Witchbreaker book launch party tomorrow (Tuesday, January 29!) as Hillsborough’s Purple Crow Books hosts James Maxey for the third book in his Dragon Apocalypse trilogy. More info below in the events, but if you miss it, you’re also missing Cheryl’s dragon cookies! (As well as, hopefully, the chance to hear James reading as a very confused and very male dwarf who thinks he is a princess, increasingly shrill falsetto and all. Well, one can hope…)

I saw many familiar faces at illogiCon, and either met or finally got to have a conversation with a few I’d only barely met before. I thought it was a great second year for the convention, certainly more active and vibrant and I very much enjoyed myself, from the opening ceremonies with author guest of honor Tim Powers and toastmaster Mark Van Name, through panels, readings, and getting to interview Powers, more panels, more readings… Next year’s author guests of honor, Mary Robinette Kowal and Lawrence M. Shoen, were announced, and memberships for 2014 are already available.

In almost random news, I wanted to pass along that “City of Shadow and Glass” by Erin Hoffman, originally published in Bull Spec #4, is the latest episode of Tina Connolly’s Parsec Award-winning Toasted Cake podcast! Also, ConTemporal is seeking volunteers on Saturday March 23rd at 6:15 P.M. for a promotional event with UNC TV’s pledge drive. For more information or to sign up please visit their Volunteer Information and Sign Up Form. Now, to the events, which include Maxey’s book launch, bestselling authors Kim Harrison, Cory Doctorow, Brandon Sanderson, and more — and that’s before we even get out of February. See you out and about,

-Sam

Updates 2013-01-29: As usual a big list of “NEW-NEW” events came in as soon as I clicked “send”. Look again, maybe you missed something of interest!

JANUARY 2013

NEW: 29 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Hillsborough’s Purple Crow Books hosts a book launch party for Witchbreaker by James Maxey, book 3 in his Dragon Apocalypse series after Greatshadow and Hush. Reading and signing and of course Cheryl’s dragon cookies! More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/121899164647826/

FEBRUARY 2013

2 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts NY Times bestselling urban fantasy author and NC native Kim Harrison for Ever After, the latest in her Hollows series.

NEW-NEW: 2 (Saturday) 5 to 7 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts Jared Axelrod, author of the Tor graphic novel The Battle of Blood & Ink: A Fable of the Flying City. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/418137048267731/

NEW-NEW: 11 (Monday) 5 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts PETER LERANGIS – Children’s Fantasy With The Colossus Rises.

NEW-NEW: 11 (Monday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Breathless Reads YA Tour: Meet Five Up and Coming Young Adult Authors – Fiona Paul (Venom), Beth Revis (Shades of Earth), Morgan Rhodes (Falling Kingdoms), Elizabeth Richards (Black City), and Jess Spotswood (Born Wicked).

NEW-NEW: 12 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Peter Lerangis, The Seven Wonders Book One: The Colossus Rises.

16 (Saturday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Cory Doctorow for Homeland, sequel to Little Brother. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/530598563635194/

NEW-NEW: 16 (Saturday) 9 pm til late — Davenport and Winkleperry hosts The Clockwork Ball: A Steampunk Party. “Attention Pilots of Airships and their Crews, Mad Scientists, Explorers of the Unknown, Admirers of Verbosity, Respecters of the Strange, Those Lost in the Throes of Opium or Absinthe, Teetotalers, Scallywags, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dandies, Fops, and Urchins… Our next event will be on Saturday February 16th, 2013 and… will feature a live performance by the outstanding FABLE CRY.  Hosted by that darling duo, Emmett Davenport & Lady Nikolai Attercop. They will be spinning Jazz, Blues, Swing, Dark Cabaret, Gypsy Punk, & Dance music from times gone by or times that never were. Doors at 8pm; Music begins at 9pm. Admission: 18+, 21+ to Drink; $5. Appropriate Attire is Encouraged, but never required.” More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/434531459951000/

20 (Wednesday) 7:30 pm – Quail Ridge Books again hosts best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, this time for the conclusion of The Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light. In addition, special guest Harriet McDougal will be joining Sanderson for the event. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/393451974063637/

22-24 (Friday-Sunday) — Durham’s Carolina Theatre hosts the Nevermore Film Festival. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/440070299375523/

