February Newsletter: Lawrence M. Schoen, Nevermore Film Festival, Playthrough Gaming Convention, Manly Wade Wellman Award nominations, new books, news, and more

February Newsletter: Lawrence M. Schoen, Nevermore Film Festival, Playthrough Gaming Convention, Manly Wade Wellman Award nominations, new books, news, and more

Posted on 2016-02-05 at 20:56 by montsamu

Vol 6 No 2. Friday, February 5, 2016: North Carolina, Lawrence M. Schoen is in you! After reading Wednesday night at Charlotte’s Park Road Books, Schoen returned to the Triangle for readings last night (Flyleaf Books) and tonight Quail Ridge Books) from his moving and imaginative new science fiction novel Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard. As usual that’s the tip of the iceberg as to what’s going on this month, and there’s plenty, plenty of news and new books to pass along as well. First, though, the immediately upcoming February event highlights:

• February 4 (Thursday) and 5 (Friday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books (Thursday) and Quail Ridge Books (Friday) hosts Lawrence M. Schoen for his new science fiction novel Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard. “Join us on Friday, February 5, at 7 pm when science fiction editor and author Lawrence Schoen shares Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard. Imagine The Sixth Sense meets Dune meets Planet of the Apes. In a moving science fiction novel set far in the future, humanity is gone and forgotten. Dr. Schoen is also one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Klingon language!”
• February 12-14 (Friday to Sunday) -- The Carolina Theatre of Durham hosts the 17th annual Nevermore Film Festival, "a juried competition festival which programs brand-new genre films from around the world. More than 500 features and shorts have screened at the festival in its 16-year run. The festival seeks submissions for horror, science fiction, mystery, thriller, and action-adventure. It has gained an international reputation as one of the premiere genre festivals in the United States."
• February 13-14 (Saturday and Sunday) -- The Playthrough Gaming Convention at the Raleigh Convention Center, "a brand new two day gaming convention coming to Raleigh, North Carolina. It's a weekend long extravaganza showcasing the latest games and providing an opportunity for gamers to meet others who share their passion. Whether you are interested in video games, eSports, tabletop games, or play testing new creations, Playthrough has something for everyone!"

NEWS

• The 2015 Locus Recommended Reading List was released, and it is chock-full of North Carolina authors: Dale Bailey's collection The End of the End of Everything: Stories, Nathan Ballingrud's novella "The Visible Filth", Bailey's short story "Snow", John Kessel's "Consolation", Ursula Vernon's "Pocosin", and Alyssa Wong's "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers". Congratulations!
• Gray Rinehart was announced as the Master of Ceremonies at LibertyCon this July
• Local writer Alex Wilson, a.k.a. actor Lex Wilson, was in a recent episode of Homicide Hunter on Discovery ID (episode 519 - "Stuck in a Coffin")
• On Twitter, Charlotte author Gail Z. Martin unveiled the UK cover for her forthcoming Shadow and Flame, which concludes her Ascendant Kingdoms saga (Orbit, March 2016)
• Speaking of Martin, the successful Gaslight and Grimm: Steampunk Faerie Tales anthology Kickstarter campaign went well past its base goals and into "stretch goal" territory, adding an original story by Gail Z. Martin and Larry N. Martin based on "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" to the collection
• On the January 29 episode of the Baen Free Radio Hour podcast, Tony Daniel discusses his story "No Love in All of Dwingeloo" with host David Afsharirad, on the occasion of the story appearing in the new Hank Davis-edited anthology Worst Contact (Baen, January 2016)
• Know any teen writers with big imaginations? Spartanburg, South Carolina's Wofford College is now accepting applications for this summer's Shared Worlds teen writing workshop (July 17-30, 2016) with Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, Tobias S. Buckell, Nnedi Okorafor, Julia Elliott, Kelly Barnhill, Nathan Ballingrud, and Terra Elan McVoy
• Charlotte author A.J. Hartley is featured in a Rolling Stone article about his collaboration with musician Tom DeLonge on Sekret Machines, a transmedia project which includes their 700+ page hardcover novel, due out in April
• Speaking of transmedia projects, artist Tommy Lee Edwards is the artist behind the Lex-penned experimental storytelling project "STRATA" from Penguin Random House UK and Google's Editions at Play, coming Spring 2016
• There's a new short fiction publisher out of Efland, NC! Crimson Streets is publishing pulp-style weird, noir, and more, and if their first story "Story a Day" is any indication, horror and weird and pulp will certainly be their calling card
• Though he's sadly far removed from NC, John Bowker was a big supporter of Bull Spec during its print run. He's also got his own literary journal going, Orthogonal, which has just released Orthogonal: The War at Home, Volume 1
• Durham author Monica Byrne was announced as a part of the TED2016 speaking lineup along with such unknowns such as Al Gore, Linus Torvalds, John Legend, and Adam Savage
• Bill Ferris is part of the Writers Unboxed authors whose first book, Author in Progress, will be published this November by Writer's Digest

