Friday Quick Updates: a packed weekend, Felicia Day on Wednesday, news and new events, and more!

Friday, April 22, 2016: There’s plenty of reasons to get out and about this weekend, including Durham County Library’s first Teen Lit Festival, Fred Chappell’s last of three Triangle appearances, and a Game of Thrones watching party:

• April 23 (Saturday) 11 am to 5 pm — Durham County’s Main Library (300 N Roxboro St) hosts its first Teen Lit Festival with authors Nathan Kotecki, J.J. Johnson, Jen McConnel, and John Claude Bemis (among others). “Participate in author talks and workshops. There will be food and swag!” [Facebook]
• April 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. [Facebook]
• April 23 (Saturday) 3 pm — Steel Strings Brewery (106 S Greensboro St, Carrboro) hosts Craft Beer & Comic Pairing presented by Chapel Hill Comics.
• April 24 (Sunday) 8 pm — The Baxter (108 N Graham St, Chapel Hill) hosts a Game of Thrones watching party for the premiere of Season 6: “Game of Thrones Seson 6 comes back and we will be here showing it on the big screen. Come out for a night of celebration to one of the most popular shows. Drink specials, free pizza, prizes and more! Stay tuned for more info.”

And this coming week’s big event is (no surprise) on Wednesday April 27th at 6 pm, as Flyleaf Books presents Felicia Day at Cat’s Cradle 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.”

And next weekend has plenty going on as well, from Independent Bookstore Day and International TableTop Day events, to ballet, to a local author’s book launch party:

• April 30 (Saturday) — Independent Bookstore Day 2016 at (among others) Quail Ridge Books, The Regulator Bookshop, and more.
• April 30 (Saturday) — International TableTop Day at (among others) Durham’s Atomic Empire.
• April 30 (Saturday) 8 pm — The Durham Performing Arts Center hosts Carolina Ballet Presents Macbeth, with a Sunday 2 pm performance as well.
• May 1 (Sunday) 3 pm — The Orange County Public Library hosts Change of Life Book Launch Party with author Samantha Bryant: “Come celebrate the release of book 2 of the Menopausal Superhero series with the author. There will copies for sale, readings, and cookies!”

While there’s more news to share here (particularly more “new-new” events to add to the newsletter listings) I’m running short of time, so here’s a really, really quick grab bag of assorted news:

• Co-editor Eric Gregory announced that Middle Planet 2 is heading out into the world; on the website, they’ve posted “Asleep in the Traces” from the new issue
• Gabriel Dunston launched a new/old webcomic, his Kickstarter-backed comic Purgatory Pub, updating M-W-F
• The e-ARC (electronic advance reader’s copy) of Tony Daniel‘s forthcoming yound adult fantasy The Dragon’s Hammer is now out at BaenEBooks.com
• Jay Requard’s Thief of Shadows is reviewed quite positively at Slippery Words
• Darin Kennedy’s The Mussorgsky Riddle wins an EPIC Award for fantasy/paranormal
• Rysa Walker was interviewed at Sailing to the Moon
• Gail Z. Martin has a really interesting guest post at Biblio Sanctum on “order after the apocalypse”

All right, see you next time!