22-24 (Friday-Sunday) — MystiCon in Roanoke, Virginia, with Orson Scott Card, Larry Elmore, Rich Sigfit, and more. More info: http://mysticon-va.com/

NEW: 23 (Saturday) 3 pm and 7 pm — Hillsborouth author John Claude Bemis is a participant on the Murphey School Radio Show at the Shared Visions Retreat Center at the Historic Murphey School in Durham, NC. “Spend a couple of hours laughing and singing along as we raise the roof of the historic Murphey School auditorium, a 1936 WPA project that has been lovingly restored by the Shared Visions Foundation as a nonprofit retreat and community center. This event will be recorded live!  PLEASE ARRIVE 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SHOWTIME!!!   For the 3:00pm show, doors will open at 2:15pm with the pre-show warm-up beginning at 2:30pm. Due to live recording, anyone arriving after 3:00pm will be admitted during intermission. For the 7:00pm show, doors will open at 6:15pm with the pre-show warm-up beginning at 6:30pm. Due to live recording, anyone arriving after 7:00pm will be admitted during intermission.” This is a ticketed event with a sliding for-charity scale: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/302008

NEW-NEW: 26 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Ariel Djanikian reads from her science fiction novel The Office of Mercy. Author Djanikian now calls Chapel Hill home, so let’s get out to welcome this new local author!

MARCH 2013

1-3 (Friday to Sunday) — StellarCon37 at the Greensboro – High Point Airport Marriott  with author Eric Flint, artist Richard Case, and game designer Steve Segedy. More info: http://stellarcon.com/

NEW-NEW: 2 (Saturday) 2 pm — David Drake will be at Circle City Books in Pittsboro to sign the new paperback edition of The Road of Danger and read from the forthcoming The Heretic – the bookstore was recently written up in the LA Times for its fantastic mural of a bookshelf (which features one of Drake’s books, “With the Lightnings”: http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-now-thats-a-wall-of-books-20130123,0,3947937.sto

NEW-NEW: 9 (Saturday) 3 to 4 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts: “Two NC authors share their visions of the strange with us on Saturday, March 9, at 3 p.m. Nathan Kotecki brings us The Suburban Strange. Celia discovers girls at Suburban High are having near fatal accidents on the eve of their 16th birthdays. Can 15-year-old Celia solve the mystery before her own next birthday? For ages 14+. PT McHugh presents Keeper of the Black Stones: Stone Ends, the first book in a new series. It’s a thrilling combination of fantasy and historical fiction with a likable, funny hero in Jason Evans. For ages 12+.” More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/301390523317829/

NEW-NEW: 19 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts A. J. HARTLEY – With Children’s Fantasy Darwen Arkwright & The Insidious Bleck.

NEW-NEW: 22 (Friday) 7 pm — B&N of Cary hosts Hugo Award winning Pittsboro graphic novelist Ursula Vernon for book #8 in her Danny Dragonbreath series of graphic novels for young readers, “Nightmare of the Iguana”. More info: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/4231658

NEW-NEW: 28 (Thursday) 7 pm — B&N of Cary hosts Jeaniene Frost for Twice Tempted. More info: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/79120

TBD: We’re putting something together for the Bull Spec #8 launch party / slash / NC Speculative Fiction night. Stay tuned!

APRIL 2013

5-21 — NC Science Festival with events statewide. More info: http://www.ncsciencefestival.org/

NEW-NEW: 9 (Tuesday) 7 pm — B&N of Cary hosts Tony Daniel and David Drake for The Heretic. More info: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/78969

NEW: 13-14 (Saturday-Sunday) — Durham Arts Council’s Spring Art Walk. More info: http://durhamartwalk.com/

19-21 (Fri-Sun) — DeepSouthCon at JordanCon in Roswell, Georgia with guests Seanan McGuire, Eugie Foster, and Michael Whelan, along with the Phoenix and Rebel Awards.

