Vol 5 No 4. Saturday, June 6, 2015: Well, maybe this is turning into a bimonthly thing instead of monthly, as I didn’t manage a newsletter in May, either. Since late April we’ve seen plenty of local writers have stories, books, and audiobooks published, added a pile of new events to the upcoming readings calendar, and! found out this year’s nominees for The Manly Wade Wellman Award.

As usual, let’s start with some highlights from events that are right around the corner:

And there are more readings, panels, discussions, and even writing workshops going on next week — check the full listings below. But while I’m in “highlights” mode, how about a few picks from the newly listed events:

June 23 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Rachel Kelly & Mike Richardson – ‘Colorworld’. ” Wendy, a college student, can sense emotions when she touches people. After going to a clinic’s allergy treatment program, people now die when she touches them. What has this clinic done to her – and what does it intend to do with her?”

July 3 (Friday) 10 pm to 2 am — The Pinhook in Durham hosts THE CAT’S MEOW: Electric Swing/NeoVintage Dance Party. “From the folks that brought you the anachronistically fantastic, Clockwork Ball, comes the latest chance to shake a tail feather!”

July 19 (Sunday) 6 pm — Can’t Stop The Serenity – Raleigh – Ten Year Celebration! at the Raleighwood Cinema Grill.

July 26 (Sunday) 4 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Paul Tremblay discusses his novel A Head Full of Ghosts. “A chilling domestic drama that blends psychological suspense with a touch of modern horror from a new, brilliantly imaginative master.”

August 15 (Saturday, Quail Ridge Books) and 17 (Monday, Flyleaf Books) hosts Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award winning author Michael Swanwick for his new “Darger and Surplus” novel Chasing the Phoenix.

Paul Tremblay and Michael Swanwick are coming to town! That is going to make for a fantastic couple of summer events, once this year’s convention season comes to a close with ConGregate in mid-July.

Speaking of ConGregate, that’s where this year’s Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy will be presented, as chosen by many (if not most) of you from this year’s just-announced list of nominees:

The Sea Without a Shore by David Drake (Baen)

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by A.J. Hartley and David Hewson (Audible)

Ghost Train to New Orleans by Mur Lafferty (Orbit)

Reign of Ash by Gail Z. Martin (Orbit)

Bad Wizard by James Maxey (Antimatter Press)

Congratulations to all! As a reminder, the voting membership of this award is the combined membership of the North Carolina science fiction and fantasy conventions (illogiCon, ConCarolinas, ConTemporal, and ConGregate). To register to place an award ballot, please submit a voter registration form.

And (going back a little bit here) speaking of “coming to town” gives me a point on which to segue to what’s new at bullspec.com since the last newsletter:

I hope you got out to see one of Mary and Marie’s readings in the area — not just for the readings (and they are both superb readers) but for the shadow puppet show, “dragon” artifacts, costumes, and (nearly) no-holds-barred Q&A that these authors engage in all make for a very enjoyable evening out.

(Oh, yeah, and Mary read Lev Grossman’s review of the new folio edition of Dune in her “phone sex” voice. Yeah, that happened.)

Speaking of things that have happened, here is an incomplete list of some recent story publications, interviews, and reviews of local authors in the past month or so:

And I’m omitting plenty more, including new book announcements (Jenna Black’s Nightstruck due out next year) and more interviews and story publications. And, finally, speaking of publications, here’s the run-down of new books and audiobooks, with a special shout-out to David Niall Wilson’s Crockatiel, in which 1. I’m Tuckerized at length, as “Samuel Montgomery” who crosses ancient crocodilian DNA with a cockatiel’s (because of course he does) and 2. a hurricane hits his lab just as he’s doing this (because of course it does). I’m not even going to complain about the tiger showing up in the wilds of Brazilian, instead of a jaguar, because hey? it could totally be an escaped zoo animal, right? Right?

NEW BOOKS and AUDIOBOOKS





















Whew! What did I miss?

