Friday quick updates: Lucy Knisley, James Maxey, and IndieGogos, Kickstarters, and Shindigs, oh my!

Friday Quick Updates for May 17, 2013:

Two events tomorrow (Saturday), the first for writers, at 10 am, as 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 drafts”.

Also tomorrow (Saturday) Chapel Hill Comics hosts a signing with Lucy Knisley, from 1 to 3 pm: “We’ll have copies of Relish, as well as her previous memoir, French Milk, and copies of the Adventure Time comics for which she has provided stories! Here is our Facebook page for the event if you want to RSVP or invite your friends!“

If you missed Mary Robinette Kowal’s reading (and shadow puppet show!) at Quail Ridge Books last Friday, there’s a full video courtesy of the Geek Field Guide’s Warren Schultz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGrZbjm9t5A&feature=youtu.be

Speaking of the Geek Field Guide, there are 6 days left in their IndieGoGo campaign. They’ve got a long way to go to reach all of their goals, but will be going to Europe to take lots and lots and lots of very big pictures. More info, and some example photo sets including some real beauties of Duke Chapel: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/geek-field-guide

Speaking of fundraising, local writer Lauren ‘Scribe’ Harris has a story in a Kickstarter-funded anthology which recently kicked off: “A new steampunk anthology and RPG from The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences!” More info: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1034531507/the-ministry-initiative-steampunk-role-playing-and

There’s also two upcoming “online” events featuring local authors, both on Wednesday May 22. First, from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm, Mur Lafferty (The Shambling Guide to New York City) will be participating in a live chat on Shindig.com, and second, starting at 9 pm, Nathan Kotecki (The Suburban Strange) will be on Reddit for an AMA, in the /r/IAmA subreddit.

And speaking of Mur, two notes. One is that she’s posted the 3rd chapter of her free podcast of her forthcoming novel The Shambling Guide to New York City, and I’ve been hosting a Listen-a-Long of the episodes on The AudioBookaneers; check out the very, very nice starred review from Booklist, and subscribe to the podcast, and of course get your pre-orders ready! The second is that she’s just provided a very nice blurb for fellow Durham author Richard Dansky’s imminently forthcoming novel Vaporware: ”A meticulous image of the real games industry so detailed that you’ll just assume the supernatural must be part of it. So immersive it makes you want to go check on that video game your spouse is spending so much time with…”

Whew! That’s quite a bit for quick updates, so other than apologizing for the slow emergence of the PDF edition for Bull Spec #8, on to the full list of upcoming events, followed by an updated web and print handout flyer. Cheers, and I’ll see you out and about!

-Sam

MAY 2013

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”

NEW: 18 (Saturday) 1 to 3 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts Lucy Knisley for a signing of her graphic novel memoir, Relish. “We’ll have copies of Relish, as well as her previous memoir, French Milk, and copies of the Adventure Time comics for which she has provided stories.” More info: http://www.chapelhillcomics.com/content/?p=3006

21 (Tuesday) 7 pm — RTSFS book discussion group. Currently they are discussion this year’s Hugo Award nominees for best novel. Location: Barnes & Noble at The Streets at Southpoint shopping center, 8030 Renaissance Parkway Suite 855, Durham, NC 27713.

29 (Wednesday) — Quail Ridge Books hosts JOHN SCALZI – Hugo Winner With The Human Division at 7:30 pm.

NEW: 30 (Thursday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts Ian Baucom for Through the Skylight: “two tantalizing tales magically intertwine, crossing cultures and spanning centuries as three kids set out to save the lives of three others—who just happen to live in the Middle Ages!  A stone lion roars….A sleek black cat speaks….A faun leaps from the canvas of a painting….When Jared, Shireen, and Miranda are each given one glittering gift from an old Venetian shopkeeper, they never fathom the powers they are now able to unleash; they never expect that their very reality is about to be utterly upended. Danger, it seems, has a way of spanning centuries.”

