Vol 4. No 7. July 7, 2014: We are in for an absolutely fantastic July, with readings from Wilton Barnhardt, Jay Posey, Jeff VanderMeer, Lydia Netzer, Deborah Harkness, David B. Coe, and Mur Lafferty, new convention ConGregate in Winston-Salem with guests of honor Larry Correia and Toni Weisskopf and the presentation of the Manly Wade Wellman Award, and! even more, including comics events and the annual charity screening of Serenity at the Raleighwood Cinema Grill.

Let’s start with NC State professor Wilton Barnhardt, who has two readings early this week in support of the new paperback release of his NY Times bestselling Southern novel Lookaway, Lookaway, optioned earlier this year by HBO for a comedy series. He’s my guest on Carolina Book Beat this morning (Monday) at 10 on WCOM-FM, then reads at Flyleaf Books at 7 pm on Monday night, and at McIntyre’s Books on Tuesday at 6:30 pm.

Speaking of Tuesday, Durham author and game writer Jay Posey will be at the Cary B&N at 7 pm for a reading of Morningside Fall, book two after his debut novel Three in his “The Legends of the Duskwalker” post-apocalyptic series.

Then starting mid-week it’s the Jeff VanderMeer show, with 4 readings in the Carolinas in just over a week, starting and ending with Wednesday events (9th and 16th) at Hub City in Spartanburg, SC around readings on Thursday (July 10th) at Raleigh’s Quail Ridge Books at 7:30 pm and Saturday (July 12th) at Asheville’s Malaprop’s. And! He will be my guest via phone this week on Carolina Book Beat at 11 AM. (Do check out his conversation with Frank Stasio on WUNC’s The State of Things which aired last week.)

New convention ConGregate will be held July 11-13 in downtown Winston-Salem, with guests of honor Larry Correia, Mark Poole, and Toni Weisskopf, and the presentation of the 2014 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy to one of the six excellent nominees:





Congratulations again to all the nominees for the inaugural award! Here they are:

The Heretic by Tony Daniel and David Drake (Baen)

Vaporware by Richard Dansky (JournalStone)

Monsters of the Earth by David Drake (Tor)

Darwen Arkwright and the School of Shadows by A.J. Hartley (Razorbill)

The Shambling Guide to New York City by Mur Lafferty (Orbit)

Ice Forged by Gail Z. Martin (Orbit)

Please check out the full listing below for dates and times and more information on the rest of this month’s events. There’s also a new reading group in the area to pass along, the Durham County Library’s Sub-Genre-O-Rama Book Club, running irregularly on Thursdays at 7 pm at the Southwest Regional library (3605 Shannon Rd). July 10 they will be discussing A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick; August 21 the book is Plain Fear: Forsaken by Leanna Ellis; and on September 11 the book is Boneshaker by Cherie Priest.

One last thing this month: I was very, very happy to learn that Cynthia Sheppard’s fantastic painting “Omens” has been chosen as a finalist for the 2014 Chesley Award for Best Cover Illustration: Magazine. “Omens” appears on the cover of Bull Spec #8+9. Congrats to Cynthia!

-Sam

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UPCOMING EVENTS, JULY 2014

NEW: 7 (Monday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Wilton Barnhardt discusses his novel Lookaway, Lookaway for the new paperback release. (Fiction.)

NEW: 8 (Tuesday) 6:30 pm — McIntyre’s Books hosts Wilton Barnhardt for the new paperback release of his novel Lookaway, Lookaway. (Fiction.)

NEW: 8 (Tuesday) 7 pm — The Barnes & Noble of Cary hosts Durham author Jay Posey for Morningside Fall, book two after his debut novel Three in his “The Legends of the Duskwalker” post-apocalyptic series. More info: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/4708748

10 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Jeff VanderMeer for Authority, book 2 of The Southern Reach after Annihilation. VanderMeer has also recently released an award-winning writing/creative book, Wonderbook. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1426122410996685/

NEW: 12 (Saturday) 6 to 9 pm — Chapel Hill Comics is having a big signing event to mark the sale of the store by long-time owner Andrew Neal. Participants include Ed Piskor, Jim Rugg, Tom Scioli, and Chris Pitzer.