23 (Tuesday) — World Book Night worldwide. For more info on how to get involved as a book-giver: http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/how-do-i-get-involved/apply-giver-us

24-25 (Wed-Thu) — East Coast Game Conference at the Raleigh Convention Center. More info: http://www.ecgconf.com/

MAY 2013

NEW-NEW: 4 (Saturday) — Free Comic Book Day, including events and of course free comics at all participating shops. Ultimate Comics will be hosting a very large party/gathering/thing in and around their store, including two free Jeremy Whitley comic books, one a split issue featuring Princeless and Jamal Igle’s new title “Molly Danger” and the other an NFL RushZone book. Stay tuned for lineups and plans from other local stores!

JUNE 2013

May 31 – June 2 (Friday to Sunday) — ConCarolinas in Charlotte, with writer guest of honor Timothy Zahn. More info: http://www.concarolinas.org/

27-30 (Thursday to Sunday) — ConTemporal 2013 at the North Raleigh Hilton, beginning with the Thursday evening guest of honor dinner and continuing all weekend, as this Steampunk-themed convention is back for a second year. Guest of honor Ursula Vernon, along with Lee Martindale, Tom Smith, toastmaster Sal Sanfratello, and more. More info: http://contemporal.org/

AUGUST 2013

NEW: 3 (Saturday) 7 to 9 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts the annual Bull Spec summer speculative fiction event. This year it is an absolutely fantastic lineup with Karen Lord, Nathan Ballingrud, Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, and Will Hindmarch!

OCTOBER 2013

NEW: 4-6 (Friday to Sunday) — Second Escapist Expo. More info: http://www.escapistexpo.com/

NOVEMBER 2013

9-10 (Saturday and Sunday) — NC Comicon will be returning to the Durham Convention Center. “Twice the space, four times the fun. It’s exponential.”

JANUARY 2014

NEW: 10-12 (Friday to Sunday) — illogiCon iii: The Search for Schrödington’s Gold at the Embassy Suites Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle, with author guests of honor Mary Robinette Kowal and Lawrence M. Shoen. More info: http://www.illogicon.com/

January newsletter: illogiCon on Jan 11-13, a packed February, and the 2013 local and regional author book guide

Vol 3. No 1. January 6, 2013:

Did you ring in the New Year at Davenport and Winkleperry’s Clockwork Ball? If so, have you found your way home? In any case, December had quite a lot going for it, from Geek Mom to Winter Tales [an hour video there!] and of course the RTSFS holiday party. We also had a good bit of fun in December raising $2500 in pledges toward the SFWA emergency medical fund to send John Kessel to watch The Hobbit … dressed as Galadriel. Singing Leonard Nimoy’s “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins”. Yeah. That happened.

There’s also some late December publishing news, in particular James Maxey’s third Dragon Apocalypse novel, Witchbreaker, which released on December 25th and about which he contributed an entry in The Hardest Part guest column series. To toot my own horn just a bit, Tina Connolly’s Parsec Award winning Toasted Cake podcast adapted and produced my short (short!) story “Bad Elf” just in time for the holidays. Already in 2013 there’s been some activity (with much more to come, but more about that in a second) as Katherine Traylor self-published a short collection Five Stories for the Dark Months which includes two previously unpublished stories.

About that “more to come” in publishing news: boy, oh boy, will 2013 be awesome. It took a while, and it’s still a work in progress and in needs of a few updates (sorry John Hartness and Stuart Jaffe, still haven’t incorporated your books!) but the official Bull Spec 2013 Local and Regional Author Preview is up, with imminently forthcoming books from Gail Z. Martin, Beth Revis, and Megan Shepard. Check them out and support our local and regional authors!

Also imminent:

• Sam will be on Carolina Book Beat tomorrow (Monday, January 7th) at 10 AM (podcast later) to talk about the 2013 local and regional author preview
• Natania Barron will be on WUNC’s The State of Things on Tuesday January 8th in the Noon hour
• It’s finally here: illogiCon 2: Schrödington’s Revenge, with guest of honor Tim Powers, toastmaster Mark L. Van Name, and a huge slate of guests including the legendary Analog editor Stanley Schmidt is Friday Jan 11 to Sunday Jan 13. I’m both honored and a bit terrified to announce that they’ve entrusted me with interviewing Tim Powers, so do come out and support the convention, its guests, and dealers. Here’s a handy flyer for illogiCon to post on your doors and in your windows.

