Vol 4. No 9. September 5, 2014: The first Friday of the month has no fewer than five events to pique your interest, and the first week of the month has already brought the first of five six! seven! new books by North Carolina authors that will hit stores in September.

Let’s start with those events happening today (Friday, September 5):

While most festival events are on Saturday and are free, the Bookmarks Festival in Winston-Salem, NC does have a pair of ticketed “Eat and Greet” sessions on Friday, with authors Lisa Leake and Rita Mae Brown. (The Saturday lineup includes Lev Grossman, Tiphanie Yanique, Maggie Stiefvater, Morowa Yejidé, Margaret Stohl, and Jen McConnel, among many others.)

Running Friday through 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.” Guests include Bob Chipman, Chewie Slate, Rich Perrotta, Mating Habits of the Modern Geek, and the UNC “Humans vs Zombies” team, and programming includes open gaming, panels, a costume contest, and an accompanying music festival.

At 7 pm, DSI Comedy in Chapel Hill hosts a superhero-themed night of improv battle: “This Friday, six courageous comedians (Power Up!) will face their arch-nemeses Pantie Raid in an epic Cage Match battle! Using a super power based on YOUR suggestions, watch as they soar to new heights of comedy. Will our heroes emerge victorious in their fight against their lingerie-loving foes? Only YOU can decide.”

At 8 pm, Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern presents “HMLT: a version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet” at Durham’s Oval Park outdoor amphitheatre (1100 Oakland Ave) at 8 pm — “With a focus on the disintegration of two powerful families, Little Green Pig brings its signature intensity to Shakespeare’s masterpiece about the pathology of denial.”

Also at 8 pm — The Carolina Theatre of Durham presents John Hodgman with special guest David Rees: “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.”

And before I get to the new books and other news, here’s a sampling (for the full listing, see further down) of events further ahead this month:

11 (Thursday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts Stuart Rojstaczer, “The Mathematician’s Shiva”. I don’t (too) often feature a “fiction” event, but this book really has something to it, not the least being dark, vodka-fueled humor and quite a bit of math.

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.”

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.” While Darnielle is off on a nationwide tour before and after, the Durham author (and songwriter, of “The Mountain Goats”) is also signing on September 22 (Monday) at 7:30 pm at Quail Ridge Books.

19-22 (Friday to Monday) — The Escapism Film Festival at Durham’s Carolina Theatre: “Your favorite childhood movie heroes are back: Jack Burton, Buck Rogers, Admiral Kirk, Snake Plissken, Kermit the Frog, Indiana Jones and so many more.”

24 (Wednesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Scott Westerfeld – ‘Afterworlds’. “You may know him best for his alternate history Leviathan Trilogy, or The Uglies science fiction series. Now Scott Westerfeld brings us his new novel, Afterworlds. It’s a smart, thought-provoking novel-within-a-novel about the parallels between a young writer and the heroine of her story. Ages 14+.”

All right, now let’s do get to those new books by local and regional authors this month, pretty much running the gamut from epic fantasy to far-flung future galactic space sf, with contemporary fantasy and edge-of-tomorrow thrillers in between:

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. Duisberg is one of thousands of planets plunged into darkness and chaos by the collapse of the galactic republic, but where other worlds have begun to rebuild a star-travelling culture, Duisberg remains in an uneasy balance between mud-brick civilization and bloodthirsty barbarism.”

Book 10 in the nationally best-selling General series. Duisberg is one of thousands of planets plunged into darkness and chaos by the collapse of the galactic republic, but where other worlds have begun to rebuild a star-travelling culture, Duisberg remains in an uneasy balance between mud-brick civilization and bloodthirsty barbarism.” 2 — Local author book release day for Dinosaurs and a Dirigible by David Drake (Baen) — collecting Drake’s time-travel stories in one volume

9 — Regional author book release day for Crown of Ice by Vickie L. Weavil (Month9Books)

16 — Local author book release day for Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle. “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.” (See above or below for information on two local events.)