NEW: 12 (Saturday) 7:30 pm — Asheville’s Malaprop’s Bookstore and Cafe hosts Jeff VanderMeer. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/770086753036083/

11-13 (Friday to Sunday) — ConGregate in downtown Winston-Salem with guests of honor Larry Correia,Mark Poole, and Toni Weisskopf, as well as the presentation of the 2014 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy. More info: http://www.con-gregate.com/

NEW: 17 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Lydia Netzer (author of Shine Shine Shine) for her new novel How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky along with Anne Barnhill (Queen Elizabeth’s Daughter) and Barbara Claypole White (The In Between Hour) for a special “Women Writers Writing Women’s Stories” event. (Fiction.)

18-20 (Friday to Sunday) — MonsterCon in Greenville, SC with Angela Pritchett, Rich Sigfrit, Naomi Grossman, Cerina Vincent, Camden Toy, Sonya Thompson, Michael Carr, John G. Hartness, Rachael Hill, and many more guests. More info: http://www.monstercon.org/

18-20 (Friday to Sunday) — Raleigh’s PNC Arena plays host to Marvel Universe Live, a new live-action show. More info: http://www.thepncarena.com/events/detail/marvel-universe-live

19 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Deborah Harkness for The Book of Life. More info: http://quailridgebooks.com/event/deborah-harkness-book-life

NEW: 21 (Monday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts David B. Coe for his new novel (as D.B. Jackson) A Plunder of Souls, book 3 of his Thieftaker historical fantasy series.

23 (Wednesday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Chris Bohjalian – ‘Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands’. (Fiction)

NEW-NEW: 24 (Thursday) through August 3 (on selected days and times) — hiSTORYstate presents On the Verge (Or, the Geography of Yearning), a Kickstarter-funded production of “Eric Overmyer’s story of three 19th century women on a journey through time, and space, all the way to 1955!” envisioned as a Steampunk fantasy: “WHAT: On the Verge (Or, the Geography of Yearning) written by Eric Overmyer, creator of The Wire. Our production has been designed as a steampunk fantasy. WHERE: North Raleigh Arts and Creative Theatre (NRACT) at 7713-51 Lead Mine Road in Raleigh, NC (27615). WHEN: July 24-26 and July 31 – Aug 2 at 8:00pm. Special matinee showings at 2:00pm on July 27th and August 3rd.”

27 (Sunday) 6 pm — The annual Raleigh NC Browncoats “Can’t Stop the Serenity” charity screening of Serenity, the Firefly movie, at the Raleighwood Cinema Grill. Doors open at 6 pm ahead of a costume contest and raffle prior to the screening at 8 pm. This event usually sells out in advance. More info: http://www.ncbrowncoats.com/

NEW-NEW: 28 (Monday) 7 pm — Asheville’s Malaprop’s Bookstore hosts EDAN LEPUCKI presents her debut novel CALIFORNIA, “a twisting journey through post-apocalyptic America.” Dan Chaon (Stay Awake) says: “I wanted to say something blurby about Edan Lepucki’s book, something like ‘if Lorrie Moore had written Cormac McCarthy’s The Road…’ but that seems too glib for this stunning and brilliant novel, which is a wholly original take on the post-apocalypse genre, an end-of-the-world we’ve never seen before and yet is uncomfortably believable and recognizable.”

NEW: 29 (Tuesday) 7 pm — The Barnes & Noble of Cary hosts Durham author Mur Lafferty forGhost Train to New Orleans, the second book in her “The Shambling Guides” series after last year’s The Shambling Guide to New York City. More info: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/84527

AUGUST 2014

NEW-NEW: 9 (Saturday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Karen Pullen & contributors: Carolina Crimes, an anthology of crime stories all penned by women living in the Carolinas: “Karen Pullen, Ann Mitchell, Bonnie Wisler, Joanie Conwell, Judith Stanton, Linda Johnson, Ruth Moose, Toni Brown, and Toni Goodyear discuss Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Lust, Love, and Longing.”

