Vol 2. No 6. September 3, 2012:

Welcome to September, which is so packed with speculative fiction events that I’m thinking of calling it “Spec-tember”. Any objections? Before I get too far here, there are two big-name ticketed events coming up that, like the charity screening of Serenity did earlier this summer, might sell out:

Neil Gaiman at The Varsity Theater in Chapel Hill, as part of the Unchained Tour on Thursday September 20; tickets are $20 online and at Flyleaf Books, with two events in South Carolina and an event in Boone already sold out. More info: http://theunchainedtour.org/events-calendar/

Junot Diaz at Motorco Music Hall in Durham on … well, darn it, when it rains it pours. Diaz is coming Thusday September 20 as well; tickets are $5 at The Regulator Bookshop or online, with the tickets also good towards purchasing a Diaz book or as store credit. More info: http://motorcomusic.com/showroom-regulator-presents-junot-diaz

… and speaking of not missing out, there’s an event TOMORROW (Tuesday), as best-selling horror and science fiction author Scott Sigler visits Chapel Hill Comics for a reading and signing at 7 pm. That’s just the start of many more free and open to the public events this month and next, including Andy Duncan, Clay and Susan Griffith, Brent Weeks, Steven Erikson, Michael Chabon, Kij Johnson, and more. Yeah, wow! Not to mention The Escapist Expo in September, NC Comicon in November, …

Second, I’m very pleased indeed to announce the second Bull Spec Teen Writers Contest, judged by Sharyn November, Viking Children’s Books Senior Editor and Editorial Director of Firebird. The contest is open to 12-17 year olds in North and South Carolina, and submissions are accepted until December 1. More info and a PDF information sheet: http://bullspec.com/2012/08/31/announcement-second-bull-spec-teen-writing-contest-judged-by-sharyn-november/

Third, a huge congratulations to local writer and illustrator Ursula Vernon, who just won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story for her webcomic Digger — check it out for yourself at: http://ursulavernon.com/node/14 — and (sadly) ex-local writer Kij Johnson, who just won the Hugo Award for Best Novella for her story “The Man Who Bridged the Mist”, along with all of the other just-announced Hugo Award winners, and all of the nominees as well including Bull Spec contributors Mur Lafferty, Daniel M. Kimmel, and soon-to-be-contributor Ken Liu, who won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story.

With all that going on, I’m not going to do much of an August events wrapup this time, other than thanking everyone who came out to Flyleaf Books on August 5 — particularly authors T.C. McCarthy and Michael J. Sullivan! — for making it such a nice weekend of speculative fiction. And an absolutely gigantic thanks to Calvin Powers for filming and posting a video of the readings: http://www.stuckintraffic.com/2012/08/bull-spec-summer-literary-festival-2cd.html

Lastly, there is a handy PDF flyer for those who prefer spreading the word on these events the old-fashioned way rather than forwarding emails or links: http://bullspec.com/2012/08/29/september-handout-flyer-v1/

-Sam

SEPTEMBER 2012

August 31 – September 6 — Durham’s Carolina Theatre’s Summer Classics Film Series concludes with Sam Raimi’s ARMY OF DARKNESS and John Milius’ CONAN THE BARBARIAN: http://www.carolinatheatre.org/films/summer-classics-film-series 4 — Local author new novel: Raleigh authors Clay and Susan Griffith conclude their Vampire Empire series with book 3, The Kingmakers, after 2010′s The Greyfriar and 2011′s The Rift Walker, from Pyr Books. More info: http://clayandsusangriffith.blogspot.com/ NEW: September 4 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Best-selling science fiction and horror author Scott Sigler visits Chapel Hill Comics for a reading and signing event. https://www.facebook.com/events/451633431537919/ 8 (Saturday) — Bookmarks Book Festival in Winston-Salem with Sherrilyn Kenyon among other guests. More info: http://www.bookmarksbookfestival.org/ NEW: September 9 (Sunday) 4 pm — Screening of the short local horror film “Foodie” as part of the Carrboro Arts Center’s Second Sunday film series along with three other short films. Ticketed event: $5. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/247295845391580/ NEW: September 9 (Sunday) 6:30 pm to 9 pm — NerdMusik! at Tir Na Nog with Greenville’s Danny Birt among those performing. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/255087191277612/ NEW: September 12 (Wednesday) at 7:30 pm — Andy Duncan at North Carolina State University for a reading event at Thompson Hall. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/348951148523173/ 13 (Thursday) at 7:30 pm — Local authors Clay and Susan Griffith at Quail Ridge Books on Thursday September 13 for the conclusion of their Vampire Empire trilogy, The Kingmakers. 13-16 (Thursday to Sunday) — SparkCon in Raleigh, with poetry, art, music, and other programming tracks “filling downtown Raleigh with a 4-day creative explosion”. More info: http://www.sparkcon.com NEW: 14 (Friday) 9 pm — Amanda Palmer at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro. More info: http://www.amandapalmer.net/shows/ 14-16 (Friday to Sunday) – The Escapist Magazine presents the first Escapist Expo at the newly renovated Durham Convention Center, with game designers, writers, comics, music, and more. Bull Spec will have a table, so stop buy and say hello, pick up a back issue you’re missing, etc.! More info: http://www.escapistexpo.com/ NEW: 15 (Saturday) 2 pm — James Maxey, John Hartness, and Stuart Jaffe will be signing books and giving some panel-type chats at Market City Comics in High Point on September 15th. 15-16 (Saturday and Sunday) — Durham’s CenterFest Arts Festival in downtown Durham, with a large variety of local artists, photographers, makers, and performance art. More info: http://centerfest.durhamarts.org/