23 — Local book release day for Shadow of the Ancients by Pierre Grimbert, translated from the French by Durham’s Matt Ross, the 3rd book in Grimbert’s best-selling and award-winning “Secret of Ji” epic fantasy series.

23 — Local author book release day for The Gifted Dead by Jenna Black (Durham). “Game of Thrones meets House of Cards, a terrific read!” —New York Times Bestselling Author Lilith Saintcrow

23 — Regional author book release day for The Broken Road by Teresa Frohock, a new fantasy/gothic horror novella.

30 — Regional author book release day for The Wonder of All Things by Jason Mott (Wilmington). “On the heels of his critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling debut novel, The Returned, Jason Mott delivers a spellbinding tale of love and sacrifice. On an ordinary day, at an air show like that in any small town across the country, a plane crashes into a crowd of spectators. After the dust clears, a thirteen-year-old girl named Ava is found huddled beneath a pocket of rubble with her best friend, Wash. He is injured and bleeding, and when Ava places her hands over him, his wounds disappear.”

And, continuing last month’s report of new audio editions for local authors in July, August saw yet more, including David Drake’s Northworld trilogy as well as Ranks of Bronze, and Lisa Shearin’s The Grendel Affair. Looking just a bit further ahead, Grammy and Audie Award winning narrator Stefan Rudnicki is set to record Lewis Shiner’s novel Frontera, with a late October release date. Frontera is Shiner’s Philip K. Dick and Nebula Award finalist debut sf novel, first published in 1984, of a corporate-controlled near future and a lost Martian colony. I’ve been hoping for exactly this development for quite some time now — Rudnicki has been masterful on Shiner’s Glimpses, Slam, and Collected Stories — and am eagerly awaiting the result.

One last thing before some news, in case you missed them, here’s what was new at bullspec.com this month:

Not too much, I know. But! Some big plans ahead in September, with more “Hardest Part” guest columns and “Coming to Town” interviews lined up, and who knows what The Exploding Spaceship might bring our way. And, it’s just about time to get to work on the annual guide to the year in North Carolina books, and there are some fun event announcements coming as well. Stay tuned!

OK! Finally it is time for some news. The BIG NEWS is that The Regulator Bookshop has done it. Well, they will be doing it. William Gibson will be coming to Durham as part of his tour for his first new novel in 4 years, The Peripheral. The final details in terms of venue are still to be determined — though Gibson’s tour schedule shows it to be set for Motorco Music Hall — but mark your calendars for Friday, November 7th. Be there, or cybernetic ninjas might come for you. (Hey, it could happen.)

More news… Clay and Susan Griffith’s The Shadow Revolution (Crown & Key, #1) has a release date (June 2, 2015) and a fantastic elevator pitch (“Charlotte Bronte’s Avengers”), and James Maxey’s Bad Wizard has a much nearer release date (October 1) and a cover reveal.

Penultimately, a crowdfunding roundup. Jeremy Whitley’s Kickstarter for Illegal ends late Saturday afternoon. They’ve met their goal and are chasing stretch goals including audio journals of the process and a 2nd volume. Whitley and the project were profiled in the North Raleigh News, where Alex Granados called Illegal a “modern parable, featuring a world where everybody has been microchipped for identification purposes. The main character, Gianna DelRey, is one of the few who doesn’t have a microchip, and as a result, she is illegal.”

There’s even less time left (ending either very late Friday or very early Saturday, depending on how you look at it) for an also-successfully-funded Indiegogo campaign to keep Intrepid Life Coffee & Spirits open in Downtown Durham. With the good news comes a bit of bad: Intrepid won’t be able to keep its current location, but thanks to the support will be re-opening in a new space soon.

And if by the time you read this you’ve missed these, there’s a new Kickstarter for a puppet show by Lady Attercop and Emmett Davenport called “Lushington’s Lounge” where we’re invited to “Join dashing steampunk darlings Emmett Davenport and Lady Attercop of The Clockwork Cabaret, or at least their puppet doubles, as they negotiate the thorny, tasty, and just plain bizarre landscape of vintage Victorian cocktails, and their modern counterparts.” And! Eryk Pruitt’s IndieGogo campaign for his new short film “The HooDoo of Sweet Mama Rosa” successfully reached its $3000 goal, but there’s still time left (through Sep 19) to be a part of it.