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/

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. More info: http://www.chapelhillcomics.com/content/?p=3107

NEW: 2 (Sunday) 3:00 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts SUSANNA KEARSLEY, The Firebird. “With a simple touch, she can see an object’s past.  All who have wanted it.  All who have owned it.  All who have stolen it.“

[For more upcoming events, see the newsletter or the attached flyer.]

[grayscale PDF]

Friday Quick Updates: Some miscelleaneous news, and events TODAY with Kelly Sue DeConnick and Mary Robinette Kowal

Friday updates for May 10, 2013:

First, there’s two new Exploding Spaceship reviews that went up yesterday:

• The Exploding Spaceship Reviews Portal by Eric Flint and Ryk Spoor and House of Steel: The Honorverse Companion by David Weber
• The Exploding Spaceship Reviews Transgalactic and World Divided Book Two of the Secret World Chronicles

Second, some other tidbits:

• Gabriel Dunston has a new podcast, “Getting Paid: a periodic podcast for creative professionals who want their living to be made off of their own creations.”
• Mur Lafferty’s podcast of her forthcoming novel The Shambling Guide to New York City has just put out episode two.
• Issue #8 cover artist Cynthia Sheppard is involved with a Kickstarter for Shogun Rising: The Graphic Novel, and writes: “199 backers so far !!! Let’s see how far we can get past 200 today”. More info: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1662720221/shogun-rising-the-graphic-novel
• Richard Dansky recently posted a blurb for his forthcoming novel VAPORWARE, due out in two weeks: ‘So this is what Jeff Strand said about VAPORWARE: “Richard Dansky writes about passionate, complex, flawed, and completely believable people in this absorbing novel about the toll of caring so deeply about your art. Very highly recommended!’

Lastly, though in terms of time urgency it should have been first, the upcoming events, two of which are TODAY!

UPCOMING MAY EVENTS:

10 (Friday) 11 am to 2 pm — Ultimate Comics hosts Kelly Sue DeConnick for a signing, followed by a writing workshop at 6 pm. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/538576422848053/

10 (Friday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Hugo Award winner MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL for Without a Summer. “The magical book that might result if Jane Austen’s Emma were set against the Luddite uprising in the Year Without a Summer.”

11 (Saturday) 12 pm (registration starts at 10 am) — Atomic Empire hosts a regional Netrunner tournament. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/144665852367785/

16 (Thurday) 7:30 pm – Science and Speculative Fiction Book Group meeting at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. This month’s book is Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks. Flyer: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~skmckinn/BookGroup/SF.pdf

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”

18 (Saturday) 1 to 3 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts Lucy Knisley for a signing of her graphic novel memoir, Relish. “We’ll have copies of Relish, as well as her previous memoir, French Milk, and copies of the Adventure Time comics for which she has provided stories.” More info: http://www.chapelhillcomics.com/content/?p=3006

21 (Tuesday) 7 pm — RTSFS book discussion group. Currently they are discussion this year’s Hugo Award nominees for best novel. Location: Barnes & Noble at The Streets at Southpoint shopping center, 8030 Renaissance Parkway Suite 855, Durham, NC 27713.

29 (Wednesday) — Quail Ridge Books hosts JOHN SCALZI – Hugo Winner With The Human Division at 7:30 pm.

[For more upcoming events, see the newsletter or the attached flyer.]

[grayscale PDF]

Bull Spec “alumni” news

I’m always keeping tabs on the authors and poets and critics and artists I’ve been lucky enough to have published along the way so far, so here’s four bits of Bull Spec “Alumni” news:

1. C.S. Fuqua (“Rise Up”, Bull Spec #1) interviewed by Nerine Dorman on “This is my World”
2. Sofia Samatar (“The Year of Disasters”, Bull Spec #7) has a new book just out, A Stranger in Olondria (Small Beer Press); she recently wrote an essay about the Big Idea behind her novel
3. Author James Maxey (“Tornado of Sparks”, Bull Spec #4) and narrator Dave Thompson (“The Gearaffe Who Didn’t Tick”, Bull Spec #7) offer an excerpt of the audiobook for Bitterwood on Gail Z. Martin’s (interviewee, Bull Spec #5) Ghost in the Machine Podcast
4. Lavie Tidhar (“The Story of Listener and Yu-En”, Bull Spec #3) a new novella, Martian Sands, forthcoming from PS Publishing
5. Mur Lafferty’s (review, Bull Spec #6) forthcoming novel The Shambling Guide to New York City (Orbit) was just named to Publisher’s Press’ Best Summer Books of 2013
6. Athena Andreadis (“Spacetime Geodesics”, Bull Spec #6) — co-editor with Kay Holt of the forthcoming anthology The Other Half of the Sky (Candlemark & Gleam, April 23)

Whew! And there’s more going on than this, but that’s what I have for now.

Thursday Quick Updates: Symposiums, Comics Fest, New Events, and the Bull Spec #8 Launch Party!

I’m sneaking the “Friday Quick Updates” in a day early to get the word out about a fascinating-looking symposium at Duke University which starts today, “Community & Emergent Order in non-state spaces”, which features some interesting persons (Kim Stanley Robinson, David Friedman, Paul Cantor) and topics (“Vinge, Heinlein, the Sagas, and Me”, “The Future Is My State”). All talks are free and open to the public, for more info check the events listing below the pictures. This isn’t the only symposium, as NCSU is hosting another which starts tomorrow. There’s also events this weekend (Comics Fest at the Durham County Library, again see below) but of course I want to ask you to stop what you are doing and invite all your friends to the NC Speculative Fiction Night / Bull Spec #8 Launch Party event on Tuesday — just FIVE days away! OK, you’re back? On to the listings, which feature a few of the “NEW-NEW” recently announced events that I’ve added to the newsletter. I haven’t had a chance to update the handout flyer, or put together a good display flyer for the launch party, but, hey. That’s what the midnight hour is for, right?

APRIL 2013

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

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!

6 (Monday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Daniel Wallace, new novel The Kings and Queens of Roam Book Launch!

NEW-NEW: 6 (Monday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts RHONDA RILEY for The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope. “This first-time novelist’s exquisite language draws the reader into this improbable, beautifully rendered, somewhat biblical love story with a wildly imaginative premise that is irresistible, tender, and provocative.”

7 (Tuesday) — Quail Ridge Books hosts DANIEL WALLACE – With The Kings & Queens Of Roam at 7:30 pm.

NEW-NEW: 10 (Friday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Hugo Award winner MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL for Without a Summer. “The magical book that might result if Jane Austen’s Emma were set against the Luddite uprising in the Year Without a Summer.”

Announcement: The third annual Bull Spec summer speculative fiction event!

March 29, 2013, DURHAM, NC — Bull Spec is delighted to announce its third annual summer speculative fiction event, to be held Saturday August 3, 2013 at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC from 7 to 9 pm. The event series once again hosts a selection of Wofford College’s Shared Worlds Teen Writing Summer Camp visiting writers, headlined by Mythopoetic and William L. Crawford Award-winning author Karen Lord – who is traveling from Barbados — and including Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, Will Hindmarch, and Asheville’s Nathan Ballingrud, for an evening of readings, remarks, discussion, and a book signing. Additionally, joining the visiting authors will be Durham author Mur Lafferty. Ann and Jeff VanderMeer headlined the inaugural event in the series in 2011 with their anthology The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities and Jeff VanderMeer’s (along with S.J. Chambers) The Steampunk Bible, at Durham’s Fullsteam Brewery in partnership with The Regulator Bookshop, while this marks the first local readings for Lord, Hindmarch, and Ballingrud.