NEW: 20 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — The Unchained Tour, including Neil Gaiman, at The Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hill. Ticketed event, with tickets available online or in person at Flyleaf Books. More info: 20 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — The Unchained Tour, including Neil Gaiman, at The Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hill. Ticketed event, with tickets available online or in person at Flyleaf Books. More info: http://bullspec.com/2012/08/15/the-unchained-tour-including-neil-gaiman-with-events-across-the-carolinas-in-september/

NEW: 20 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — The Regulator Bookshop is hosting award winning and best selling and amazing author Junot Diaz (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) at Motorco on Thursday, Sep 20 at 7:30 pm. It’s a ticketed event ($5) but the ticket can be used toward buying a book. Tickets are on sale at The Regulator Bookshop. (I just don’t know how in the world I’m going to be in two places that night, with Gaiman in Chapel Hill; but I’m going to find a way. Maybe.) More info: 20 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — The Regulator Bookshop is hosting award winning and best selling and amazing author Junot Diaz (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) at Motorco on Thursday, Sep 20 at 7:30 pm. It’s a ticketed event ($5) but the ticket can be used toward buying a book. Tickets are on sale at The Regulator Bookshop. (I just don’t know how in the world I’m going to be in two places that night, with Gaiman in Chapel Hill; but I’m going to find a way. Maybe.) More info: http://motorcomusic.com/showroom-regulator-presents-junot-diaz

21 (Friday) at 7 pm — Brent Weeks at Flyleaf Books on Friday, September 21 for the second book in his Lightbringer series, The Blinding Knife.

24 (Monday) at 7 pm — Steven Erikson at Flyleaf Books on Monday, September 24 for the first book in his new prequel trilogy in his Malazan storyline, Forge of Darkness.

NEW-NEW: 25 (Tuesday) at 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Forbes technology reporter Andy Greenberg for his new non-fiction novel This Machine Kills Secrets: How WikiLeakers, Cypherpunks, and Hacktivists Aim to Free the World’s Information. More info: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/andy-greenberg-machine-kills-secrets

NEW: 26 (Wednesday) at 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Forbes technology reporter Andy Greenberg for his new non-fiction novel THIS MACHINE KILLS SECRETS: How WikiLeakers, Cypherpunks, and Hacktivists Aim to Free the World’s Information.

NEW: 29 (Saturday) — Durham’s Sci-Fi Genre Comics and Games is moving to a new location (and a new name?) on Westgate Drive, and has scheduled its grand opening for Saturday, September 29th. More info: http://scifigenre.com/moving.html

OCTOBER 2012

1 (Monday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Michael Chabon (the author of The Yiddish Policeman’s Union and The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay) for a reading and signing event of his forthcoming non-genre novel, Telegraph Hill. More info: http://quailridgebooks.com/event/michael-chabon-telegraph-hill

9 (Tuesday) 7:30 pm — Kij Johnson returns to the Triangle for a reading and signing of her forthcoming collection from Small Beer Press, At the Mouth of the River of Bees: Stories, at Quail Ridge Books. More info: http://quailridgebooks.com/event/kij-johnson-nebula-winner-new-stories

22 (Monday) 7 pm — Jasper Fforde at Quail Ridge Books on Monday, October 22 for his young adult fantasy novel The Last Dragonslayer. More info: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/jasper-fforde-last-dragonslayer

NEW: October 29 (Monday) 7 pm — Clay and Susan Griffith at Flyleaf Books on Monday, October 29 for a reading and signing of The Kingmakers (see above for more info on the book and another reading at Quail Ridge Books).

31 — Local author new novel: Alex Granados’s Cemetery Plot to be published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing. Taglined “The apocalypse isn’t all it’s cracked up to be”.

NOVEMBER 2012

4 (Sunday) 2 pm — Alex Granados reading and signing Cemetery Plot at McInty’re Books in Fearrington Village in Pittsboro. (See above for book info.)

NEW: 7 (Wednesday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Greensboro author Orson Scott Card for Ruins, the second book in his Pathfinder series from Simon Pulse (young readers/young adult).

9 (Friday) — Granados at The Storetellers Bookstore in Wake Forest, during the town’s Art after Hours event.

12 — Local author new novel: J.L. Hilton’s Stellarnet Prince, sequel to January’s Stellarnet Rebel, to be published by Carina Press.

13 (Tuesday) 7:30 pm — Granados at Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books.

15 (Thursday) 7 pm — Granados at Durham’s The Regulator Bookshop.

17-18 (Saturday and Sunday) — NC Comicon at the Durham Convention Center with a long list of guests: http://nccomicon.com/

JANUARY 2013

11-13 (Friday to Sunday) — illogiCon 2 will be held at the Embassy Suites of Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle on January 11-13, 2013, with writer guest of honor Tim Powers and webcomic guest of honor Garth Graham, and toastmaster Mark L. Van Name: http://www.illogicon.com/

NEW-NEW: 13 (Sunday) 3 pm –Quail Ridge Books again hosts best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, this time for the conclusion of The Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light. More info: http://bullspec.com/2012/09/06/breaking-event-news-quail-ridge-books-to-host-brandon-sanderson-for-a-memory-of-light/

JUNE 2013

27-30 (Thursday to Sunday) — ConTemporal 2013 at the North Raleigh Hilton, beginning with the Thursday evening guest of honor dinner and continuing as this Steampunk-themed convention is back for a second year. More info: http://contemporal.org/

END