From the broken record department, Issue #8 really, really is coming. Soon. Gabe in particular has been working tirelessly to get final layout together, Alex Ward getting final edits of the non-fiction, amazing, beautiful art is coming in. It’s here. We’re trying to get it here in time for illogiCon, but it looks like it won’t quite make it. Maybe Saturday? There’s an outside, outside chance. But most likely, it’ll be something else to pick up while you’re hitting up the excellent lineup of February events, from Kim Harrison, to Cory Doctorow, to Brandon Sanderson and Harriet McDougal. See you out and about,

-Sam

JANUARY 2013

11-13 (Friday to Sunday) — illogiCon 2 will be held at the Embassy Suites of Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle on January 11-13, 2013, with writer guest of honor Tim Powers and webcomic guest of honor Garth Graham, and toastmaster Mark L. Van Name: http://www.illogicon.com/

NEW: 18 (Friday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts Hal Johnson: “Immortal Lycanthropes tells the incredible story of Myron Horowitz, a disfigured thirteen-year-old just trying to fit in at his Pennsylvania school. When a fight with a bully leaves him unconscious and naked in the wreckage of the cafeteria, Myron discovers that he is an immortal lycanthrope—a were-mammal who can transform from human to animal. He also discovers that there are others like him, and many of them want Myron dead.  Hal Johnson will be in the store to read and sign books.”

NEW: 19 (Saturday) 1 pm — Atomic Empire hosts Hal Johnson (see above for book info) for a signing. Another reminder that Atomic Empire is the relocated and renamed “Sci Fi Genre”, now at 3400 Westgate Dr Suite 14B in Durham.

NEW-NEW: 19 (Saturday) 7 pm — Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books hosts Hal Johnson (see above for book info) for a reading and signing. More info: http://www.flyleafbooks.com/event/hal-johnson-reads-his-new-young-adult-novel-immortal-lycanthropes

NEW-NEW: 19 (Saturday) 4 pm and 8 pm — The Durham Performing Arts Center hosts a staging of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, presented by Fellowship for the Performing Arts.

NEW: 26 (Saturday) 7-10 pm — Legs McNeil, author of “Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk”, is going to be speaking at RebusWorks. More info via a Facebook flyer.

FEBRUARY 2013

2 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts NY Times bestselling urban fantasy author and NC native Kim Harrison for Ever After, the latest in her Hollows series.

16 (Saturday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Cory Doctorow for Homeland, sequel to Little Brother. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/530598563635194/

20 (Wednesday) 7:30 pm – Quail Ridge Books again hosts best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, this time for the conclusion of The Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light. In addition, special guest Harriet McDougal will be joining Sanderson for the event. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/393451974063637/

22-24 (Friday-Sunday) — Durham’s Carolina Theatre hosts the Nevermore Film Festival. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/440070299375523/

22-24 (Friday-Sunday) — MystiCon in Roanoke, Virginia, with Orson Scott Card, Larry Elmore, Rich Sigfit, and more. More info: http://mysticon-va.com/

APRIL 2013

5-21 — NC Science Festival with events statewide. More info: http://www.ncsciencefestival.org/

19-21 (Fri-Sun) — DeepSouthCon at JordanCon in Roswell, Georgia with guests Seanan McGuire, Eugie Foster, and Michael Whelan, along with the Phoenix and Rebel Awards.

JUNE 2013

May 31 – June 2 (Friday to Sunday) — ConCarolinas in Charlotte, with writer guest of honor Timothy Zahn. More info: http://www.concarolinas.org/

27-30 (Thursday to Sunday) — ConTemporal 2013 at the North Raleigh Hilton, beginning with the Thursday evening guest of honor dinner and continuing all weekend, as this Steampunk-themed convention is back for a second year. More info: http://contemporal.org/

AUGUST 2013

TBD: We’re working out details for a fantastic summer event — stay tuned!

NOVEMBER 2013

NEW: 9-10 (Saturday and Sunday) — NC Comicon will be returning to the Durham Convention Center. “Twice the space, four times the fun. It’s exponential.”