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS:

Karen Lord has been a physics teacher, a diplomat, a part-time soldier and an academic at various times and in various countries. She is now a writer and research consultant in Barbados. Her debut novel Redemption in Indigo won the 2008 Frank Collymore Literary Award, the 2010 Carl Brandon Parallax Award, the 2011 William L. Crawford Award, the 2011 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature, and the 2012 The Kitcshies Golden Tentacle Award for Best Debut Novel. It was also longlisted for the 2011 Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature and nominated for the 2011 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. Her latest novel The Best of All Possible Worlds won the 2009 Frank Collymore Literary Award, and was just published worldwide by Jo Fletcher Books.

Will Hindmarch is a Chicago-based freelance writer and designer with numerous professional credits as author, developer, and graphic designer on games, books, and magazines. He previously worked with Green Ronin Publishing as developer of the likes of the Dragon Age RPG. Will’s writing has appeared in The Escapist, Atlanta magazine, Geek Monthly, Everywhere and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. He was a judge for the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning competition in 2007, 2010, and 2011.

Nathan Ballingrud won the Shirley Jackson Award for “The Monsters of Heaven.” His stories have appeared in Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy, Lovecraft Unbound, Teeth: Vampire Tales, and Inferno: New Tales of Terror, among other places, and have been reprinted in Year’s Best anthologies several times. His first book, North American Lake Monsters: Stories, will have just been published by Small Beer Press prior to the event.

Ann VanderMeer currently serves as an acquiring short fiction editor for Tor.com, Cheeky Frawg Books, and Weirdfictionreview.com. She was the editor-in-chief for Weird Tales for five years, during which time she was nominated three times for the Hugo Award, winning one. Along with nominations for the Shirley Jackson Award, she also has won a World Fantasy Award and a British Fantasy Award for co-editing The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories. Other projects have included Best American Fantasy, two Steampunk anthologies, and a humor book, The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals. Her latest anthologies include Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution, The Time Traveler’s Almanac, and an as-yet anthology of feminist speculative fiction.

Jeff VanderMeer has been published in over twenty countries. He recently signed a three-book, six-figure deal with Farrar, Straus & Giroux. His novels have made the year’s best lists of the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the San Francisco Chronicle, and he is the recipient of both an NEA-funded Florida Individual Writers’ Fellowship and Travel Grant. VanderMeer is a three-time winner of the World Fantasy Award and has been a finalist for the Nebula, Hugo, Philip K. Dick, and Shirley Jackson Awards, among others. He also regularly reviews books for the New York Times Book Review, the Guardian, Los Angeles Times Book Review, and the Washington Post. He has lectured at MIT, the Library of Congress, and many other institutions. He has a forthcoming writing book: WonderBook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, and his Southern Reach trilogy, forthcoming from Farrar, Straus & Giroux in early 2014, has been optioned by Paramount Pictures.

Mur Lafferty is the author of Playing For Keeps, The Afterlife Series, and Marco and the Red Granny. She recently stepped down as the editor of Escape Pod magazine and is a pioneer podcaster behind the shows I Should Be Writing and the Angry Robot Books Podcast. Her novel The Shambling Guide to New York City will be published by Orbit in late May.

ABOUT THE EVENT SERIES:

• 2011: At Fullsteam Brewery in conjunction with The Regulator Bookshop, with Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, S.J. Chambers, Ekaterina Sedia, Scott Eagle, Mur Lafferty, Jeremy L.C. Jones, Nadine Wilson, and Dale Mettam, featuring The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, The Steampunk Bible, and Bull Spec #6.
• 2012: At Flyleaf Books, with T.C. McCarthy and Michael J. Sullivan, featuring Chimera, The Heir of Novron, and Bull Spec #7.

ABOUT SHARED WORLDS:

Shared Worlds is a two-week residential summer camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, based on a “shared world” theme. A shared world is a growing trend in fiction that centers around a complete, fictional world designed by a group. During Wofford’s Shared World program, students will design fantasy worlds with other young, creative writers and share those worlds through fiction, art, and game design.

ABOUT BULL SPEC:

Bull Spec was founded by publisher Samuel Montgomery-Blinn (Durham, NC) in 2009 to give a voice and vehicle to the area’s writers, artists, and critics of science fiction and fantasy. The eighth issue of the print magazine is forthcoming, to be launched on World Book Night, Tuesday, April 23 at Durham’s Atomic Empire at 7 pm.