No longer content with publishing some of his own books, Charlotte author John G. Hartness has hung out his shingle as editor and publisher of Falstaff Books. Along with ebook, audiobook, and print editions of some of his own work, he’s announced two acquisitions I’m excited about. First, the Jaym Gates and Jason Batt-edited Strange California anthology which looks to “explore the complex mythologies of California” and is coming to a Kickstarter (and both solicited and open submissions) near you. Second, just announced today, is Jay Requard’s nine-part series of short stories starring “Manwe the Panther”. Huzzah!

And, finally, nominations for the 2016 Manly Wade Wellman Award are now open, drawing from the 115 eligible books published by North Carolina authors of science fiction and fantasy last year. It’s been a big undertaking to compile the list, and I look forward to the yearly discussions that it generates. (I’m looking at you, Frank Brown!) Finalists will be announced at ConCarolinas in early June, with the winner(s) announced at ConGregate in mid July.

NEW BOOKS AND AUDIOBOOKS

 

BULLSPEC.COM

• Paul Kincaid’s From the Other Side, December 2015: Adam Roberts, Anne Charnock, H.G. Wells and Stephen Baxter, and the year in British sf and Paul Kincaid’s From the Other Side, January 2016: Frances Hardinge, Tricia Sullivan, Michael Cobley, Gavin Smith, and Stephen Palmer
• The Exploding Spaceship Reviews Lustlocked by Matt Wallace, The Exploding Spaceship Reviews Patchwerk by David Tallerman, and The Exploding Spaceship Reviews The Drowning Eyes by Emily Foster
• The Hardest Part: Lawrence M. Schoen on Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard

-Sam

UPCOMING EVENTS, FEBRUARY 2016

4 (Thursday) and 5 (Friday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books (Thursday) and Quail Ridge Books (Friday) hosts Lawrence M. Schoen for his new science fiction novel Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard. “Join us on Friday, February 5, at 7 pm when science fiction editor and author Lawrence Schoen shares Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard. Imagine The Sixth Sense meets Dune meets Planet of the Apes. In a moving science fiction novel set far in the future, humanity is gone and forgotten. Dr. Schoen is also one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Klingon language!”

NEW: 4 (Thursday) 8 pm — Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage at DPAC which “brings five decades of Star Trek to concert halls for the first time in this galaxy or any other. This lavish production includes an impressive live symphony orchestra and international solo instruments. People of all ages and backgrounds will experience the franchise’s groundbreaking and wildly popular musical achievements while the most iconic Star Trek film and TV footage is simultaneously beamed in high definition to a 40-foot wide screen.”

6 (Saturday) 11 am — McIntyre’s Books hosts David Joy – Where All the Light Tends to Go. (Fiction.)

7 — Local author book release day for The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher (Red Wombat Tea Company, February 7). “When Gerta’s friend Kay is stolen away by the mysterious Snow Queen, it’s up to Gerta to find him.”

10 (Wednesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Gavriel Savit discusses his debut YA novel, Anna and the Swallow Man, “set in Poland during the Second World War, perfect for readers of The Book Thief.” (Teen historical fiction.) Savit will also appear atFlyleaf Books on Friday, February 12.

NEW: 12-14 (Friday to Sunday) — The Carolina Theatre of Durham hosts the 17th annual Nevermore Film Festival, “a juried competition festival which programs brand-new genre films from around the world. More than 500 features and shorts have screened at the festival in its 16-year run. The festival seeks submissions for horror, science fiction, mystery, thriller, and action-adventure. It has gained an international reputation as one of the premiere genre festivals in the United States.”

NEW: 13-14 (Saturday and Sunday) — The Playthrough Gaming Convention at the Raleigh Convention Center, “a brand new two day gaming convention coming to Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s a weekend long extravaganza showcasing the latest games and providing an opportunity for gamers to meet others who share their passion. Whether you are interested in video games, eSports, tabletop games, or play testing new creations, Playthrough has something for everyone!”

