Friday Quick Updates: F. Hampton Carmine's Kindle Scout campaign; the Monster Mash 24-hour Flash Fiction Contest; the Bookmarks Festival in Winston-Salem; a news, interviews, and reviews roundup; upcoming events; and more
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Friday Quick Updates: F. Hampton Carmine's Kindle Scout campaign; the Monster Mash 24-hour Flash Fiction Contest; the Bookmarks Festival in Winston-Salem; a news, interviews, and reviews roundup; upcoming events; and more
Posted on 2015-09-11 at 18:52 by montsamu
Friday, September 11, 2015: As of this writing, there are 23 days left (October 5) to nominate F. Hampton Carmine’s Kindle Scout submission of Destiny’s Handmaiden for publication: “Their birth began a time of endings and beginnings in Destiny’s prophesy for The Dragon Isles. Many would become her tools, all would be transformed, but none more than Aislin. She suckled at the same breast, crawled and walked in the same nursery, studied with the same tutors, and felt like a twin. Languages, academics, courtly manners and intrigues were learned together, but Caitrin was the Princess and Aislin was her handmaiden until Liadan reappeared in her life, exposing their true destiny.” While quite a few of us certainly have “it’s complicated” feelings about Amazon as a bookseller, this would be a huge thing for Hampton, as he’d get an advance, an editor, and marketing help that would be a big boost to his career. So! Please, go click and vote!
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F. Hampton Carmine[/caption]
Meanwhile, the Charlotte Geeks are hosting their first ever 24-Hour Flash Fiction (1000 words or less) storywriting contest, starting this morning, so… get typing: “We will post the topic on Friday morning and then once posted give all participants 24 hours to write and submit their entry. The winning entry will be read aloud on our podcast Guardians of the Geekery and posted our website (www.charlottegeeks.com). The winner will also receive one free ticket to this year’s Geek Gala on Saturday, October 24th.” The deadline is set at 9:15 AM on Saturday, September 12. Good luck!
Events-wise, this weekend sees The Bookmarks NC 2015 Festival of Books and Authors in downtown Winston-Salem with various “eat and greet” events tonight (Friday) and a full day of free festival programming tomorrow (Saturday, September 12) with authors Robert Beatty, Pat Conroy, Ron Rash, Fred Chappell, Marc Brown, R.L. Stine, Garth Stein, Mercedes Lackey, and more.
And now for some truly quick updates, nearly unsorted link style:
- Speaking of deadlines, the Long List Anthology is funding through Monday, October 5, and is only a hair short of its $1250 goal of publishing an anthology of the works on this year's Hugo Award longlists in short fiction; this year that includes "Toad Words" by Pittsboro author Ursula Vernon.
- Charlotte author John Hartness was nominated as Best Writer in the Carolina Arts and Theatre Awards; voting is ongoing through Sunday at 7 pm
- Hartness' fellow Charlotte author A.J. Hartley has a fantastic interview in Dragon Con's Daily Dragon on books, audiobooks, and collaboration
- Glenn McDonald reviews M. Night Shyamalan's forthcoming film The Visit for Indy Week, and the Max Max Fury Road "not quite a tie-in" video game for the News & Observer
- Speaking of reviews, while THE SHIPMENT continues its run at Common Ground Theatre; the first of Little Green Pig's "Black Ops" plays has opened to quite polarized responses, ranging from a critic walking out of the first half of the performance (and comparing the work to "elephant dung") to Byron Woods' more balanced review for Indy Week
- NC State's student newspaper Technician features new (to me, at least!) NC author Meredith Hemphill, writing as Meri Elena, and her debut novel Nightfall. However, her self-published 2014 novel isn't currently available, as "This book is currently out of service, because I just signed on with Prospective Press to republish it! Please hold your horses until new copies are available!" Checking out the Prospective Press website leads me to find out both that it's based in Winston-Salem and that it publishes yet another new (to me) NC author, Jason T. Graves.
- Speaking of NC publishing, Raleigh-based Month9Books (with whom I was already at least a little familiar as the publisher of Jen McConnel's "Red Magic" series) is in the sf/f news this week as the publisher of Cindy Pon's Serpentine, the subject of a quite fascinating Big Idea piece on John Scalzi's Whatever blog
- John Kessel has his first new short story out in a little while as "Consolation" appears in the Bruce Sterling-edited Twelve Tomorrows anthology from MIT Technology Review, their annual SF issue; anyone with a copy out there in the wild?
- Piedmont Laureate James Maxey has a month-long Free Book Spotlight going on his novel Burn Baby Burn; he explains the book's straight-to-self-publishing road to publication and links to the various places where it's available.
- Want to meet (and eat with!) two dozen authors? On Sunday, September 20, there's the Triangle Reads moveable feast and afternoon of panels and signings to close the SIBA trade show at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown, with more than 20 authors including Robert Beatty (Serafina and the Black Cloak), Holly Sullivan McClure (Conjuror), and Marly Youmans (Maze of Blood). Tickets are $99 which includes two lunches and two $15 vouchers for books. Seating is limited to 100 people, so register now! Followed by a cocktail hour with the authors at 5:30 pm. Ticket sales continue through September 19, though if they sell out, they're sold out.