[Facebook Event]

Friday Quick Updates: Ursula Vernon tonight! Then: ConTemporal at UNC-TV, Jeaniene Frost, and Richard Case

Before I get to the imminently forthcoming events, I have to take a quick moment to thank Jaym Gates again for putting the April 23 World Book Night / NC Speculative Fiction Night / Bull Spec Launch Party extravaganza together. It’s going to be a great lineup of game designers and writers, authors, translators, and a huge crew of Bull Spec #8 contributors, and I hope a whole lot of you (and your friends and random strangers!) help make it a great night. (And it will be good to see Jaym again after far too long as well!) OK, that’s done, so on to the upcoming events!

MARCH 2013

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

23 (Saturday) 6:15 pm to 11:30 pm — ConTemporal 2013 will be promoted live on UNC-TV as part of taking phone calls for a UNC-TV pledge drive. “We will be taking pledges live on TV from UNC TV viewers. Please come dressed to show off your best Steampunk costuming! Costuming is not required but strongly encouraged. Why: UNC TV will be promoting ConTemporal 2013 live on air as part of this event. We must have a minimum of 20 volunteers to qualify for promotion. Please invite your friends, family and anyone interested in Steampunk and ConTemporal.” Training for volunteers begins promptly at 6:30, at 10 T.W. Alexander Drive in Durham.More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/533874939997393/?ref=3

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

29 (Friday) 6-9 pm — Hillsborough’s Skylight Gallery hosts local artist Richard Case for an evening of art and music. From Case: “Some of my recent work with Jeff Mcfadyen… Hope to see some locals come out to Hillsborough to see some art, hear some music and hobnob in a general sort of way.” More info: http://www.skylightgallerync.com/jem/Welcome.html

29-31 (Friday to Sunday) — Durham’s Atomic Empire (formerly Sci-Fi Genre Comics and Games) hosts a 3-day Magic: Vintage tournament. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/251182025017359/

APRIL 2013

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

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

Announcement: World Book Night / NC Speculative Fiction Night / Bull Spec #8 Launch Party!

North Carolina Speculative Fiction Night

Presented by Bull Spec Magazine

Hosted by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn and Jaym Gates

Celebrating World Book Night, North Carolina Authors, and Bull Spec Magazine

Atomic Empire, 7pm, Tuesday, April 23, 2013

3400 Westgate Drive, Suite 14B

Durham, NC 27707

Special Guests

Rich Dansky, Steve Long, Justin Achilli, Matthew Ross

Bull Spec Magazine Contributors

Gwendolyn Clare, Rich Matrunick, Brenda Kalt, Peter Wood and Paul Celmer, Alice Holleman

 Join fellow writers, artists, critics, readers, and fans of science fiction and fantasy to celebrate World Book Night with a panel of local and regional creators. Guests will read, discuss, and sign their work, ranging from the Monster Hunters International game by Steve Long to a new short story collection, Snowbird Gothic, by Richard Dansky to a new English translation of best-selling French fantasy novel, Six Heirs: The Secret of Ji by Matthew Ross, to the launch of the latest issue of Bull Spec Magazine.

Atomic Empire, formerly Sci-Fi Genre Comics & Games, is Durham’s premiere home for board, trading card, roleplaying games, and miniatures, comics and graphic novels, and, as it happens, a great selection of draft and bottled beer. It also boasts a “local authors” book section and a huge area of tables for open gaming and tournaments.

Bull Spec was founded in 2009 to give a voice and vehicle to the area’s writers, artists, and critics of science fiction and fantasy.