-Sam

UPCOMING EVENTS, JUNE 2015

NEW: 6 (Saturday) 8:15 pm — Durham’s Manbites Dog Theater presents the last performance in the opening run of the world premiere adaptation of Nick Cave’s Australian/Southern Gothic/cult novel And the Ass Saw the Angel. “A lyrical Southern Gothic play about a closed-minded town of damned souls and the wretched boy who fights to stay alive among them. Eucrid Eucrow, one of literature’s fiercest anti-heroes, is a mute outcast in a community filled with inbreeding, moonshine, and religious fanaticism, whose damaged mind is filled with visions — both angelic and otherwise. He finds his muse in the junkie prostitute, Cosey Mo; his enemy in the demented, trigger-happy evangelist Abie Poe; and his mission in the mysterious child saint, Beth.” Presented by Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern.

NEW: 7 (Sunday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Darin Kennedy discusses his paranormal thriller The Mussorgsky Riddle. “Psychic Mira Tejedor possesses unique talents that enable her to find anything and anyone, but now she must find a comatose boy wandering lost inside the labyrinth of his own mind.”

NEW: 10 (Wednesday) 6:30 pm — Wake County’s North Regional Library hosts Piedmont Laureate and speculative fiction author James Maxey for a discussion, “The Superhero Inside Us All”. “I’m fascinated by superheroes not for their larger than life adventures and superhuman powers, but by the fact that they figure so prominently in our universal mythologies, and are so easy for us to believe in despite their total contradiction with our observed reality. Why do we believe that a man can fly? Perhaps not intellectually, but certainly on a gut level.”

NEW: 11 (Thursday) 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm — The first of a two-part writing workshop on June 11 and 18 at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh entitled Hunting Dinosaurs (and Diamonds, and Dunes). More info: “Authors have long found inspiration in the natural world. Careful observation of the visible world reveals powerful truths about unseen things. Learn how to make nature your muse. On the first week, after a brief introduction, students will be sent to hunt through the museum to make detailed observations that will provide the seeds for stories. The following week, the participants will share their ideas and fragments of their writing in a group discussion to flesh out their ideas into fully developed stories. This does require advance registration, and there is a small fee.”

NEW: 11 (Thursday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Stacey Cochran for Eddie and Sunny, his new novel. (Fiction.)

NEW: 11 (Thursday) 7 pm — Greensboro’s Scuppernong Books hosts Charlotte author Darin Kennedy for his paranormal thriller The Mussorgsky Riddle.

NEW: 13 (Saturday) 11 am to 2 pm — Raleigh’s Event Horizon Games hosts a multi-author book signing event for Garner-based publisher Red Adept along with publisher Lynn McNamee. Among those appearing will be local author Karissa Laurel, whose debut novel Midnight Burning is forthcoming from Red Adept.

NEW: 13 (Saturday) 1 to 3 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts comedian and Deadpool comics writer Brian Posehn for an in-store signing.

NEW: 13 (Saturday) 2 pm — The Burlington B&N hosts Samantha Bryant for a reading and signing of her debut novel Going Through the Change.

16 (Tuesday) — The RTSFS book club discusses Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin at the Southpoint B&N.

NEW: 16 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Chapel Hill author Katie Rose Guest Pryal discusses her novel Entanglement. “Awkward, 21-year-old Greta Donovan, the fiercely intelligent daughter of a philandering physics professor, doesn’t relate to people nearly as well as she relates to facts and figures. While Greta gets quarks and string theory, she hasn’t a clue where men are concerned. Which is exactly why she doesn’t see it coming when someone tries to kill her.” (Fiction.)

NEW: 18 (Thursday) 6:30 pm — Noir at the Bar with (among others) Nathan Ballingrud (The Visible Filth), Eryk Pruitt (Hashtag), Jeremy Hawkins (The Last Days of Video), and more, at 106 Main in Durham.

19 (Friday, through June 27) — The Raleigh Little Theatre (301 Pogue Street) stages an outdoor production of Macbeth which “features a new take on the ‘Scottish play’, with a re-cut script by Blum that focuses on the disintegration of family within the jealous power-hungry struggle known so well to theatergoers.”

NEW: 19-21 (Friday to Sunday) — HeroesCon at the Charlotte Convention Center.

