Vol 2. No 5. 3 August 2012:

Sorry for the radio silence last month; it’s been a bit busy around here since the calendar rolled into June. First, the imminently upcoming highlights, with more info links down in the calendar section:

Tonight (Friday, August 3) the North Carolina Museum of Natural History hosts a screening of three short films based on the work of the late Ray Bradbury. The event starts at 5 om, with the films to start at 7 pm.

(Friday, August 3) the North Carolina Museum of Natural History hosts a screening of three short films based on the work of the late Ray Bradbury. The event starts at 5 om, with the films to start at 7 pm. For readers nearer the western half of North Carolina — Saturday (August 4) Asheville’s Malaprop’s Bookstore hosts Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, Naomi Novik, Tobias S. Buckell, Karin Lowachee, Nathan Ballingrud, Will Hindmarch, and Jeremy L.C. Jones for a joint reading at 7 pm.

(August 4) Asheville’s Malaprop’s Bookstore hosts Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, Naomi Novik, Tobias S. Buckell, Karin Lowachee, Nathan Ballingrud, Will Hindmarch, and Jeremy L.C. Jones for a joint reading at 7 pm. Sunday (August 5) from 2 to 4 pm, Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books hosts South Carolina science fiction author T.C. McCarthy and Virginia fantasy author Michael J. Sullivan for a joint reading and signing. Yeah! We’ve been waiting all summer for this and it’s finally here! If you missed McCarthy on WUNC’s The State of Things today, check back later tonight for the re-broadcast, or download the podcast.

Second, there’s a long list of NEW events interleaved below, but here are a few (OK, more than a few) in quick highlight mode:

Anna North (post-apocalyptic novel America Pacifica) and Kristen-Paige Madonia at The Regulator Bookshop on Monday, August 13 at 7 pm.

(post-apocalyptic novel America Pacifica) and Kristen-Paige Madonia at The Regulator Bookshop on Monday, August 13 at 7 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 at 7:30 pm.

at Quail Ridge Books on Thursday September 13 for the conclusion of their Vampire Empire trilogy, The Kingmakers at 7:30 pm. Andy Duncan at North Carolina State University on Wednesday, September 12 for a reading event at 7:30 pm. UPDATE: I had erroneously listed this as Sep 19.

at North Carolina State University on Wednesday, September 12 for a reading event at 7:30 pm. I had erroneously listed this as Sep 19. Brent Weeks at Flyleaf Books on Friday, September 21 for the second book in his Lightbringer series, The Blinding Knife at 7 pm.

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

at Flyleaf Books on Monday, September 24 for the first book in his new prequel trilogy in his Malazan storyline, Forge of Darkness at 7 pm. Jasper Fforde at Quail Ridge Books on Monday, October 22 for his young adult fantasy novel The Last Dragonslayer at 7 pm.

at Quail Ridge Books on Monday, October 22 for his young adult fantasy novel The Last Dragonslayer at 7 pm. Local writer Alex Granados has a new book Cemetery Plot coming out in late October, with events and appearances scheduled throughout the Triangle in early November.

has a new book Cemetery Plot coming out in late October, with events and appearances scheduled throughout the Triangle in early November. I must have missed the announcement, but Mark Van Name will be the Toastmaster at illogiCon in January 2013.

will be the Toastmaster at illogiCon in January 2013. ConTemporal 2013 has been announced for June 27, 2013 at 5:00pm until June 30, 2013 at 3:00pm at the North Raleigh Hilton.

Whew. Meanwhile, I’ve posted the tentative table of contents for Bull Spec #8 which is in production and headed for a release this late summer (or, yeah, early fall), and hope you all enjoyed some of the great events the last couple of months (Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid reading at Flyleaf; MakerFaire; Free RPG Day; ConTemporal — my photos are slowly going up; the five, no, SIX author science fiction panel at the Barnes & Noble of Cary; the Star Trek: The Next Generation screenings; the as-always excellent Can’t Stop the Serenity event; and more besides). And! We’re putting the finishing touches on both the second teen writing contest and the start of some new columns on the website. It’s a busy and exciting time, eh?

-Sam

AUGUST 2012

NEW: 3 (Friday) 5 pm — Tthe North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts a screening of three short films based on the work of the late Ray Bradbury. The event starts at 5 pm, with the films to start at 7 pm. More info: NEW: 4 (Saturday) 7 pm — Regional event: Asheville’s Malaprops Bookstore hosts Shared Worlds writers Tobias Buckell, Karin Lowachee, Will Hindmarch, Ann and Jef VanderMeer, and Nathan Ballingrud for a SF/F extravaganza.5 (Sunday) 2 to 4 pm — Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books hosts the 2nd Bull Spec summer literary sf festival with South Carolina author T.C. McCarthy (Germline, Exogene, and the forthcoming Chimera) and Virginia author Michael J. Sullivan (The Riyria Revelations). Last year was a veritable Steampunk Cabinet of Curiosities. This year, it’s a mini Orbit regional author-palooza. Spread the word: 1 — Local editor new anthology: Raleigh author and anthologist John Kessel’s latest anthology (co-edited with James Patrick Kelly) to be released: Digital Rapture: The Singularity Anthology from Tachyon Publications.3 (Friday) 5 pm — Tthe North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts a screening of three short films based on the work of the late Ray Bradbury. The event starts at 5 pm, with the films to start at 7 pm. More info: http://naturalsciences.org/programs-events/first-friday-goodbye-ray-bradbury 4 (Saturday) 7 pm —Asheville’s Malaprops Bookstore hosts Shared Worlds writers Tobias Buckell, Karin Lowachee, Will Hindmarch, Ann and Jef VanderMeer, and Nathan Ballingrud for a SF/F extravaganza.5 (Sunday) 2 to 4 pm — Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books hosts the 2ndwith South Carolina author T.C. McCarthy (Germline, Exogene, and the forthcoming Chimera) and Virginia author Michael J. Sullivan (The Riyria Revelations). Last year was a veritable Steampunk Cabinet of Curiosities. This year, it’s a mini Orbit regional author-palooza. Spread the word: http://bullspec.com/2012/07/30/event-flyer-for-sundays-flyleaf-books-reading-with-t-c-mccarthy-and-michael-j-sullivan/

NEW: 13 (Monday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop — Anna North will read from and sign copies of her novel America Pacifica. Eighteen-year-old Darcy lives on America Pacifica, an island in the Pacific that refugees from the West Coast have retreated to after a second ice age. For Darcy, life with her make-it-work mother is made up of seafiber clothes and dinners of jellyfish. When Darcy’s mother doesn’t come home one night, she kicks of a search that pulls her from the small life she knows in Little Los Angeles to a harrowing adventure far bigger than she could have expected. Anna North’s writing has appeared in publications like The Atlantic, Jezebel.com, and The Paris Daily Review. She is a senior editor at BuzzFeed.com and lives in Brooklyn. Reading with Anna will be her friend Kristen-Paige Madonia, whose new YA nove, Fingerprints of You,”deftly depicts the nuanced conflicts of early motherhood and the search for identity.”