Lastly, and a few of you should know that I’m looking right at you as I type this, the deadline to apply to be the Piedmont Laureate for Speculative Fiction is September 19. We have an absolutely fantastic collection of authors in the area, and I don’t envy this year’s judges in the slightest.

-Sam

SEPTEMBER 2014

1 — Local author book release day for Internal Medicine: A Doctor’s Stories by Terrence Holt (Liveright Publishing, Sep 1).

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.”

2 — Local author book release day for Dinosaurs and a Dirigible by David Drake (Baen) — collecting Drake’s time-travel stories in one volume

4 (Thu) 6:30 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts (at the Chapel Hill Library) 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

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: 4-20 — Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern presents “HMLT: a version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet”, with the first weekend at Oval Park in Durham (1100 Oakland Ave) and other venues for the second two weekends. “With a focus on the disintegration of two powerful families, Little Green Pig brings its signature intensity to Shakespeare’s masterpiece about the pathology of denial.” Trailer: http://vimeo.com/104454951 and: Tickets: https://dime.io/events/hmlt

NEW: 5 (Friday) 7 pm — DSI Comedy hosts a superhero-themed night of improv battle: “This Friday, six courageous comedians (Power Up!) will face their arch-nemeses Pantie Raid in an epic Cage Match battle! Using a super power based on YOUR suggestions, watch as they soar to new heights of comedy. Will our heroes emerge victorious in their fight against their lingerie-loving foes? Only YOU can decide.” More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1463048490634034/

NEW: 5 (Friday) 8 pm — The Carolina Theatre of Durham presents 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

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: 5-21 — North Raleigh Arts & Creative Theatre stages Xanadu, the “hilarious, roller skating, musical adventure about following your dreams despite the limitations others set for you”. Reviewed quite positively in the N&O.

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

9 — Regional author book release day for Crown of Ice by Vickie L. Weavil (Month9Books)

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: 9 (Tuesday) 6:30 pm — The Barnes & Noble of Brier Creek hosts Margaret Peterson Haddix, Lisa McMann: Island of Legends. (Young readers.)

NEW: 9 (Tuesday) 7:30 pm — ERIC SCHLOSSER at the NCSU Hunt Library, presented in tandem with Quail Ridge Books, the author of Fast Food Nation, discusses his new book Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident and the Illusion of Safety, an in-depth look at the management of America’s nuclear arsenal. (Non-Fiction.)

NEW: 10 (Wednesday) — Flyleaf Books hosts Margaret Peterson Haddix & Lisa McMann discuss their middle grade fantasy novels Revealed and Island of Legends.

11 (Thursday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts Stuart Rojstaczer, “The Mathematician’s Shiva”. “Alexander ‘Sasha’ Karnokovitch and his family would like to mourn the passing of his mother, Rachela, with modesty and dignity. But Rachela, a famous Polish émigré mathematician and professor at the University of Wisconsin, is rumored to have solved the million-dollar, Navier-Stokes Millennium Prize problem. Rumor also has it that she spitefully took the solution to her grave. To Sasha’s chagrin, a ragtag group of socially challenged mathematicians arrives in Madison and crashes the shiva, vowing to do whatever it takes to find the solution–even if it means prying up the floorboards for Rachela’s notes.” (Fiction.)

NEW-NEW: 12 (Friday) 7 pm — Wake Forests’s Storytellers Book Store hosts Raleigh author F. Hampton Carmine for his middle-grade fantasy novel Abby and the Magic Key. More info: http://www.storystorewf.com/index.php/Events.html

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: 13 (Saturday) 11 am — McIntyre’s Books hosts Katy Simpson Smith – The Story of Land and Sea. Smith is also at Flyleaf Books (Monday Sep 15, 7 pm), The Regulator (Tuesday Sep 16, 7 pm), and Quail Ridge Books (Wednesday Sep 17, 7:30 pm).

13 — Local author book release day for The Dung Ball Chronicle by Wayne V. Miller (Durham).