NEW-NEW: 20 (Saturday) 10 am — Free RPG Day at gaming stores everywhere including: Free RPG Day at Atomic Empire in Durham, Event Horizon Games in Raleigh, and The Gamer’s Armory in Cary.

NEW: 20 (Saturday) 4 pm — Hillsborough’s Orange County Library hosts James Maxey, Nathan Kotecki, and Samantha Bryant for “The Hero Showdown,” where the panel and the audience will get to debate matchups between iconic fictional heroes. “Not just fights, but some oddball questions as well. Who makes better use of their money? Tony Stark or Scrooge McDuck?) You can visit the library website to nominate heroes in advance!”

NEW-NEW: 22 (Monday) 3-5 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts comics creator Monica Gallagher for a signing of Part-Time Princess. “It’s Summer Time! Bring the family because we’ll also have some food, treats and lots of fun!”

23 — Regional author book release day for In Midnight’s Silence by T. Frohock (Harper Voyager Impulse), part one of a new Los Nefilim series.

NEW: 23 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Rachel Kelly & Mike Richardson – ‘Colorworld’. ” Wendy, a college student, can sense emotions when she touches people. After going to a clinic’s allergy treatment program, people now die when she touches them. What has this clinic done to her – and what does it intend to do with her?”

NEW-NEW: 26 (Friday) 8:30 pm — Raleigh’s Southland Ballroom hosts a Marvel vs DC Comics Burlesque Show with “Boom OR Bust”.

NEW: 27 (Saturday) 2 pm — Wake County’s Cameron Village Regional Library hosts Piedmont Laureate James Maxey for a writing workshop entitled “Every Hero has a (Back) Story”. More info: “Most characters are defined by some major event of their past, a trauma or a triumph that occurred long before the current story starts. How do you integrate this important stuff from the past into the present story in a way that improves both? What are the clichés and pitfalls to avoid? This workshop is free, but does require advance sign up via the event page on the library website.”

NEW: 28 (Sunday) 2 pm — Wake County’s West Regional Library in Cary hosts Piedmont Laureate James Maxey for a discussion on “Superheroes in Pop Culture”.

30 — Local author book release day for The Undying Legion (Crown & Key, #2) by Clay and Susan Griffith (Del Rey, June 30).

JULY 2015

NEW: 3 (Friday) 10 pm to 2 am — The Pinhook in Durham hosts THE CAT’S MEOW: Electric Swing/NeoVintage Dance Party. “From the folks that brought you the anachronistically fantastic, Clockwork Ball, comes the latest chance to shake a tail feather!”

6 (Monday) 10 am — Carolina Book Beat welcomes local debut author Karissa Laurel and publisher Lynn McNamee of Red Adept Publishing to discuss Laurel’s novel Midnight Burning.

6 (Monday) 6:30 pm — The Orange County Public Library hosts First Monday Classics: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

7 — Regional author book release day for Iron and Blood by Charlotte author Gail Z. Martin (Solaris, July 7, 2015) — “A Steampunk novel set in the fictional city of New Pittsburgh. New Pittsburgh in 1898, a crucible of invention and intrigue, the hub of American industry at the height of its steam-driven power. Born from the ashes of devastating fire, flood and earthquake, New Pittsburgh is ruled by the shadow government of The Oligarchy. In the abandoned mine tunnels beneath the city, supernatural creatures hide from the light, emerging to feed in the smoky city known as ‘hell with the lid off.'”

7 — Local author book release day for Midnight Burning by Karissa Laurel (Red Adept Publishing, Summer 2015) — a debut urban fantasy.

10-12 (Friday to Sunday) — ConGregate 2: Scoundrels and Rogues in High Point, NC with guests of honor Timothy Zahn, Michael Stackpole, Albin Johnson, Scott Rorie, Faith Hunter, and Valentine Wolfe, and the presentation of the 2015 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy.

NEW: 14 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Brian Panowich discusses his debut novel Bull Mountain. (Fiction/Crime.)