NEW: 16 (Saturday) — Comics writer Charles Soule at at Ultimate Comics: “The writer of Letter 44, Superman Wonder Woman, Swamp Thing, Red Lanterns , She Hulk, Inhuman, 27, as well as the upcoming Death of Wolverine mini series will be in the store signing! Mark your calendar now! Don’t miss your chance to meet one of the newest superstars in comics!”

NEW: 25 (Monday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Jon Scieszka – ‘Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor. (Kids.)

28 (Thursday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Lev Grossman discusses his novel The Magician’s Land.

28 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts John Scalzi for his forthcoming sf novel Lock In.

29 (Friday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts John Scalzi for his forthcoming sf novel Lock In.

NEW: 30-31 (Sat-Sun) — “The First East Coast Cosplay-Centric Con” with guest StayXXXX. More info: http://cosplayamerica.com

SEPTEMBER 2014

2 — Local author book release day for The Savior (The General) by Tony Daniel and David Drake (Baen, Sep 2) — “Sequel to The Heretic, Book 10 in the nationally best-selling General series.”

NEW-NEW: 4 (Tue) 6:30 pm — At the Chapel Hill Public Library, Flyleaf Books hosts Margaret Stohl for her YA sf novel Idols. “I love this book. It’s raw and riveting, a scorched-Earth future vision that feels frighteningly real. It’s full of passion and deep truths and the kind of power that people only find when they’re driven far, far past their limits.”—Lev Grossman, New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians. More info

http://www.flyleafbooks.com/event/margaret-stohl-discusses-her-young-adult-novel-idols

NEW-NEW: 4-7 (Thursday to Sunday) Bookmarks Festival in Winston-Salem, NC with Lev Grossman, Tiphanie Yanique, Maggie Stiefvater, Morowa Yejidé, and many more including keynote speaker James Patterson, with most festival events on Saturday the 6th. Free. More info: http://bookmarksnc.org/events/festival

NEW-NEW: 5-7 (Friday to Sunday) — The Escapist Expo returns as “tiltExpo” — “Triangle Game Initiative (TGI), producer of the East Coast Game Conference – will bring a new consumer event, tiltExpo, to the Durham Convention Center this September 5th, 6th, and 7th.”. More info: http://www.tiltexpo.com/

NEW-NEW: 5 (Friday) 8 pm — The Carolina Theatre of Durham hosts John Hodgman: “John Hodgman is a writer, humorist, geek celebrity, former professional literary agent and expert on all world knowledge. He was the bumbling PC in Apple’s long-running “I’m a Mac; I’m a PC” ad campaign.” More info: http://www.carolinatheatre.org/events/john-hodgman

NEW-NEW: 8 (Monday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts Tony Earley, “Mr. Tall: a Novella and Stories”. (More info below.)

NEW-NEW: 9 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Tony Earley for his new collection Mr. Tall: A Novella and Stories. “He leads us on a journey from contemporary Nashville to a fantastical land of talking dogs and flying trees, teaching us at every step that, even in the most familiar locales, the ordinary is never just that.” More info:

http://www.flyleafbooks.com/event/tony-earley-discusses-his-novellashort-story-collection-mr-tall

NEW: 11 (Thursday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts Stuart Rojstaczer, “The Mathematician’s Shiva”. (Fiction.)

NEW: 12 (Friday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Kim Harrison for The Witch with No Name, “the triumphant conclusion to Kim Harrison’s #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows series.”

NEW: 18 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts John Darnielle, “Wolf in White Van” at Durham’s Motorco Music Hall. “As the creator of “Trace Italian”—a text-based, role-playing game played through the mail—Sean guides players from around the world through his intricately imagined terrain, which they navigate and explore, turn by turn, seeking sanctuary in a ravaged, savage future America. Lance and Carrie are high school students from Florida, and are explorers of the Trace. But when they take their play into the real world, disaster strikes, and Sean is called on to account for it.” (Fiction.)

NEW: 22 (Monday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts John Darnielle – ‘Wolf in White Van’. (Fiction.)

OCTOBER 2014

8 (Wednesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Marie Lu discusses her new young adult novel The Young Elites.