16 — Local author book release day for Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle. As part of his national tour (from New York to San Francisco, including events with John Hodgman and Robin Sloan) he has two local events in September (see below).

16 (Tuesday) — RTSFS book club discusses Joe Abercrombie’s Half a King at the B&N of Southpoint. “Next month is Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey. We will also discuss what to read for November and January so sound off here or at the meeting with ideas.”

NEW-NEW: 17 (Wednesday) — World premiere for audio drama adaptation “Islands” at The Living Arts College in Raleigh. “Join the cast and crew in Raleigh, North Carolina, as we present the premiere of “Islands,” an audio drama adaptation of an alternate history novella by Eric Flint set within the world of the Belisarius series by Eric Flintand David Drake. The audio drama is a recorded adaptation, similar to a film in scope. It is fully post-produced with original music and film-quality sound effects. The adaptation was written by Tony Daniel and the audio drama was directed by Jerome Davis. “Islands” features a cast of fifteen professional voice actors, all from the Raleigh-Durham area. The audio drama stars Tracey Coppedge and Paul Kilpatrick. It features Lex Wilson, Jeff Aguiar, Paris Battle, Gray Rinehart, Izzy Burger, Rika Daniel, Pj Maske, Carter, and Samuel Montgomery-Blinn. The premiere will take place Wednesday, September 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the Living Arts College in North Raleigh. The audio drama lasts about an hour and a half. There will be a brief intermission. The Living Arts College is located in north Raleigh: 3000 Wakefield Crossing Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614.”



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.”

NEW-NEW: 19 (Friday) 7 pm — DSI Comedy presents Show & Tell: My Kryptonite. “Storytelling you have to see to believe. Hear the stories of favorite records, inherited books, beloved dolls, found instruments. The only show where storytellers let you see and feel the objects that changed their lives. For this special Show and Tell, DSI is partnering with Chapel Hill Comics for “My Kryptonite,” an evening of stories about super heroes, comic villains, and maybe a few things our storytellers just wish they could just get away from.”

NEW: 19-22 (Friday to Monday) — The Escapism Film Festival at Durham’s Carolina Theatre: “Your favorite childhood movie heroes are back: Jack Burton, Buck Rogers, Admiral Kirk, Snake Plissken, Kermit the Frog, Indiana Jones and so many more. Escapism captures the magic of your favorite fantasy and adventure movies from the late seventies and early eighties. The ones you remember watching with your friends at Saturday afternoon matineees during summer vacations. Timeless examples of what movies do best of all – fantasy and adventure, epic in scale, heroic in concept, and imaginative in execution. They’re fun movies. They’re meant to be.”

20 (Saturday) — SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Carolinas Fall Conference in Charlotte, NC. More info: http://carolinas.scbwi.org/totellataleconference/

22 (Monday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts John Darnielle – ‘Wolf in White Van’. (Fiction, see September 18 event write-up for more information.)

23 — Local book release day for Shadow of the Ancients by Pierre Grimbert, translated from the French by Durham’s Matt Ross.

23 — Local author book release day for The Gifted Dead by Jenna Black (Durham).

23 — Regional author book release day for The Broken Road by Teresa Frohock, a new fantasy/gothic horror novella.

NEW: 24 (Wednesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Scott Westerfeld – ‘Afterworlds’. “You may know him best for his alternate history Leviathan Trilogy, or The Uglies science fiction series. Now Scott Westerfeld brings us his new novel, Afterworlds, on Wednesday, September 24, at 7 p.m. It’s a smart, thought-provoking novel-within-a-novel about the parallels between a young writer and the heroine of her story. When Scott visited here a few years ago for Leviathan, he did a mesmerizing program. Strong and brilliant writing, for ages 14+.”

NEW-NEW: 24-27 (Wednesday to Saturday) — Duke Performances presents Rude Mechs Now Now Oh Now, an “an immersive theatrical experience that explores the nature of beauty, evolution, choice, and chance.”