NEW: 19 (Sunday) 6 pm — Can’t Stop The Serenity – Raleigh – Ten Year Celebration! at the Raleighwood Cinema Grill: “Excited to announce that its time for the 10th annual Can’t Stop the Serenity here in Raleigh NC! The event will be held Sunday July 19th at the wonderful Raleighwood Cinema Grill. As in years past we will be raising funds for Equality Now and Kids Need To Read. We will have a raffle and costume contest before showing our Big Damn Movie Serenity!. Doors open at 6:00 and we encourage you to arrive early and enjoy food and drink with your fellow Browncoats. Movie will start at 8:00 p.m. after we have had our traditional costume contest and raffle!”

19 to (August) 1 — Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC hosts the 8th annual Shared Worlds teen writing summer camp, with Nathan Ballingrud, Monica Byrne, David Anthony Durham, Gavin J. Grant, Will Hindmarch, Jeremy L. C. Jones, Kelly Link, Catherynne M. Valente, Ann VanderMeer, and Jeff VanderMeer.

NEW-NEW: 21 (Tuesday) 4:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Clay and Susan Griffith – ‘Crown & Key Series’ (Afternoon edition).

21 (Tuesday) 7 pm — The RTSFS book club discusses Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon at the Southpoint B&N.

NEW-NEW: 23 (Thursday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Kristi Helvig and Jen McConnel discuss their newest YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels, Strange Skies: Burn Out Book 2, and Gods of Chaos.

NEW: 24 (Friday) to (August) 2 — Bare Theatre presents MACBETH (at Forest Theatre, Chapel Hill). “Having played Lady Macbeth in Bare Theatre’s 2006 production, veteran Triangle actress and longtime Bare Theatre member Rebecca Blum takes the helm in this epic Shakespearean tragedy. This will be the company’s fourth production on the outdoor stage at RLT in three years, and it features a new take on the “Scottish play,” with a re-cut script by Blum that focuses on the disintegration of family within the jealous power-hungry struggle known so well to theatergoers.”

NEW: 26 (Sunday) 4 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Paul Tremblay discusses his novel A Head Full of Ghosts. “A chilling domestic drama that blends psychological suspense with a touch of modern horror from a new, brilliantly imaginative master.” Tremblay is the author of (among others) The Little Sleep and Swallowing a Donkey’s Eye and (with Stephen Graham Jones) Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn’t Fly, and the co-editor (with Sean Wallace) of the anthologies Fantasy, Phantom, and Bandersnatch.

28 — Local author book release day for The Conquering Dark (Crown & Key, #3) by Clay and Susan Griffith (Del Rey, July 28).

AUGUST 2015

NEW-NEW: 1 (Saturday) 10 am to 4 pm — Ultimate Comics hosts “Three EVENTS, Two STORES, One DAY! The celebration kicks off at the new Ultimate Raleigh store from 10am-12 with super-creators Robert Venditti & Robert Gill signing the Ultimate exclusive variant cover of Valiant Comic new Book of Death! Let’s open the new store together! Then follow us over to Ultimate Comics on Farrington Road for our 12 YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Venditti & Gill will be signing from 1-4 and we’re cooking burgers & hotdogs and partying it up with comic book give-a-ways and sweet tunes by DJ Fader!”

3 (Monday) 6:30 pm — The Orange County Public Library hosts First Monday Classics: The Awakening by Kate Chopin.

4 — Local author book release for Dawnbreaker by Jay Posey, completing his Legends of the Duskwalker trilogy (Angry Robot Books) after Three and Morningside Fall.

NEW-NEW: 6 (Thursday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Vampire Empire authors Clay and Susan Griffith for their “Crown & Key” trilogy (The Shadow Revolution, The Undying Legion, and The Conquering Dark).

NEW-NEW: 12 (Wednesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Hugo Award winning and bestselling author John Scalzi for his new novel The End of All Things, set in his Old Man’s War universe.

NEW-NEW: 13 (Thursday) TBD — Tentative next date for “Noir at the Bar” at Durham’s 106 Main, with: Eric Beetner (CA), Steve Weddle (VA), Greg Barth (TN), Eryk Pruitt (DUR), SA Cosby (fantasy/crime from VA), and a local artist who is about to publish his first sci-fi crime novel, Geraud Staton.