- Lastly, while the first of local author Mur Lafferty's installments of the new Serial Box series Bookburners are not out yet, Max Gladstone's "pilot" episode Badge, Book, and Candle is, with Brian Slattery's Anywhere But Here due out on Tuesday. Slattery and Lafferty appeared on the Nerdstravaganza podcast to talk about Serial Box and Bookburners this week.
-Sam
UPCOMING EVENTS, SEPTEMBER 2015
10-12 (Thursday to Saturday) — The Bookmarks NC 2015 Festival of Books and Authors in downtown Winston-Salem with author David Baldacci (keynote, September 10), various “eat and greet” events on September 11, and a full day of free festival programming on Saturday (September 12) with authors Robert Beatty, Pat Conroy, Ron Rash, Fred Chappell, Marc Brown, R.L. Stine, Garth Stein, Mercedes Lackey, and more.
11-13 (Friday to Sunday) — Paperhand Puppet Intervention presents this season’s series of performances at the North Carolina Museum of Art.
12 (Saturday) 8 pm — The ArtsCenter hosts “Danger!”, the season opener of The Monti storytelling calendar. Ticketed event.
14 (Monday) 5:30 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Matthew Neill Null discusses his debut novel Honey from the Lion; Introduction by Allan Gurganus. (Fiction.)
14 (Monday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts Amy Stewart, “Girl Waits With Gun”. (Fiction.)
15 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Danny Dragonbreath author Ursula Vernon for her new young reader book Hamster Princess. (Kids.)
16 (Wednesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Brad Melzter for his new children’s book I Am Helen Keller in his Ordinary People Change the World series (I am Abraham Lincoln, I Am Amelia Airhart, I Am Albert Einstein, I Am Jackie Robinson, I Am Lucille Ball, and I Am Rosa Parks). (Kids.)
17 (Thursday) 4 pm — Duke University Libraries hosts the SFWA Southeast Reading Series for “Storytelling and Migration” with authors Gail Z. Martin, Alyssa Wong, Ursula Vernon, Delilah S. Dawson, and Monica Byrne, cosponsored by the Franklin Humanities Institute’s Story Lab at the FHI Garage at Duke’s Smith Warehouse. Refreshments at 4 pm, with the program to start at 4:30 pm.
18-19 (Friday and Saturday) 7:30 pm — The Red Hat Amphitheater hosts The Lord of the Rings in Concert — “Peter Jackson’s award-winning epic will be projected digitally on an immense high definition screen while the combined forces of the North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Master Chorale, and The Raleigh Boychoir bring the music of Middle-earth to life.”
18-19 (Friday and Saturday) — The Carolina Theatre of Durham hosts two screenings of David Lynch’s Dune: The Extended Cut. “Here’s a rare screening of the extended TV cut of this sci-fi masterpiece. Visit an unbelievable world beyond time and space. This is the saga of intergalactic warrior Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan) and his messianic rise to leadership, featuring an all-star cast including Max Von Sydow, Linda Hunt and Sting.” Showtimes are Friday at 8:30 pm and Saturday at 12:45 pm.
18-20 (Friday to Sunday) — The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) trade show in Raleigh at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown with authors Julia Elliott, Jeff Strand, Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis, Renee Ahdieh, Robert Beatty, Katherine Harbour, A.G. Riddle, V.E. Schwab, and many more. More info: http://sibaweb.com/trade-show
19 (Saturday) 6 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Asheville author Robert Beatty for his bestselling Biltmore-set debut middle grade novel Serafina and the Black Cloak (Disney/Hyperion).
19-20 (Saturday and Sunday) — Durham’s CenterFest Arts Festival in Downtown Durham, with 140 visual artists, live music and dance, a Creative Kids Zone, and more.
19-20 (Saturday and Sunday) — Central North Carolina Pagan Pride Days Festival at the NC State Fairgrounds: “The Central NC Pagan Pride Days Festival attracts more than 3000 pagans, pagan friends and the pagan curious every year. Open to the general public, this autumn celebration offers two days of both entertainment and education through social, commercial and spiritual activities. All are welcome to join or observe rituals, attend workshops, meet local groups, and much more, all in a festival environment full of vendors, music, and fun.”
20 (Sunday) 12 to 5 pm — The Triangle Reads moveable feast and afternoon of panels and signings to close the SIBA trade show at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown, with more than 20 authors including Robert Beatty (Serafina and the Black Cloak), Holly Sullivan McClure (Conjuror), and Marly Youmans (Maze of Blood). Tickets are $99 which includes two lunches and two $15 vouchers for books. Seating is limited to 100 people, so register now! Followed by a cocktail hour with the authors at 5:30 pm.