25 (Saturday) — 2014 Geek Gala in Charlotte, hosted by The Charlotte Geeks. “The Geekiest Halloween Party in the Carolinas” with magicians, sketch comedy, music, costumes, a short film festival, games, etc. More info: http://www.geekgala.com/

NEW: 24-26 (Friday to Sunday) — 24th annual South Carolina Writers’ Workshop (SCWW) conference at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort. More info: http://myscww.org/conference/

NEW-NEW: 28 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Durham’s Motorco Music Hall hosts “A Night of Local Horror” featuring 10 short horror films from local authors including the local premiere of “Disengaged,” the follow-up to FOODIE and the world premiere of Roger Paris’ “The Vampire. $5. Doors open at 6 pm. More info: http://motorcomusic.com/ten-horror-films

NEW-NEW: 31-(Nov) 2 (Friday to Sunday) — HonorCon in Raleigh with guests David Weber, Timothy Zahn, Keith DeCandido, and Emmett Plant. “Celebrating Military Science Fiction Literature and Honor Harrington’s 21st Birthday October 31 – November 2, 2014 in Raleigh, North Carolina.” At the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown.

NOVEMBER 2014

6-9 (Thursday to Sunday) – World Fantasy Con, Washington, DC with Guest of Honor Guy Gavriel Kay, Toastmaster Jane Yolen, and many, many more members including David Drake and Mark L. Van Name. More info: http://worldfantasy2014.org/

14-16 (Friday to Sunday) — AtomaCon in North Charleston, SC; a “family-friendly” Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Science and Technology convention. Literary guest of honor: John Jackson Miller, author of Star Wars: Kenobi. At the Charleston Plaza Hotel. More info: http://www.AtomaCon.org/

15-16 (Saturday and Sunday) — NC Comicon at the Durham Convention Center and Comiquest Film Festival at the Carolina Theatre of Durham. More info: http://nccomicon.com/

DECEMBER

NEW-NEW: 3 (Wednesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts John Flanagan for Scorpion Mountain, book 5 in his Brotherband Chronicles series for young readers following on his Ranger’s Apprentice series. More info:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1439881922956094/

JANUARY 2015

9-11 (Friday to Sunday) illogiCon (“illogiCon iv: How Schrödington Got His Groove Back”) with guests of honor Jacqueline Carey and Chris Garcia at the Empassy Suites RDU. [Facebook Event]

FEBRUARY 2015

27 to (March) 1 (Friday to Sunday) — MystiCon in Roanoke, VA with author guest of honor Alan Dean Foster, at the Holiday Inn Tanglewood. More info: http://mysticon-va.com/

MARCH 2015

NEW-NEW: 13-15 (Friday to Sunday) — Wizard World Comic Con at the Raleigh Convention Center with featured guest William Shatner. More info: http://www.wizardworld.com/home-raleigh.html

APRIL 2015

24-26 (Friday to Sunday) — RavenCon 10 in Richmond, VA with writer guest of honor Allen Steele and special guest Lawrence M. Schoen. At the DoubleTree by Hilton Richmond Midlothian. More info: http://www.ravencon.com/

MAY 2015

NEW-NEW: 29-31 (Friday to Sunday) — ConCarolinas in Concord, NC with guest of honor John Scalzi and science guest of honor Catherine Asaro at the Embassy Suites Concord.

JUNE 2015

NEW-NEW: 24-26 (Friday to Sunday) — ConTemporal 2015: “ConTemporal is an experiential Steampunk convention being held June 24-26, 2015 at the Hilton North Raleigh-Midtown in Raleigh, NC. No sooner had the idols been recovered then they were stolen by a mysterious figure! Meanwhile, Lt. Com. Julius Cosgrove is trapped in 1632, near the location of the Grantville temporal incursion caught between the cultists and the Germans fighting the Thirty Years’ War.”

OCTOBER 2015

8-11 (Thursday to Sunday) Bouchercon 2015 in Raleigh. Bouchercon is the annual World Mystery Convention, and this is the first Bouchercon ever (in its nearly 50-year history) to be held in the American South.

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