NEW-NEW: 25 (Thursday) 9 pm — Local author F. Hampton Carmine is holding a live online reading of “Abby and the Magic Key”. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/528569383947281/

NEW: 27 (Saturday) 6 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Gregg Cusick discusses his short story collection My Father Moves Through Time Like a Dirigible, with complimentary refreshments.

30 — Regional author book release day for The Wonder of All Things by Jason Mott (Wilmington).

OCTOBER 2014

1 — Local author book release day for Bad Wizard by Hillsborough’s James Maxey (Antimatter Press)

1 — NC author book release day for Whispers from the Past by Elizabeth Langston (Spencer Hill Press)

NEW: 1 (Wednesday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Wilmington author Jason Mott – ‘The Wonder of All Things’. “From critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling author of The Returned, Jason Mott, comes a spellbinding tale of love, sacrifice and the power of miracles. In The Wonder of All Things, Ava has a unique gift: she can heal others of their physical ailments. Until a public tragedy, her gift was a secret. But now the whole world knows, and suddenly Ava is thrust into the spotlight.”

NEW: 3 (Friday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Kami Garcia & Carrie Ryan – ‘Unmarked’. (Teen+.)

NEW: 3-4 (Friday and Saturday) — The Carolina Theatre of Durham hosts a theatrical adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce. “From the producers of the stage hit, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS comes the highly anticipated theatrical adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ THE GREAT DIVORCE. In this dantesque celestial journey from Hell to Paradise, Lewis draws some of the most fiercely funny characters he ever created. This is C. S. Lewis at his imaginative best.” More info: http://www.carolinatheatre.org/events/cs-lewis-great-divorce

NEW-NEW: 5 (Sunday) 1 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts a 30th Anniversary Celebration: “We are celebrating our 30th Anniversary with a tribute to our founder, Nancy Olson. 1:00 p.m. Reception: Mingle with authors and friends. Enjoy refreshments. Enter drawing for books and gift cards. Music by Bruce Emery. 2:00 p.m. Our owner, Lisa Poole, hosts a tribute to Nancy Olson with special guests. Stay tuned!”

NEW: 6 (Monday) 6:30 pm — First Monday Classics at the Orange County Library with James Maxey and Nathan Kotecki: “It’s the Halloween edition of First Monday Classics! Dracula and Frankenstein are pop cultural icons by now, but have you dusted off your copies of these classic works of literature and remembered all the ways these monsters have evolved from their original texts? These discussions are for everyone – whether you’ve read the books or not.” More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/772030356176227/

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

8 — Regional author book release day for The Body Electric by Beth Revis.

NEW-NEW: 10 (Friday) 7 pm — Internationalist Books hosts Sybil Lamb for her new novel, I’ve Got A Time Bomb, which “follows Sybil’s eponymous heroine, Sybil, on a picaresque odyssey through the degenerate substructure of Amerika and Canadia, from the utter destruction of post-hurricane Morteville (New Orleans) to the glittering towers and underground nightclubs of Great Metropolitopolis.”

NEW-NEW: 12 (Sunday) 2 pm — North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame 2014 Induction Ceremony at the Weymouth Center for the Arts in Southern Pines, NC.

13 — Local author book release day for Dead New World by Ryan Hill (Raleigh).

NEW-NEW: 14 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Middle Grade Mania – Three Authors in One Night including Edith Cohn for her middle grade fantasy Spirit’s Key. (Kids.)

NEW: 18 (Saturday) — 4th Annual Crystal Coast Con in Cape Carteret, NC. This year’s guests are Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters), Patricia Tallman (Babylon 5) and Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers) as well as many others.

NEW-NEW: 18-19 — The Raleigh Review’s Southern Recitations Workshop and Reading series hosts Randall Kenan and Jeremy Hawkins.

NEW-NEW: 19 (Sunday) — Ultimate Comics hosts Brockton McKinney and Bridgit Connell for a signing of Killer Queen. 12 pm to 2 pm.

NEW-NEW: 23 (Thursday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Middle grade authors Edith Cohn and Rebecca Petruck discuss Spirit’s Key and Steering Toward Normal. (Kids.)