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[Facebook Event] [Goodreads Event]

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COLOR PDF: launch-party-8

GRAYSCALE PDF: launch-party-8-bw

Friday quick updates: Big event announcements, The Court of Air, book groups, ConTemporal visits UNC-TV, and more

First, two major event announcements, in brief as we’re still working on the full write-ups for both. But, since beans are spilling left and right:

• Tuesday, April 23, 7 to 9 pm: Durham’s Atomic Empire (formerly Sci-Fi Genre Comics & Games) hosts a World Book Night / NC Speculative Fiction Night / Bull Spec #8 Launch Party! Confirmed participants include Richard Dansky, Steve Long, Justin Achilli, Jaym Gates, Matthew Ross, and Bull Spec #8 contributors Gwendolyn Clare, Rich Matrunick, Brenda Kalt, Alice Holleman, and Peter Wood and Paul Celmer.
• Saturday, August 3, 7 to 9 pm: Raleigh’s Quail Ridge Books hosts the third annual Bull Spec summer speculative fiction reading, welcoming a selection of Wofford College’s Shared Worlds visiting writers to the area including Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, Karen Lord, Will Hindmarch, and Asheville’s Nathan Ballingrud, for an evening of readings, remarks, discussion, and a book signing.

Yeah! Look for bigger/splashier posts about these events very, very soon. Meanwhile, speaking of very soon, this weekend’s and other upcoming events, including a call for volunteers to help promote ConTemporal during an on-air UNC-TV fundraiser:

March 15 (Friday) 6 pm — Wake Forest’s Story Teller Book Store hosts “A Gathering of Authors” including paranormal fantasy author Steve Stone. More info: http://www.storystorewf.com/index.php/Events.html

March 16 (Saturday) 9 pm — Historic downtown Pittsboro’s Davenport & Winkleperry hosts THE COURT OF AIR: A Steampunk Fairy Tale Ball: “Lovers of Fantasy and Faerie come and escape to a land far, far away… Featuring an early performance by THUNDER & SPICE.”

March 17 (Sunday) 5 to 8 pm — Triangle Barcraft hosts a viewing party for Major League Gaming’s Winter Championships, at Blinco’s Sports Restaurant and Bar in Raleigh. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/226967414114684/

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

March 19 (Tuesday) 7 pm to 9 pm — RTSFS book group at the Barnes & Noble at the Streets of Southpoint in Durham, discussing Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. More info for RTSFS Facebook Group members: https://www.facebook.com/events/233813673429260/

March 21 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — Interest meeting for a new monthly sf reading and discussion group, run by Kate Maddalena at Raleigh’s NC Museum of Science, to be held every third Thursday. PDF flier with more info: http://bit.ly/161TWtK

March 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

March 23 (Saturday) 6:15 pm to 11:30 pm — ConTemporal 2013 will be promoted live on UNC-TV as part of taking phone calls for a UNC-TV pledge drive. “We will be taking pledges live on TV from UNC TV viewers. Please come dressed to show off your best Steampunk costuming! Costuming is not required but strongly encouraged. Why: UNC TV will be promoting ConTemporal 2013 live on air as part of this event. We must have a minimum of 20 volunteers to qualify for promotion. Please invite your friends, family and anyone interested in Steampunk and ConTemporal.” Training for volunteers begins promptly at 6:30, at 10 T.W. Alexander Drive in Durham.More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/533874939997393/?ref=3

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

March 29-31 (Friday to Sunday) — Durham’s Atomic Empire (formerly Sci-Fi Genre Comics and Games) hosts a 3-day Magic: Vintage tournament. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/251182025017359/

Friday Quick Updates: Kotecki/McHugh at Quail Ridge, new James Maxey audiobook, a new monthly sf reading group, and ConTemporal visits UNC-TV

Well, another Friday has come around, and while there’s “only” one event on my calendar this weekend (Nathan Kotecki and PT McHugh at Quail Ridge Books on Saturday at 3 pm) there’s some other things to report as well:

• James Maxey is interviewed on Gail Z. Martin’s Ghost in the Machine Podcast
• Maxey’s first Dragon Age novel, Bitterwood, is now out in audiobook format
• There’s a new monthly sf reading and discussion group starting up, to be held every third Thursday of the month at Raleigh’s NC Museum of Science, led by Kate Maddalena. (More info below.)
• Also newly announced is a UNC-TV pledge drive volunteer opportunity, as part of a ConTemporal group to also promote this summer’s convention. (More info below.)