16 — Local author book release day for Wedding Bells, Magic Spells by Lisa Shearin (NLA Digital), the 8th Raine Benares novel.

NEW-NEW: 22 (Monday) 7 pm — Magic and Mayhem: 5 Young Adult Authors at the Cameron Village Regional Library in Raleigh. “Join Young Adult authors Leigh Statham (THE PERILOUS JOUNREY OF THE NOT-SO-INNOCUOUS GIRL), Jennifer Jenkins (NAMELESS), Julie Reece (THE ARTISANS), Vicki L. Weavil (CROWN OF ICE), and Jen McConnel (DAUGHTER OF CHAOS) for a night of Magic and Mayhem! There will be a Q&A panel followed by a book signing.”

22 — NC author book release day for Immortal Killers (Nathan K, Book 1) by Stuart Jaffe (Stuart Jaffe).

23 — NC author book release day for Invader Moon by Rob Shelsky (Permuted Press).

25 (Thursday) 7 pm — The Regulator hosts A Community Conversation on Climate Change with Jedediah Purdy and “After Nature”. (Non-fiction.)

27 — NC author book release day for Zapheads: Blood and Frost by Scott Nicholson and Joshua Simcox (Haunted Computer Books)

26-28 (Friday to Sunday) — MystiCon 2016 in Roanoke, Virginia, with guest of honor George R.R. Martin.

NEW: 27 (Saturday) 2 pm — The Orange County Public Library presents Thrifty Lit: An Homage to Library Book Sales, an Author Panel with authors James Maxey, Samantha Bryant, and Katy Munger.

29 (Monday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Katy Simpson Smith – ‘Free Men’. (Historical fiction.)

MARCH 2016

1 — NC author book release day for collection Thief of Shadows: Manwe the Panther, Volume 1 by Jay Requard (Falstaff Books).

2 (Wednesday) 7 pm — The Regulator hosts Paul Goldberg, “The Yid”, a “tragicomic masterpiece of historical fiction” set in the final weeks of Stalinist Russia: “As hilarious as it is moving, as intellectual as it is violent, with echoes of Inglourious Basterdsand Seven Samurai.”

NEW: 4-6 (Friday to Sunday) — Durham’s Atomic Empire hosts AtomiCon IV, “Three days of role-playing at Atomic Empire! This year we will have tables for Pathfinder, D&D 5th Edition, and MORE. The con will comprise seven total sessions beginning at 1:00 on Friday afternoon.”

NEW-NEW: 5 (Saturday) 11 am to 2 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts local comics writer Brockton McKinney for a signing of Gingerdead Man #1.

NEW-NEW: 5 (Saturday) 4 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts a meet the authors event with SHILPI SOMAYA GOWDA in conversation with SARAH CREECH. (Fiction.)

NEW-NEW: 7 (Monday) 10 pm to midnight — Game launch event for Red Storm Entertainment’s Tom Clancy’s The Division at the Streets at Southpoint Microsoft Store: “It’s time! We’ll be at the The Streets at Southpoint Microsoft Store Monday, 3/7 in Durham from 10pm-12am for the Tom Clancy’s The Divisionlaunch! Come hangout, play the game early, and be one of the first to get your copy of Tom Clancy’s The Division!“

8 — NC author book release day for Facsimile by Vicki L. Weavel (Month9Press).

8 — NC creator game release day for Knee Deep: Act 3 by Durham-based Prologue Games (writer Wes Platt, publisher Colin Dwan), a “swamp noir”.

8 — NC creator game release day for Tom Clancy’s The Division by Cary-based Red Storm Entertainment and Central Clancy Writer Richard Dansky.

11 — NC author release day for Scorned: A Marked Duology Novelette by Jennifer Snyder.

NEW-NEW: 13 (Sunday) 3 pm — Durham County Library, in partnership with the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science, will host the 2016 Steinfirst Lecture “Reading (and Writing) from the ‘Wrong Side of the Tracks’” by Matt de la Peña at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 13 at Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St.

15 — Local author book release day for Out of Abatton, Book 1: The Wooden Prince by John Claude Bemis (Disney Hyperion), a reimagined Pinocchio story of automa and alchemy.