NEW-NEW: 24-25 (Fri-Sat) — Raleigh’s Moonlight Stage Company presents Full Moon: Halloween One Acts.

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/

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-NEW: 25 (Saturday) 10 am to 9 pm — Chapel Hill Comics Halloween Comic Fest with free comics and candy: “Come in costume and get an extra special treat!”

NEW-NEW: 25 (Saturday) 5 pm — Burning Coal’s Haunted Mordecai: “Every year at Halloween, Burning Coal teams with the historic Mordecai House to present a chilling walking tour of the old (haunted?) house. While walking through the beautiful old building, you are likely to come across some lovely hosts therein. The only problem? They have been dead for years! Whether you believe in ghosts or not, be prepared to come face to face with the past as you learn about Raleigh’s rich past history in this short, funny and scary walk. For kids of all ages.”

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 (Friday) — Little Green Pig’s “TREATBAG” returns, at the Durham Fruit Company. More info TBD.

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

1 — NC author book release day for I Wish by Elizabeth Langston (Spencer Hill Press)

NEW-NEW: 5 (Wednesday) 6:30 pm — Launch party for James Maxey’s Bad Wizard at the Orange County Public Library: “Come celebrate the release of my latest novel, BAD WIZARD. This is a sequel to the original Wizard of Oz novel, steam punk flavored with an emphasis on high adventure and epic weirdness in the strange and deadly land of Oz.”

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/

NEW: 7 (Friday) 7 pm — The Barnes & Noble of Cary hosts Lauren Kate: Waterfall. (Teen.)

NEW: 7 (Friday) 7:30 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts William Gibson for his new novel The Peripheral. More details TBD but Gibson’s tour information lists the location as Motorco Music Hall.

NEW-NEW: 8 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Robin LaFevers – ‘Mortal Heart’. (Teen.)

11 — Local author book release day for Revolution by Jenna Black, the latest in her Tor Teen “Replica” series.

NEW: 11 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts CHRIS VAN ALLSBURG. “Celebrate the holidays with the multiple award-winning author of The Polar Express, Jumanji and other beloved, occasionally traumatic picture books, who is promoting his latest, The Misadventures of Sweetie Pie.” (via Indy Week)

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. Guests include John Barrowman (Dr. Who, Torchwood, Arrow) and Fiona Staples (Saga) among many others. More info: http://nccomicon.com/

NEW-NEW: 22 (Saturday) 2 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Elizabeth Langston – ‘Whispers from the Past’ and ‘I Wish’. (Teen.)

DECEMBER

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/

NEW: 5 (Friday) 7 pm — The Regulator hosts Julia Elliott–The Wilds, her genre-bending collection from Tin House. “At an obscure South Carolina nursing home, a lost world reemerges as a disabled elderly woman undergoes newfangled brain-restoration procedures and begins to explore her environment with the assistance of strap-on robot legs. At a deluxe medical spa on a nameless Caribbean island, a middle-aged woman hopes to revitalize her fading youth with grotesque rejuvenating therapies that combine cutting-edge medical technologies with holistic approaches and the pseudo-religious dogma of Zen-infused self-help. And in a rinky-dink mill town, an adolescent girl is unexpectedly inspired by the ravings and miraculous levitation of her fundamentalist friend’s weird grandmother.”

JANUARY 2015

6 — Local author book release day for Dragonbreath #10: Knight-napped! by Ursula Vernon.

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

24 — Local author book release day for Tony Daniel’s Star Trek: The Original Series: Savage Trade.

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

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

APRIL 2015

21 — Local author book release day for Ursula Vernon’s Castle Hangnail, a new middle grade fantasy: “From the creator of Dragonbreath comes a tale of witches, minions, and one fantastic castle, just right for fans of Roald Dahl and Tom Angleberger. When Molly shows up on Castle Hangnail’s doorstep to fill the vacancy for a wicked witch, the castle’s minions are understandably dubious. After all, she is twelve years old, barely five feet tall, and quite polite.”

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

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

2 — Local author book release day for Clay and Susan Griffith’s The Shadow Revolution (Crown & Key, #1) from Del Rey.

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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