December newsletter: Cherie Priest on Nov. 30; Holiday Party, “Winter Tales”, “Geek Mom” in December; new 2013 events; and more

Vol 2. No 9. November 29, 2012:

I’m sending this juuust a bit early this month, mainly to remind people of two things:

• Cherie Priest visits Flyleaf Books on Friday (tomorrow!), November 30 at 7 pm for her next Clockwork Century novel, The Inexplicables. More info: http://www.flyleafbooks.com/event/cherie-priest-reads-her-new-steampunk-adventure-inexplicables [Facebook event]
• The Teen Writing Contest deadline is December 1. Finally, submissions have been coming in this past week, but there’s still time to polish up and submit your story! More info: http://bullspec.com/2012/08/31/announcement-second-bull-spec-teen-writing-contest-judged-by-sharyn-november/

Also don’t forget that the 3rd annual Bull Spec / RTSFS (Research Triangle Science Fiction Society) holiday party is coming up very soon, on Sunday December 9. More info below.

In local publishing news, the biggest news in November came in two forms. First, the announcement that publisher Angry Robot will publish two postapocalyptic novels by local author Jay Posey, and second that Wake Forest, NC-based publisher Baen published (just now!) The Collected Kessel in ebook, with all-new story notes. Check out both!

While this weekend and all December are packed with events, January stands alone (other than a veritable pile of new local and regional author books) with illogiCon. But February is also starting to fill up, with events bringing Kim Harrison, Cory Doctorow, and Brandon Sanderson (with Harriet McDougal!) to town, along with the Nevermore Film Festival.

One last thing which isn’t in the full events calendar below (and there’s a handy handout flyer at the very bottom!) is a very unique ongoing “thing”. Paperhand Puppet Intervention has teamed up with UNC-Chapel Hill’s Morehead Planetarium for “The Longest Night”, a new production combining Paperhand’s puppets and the night sky-tilting possibilities of the Planetarium, with shows through Feb. 24. More info: http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/paperhand-puppet-intervention-teams-up-with-morehead-planetarium/Content?oid=3201266

In Bull Spec news, all the fiction is edited, illustration and layout is started, and finally issue #8 really, really is coming soon. Really. This time, I mean it. Meanwhile, the website gained two new features, in addition to the ongoing The Hardest Part guest author column and Andrew Neal’s Negative Zone: a very, er, irregular (and irregularly scheduled) column by one Harry Tortilla, and a new ongoing weekly column The Exploding Spaceship by Gerald and Angela Blackwell. I hope you’re enjoying the new web content, and I’ll see you out and about.

-Sam

NOVEMBER 2012

NEW: 29 (Thursday) 7 pm — A special screening of two episodes from the newly remastered season 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation at select theaters, including Brier Creek, Crossroads, and North Hills. More info: http://www.fathomevents.com/#!star-trek-the-next-generation

30 (Friday) 7 pm — Cherie Priest returns to the Triangle, as Flyleaf Books hosts a reading and signing from her forthcoming Clockwork Century novel, The Inexplicables. More info: http://www.flyleafbooks.com/event/cherie-priest-reads-her-new-steampunk-adventure-inexplicables [Facebook event]

30 (Friday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Allie Condie for Reached, the conclusion of the #1 NYT bestselling “Matched” trilogy, a YA dystopia. More info: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/allie-condie-matched-trilogy-conclusion

DECEMBER 2012

NEW: 1 (Saturday) 1 to 3 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts a comics roundtable/presentation/discussion with five North Carolina Comics Artists, featuring Ben Towle, Amy Godfrey, Jamie Hibdon, Flynn Smith, and Rio Aubry Taylor. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/254008071392882/

NEW: 1 (Saturday) 5 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts a My Little Pony comic book release party. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/111808732312572/

NEW: 5 (Wednesday) 6:30 pm — Fullsteam Brewery hosts a screening of the locally-produced short horror film, Foodie. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/527784877241249/

NEW: 9 (Sunday) 2 to 10 pm — The 3rd annual Bull Spec / RTSFS Holiday Party in Durham. (If you can’t see the Facebook event, join the RTSFS mailing list, or Facebook group, or friend Sam on Facebook, or just email me.) For more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/136913919789125/

NEW: 13 (Thursday) 6 pm — The Orange County Main Library hosts five local authors (Alex Granados, Rebecca Gomez Farrell, Mur Lafferty, James Maxey, and Gray Rinehart) for original “winter tales”. More info: http://engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=6923&EventID=150465

NEW: 15 (Saturday) 4 to 7 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts a Geek Mom book event, with local contributor Natania Barron among other guests.