NEW-NEW: 18 (Friday) 6 to 9 pm — Spectre Arts (1004 Morning Glory Ave, Durham) hosts the release party for the twelfth issue of local zine TABE with creator Rio Aubry Taylor. “From the very depths of Hell, Rio Aubry Taylor presents a zine release party for xir ongoing abstract comics series, TABE (now on it’s twelfth issue)! TABE #12 features silent meditations on the transformative qualities of mind: tortured, othered, calmed. These pages represent an ardent desire for freedom from the constraints of time and place. Created over the course of three years, the contents of the zine and it’s supplementary material represent an accidental method for focus and concentration: abstracted hatching and crosshatching. Want to do some lines? BONUS - Double Zine Release Party: Also featured will be the print version of the 2nd issue of Rio’s other zine project, JETTY! Be there to talk to the creator and hear the artist talk!”

NEW-NEW: 19 (Saturday) 8 to 10 pm — The Shed (807 E Main St #130, Durham) hosts the Wax Wroth Poetry Series, “An evening of words, images, and sound featuring Atlanta’s Scott Daughtridge and Stephanie Dowda, with Jessica Q. Stark, Amanda Dahill-Moore, Brian Howe, and Calapse.”

NEW: 21 (Monday) 7:30 pm — Guilford College’s Bryan Series of lectures welcomes: “George Takei, a noted actor and activist with a signature wit, shares the story of his family’s forced internment as Japanese Americans during WWII—a seemingly forgotten part of American history. George also talks about his rise to celebrity as a sci-fi icon, his remarkable journey as social media luminary, and his passionate fight for LGBTQ rights and marriage equality in America—empowering others to beat the odds and make a difference.”

21 — NC author book release day for Playing the Witch’s Game (Keepers of the Veil) by Zoe Forward (Entangled: Covet, March 21).

22 — NC author book release day for Shadow and Flame by Gail Z. Martin (Orbit), Book 4 in The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga.

NEW-NEW: 24 (Thursday) 6 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Tom Angleberger and John Claude Bemis for an “author double-header”. From John: “I’m teaming up with Tom Angleberger for a fun-filled evening sharing about our new books, performing feats of strength and daring-do, discussing everything from Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars to Da Vinci-robots and the mysteries behind our writing processes. You and your young book nerds won’t want to miss this singular evening! Tom is the best-selling author of the Origami Yoda series as well as the brand new illustrated novel Rocket and Groot: Stranded on Planet Strip Mall, the first in his Marvel trilogy based on Guardians of the Galaxy.” What John doesn’t mention is his own book, the just-published Steampunk Pinnochio retelling Out of Abaton.

25 (Friday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts (at Meredith College) Erik Larson – ‘Dead Wake’ (off-site ticketed event). (Narrative non-fiction.)

NEW-NEW: 26 (Saturday) 11 am — McIntyre’s Books hosts Erik Larson – Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania. (Narrative non-fiction.)

NEW-NEW: 26 (Saturday) 2 pm — McIntyre’s Books hosts Lindsay Starck – Noah’s Wife. “In the tradition of Daniel Wallace’s Big Fish and Eowyn Ivey’s The Snow Child, Noah’s Wife is a gorgeously written, brilliantly introspective, fable-like novel reimagining Noah’s Ark for our modern times.”

NEW: 26 (Saturday) 9 pm — Arcana hosts Captain Pyewacket’s Unauthorized Excursion II, a “time traveler’s dance party” with Emmett Davenport and Lady Attercop. “Appropriate dress admired but not required – show us your own personal spin on the 1800’s-1940’s or just come and enjoy the show!”

26 — Local author book release day for Calling Tower by Raleigh author Josh Leone (XYCOM Publishing), “A promising start to a serious-minded space-opera epic.” -Kirkus Reviews

29 — NC author book release day for The Second Death: Los Nefilim: Part Three by T. Frohock (Harper Voyager Impulse).

APRIL 2016

NEW-NEW: 2 (Saturday) 1 to 4 pm — Book launch party for Calling Tower by Josh Leone, at Buffalo Brothers Pizza and Wings at 3111 Capital Boulevard in Raleigh.

5 — Local author book release day for A Rebel’s Stone by P.T. McHugh (Glass House, April 5, 2016).

5 — Local author book release day for Nightstruck by Jenna Black (Tor Teen).