NEW-NEW: 13 (Thursday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts NC poet and author Valerie Nieman for a reading from her new book of (sometimes speculative) poetry Hotel Worthy. Nieman is the author of Neena Gathering, a 1988 post-apocalyptic novel. Introduction by Richard Krawiec.

NEW: 15 (Saturday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award winning author Michael Swanwick for his new “Darger and Surplus” novel Chasing the Phoenix.

NEW: 16 (Sunday) 10 am to 5 pm — Oak City Comic Show at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown with Tommy Lee Edwards, Richard Case, Dale Mettam, Jeremy Whitley, and much more.

NEW-NEW: 17 (Monday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award winning author Michael Swanwick for his new “Darger and Surplus” novel Chasing the Phoenix.

18 — Local author book release day for Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible by Ursula Vernon (Dial, Aug 18) beginning a new children’s series.

SEPTEMBER 2015

1 — Local author book release day for The Geomancer: Vampire Empire: A Gareth and Adele Novel by Clay and Susan Griffith (Pyr, September 1) — “The uneasy stalemate between vampires and humans is over. Adele and Gareth are bringing order to a free Britain, but bloody murders in London raise the specter that Adele’s geomancy is failing and the vampires might return.”

1 — Local author book release day for A Rebel’s Stone by P.T. McHugh (Glass House, September 1).

NEW: 4 (Friday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Kim Harrison – ‘The Drafter’. “Folks loved the Hollows series. Now Kim Harrison returns on Friday, September 4, at 7 pm with The Drafter. Think The Bourne Identity meets Minority Report in this first highly-anticipated installment of Harrison’s sexy new suspense trilogy, featuring a brilliant special task agent at the top of her field and set in a futuristic Detroit.”

NEW-NEW: 5 (Saturday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Christopher Moore – ‘Secondhand Souls’. “How do we describe Christopher Moore’s work? Just… go with the flow and be prepared to snort with laughter. The author ofLamb, The Serpent of Venice and more joins us on Saturday, September 5, at 7 pm with Secondhand Souls. In this delightfully weird and funny sequel to the NY Times bestseller A Dirty Job, the souls of the dead are mysteriously disappearing – and you know that can’t be good.”

10 (Thursday) 8 pm — The Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) hosts The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses: “‘The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses’ concert series is back with a third installment: ‘Master Quest’. Audiences can expect to experience awesome new inclusions from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and new music from the recently announced remake of fan favorite The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. A four-movement symphony, recounting the classic storylines from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and A Link to the Past. The performance will also highlight orchestral renditions of music from The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. Performed by a 90-piece orchestra & choir with a giant screen.”

NEW: 11-13 (Friday to Sunday) — Paperhand Puppet Intervention at the North Carolina Museum of Art. More info: http://ncartmuseum.org/calendar/event/2015/09/11/paperhand_puppet_intervention217/1820

NEW-NEW: 14 (Monday) 5:30 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Matthew Neill Null discusses his debut novel Honey from the Lion; Introduction by Allan Gurganus. (Fiction.)

NEW: 14 (Monday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts Amy Stewart, “Girl Waits With Gun”. (Fiction.)

NEW-NEW: 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 Dawson, and Monica Byrne.

NEW: 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.”

NEW-NEW: 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.

NEW: 18-20 (Friday to Sunday) — The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) trade show in Raleigh at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown. More info: http://sibaweb.com/trade-show

NEW: 21 (Monday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts Matthew Guinn, “The Scribe”. (Fiction.)

22 — Regional author book release day for Sound by Alexandra Duncan (Greenwillow Books, Sep 22) — a stand-alone companion novel to her 2014 debut Salvage.