NEW: 18 (Tuesday) 7 pm — The Internationalist Books and Community Center hosts a multi-author event with fiction (Carl Brandon Award nominated Elwin Cotman), comics (Ben Passmore), and poetry (Luca Miro). More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/390722774338333/

NEW-NEW: 20-22 (Thursday to Saturday) 8 pm — with an additional Saturday matinee at 2 pm — SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON presented by hiSTORYstage at the Burning Coal Theatre at the Murphey School in Raleigh. “Our new version of the traditional English Christmas play, “Saint George and the Dragon” is a composite version drawn from surviving manuscripts and woven together from bits of old text, folk legends, and medieval Christmas plays.” More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/548385111843049/permalink/566462630035297/ and tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/266532

NEW: 31 (Monday) 9 pm til late — Davenport and Winkleperry host The Clockwork Ball to ring in the New Year, Steampunk style. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/286024288183189/

JANUARY 2013

11-13 (Friday to Sunday) — illogiCon 2 will be held at the Embassy Suites of Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle on January 11-13, 2013, with writer guest of honor Tim Powers and webcomic guest of honor Garth Graham, and toastmaster Mark L. Van Name: http://www.illogicon.com/

FEBRUARY 2013

NEW: 2 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts NY Times bestselling urban fantasy author and NC native Kim Harrison for Ever After, the latest in her Hollows series.

NEW: 16 (Saturday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Cory Doctorow for Homeland, sequel to Little Brother. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/530598563635194/

NEW: 20 (Wednesday) 7:30 pm – Quail Ridge Books again hosts best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, this time for the conclusion of The Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light. In addition, special guest Harriet McDougal will be joining Sanderson for the event. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/393451974063637/

NEW: 22-24 (Friday-Sunday) — Durham’s Carolina Theatre hosts the Nevermore Film Festival. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/440070299375523/

JUNE 2013

27-30 (Thursday to Sunday) — ConTemporal 2013 at the North Raleigh Hilton, beginning with the Thursday evening guest of honor dinner and continuing all weekend, as this Steampunk-themed convention is back for a second year. More info: http://contemporal.org/

NOVEMBER 2013

NEW-NEW: 9-10 (Saturday and Sunday) — NC Comicon will be returning to the Durham Convention Center. “Twice the space, four times the fun. It’s exponential.”

EVENT HANDOUT FLYER:

PDF (grayscale): handout-2012-11-29-bw

PDF (color): handout-2012-11-29-color

END

September newsletter: Scott Sigler, Andy Duncan, Neil Gaiman, and Teen Writing Contest details

Vol 2. No 6. September 3, 2012:

Welcome to September, which is so packed with speculative fiction events that I’m thinking of calling it “Spec-tember”. Any objections? Before I get too far here, there are two big-name ticketed events coming up that, like the charity screening of Serenity did earlier this summer, might sell out:

• Neil Gaiman at The Varsity Theater in Chapel Hill, as part of the Unchained Tour on Thursday September 20; tickets are $20 online and at Flyleaf Books, with two events in South Carolina and an event in Boone already sold out. More info: http://theunchainedtour.org/events-calendar/
• Junot Diaz at Motorco Music Hall in Durham on … well, darn it, when it rains it pours. Diaz is coming Thusday September 20 as well; tickets are $5 at The Regulator Bookshop or online, with the tickets also good towards purchasing a Diaz book or as store credit. More info: http://motorcomusic.com/showroom-regulator-presents-junot-diaz

… and speaking of not missing out, there’s an event TOMORROW (Tuesday), as best-selling horror and science fiction author Scott Sigler visits Chapel Hill Comics for a reading and signing at 7 pm. That’s just the start of many more free and open to the public events this month and next, including Andy Duncan, Clay and Susan Griffith, Brent Weeks, Steven Erikson, Michael Chabon, Kij Johnson, and more. Yeah, wow! Not to mention The Escapist Expo in September, NC Comicon in November, …

Second, I’m very pleased indeed to announce the second Bull Spec Teen Writers Contest, judged by Sharyn November, Viking Children’s Books Senior Editor and Editorial Director of Firebird. The contest is open to 12-17 year olds in North and South Carolina, and submissions are accepted until December 1. More info and a PDF information sheet: http://bullspec.com/2012/08/31/announcement-second-bull-spec-teen-writing-contest-judged-by-sharyn-november/