NEW: 8-10 (Friday to Sunday) — Festival of Legends returns, with a new location (Optimist Farm in Apex) and this year’s theme of “rebirth”. Jousting, mead, performances, and more. “The Festival of Legends is a celebration of the mythic arts and the magic of life itself. It is a playground for the imagination – for children as well as adults – and an escape from the mundane world. It is a journey to the romantic by-gone eras that never were, and an exploration of the fantastical realms that have always been. The natives are magicians and musicians, acrobats and comedians, artists and crafters, proud knights and fairytale creatures. Step into the Festival of Legends, and step into a place of wonder.”

NEW-NEW: 8-24 — The NC Science Festival at locations across North Carolina. Triangle events include biographer Quincy Whitney, applied toy mathematician Tadashi Todieka, NC BioNetwork’s Sci-Fi Movie Myth Buster on April 15, Sci-Fi Book Talk: Ernest Cline discusses Armada on April 19, and the Triangle SciTech Expo on April 23 in Raleigh.

NEW-NEW: 9 (Saturday) 3 pm — Book release celebration for John Claude Bemis after the publication of his latest novel Out of Abaton: The Wooden Prince from Disney Hyperion, at the Eno River Farmer’s Market in Downtown Hillsborough (144 E Margaret Ln). If you’ve been at his previous launch events, expect music and other shenanigans, this time with an Alchmical Steampunk Pinnochio twist.

NEW-NEW: 10 (Sunday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Jeff Zentner discusses his debut YA novel The Serpent King. (YA fiction.)

12 — NC author book release day for A Shadow All of Light by Fred Chappell (Tor Books).

NEW:NEW: 12 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts (at St. David’s School’s Performing Arts Center, 3400 White Oak Rd, Raleigh) Fred Chappell - ‘A Shadow All of Light’.  “It would take quite a while to list all the awards Fred Chappell has received, among them NC Poet Laureate from 1997 - 2002 and two-time World Fantasy Award winner.  We’re delighted to welcome back this poet and novelist on Tuesday, April 12, at 7 pm with his latest novel, A Shadow All of Light.  He has a deft touch for comedy and for capers, and his witty, elegant prose shows a poet’s deep love for words.  Shadow is a picaresque tale of Falco, an apprentice in the shadow trade in the lushly imagined Italianate city of Tardocco. Here, shadows are stolen, bought, and sold, and a person can surrender their shadow and don a different one for a special purpose.  Under his master’s tutelage, Falco grows from country bumpkin to a roguish shadow.”

NEW-NEW: 15 (Friday) 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm — The Durham Performing Arts Center hosts Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science. ““Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science,” the follow-up to the smash “Edible Inevitable” tour, will hit the road in 2016. Fans can expect all-new everything including songs, multimedia presentations, talk-show antics, and bigger and better potentially dangerous food demonstrations.”

16 (Saturday) — Oak City Comic Show at the Raleigh Convention Center with Howard Chakin (Star Wars and dozens more), Tommy Lee Edwards, Rico Renzi (Spider-Gwen, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl), and more.

17 (Sunday) — The Durham Armory hosts the GeekCraft Expo, which “will offer a convention-like space for crafters to display and sell a dazzling variety of pop-culture wares, with an emphasis on supporting local artisans and economies.”

NEW-NEW: 19 (Tuesday) 7 pm — As part of NC Science Festival, Flyleaf Books hosts Ready Player One author Ernest Cline for the paperback tour of his novel Armada. “Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure. But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don t get chosen to save the universe. And then he sees the flying saucer.”

NEW-NEW: 19 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Durham’s The Regulator Bookshop hosts Fred Chappell, “A Shadow All of Light” as legendary Greensboro poet and author Chappell returns to the Triangle with a fantasy novel from Tor Books.

19-21 (Tuesday to Thursday) — East Coast Game Conference at the Raleigh Convention Center, with a community day ($15, Tuesday), keynote speaker Warren Spector, multiple programming tracks, an expo hall, and more.

NEW-NEW: 21 (Thursday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Award-winning novelist Robert Morgan reads from his new novel, Chasing the North Star. (Historical fiction.)

NEW-NEW: 23 (Saturday) 2 pm — Fearrington Village’s McIntyre’s Books hosts World Fantasy Award winner Fred Chappell for his new fantasy novel A Shadow All of Light.

NEW-NEW: 27 (Wednesday) 6 pm — Flyleaf Books presents (at Cat’s Cradle) Felicia Day for her memoir You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost). “The instant New York Times bestseller from queen of the geeks Felicia Day, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is a “relentlessly funny and surprisingly inspirational” (Forbes.com) memoir about her unusual upbringing, her rise to internet stardom, and embracing her weirdness to find her place in the world. Showcasing Felicia’s engaging and often hilarious voice, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should celebrate what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now—  even for a digital misfit.”

