Vol 2. No 9. November 29, 2012:

I’m sending this juuust a bit early this month, mainly to remind people of two things:

Cherie Priest visits Flyleaf Books on Friday (tomorrow!), November 30 at 7 pm for her next Clockwork Century novel, The Inexplicables. More info: http://www.flyleafbooks.com/event/cherie-priest-reads-her-new-steampunk-adventure-inexplicables [Facebook event]

The Teen Writing Contest deadline is December 1. Finally, submissions have been coming in this past week, but there’s still time to polish up and submit your story! More info: http://bullspec.com/2012/08/31/announcement-second-bull-spec-teen-writing-contest-judged-by-sharyn-november/

Also don’t forget that the 3rd annual Bull Spec / RTSFS (Research Triangle Science Fiction Society) holiday party is coming up very soon, on Sunday December 9. More info below.

In local publishing news, the biggest news in November came in two forms. First, the announcement that publisher Angry Robot will publish two postapocalyptic novels by local author Jay Posey, and second that Wake Forest, NC-based publisher Baen published (just now!) The Collected Kessel in ebook, with all-new story notes. Check out both!

While this weekend and all December are packed with events, January stands alone (other than a veritable pile of new local and regional author books) with illogiCon. But February is also starting to fill up, with events bringing Kim Harrison, Cory Doctorow, and Brandon Sanderson (with Harriet McDougal!) to town, along with the Nevermore Film Festival.

One last thing which isn’t in the full events calendar below (and there’s a handy handout flyer at the very bottom!) is a very unique ongoing “thing”. Paperhand Puppet Intervention has teamed up with UNC-Chapel Hill’s Morehead Planetarium for “The Longest Night”, a new production combining Paperhand’s puppets and the night sky-tilting possibilities of the Planetarium, with shows through Feb. 24. More info: http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/paperhand-puppet-intervention-teams-up-with-morehead-planetarium/Content?oid=3201266

In Bull Spec news, all the fiction is edited, illustration and layout is started, and finally issue #8 really, really is coming soon. Really. This time, I mean it. Meanwhile, the website gained two new features, in addition to the ongoing The Hardest Part guest author column and Andrew Neal’s Negative Zone: a very, er, irregular (and irregularly scheduled) column by one Harry Tortilla, and a new ongoing weekly column The Exploding Spaceship by Gerald and Angela Blackwell. I hope you’re enjoying the new web content, and I’ll see you out and about.

-Sam

NOVEMBER 2012

NEW: 29 (Thursday) 7 pm — A special screening of two episodes from the newly remastered season 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation at select theaters, including Brier Creek, Crossroads, and North Hills. More info: http://www.fathomevents.com/#!star-trek-the-next-generation

30 (Friday) 7 pm — Cherie Priest returns to the Triangle, as Flyleaf Books hosts a reading and signing from her forthcoming Clockwork Century novel, The Inexplicables. More info: http://www.flyleafbooks.com/event/cherie-priest-reads-her-new-steampunk-adventure-inexplicables [Facebook event]

30 (Friday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Allie Condie for Reached, the conclusion of the #1 NYT bestselling “Matched” trilogy, a YA dystopia. More info: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/allie-condie-matched-trilogy-conclusion

DECEMBER 2012

NEW: 1 (Saturday) 1 to 3 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts a comics roundtable/presentation/discussion with five North Carolina Comics Artists, featuring Ben Towle, Amy Godfrey, Jamie Hibdon, Flynn Smith, and Rio Aubry Taylor. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/254008071392882/

NEW: 1 (Saturday) 5 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts a My Little Pony comic book release party. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/111808732312572/

NEW: 5 (Wednesday) 6:30 pm — Fullsteam Brewery hosts a screening of the locally-produced short horror film, Foodie. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/527784877241249/

NEW: 9 (Sunday) 2 to 10 pm — The 3rd annual Bull Spec / RTSFS Holiday Party in Durham. (If you can’t see the Facebook event, join the RTSFS mailing list, or Facebook group, or friend Sam on Facebook, or just email me.) For more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/136913919789125/

NEW: 13 (Thursday) 6 pm — The Orange County Main Library hosts five local authors (Alex Granados, Rebecca Gomez Farrell, Mur Lafferty, James Maxey, and Gray Rinehart) for original “winter tales”. More info: http://engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=6923&EventID=150465

NEW: 15 (Saturday) 4 to 7 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts a Geek Mom book event, with local contributor Natania Barron among other guests.

NEW: 18 (Tuesday) 7 pm — The Internationalist Books and Community Center hosts a multi-author event with fiction (Carl Brandon Award nominated Elwin Cotman), comics (Ben Passmore), and poetry (Luca Miro). More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/390722774338333/

NEW-NEW: 20-22 (Thursday to Saturday) 8 pm — with an additional Saturday matinee at 2 pm — SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON presented by hiSTORYstage at the Burning Coal Theatre at the Murphey School in Raleigh. “Our new version of the traditional English Christmas play, “Saint George and the Dragon” is a composite version drawn from surviving manuscripts and woven together from bits of old text, folk legends, and medieval Christmas plays.” More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/548385111843049/permalink/566462630035297/ and tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/266532

NEW: 31 (Monday) 9 pm til late — Davenport and Winkleperry host The Clockwork Ball to ring in the New Year, Steampunk style. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/286024288183189/

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/

FEBRUARY 2013

NEW: 2 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts NY Times bestselling urban fantasy author and NC native Kim Harrison for Ever After, the latest in her Hollows series.

NEW: 16 (Saturday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Cory Doctorow for Homeland, sequel to Little Brother. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/530598563635194/

NEW: 20 (Wednesday) 7:30 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. In addition, special guest Harriet McDougal will be joining Sanderson for the event. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/393451974063637/

NEW: 22-24 (Friday-Sunday) — Durham’s Carolina Theatre hosts the Nevermore Film Festival. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/440070299375523/

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 all weekend, as this Steampunk-themed convention is back for a second year. More info: http://contemporal.org/

NOVEMBER 2013

NEW-NEW: 9-10 (Saturday and Sunday) — NC Comicon will be returning to the Durham Convention Center. “Twice the space, four times the fun. It’s exponential.”

EVENT HANDOUT FLYER:



PDF (grayscale): handout-2012-11-29-bw

PDF (color): handout-2012-11-29-color

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