Onto the upcoming events!

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. 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/

March 15 (Friday) 6 pm — Wake Forest’s Story Teller Book Store hosts “A Gathering of Authors” including paranormal fantasy author Steve Stone. More info: http://www.storystorewf.com/index.php/Events.html

March 16 (Saturday) 9 pm — Historic downtown Pittsboro’s Davenport & Winkleperry hosts THE COURT OF AIR: A Steampunk Fairy Tale Ball: “Lovers of Fantasy and Faerie come and escape to a land far, far away… Featuring an early performance by THUNDER & SPICE.”

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

March 21 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — Interest meeting for a new monthly sf reading and discussion group, run by Kate Maddalena at Raleigh’s NC Museum of Science, to be held every third Thursday. PDF flier with more info: http://bit.ly/161TWtK

March 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

March 23 (Saturday) 6:15 pm to 11:30 pm — ConTemporal 2013 will be promoted live on UNC-TV as part of taking phone calls for a UNC-TV pledge drive. “We will be taking pledges live on TV from UNC TV viewers. Please come dressed to show off your best Steampunk costuming! Costuming is not required but strongly encouraged. Why: UNC TV will be promoting ConTemporal 2013 live on air as part of this event. We must have a minimum of 20 volunteers to qualify for promotion. Please invite your friends, family and anyone interested in Steampunk and ConTemporal.” Training for volunteers begins promptly at 6:30, at 10 T.W. Alexander Drive in Durham. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/533874939997393/?ref=3

Friday Quick Updates: Ariel Djanikian, David Drake, Unpublished Games, StellarCon, …

Even if you’re not heading over to StellarCon today (or Saturday, or Sunday) there’s enough to do in the Triangle this weekend to make a mini-con of it without straying too far from US-15/501. Meanwhile!

• Mur Lafferty’s superhero novel Playing For Keeps is in the “Bundle of Holding”, a pay-what-you-want, DRM-free bundle of fiction ebooks from a big list of RPG writers including Mur, Matt Forbeck, Chuck Wendig, and more. Check it out: http://murverse.com/playing-for-keeps-in-the-bundle-of-holding/
• Andy Magowan (“Freedom Acres”, Bull Spec #4) has a Kickstarter going for pre-orders and supporters for the first D-Town Brass albums of dirty funky dance jazz, with one album being “live” and the other sound engineered and all vinyl’d up. Check it out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/400845409/d-town-brass-1st-album

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/

2 (Saturday) 11 am — McIntyre’s Books hosts Ariel Djanikian discusses her dystopian love story, The Office of Mercy. Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/503033603093082/

2 (Saturday) 1 to 8 pm — Durham’s Atomic Empire (formerly Sci-Fi Genre) hosts a “Mini Unpublished Games Festival”, free and open to the public. “Games being presented at this event include Roman Conquest by Josh Young, Dorobo by Rocco Privetera, Havok & Hijinks by Adam Trzonkowski, Fog of War by David Perry, and Cows vs. Chickens by Matt Wolfe. This event boasts a pair of games from the same family Hunting Dice by Zachary Gurganus, and Duck Blind by his father Tom Gurganus!” More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/140356026130296/

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 book — 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). Per The Herald-Sun’s Cliff Bellamy: “Drake’s visit will be co-sponsored by Davenport & Winkleperry Café.  The reading will be at 2 p.m. at the café, with the book signing to occur across the street at Circle City Books & Music, 121 Hillsboro St., Pittsboro. For more information, call 919-548-5954″. Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/141226659379466/

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/

15 (Friday) 6 pm — Wake Forest’s Story Teller Book Store hosts “A Gathering of Authors” including paranormal fantasy author Steve Stone. More info: http://www.storystorewf.com/index.php/Events.html

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