NEW-NEW: 30 (Saturday) 8 pm — The Durham Performing Arts Center hosts Carolina Ballet Presents Macbeth, with a Sunday 2 pm performance as well.

TBD — NC author book release day for Sekret Machines by Charlotte author A.J. Hartley, co-authored with musician Tom DeLonge

MAY 2016

3 — NC author book release day for The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers), the sequel to her debut novel, The Wrath and the Dawn.

16 — Local author book release day for Divine Descendant by Jenna Black (Pocket Star) marking her return to her Nikki Glass / Immortal Huntress series.

24 — NC author book release day for The Hunt (The Cage, Book 2) by Megan Shepherd (Balzer+Bray, May 24).

27-29 (Friday to Sunday) — Animazement 2016 at the Raleigh Convention Center.

JUNE 2016

3-5 (Friday to Sunday) — ConCarolinas 2016 with author Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, artist Ursula Vernon, and special author guest Christie Golden.

7 — Local author book release day for Death’s Bright Day by David Drake (Baen), the latest in his RCN series.

14 — NC author book release day for Steeplejack by A.J. Hartley (Tor Teen) — “The book follows 17 year old Anglet Sutonga as she is drawn into a web of murder and intrigue surrounding the theft of a strange and priceless artifact. Anglet is the steeplejack of the title, one of the marginal street urchins who works the chimneys, towers and other high, dangerous places in the city of Bar-Selehm.”

14 — NC author book release for The Shadowed Path: A Jonmarc Vanhanian Collection by Gail Z. Martin.

JULY 2016

5 — Local author book release day for The Dragon Hammer by Tony Daniel (Baen), beginning a new young adult fantasy series, in which “the sixteen-year-old third son of a duke in an alternate Viking-like medieval America must face invasion by confederates of a colonial Roman empire based on vampiric blood slavery.”

15-17 (Friday to Sunday) — ConGregate 2016 in High Point with guests of honor Steven Barnes and A.J. Hartley.

NEW-NEW: 18 (Monday) — Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre hosts Flight of the Conchords.

19 — NC author book release day for A World Without You by Beth Revis (Razorbill).

AUGUST 2016

2: Local author book release day for the 20th Anniversary Edition of Redliners by David Drake (Baen, August 2) with an all-new introduction by the author.

NEW: 5-7 (Friday to Sunday) — The Carolina Theatre of Durham’s Retro Film Series presents a special screening series of the original Star Wars Trilogy.

16 — NC author book release day for Serafina and the Twisted Staff by Robert Beatty (Disney Hyperion), sequel to Beatty’s Biltmore-set debut Serafina and the Black Cloak.

SEPTEMBER 2016

NEW-NEW: 9 (Friday) 8 pm — The Durham Performing Arts Center hosts “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “The Mandatory World Tour”.

OCTOBER 2016

11 — NC author book release day for The Perilous Journey of the Much Too Spontaneous Girl by Leigh Statham (Month9Books, October 11), a follow-on to The Perilous Journey of the Not So Innocuous Girl.

NEW: 15 (Saturday) — The Charlotte Mariott City Center hosts Carolina Book Fest 2016 with a huge author lineup, followed by the annual “Monster Mash” dance party.

NEW-NEW: 20 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — The Durham Performing Arts Center hosts astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, presented in partnership with UNC’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.

25 — NC author book release day for Into the Fire (Night Prince) by Jeanine Frost (Avon).

TBD — Local author book release day for Six Wakes by Mur Laffert (Orbit Books).

NOVEMBER 2016

11-13 (Friday to Sunday) — NC Comicon 2016 at the Durham Convention Center.

JANUARY 2017

NEW-NEW: TBA (Friday to Sunday) — illogiCon with author guest of honor Daniel Jose Older.

MAY 2017

23-28 (Tuesday to Sunday) — The Durham Performing Arts Center presents Finding Neverland, which “tells the incredible story behind one of the world’s most beloved characters: Peter Pan.  Playwright J.M. Barrie struggles to find inspiration until he meets four young brothers and their beautiful widowed mother. Spellbound by the boys’ enchanting make-believe adventures, he sets out to write a play that will astound London theatergoers.”

JUNE 2017

1 — NC author book release day for The Sweetest Burn (A Broken Destiny Novel) by Jeanine Frost (HQN Books).

– END –

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