Third, a huge congratulations to local writer and illustrator Ursula Vernon, who just won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story for her webcomic Digger – check it out for yourself at: http://ursulavernon.com/node/14 — and (sadly) ex-local writer Kij Johnson, who just won the Hugo Award for Best Novella for her story “The Man Who Bridged the Mist”, along with all of the other just-announced Hugo Award winners, and all of the nominees as well including Bull Spec contributors Mur Lafferty, Daniel M. Kimmel, and soon-to-be-contributor Ken Liu, who won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story.

With all that going on, I’m not going to do much of an August events wrapup this time, other than thanking everyone who came out to Flyleaf Books on August 5 — particularly authors T.C. McCarthy and Michael J. Sullivan! — for making it such a nice weekend of speculative fiction. And an absolutely gigantic thanks to Calvin Powers for filming and posting a video of the readings: http://www.stuckintraffic.com/2012/08/bull-spec-summer-literary-festival-2cd.html

Lastly, there is a handy PDF flyer for those who prefer spreading the word on these events the old-fashioned way rather than forwarding emails or links: http://bullspec.com/2012/08/29/september-handout-flyer-v1/

-Sam

SEPTEMBER 2012

21 (Friday) at 7 pm — Brent Weeks at Flyleaf Books on Friday, September 21 for the second book in his Lightbringer series, The Blinding Knife.

24 (Monday) at 7 pm — Steven Erikson at Flyleaf Books on Monday, September 24 for the first book in his new prequel trilogy in his Malazan storyline, Forge of Darkness.

NEW-NEW: 25 (Tuesday) at 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Forbes technology reporter Andy Greenberg for his new non-fiction novel This Machine Kills Secrets: How WikiLeakers, Cypherpunks, and Hacktivists Aim to Free the World’s Information. More info: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/andy-greenberg-machine-kills-secrets

NEW: 26 (Wednesday) at 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Forbes technology reporter Andy Greenberg for his new non-fiction novel THIS MACHINE KILLS SECRETS: How WikiLeakers, Cypherpunks, and Hacktivists Aim to Free the World’s Information.

NEW: 29 (Saturday) — Durham’s Sci-Fi Genre Comics and Games is moving to a new location (and a new name?) on Westgate Drive, and has scheduled its grand opening for Saturday, September 29th. More info: http://scifigenre.com/moving.html

OCTOBER 2012

1 (Monday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Michael Chabon (the author of The Yiddish Policeman’s Union and The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay) for a reading and signing event of his forthcoming non-genre novel, Telegraph Hill. More info: http://quailridgebooks.com/event/michael-chabon-telegraph-hill

9 (Tuesday) 7:30 pm — Kij Johnson returns to the Triangle for a reading and signing of her forthcoming collection from Small Beer Press, At the Mouth of the River of Bees: Stories, at Quail Ridge Books. More info: http://quailridgebooks.com/event/kij-johnson-nebula-winner-new-stories

22 (Monday) 7 pm — Jasper Fforde at Quail Ridge Books on Monday, October 22 for his young adult fantasy novel The Last Dragonslayer. More info: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/jasper-fforde-last-dragonslayer

NEW: October 29 (Monday) 7 pm — Clay and Susan Griffith at Flyleaf Books on Monday, October 29 for a reading and signing of The Kingmakers (see above for more info on the book and another reading at Quail Ridge Books).

31 — Local author new novel: Alex Granados’s Cemetery Plot to be published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing. Taglined “The apocalypse isn’t all it’s cracked up to be”.

NOVEMBER 2012

4 (Sunday) 2 pm — Alex Granados reading and signing Cemetery Plot at McInty’re Books in Fearrington Village in Pittsboro. (See above for book info.)

9 (Friday) — Granados at The Storetellers Bookstore in Wake Forest, during the town’s Art after Hours event.

12 — Local author new novel: J.L. Hilton’s Stellarnet Prince, sequel to January’s Stellarnet Rebel, to be published by Carina Press.

13 (Tuesday) 7:30 pm — Granados at Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books.

15 (Thursday) 7 pm — Granados at Durham’s The Regulator Bookshop.