NEW-NEW: 26 (Saturday) 10:30 am to 1 pm — A “Scents of of Creativity & Memory” workshop at the Dan Pollitt Conference Center in Pittsboro. “Connect to creativity and open emotional blocks through your strongest sense. Essential oils are used as creative prompts in class. Whether you are a writer, artist, or other creative mind, using aromas to stir ideas and memories can help you get closer to the work you do. Essentials oils can help align your health and creative values. Writers will get a bit more out of this class as discussions will focus on literary devices evoked by aromas, literary journal submissions, and self-pub v. traditional publishing options.” More info or to register: http://www.taralynnegroth.com/writing-classes.html

NEW: 30 (Wednesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Gene Luen Yang – ‘Secret Coders’. “From the graphic novel superstar comes a wildly entertaining new series that combines logic puzzles and basic coding instruction with a page-turning mystery plot! For ages 8+.”

OCTOBER 2015

2-4 (Friday to Sunday) DeepSouthCon 53 at CONtraflow V in New Orleans with guests of honor Robert J. Sawyer, Seanan McGuire, and Les Johnson.

NEW: 5 (Monday) 6:30 pm — The Orange County Library hosts First Monday Classics: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

6 — Local book release day for the David Drake tribute anthology Onward, Drake! edited by Mark Van Name, with stories by Drake, Van Name, Mur Lafferty, Tony Daniel, T.C. McCarthy, and more. (Baen, October 6)

NEW-NEW: 6 (Tuesday) 5 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Sheila Turnage – ‘The Odds of Getting Even’. “Kids and the Newbery committee loved Sheila’s Three Times Lucky, the first of her humorous mysteries set in the fictional little NC town of Tupelo Landing. Mo, Dale, and their families and friends went on to The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing (now in paperback). We’re delighted and thrilled to once again be the launch site (party!) for Sheila’s The Odds of Getting Even.” (Kids 9+).

8 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — The Durham Performaning Arts Center (DPAC) hosts An Evening with Neil deGrasse Tyson: “Join us for an evening of engaging conversation on science, exploration, and the world as we know it with superstar scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Neil is an award-winning astrophysicist, author, regular guest on The Daily Show, host of FOX’s Cosmos, and host of his own radio show StarTalk. He has a new latenight TV show also called StarTalk, which premieres on National Geographic on April 20.”

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.

20 — Local book release day for Rysa Walker’s Time’s Divide (The Chronos Files, Book 3) published by Skyscape.

30-(Nov) 1 (Friday to Sunday) — HonorCon 2015 at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown with Tony Daniel, David Drake (Saturday only), Chris Kennedy, and David Weber.

NOVEMBER 2015

3 — Regional author book release day for Without Light or Guide by T. Frohock (Harper Voyager Impulse), part two of Los Nefilim.

NEW-NEW: 3 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books presents Welcome to Night Vale: An evening with Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor & John Darnielle at The Varsity Theater at 123 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill. “From the creators of the wildly popular Welcome to Night Vale podcast comes an imaginative mystery of appearances and disappearances that is also a poignant look at the ways in which we all struggle to find ourselves…no matter where we live.” (Tickets sold through Flyleaf Books only and include entrance to show and a copy of the book.)

NEW: 13-15 (Friday to Sunday) — NC Comicon at the Durham Convention Center, including Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard’s ONLY U.S. appearance and (among others) Bernard Chang, Tommy Lee Edwards, John Paul Leon, and Stacey Lee.

27-29 (Friday to Sunday) — Chessiecon 2015 at the North Baltimore Plaza Hotel with guests of honor Seanan McGuire, Ursula Vernon, Heather Dale (with Ben Deschamps) and special Guests Tamora Pierce and Tom Smith.

TBD — Local author book release day for Air and Darkness by David Drake (Tor, November 2015) — the concluding book 4 in The Books of the Elements series.

JANUARY 2016

NEW-NEW: 8-10 (Friday to Sunday) — Illogicon 5 at the Embassy Suites Raleigh – Durham/Research Triangle North Carolina with guest of honor Mur Lafferty. Registration is open: “Prices: 6/13 thru 8/15: $20; 8/15 thru 10/15: $25; 1016/ thru 12/31: $30; At the door: $40.”

FEBRUARY 2016

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

APRIL 2016

TBD — Local author book release day for Nightstruck by Jenna Black.

JUNE 2016

NEW-NEW: 3-5 (Friday to Sunday) — ConCarolinas 2016.

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