17-18 (Saturday and Sunday) — NC Comicon at the Durham Convention Center with a long list of guests: http://nccomicon.com/

JANUARY 2013

11-13 (Friday to Sunday) — illogiCon 2 will be held at the Embassy Suites of Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle on January 11-13, 2013, with writer guest of honor Tim Powers and webcomic guest of honor Garth Graham, and toastmaster Mark L. Van Name: http://www.illogicon.com/

NEW-NEW: 13 (Sunday) 3 pm –Quail Ridge Books again hosts best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, this time for the conclusion of The Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light. More info: http://bullspec.com/2012/09/06/breaking-event-news-quail-ridge-books-to-host-brandon-sanderson-for-a-memory-of-light/

JUNE 2013

27-30 (Thursday to Sunday) — ConTemporal 2013 at the North Raleigh Hilton, beginning with the Thursday evening guest of honor dinner and continuing as this Steampunk-themed convention is back for a second year. More info: http://contemporal.org/

END

July and August newsletter — including events tonight (Friday) and Sunday

Vol 2. No 5. 3 August 2012:

Sorry for the radio silence last month; it’s been a bit busy around here since the calendar rolled into June. First, the imminently upcoming highlights, with more info links down in the calendar section:

• Tonight (Friday, August 3) the North Carolina Museum of Natural History hosts a screening of three short films based on the work of the late Ray Bradbury. The event starts at 5 om, with the films to start at 7 pm.
• For readers nearer the western half of North Carolina — Saturday (August 4) Asheville’s Malaprop’s Bookstore hosts Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, Naomi Novik, Tobias S. Buckell, Karin Lowachee, Nathan Ballingrud, Will Hindmarch, and Jeremy L.C. Jones for a joint reading at 7 pm.
• Sunday (August 5) from 2 to 4 pm, Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books hosts South Carolina science fiction author T.C. McCarthy and Virginia fantasy author Michael J. Sullivan for a joint reading and signing. Yeah! We’ve been waiting all summer for this and it’s finally here! If you missed McCarthy on WUNC’s The State of Things today, check back later tonight for the re-broadcast, or download the podcast.

Second, there’s a long list of NEW events interleaved below, but here are a few (OK, more than a few) in quick highlight mode:

• Anna North (post-apocalyptic novel America Pacifica) and Kristen-Paige Madonia at The Regulator Bookshop on Monday, August 13 at 7 pm.
• Local authors Clay and Susan Griffith at Quail Ridge Books on Thursday September 13 for the conclusion of their Vampire Empire trilogy, The Kingmakers at 7:30 pm.
• Andy Duncan at North Carolina State University on Wednesday, September 12 for a reading event at 7:30 pm. UPDATE: I had erroneously listed this as Sep 19.
• Brent Weeks at Flyleaf Books on Friday, September 21 for the second book in his Lightbringer series, The Blinding Knife at 7 pm.
• Steven Erikson at Flyleaf Books on Monday, September 24 for the first book in his new prequel trilogy in his Malazan storyline, Forge of Darkness at 7 pm.
• Jasper Fforde at Quail Ridge Books on Monday, October 22 for his young adult fantasy novel The Last Dragonslayer at 7 pm.
• Local writer Alex Granados has a new book Cemetery Plot coming out in late October, with events and appearances scheduled throughout the Triangle in early November.
• I must have missed the announcement, but Mark Van Name will be the Toastmaster at illogiCon in January 2013.
• ConTemporal 2013 has been announced for June 27, 2013 at 5:00pm until June 30, 2013 at 3:00pm at the North Raleigh Hilton.

Whew.  Meanwhile, I’ve posted the tentative table of contents for Bull Spec #8 which is in production and headed for a release this late summer (or, yeah, early fall), and hope you all enjoyed some of the great events the last couple of months (Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid reading at Flyleaf; MakerFaire; Free RPG Day; ConTemporal — my photos are slowly going up; the five, no, SIX author science fiction panel at the Barnes & Noble of Cary; the Star Trek: The Next Generation screenings; the as-always excellent Can’t Stop the Serenity event; and more besides). And! We’re putting the finishing touches on both the second teen writing contest and the start of some new columns on the website. It’s a busy and exciting time, eh?

-Sam

AUGUST 2012